Buying New or Used

chrischris1315

Looking at buying parts to start my first build.
I've found a suitable frame and I'd like to hear other peoples opinions on buying second hand against new this includes.
Frame?
Wheels?
Forks?
Transmission?
Other?

Cheers

Chris

supersonic

First of 2nd hand has no warranty, so be aware of that.

If you go second hand, you must start with the frame - check it out: does the geometry suit you? Is it in good condition? Any cracks/dents/alignment problems.

Then find out what parts will fit. What is your budget? What type of bike do you want?

paul.skibum

Buying second hand parts -

Wheels - are they true, how can you tell over the internet, are the hubs good, are they readily repairable?
Drivetrain - wear on cogs/cassette? To my way of thinking aside from crank arms and mechs/shifters I wouldnt go second hand
Suspension - stantion wear, internal damage, seals etc - if it aint new budget for a service.
Bars/Stems/Saddles/Seat Posts - go for second hand if you find what you want (I'd look closely at any carbon stuff before buying).

cat_with_no_tail

To be honest, with places like CRC and Merlin doing such massive deals on kit, not to mention the Germans and the crappy Euro providing more bargains, I really struggle to justify buying 2nd hand these days.

I mean, I'll check ebay and the classifieds when I'm looking for stuff, but I rarely seem to stumble upon anything I'd class as a bargain. It seems like a lot of people are trying to sell stuff for a similar price to what you can buy it new for.

The classic trick of listing components at RRP really grinds my cogs for some reason.

DCR00

My current bike is a mix of new and used parts

There are some things i wouldn't buy 2nd hand - cassettes, chains and BB. Its too hard to tell from a picture how worn they are.

My current frame was bought 2nd hand, as was the one before.

My wheels, forks, stem, seatpost, shock were all bought new, The rest is 2nd hand.

I would rather buy new, but paying £60 for an XT chainset (which someone sold on here last week) versus £100+ is a no brainer

mrmonkfinger

If you're happy doing any servicing on a part, then it's probably a go-er. If you rely on a shop to service parts for you, I'd avoid.


Frame? - yes, have done, will again, as long as not bent or dented etc. servicing on frames is generally not that pricey (new bearings).
Forks? - have done but with only new-old-stock, second hand I would buy with caution and budget for servicing, all the same goes for shocks too.
Wheels? - maybe, but I can true a rim and swap bearings, a shop service will raise the cost too much
Transmission? - unlikely, has finite lifespan and the replacements of worn parts would erase the value in buying second hand. if you know it is all very nearly new and in good condition, then maybe.

Other?
stems/seats/posts/bars - why not, no moving parts to go wrong.
tyres - yes, would consider, but only if significantly cheaper than new and not very worn
brakes - yes, but, I don't mind rebuilding/servicing myself, bit of a minefield as you don't know if anything or what is wrong. I've had one or two good second hand brake purchases recently, most used brakes just need a bleed

chrischris1315

Thank you guys ever so much, you have all answered my questions brilliantly.
I was looking for about 140mm of travel front and back, would you guys look at any particular frames/models?

Thank you once again.

Chris

supersonic

What is your total budget for the build?

chrischris1315

Not sure, its as my loans and pay check come in, I would like to spend around £1200?
Not to fussed about weight although any less is always great.
Does anyone know any reliable websites to order from?

supersonic

CRC, Merlin, Wiggle.

Fact is you'll probably get a better bike if you buy new! A decent second hand frame is going to be £300 at least, probably more like £500.

Something as well specced as this:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... zone=PDPz1

is going to be hard to beat.

Plyphon

My biggest advice for buying 2nd hand on forums is research the seller.

Check their posts - do they sound like someone who's a sandwich short of a picnic?

Have they posted a video of their riding? Check to see if they like to fall off into trees, or perhaps aren't the smoothest of rider.

Do they post pictures of their bikes? Check for overall condition - spot any bolts that look like they might of been hamfisted into place? Careless assembly?

Obviously, this doesn't apply to Ebay etc, but for buying on forums it's always served me well. Been buying & selling BMX bits online for 7 years and never had a transaction go sour.

However if you do your research and find a seller who really looks after their stuff, more often than not you can drop on lucky with a product that appears brand new at a great discount.

There are a lot of people in the bike world who have "all the gear - no idea" and seem to have larger pockets than myself - take advantage of this by snapping up their almost unridden parts in forsale sections!

Plyphon

Just sort of clocked you're wanting to buy a whole bike from the go 2nd hand - you need patience to wait for the right deals to come up - you wont stumble across every bit you need in perfect 2nd hand condition right away!

Bigchris

Plyphon wrote:

My biggest advice for buying 2nd hand on forums is research the seller.

Check their posts - do they sound like someone who's a sandwich short of a picnic?

Have they posted a video of their riding? Check to see if they like to fall off into trees, or perhaps aren't the smoothest of rider.

Do they post pictures of their bikes? Check for overall condition - spot any bolts that look like they might of been hamfisted into place? Careless assembly?

Obviously, this doesn't apply to Ebay etc, but for buying on forums it's always served me well. Been buying & selling BMX bits online for 7 years and never had a transaction go sour.

However if you do your research and find a seller who really looks after their stuff, more often than not you can drop on lucky with a product that appears brand new at a great discount.

There are a lot of people in the bike world who have "all the gear - no idea" and seem to have larger pockets than myself - take advantage of this by snapping up their almost unridden parts in forsale sections!

This guy is on it like a car bonnet.

The Rookie

I've build all my recent bikes, mostly with second hand stuff, you make a massive saving and better still if money is tight you cn buy cheap for one part, know which it is and when you 'upgrade' later you can sell the interim part on for little loss.
Example I'm just swapping out te Juicy 5's on my MTB for some Shimano, they will be XT levers, Saint front calliper (M800 same as XT) and XTR rear, all in will have cost about £85 fitted and I'll have some bits out of what I bought to sell on (Saint lever, XTR front calliper), nowhere will get close to that for SLX, let alone XT (nting that things do move on...)

For a cost balance of about £500 my bike was built as in my sig link, the XT brakes and a new Ti/CF saddle are about to go on taking the total to about £600 and a weight of circa 11.3Kg.

Myster101

I've just built up a Scott Genius with most parts being second hand. Did swap a few parts from my last bike (drive and brakes) but most was bought off here or other sites. Can be a bit of a gamble on things like forks especially but you can save a lot of money. You do have to be patient sometimes though.

mrmonkfinger

Myster101 wrote:

You do have to be patient sometimes though.

Very true.

It also pays to be a bit flexible on your choice - by which I mean not waiting for the some exact model of handmade dream bike to turn up, but to have a list of five or six different frames/bikes/etc.