First bike...2nd hand?

arranj

Hi,

I currently have a Trek 4900 Disc mountain bike from circa 2003 I believe. I bought it new and never rode it really, it had probably seen less than 20 miles of cycling.

I've recently started to cycle it to work, but it's a lot of work with the suspension forks and although I've put 26x1.75 tyres on it with low rolling resistance it's still a pain.

I'm looking at getting a second hand road bike, currently looking at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111110306371? ... 1426.l2649

Would you say this would be a good beginner bike? As I don't want to pay more than £200 if I find I don't like road bikes...?!

Cheers for any advice
Arran

estampida

lock the fork out and fit slicks - net cost £50 max

summer is the wrong time to start looking at buying bikes, wait till autumn and the sales start

g00se

Looks like a 2008 model or older. It was £300 5 years ago - so I wouldn't pay more than 100 quid for it and it may need a bit of work. Best hit some shops and try some out - then you'll get a feel for what you like - the shops may know some second hand bargains.

arranj

How on earth would I go about locking the forks?!

So anything over £100 you'd say not worth it? It says it's not been used very much, so I would hope it wouldn't necessarily need loads of work.

I would say that I am fairly competent with working on bikes, as I used to be a BMX junkie years ago and constantly rebuilding them, however never really touched any mountain/Road bike maintenance - Who knows how thing has changed over the years!!

arranj

Also, even if I did wait until the autumn, I'm unlikely to get a reasonable starter bike for £200 that's not second hand?

g00se

No, I would say spending more that £100 on a five year old bike that was worth £300 new is a risk. But as you sound competent with a bike toolkit and know about bikes - it's going to be easier.

I wouldn't wait. For your budget, get a second hand bike and if you enjoy it, sell it after the summer for similar to what you paid for it and then hit the sales for something more expensive.

arranj

Cheers for the advice. If it goes higher than it currently is then I will probably back out of the auction then.

I did see on onceridden there is a trek 1.1 @ £240, looks to be a few years old as well and a little over my budget, but potentially could be worth it.

Going the second hand route, are there any bikes to truly avoid and any that would be definitely worth getting and worth the investment?

g00se

Hard to say. For £100 to £200 you're not going to find a real steal on something posh - certainly not on ebay

Anything prestigious at that price is probably going to be old and have downtube shifter and the like.

Stick with known brands not much more than 4-5 years old. b'twin Tribans are decent budget bikes now so a used one may be good (though it may hold it's price a bit). Maybe a request on the classifies here may help - you tend to get better prices than ebay and less risk of a dog?

unixnerd

Get a road bike, but be sure it'll take mudguards and a rack if it's for commuting. Used bikes are great value if you know what you're looking for. Something like a Cannondale Synapse or Specialized Secteur maybe?

A lot of bike shops will have demo bikes you can try, ask around. You'll find it a bit more nervous than a mountain bike to begin with but stick with it.

arranj

It's not really a massive commute, maybe 4 miles each way, and I change once at work and don't need to take an awful lot of gear with me so just use a bag rather than strapping everything to a bike.

My colleague has a Allez 56cm that he rarely uses so I could give that a go, however at just under 6ft with 32 inside leg I think I'll be a bit big for it?

I've had a look at the classifieds and am really not sure what I am looking for on there, and most people are selling decent gear.
There is a very beautiful 2010 Bianchi Via Nirone 57cm on there but out of my price range still, nothing short of £400 I can see.
Is there a wanted forum that I could maybe post on?

Cheers.

g00se

Yup - in the classifieds boards section too.

arranj

I don't seem to be able to start a thread there, this makes me sad.

g00se

Go to 'user control panel' - 'user groups' tab, 'edit memberships' sub-tab - and see if it'll let you join the 'classifieds' group.

arranj

Good man! I will set up a post now!

arranj

On the subject, whilst looking at used, CLAUD BUTLER CRITERIUM 2012 - £280, would that be a good beginner purchase?

I just want to get out and ride!!

g00se

No - crap gear selectors stuck next to the stem.

defycomp2

arranj wrote:

My colleague has a Allez 56cm that he rarely uses so I could give that a go, however at just under 6ft with 32 inside leg I think I'll be a bit big for it?
.

If anything this bike might be a bit big for you. You might be better off with a 54cm frame, but try it for size and fit.

g00se

DefyComp2 wrote:

arranj wrote:

My colleague has a Allez 56cm that he rarely uses so I could give that a go, however at just under 6ft with 32 inside leg I think I'll be a bit big for it?
.

If anything this bike might be a bit big for you. You might be better off with a 54cm frame, but try it for size and fit.

I would think an Specialized 54cm would be about 5'8" to 5'10" - but I agree - a 56cm sounds fine for someone 5'11"-ish.