Best Place for 2nd hand bikes

[Kinky]

Peeps, grateful for any advice ....

Looking at taking up cycling; nothing too serious, maybe just a few hours at weekends.

Currently have a bike, which I've not used in years. I'm not sure if it's a mountain bike, or hybrid, but I figure that a proper road bike would be better.

My reasoning is to fork out the absolute minimum now, and then if I take to it and start to get a bit more serious about it, then buy a more serious version.

In terms of maintenance etc, I'm more than handy, as I used to spend a lot of time with bikes many many moons ago. So quite happy to take on a knackered old thing, as long as the frame is straight and true.

On a side-note, any help on numpty cycling guides/clubs more than welcome, around the Berkshire/Surrey border (Ascot).

[LaurasOtherHalf]

PH classifieds?

[Kinky]

Indeed.

But there's only 4; the nearest of which must probably be over a 100 miles away. Not worth it for a knackered old thing

[okgo]

Bikeradar has a great classified section on the forums.

[Kinky]

okgo said:

Bikeradar

Ohhh - nice one. They even have a numpty section

[Kinky]

okgo said:

Bikeradar

Hummm ..... registered as a new user, all OK and received validation email, which I click on to validate my account and it takes to an 500 error page. Does the same if I ask to reset my password

[Kinky]

I see zero ads in the classifieds

[MadDad]

I would say your best bet would be eBay or to surf the cycling forums on the web. Lots of people got 'swept away' in the 'cool Britania' cycling thing last year, bought a bike - rode it once or twice before figuring out it was a bit like hard work and they are now appearing on fleabay for silly money. I would recommend looking for an Alu frame (not bargain carbon/second hand) and try to get a Shimano 105 groupset if possible.

Not sure on your budget but assumed around £350-400ish which would get you something like these;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Felt-F85-2013-Black-56cm...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-Alez-Sport-2...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Giant-Defy-5-road-bike-i...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Canondale-Synapse-105-/2...

These are just a couple of examples after no more than 5 mins surfing eBay, with a little more research, an idea of budget, frame size and type of frame (relaxed v aggressive) I am sure there are a number of bargains waiting to be snapped up!

As for riding, I am just down the road from you (Binfield) and ride a reasonable amount, I would be more than happy to meet up for a spin. If you are looking for a relaxed group ride then there is a ride that leaves from the cycle shop 7Hundred in Windsor on Saturday mornings at 9. It is specifically aimed at people who are new to riding, or getting back into it. The rides tend to be quite relaxed and focus on getting people confident in riding in close proximity to others, and on the safety, road skills and etiquette aspects of group riding etc - without being too formal. Rides are usually circa 30 miles at a pace of 14-16 mph-ish - it is an open group (not a club), so all you need to do is turn up, introduce yourself and ride!

Edited by MadDad on Tuesday 31st December 01:05

[Kinky]

MadDad said:

... lots of stuff ...

Next time I see you waiting at the barrier at Sunningdale, I'll tail you

All of that info is AWESOME. Thank you so so much - especially the Windsor cycling thing. Will certainly do that.

The only thing that choked me was the budget .... I was thinking about a quarter of that (to start with)

And it's exactly the same reason as you say, with everyone getting carried away with all the Olympics thing and not using it, is the reason for me not investing in it to start with.

[MadDad]

Kinky said:

MadDad said:

... lots of stuff ...

Next time I see you waiting at the barrier at Sunningdale, I'll tail you

All of that info is AWESOME. Thank you so so much - especially the Windsor cycling thing. Will certainly do that.

The only thing that choked me was the budget .... I was thinking about a quarter of that (to start with)

And it's exactly the same reason as you say, with everyone getting carried away with all the Olympics thing and not using it, is the reason for me not investing in it to start with.

I knew I recognised the name - thought that it was a VW meet but had been racking my brain with no results, blamed it on the crimbo booze!!!

There are bikes around for a smaller budget, generally speaking they were a bit cheaper to start with but if you are not in a rush and keep your eye's open I am almost certain that something will appear on fleabay! Good luck and let me know when you fancy a spin!

[anonymous-user]

Local paper ads can be a good place too. I purchased my last 'station' bike via a Maidenhead advertiser ad for under £100, similar on the bay of E were nearer £300. Lots would rather list locally for free than faff about & get hit with 10% fees /scammers etc

[Kinky]

It was one of the VW meets to start with. I can't recall which one, as I've only missed 2 - the very 1st one, December 2001 (only missed it because I was off collecting my newly acquired TiV) and the 2nd last one I think

[Deerfoot]

Kinky said:

I see zero ads in the classifieds

Same here. There's a classified section that is apparently empty.

Back to the bay I guess.

[47p2]

Kinky said:

I see zero ads in the classifieds

Linky

[Deerfoot]

47p2 said:

Kinky said:

I see zero ads in the classifieds

Linky

I think he was on about the Bike Radar classifieds.

[47p2]

Deerfoot said:

I think he was on about the Bike Radar classifieds.

£300 on Bukeradar



£3000 on Bikeradar



£720 retro lovelyness on Bikeradar



£600 on Bikeradar




These are only a few from the many on Bikeradar

[AndyDRZ]

To see the BikeRader classifieds, you have to register and login to the forum first.

As soon as you do, you'll see loads of listing.

[Kinky]

AndyDRZ said:

To see the BikeRader classifieds, you have to register and login to the forum first.

As soon as you do, you'll see loads of listing.

I did that and got the email to validate my registration, but when I click on the link it takes me an error 500 page

So I'm stuck in limbo and can't do anything very sadly.

[bbc]

Pinkbike is also worth a look:
http://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/list/?region=5&c...

[Kinky]

Major fail

I try to login and it tells me that The specified username is currently inactive. If you have problems activating your account, please contact a board administrator.

I can't contact a board admin, because I can't login

I've turned pop-up and ad blockers off (in case they were causing a problem), but still nothing.