How do you know if a bike is overpriced?

[Tisy]

I am looking for something semi decent for 80% road and 20% dirt/rough path through the woods just for going to the shops 3 miles away rather than using the car. I want a more 'sit up' ride so MTB style straight bar or the ones slightly swept back, ie. don't want drop bars.

I've been looking on the ad sites for second hand Specialized, Giant type stuff as they generally seem to have a decent rep at the 'leisure' end of the market from what I can see. The problem I'm having is as a non-bikey, how do I tell what is about the right price and what is overpriced? There seem to be about 3000 different models which all look the same, spanning about 20 years and the prices go from £50 to thousands. The one I'm looking at is a Giant Escape 1 XL for £160 with rim brakes, looks to be clean and in good condition, looked after and has rack, full mudguards and a few other accessories but looking at the completed listings for the same model they seem to sell for between £80 to £350 secondhand and other than colour differences I'm not seeing any visual differences to understand why there is such a massive range. Pretty much none of the ads list the age or year so how does one tell if £160 is cheap or expensive here? :shrug:

[_Rodders_]

I start by working out the Salary Sacrifice price. So a 1 day old bike should be at least 50% RRP.

Then work down from there.

There's probably exceptions if there's limited availability and some people selling obviously want to make profit on their SS scheme.

[frisbee]

It's all about condition with secondhand bikes. At the lower end if you have to replace the chain, cassette, crankset etc. it can be more than the price of the bike.

[Smitters]

Ebay is good for this. If you're not in a huge rush, watch some bikes you judge likely options and see what they go for. At the lower end of the market, chances are the sellers have no idea either.

[dontlookdown]

If you don't mind riding completely uncool old bikes there are great bargains to be had on eBay/gumtree for those with a bit of patience.

I recently picked up a 20yr old Raleigh hybrid which was effectively unused, bloke's wife rode it a couple of times and then it just sat in the garage gathering dust. £50. New brake blocks, tyres and some oil on the chain and away you go. Zero cred but entirely practical no worries transport. It rides beautifully, no wear or slop or squeaks at all.

I do own and appreciate 'nice' bikes but sometimes what you want is a leave it anywhere tool that only owes you £100 even when fully recommissioned.

The biggest problem can be getting sellers to respond, I generally got a hit rate of about one bite for every 4 enquiries. I guess people put the ad up but then CBA to actually engage with buyers for what will only be a few quid in the end anyway.

[dhutch]

frisbee said:

It's all about condition with secondhand bikes. At the lower end if you have to replace the chain, cassette, crankset etc. it can be more than the price of the bike.

This. If its worn out, it can cost a lot to put right. If its low hours mint condition, winner.

Issue then is that assessing thus remotely is hard. Even in person, you slightly have to know what you're looking at, tooth profile, etc. Unless you take a chain wear gauge with you!

Pinkbike is good for higher end bikes but might start above your budget.

[Tisy]

Thanks all. Yes, I comcur that getting sellers to respond is indeed a problem. Seemingly, asking what frame size it is because they haven't listed it is verboten. I'm not sure what else to check after making sure wheels are straight, spokes are good, brakes work, gears work, cog teeth are straight and pedals go round without any suspicious clunking/jumping/squeaking.

[dhutch]

Tisy said:

I'm not sure what else to check after making sure wheels are straight, spokes are good, brakes work, gears work, cog teeth are straight and pedals go round without any suspicious clunking/jumping/squeaking.

Chain and chainring wear. Visual inspection of the teeth, which should be well formed and flat topped, like when new, but will wear to have much narrower pointier teeth, with a bit of a shark fin shape. As said, a full chainset (chain rings, cassette, chain, derailleur sprokets is real money).

Also check the play in the bearing, bottom bracket (crank bearing) in particular. But also the headset (front bearing) and wheel bearing. Most are now sealed for life units, and again, not super cheap.

[mattvanders]

I would say with the cost difference of a second hand bike compared to brand new isn’t always worth it. You get a warranty if something goes wrong, parts aren’t going to be part warm & need adjusting/setting up or worse still need replacing shortly after purchasing.

There are bargain to be had but only if you have the knowledge to carry out maintenance yourself to keep the price down. If you do go second hand I wouldn’t go for anything more than 3 years old unless seller has put on new chain and cassettes as a minimum

[dhutch]

Yeah. You're looking for bikes people have bought and not used. Bike that are still basically factory fresh, been out less than ten time, but at a good discount.

Well used second hand bikes are an expensive way to get a nice bike.

Age is broadly speaking irrelevant. Its all about condition/use.

[Steve_H80]

As you say you don't know bikes try one of those charities that rebuild older bikes. For a couple of hundred quid you should find something suitable that's at least functional and safe.
If you decide you enjoy cycling then things can get expensive.

[Trevor555]

dhutch said:

Yeah. You're looking for bikes people have bought and not used. Bike that are still basically factory fresh, been out less than ten time, but at a good discount.

These come up on Ebay, "only ridden a couple of times"

New bikes nowadays are expensive, and cheap feeling, unless you spend good money.

My most recent purchase a Scott Sub 20 that's probably about 15 years old, has Shimano Deore kit, it's like new, and was £150

[dhutch]

Trevor555 said:

New bikes nowadays are expensive, and cheap feeling, unless you spend good money.

This is called inflation, and wage stagnation.

[dhutch]

Trevor555 said:

These come up on Ebay, "only ridden a couple of times"

My most recent purchase a Scott Sub 20 that's probably about 15 years old, has Shimano Deore kit, it's like new, and was £150

But yeah. Deprecation on bikes leaving the showroom is worst than a new car and this can lead to bargins.