Buying a second hand bike

juliebunny

Hello, I'm going to look at a Trek 200 mountain bike tomorrow, it's 3rd hand, not sure how old, it belongs to a friend - she's been offered £80 for it by a local shop, so that would be my price too, which seems fair.

Anything in particular I should be looking at? My current (first) bike came from Decathlon (£100) and has never been great, breaks stick, gears rattle etc, so I'm keen to get a better bike this time but can't afford a snazzy new one....

Gordonkey

Hi juliebunny, if the shop offers £80 and you can buy it for that then it seems a good price.

Try it out first. They get a good writeup and it should be boatloads better than any new £100 bike.

It should be lighter need less adjustment & be more reliable. I'm always fixing the bloke at works' cheapo bike wish he'd have bought second hand.

Resale value of cheapo bikes is low too. The trek will drop much slower in value than what you've got. Good luck.

juliebunny

Thanks GordonKey - I just got home with my 'new' bike! :j

windyng

Just double check the gears to see how 'well-used' they are. The gears should still be a semi-circle shape rather than an elongated semi-circle. This explanation isn't too clear but it is important to look at that.