Used or new? Budget road bike

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Used or new? Budget road bike
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flag playererf
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 8:46 Quote
Hi,
I am riding in the PMC this summer and I need a road bike, but I really don't want to spend more than $650 on it. I can spend more if it is really worth it. Should I look at a new bike or just a used one? Any tips for buying? This will be my first road bike.
Thanks!
flag road-psyclist
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 18:42 Quote
Go used! You get so much more for your money, mainly a better specification.

Tips on looking over a bike can be read here.

I'll invite some Pinkbike friends to the thread too. Salute
flag never-stop
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 18:59 Quote
well it depends, on like if you can actually go and see the bike you get so you can test ride it and see it all works, then sometimes buying online you can tell the seller is legit and they actually say what's wrong with it before you pay for it, but sometimes they don't and you get scammed a bit, happened to me twice

if you don't have much exsperience with buying second hand get a new one, then you know everything works

for $650 you should be able to get something new thats good
flag road-psyclist
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 19:02 Quote
Always go through eBay & pay by paypal (not gift either! even if the seller requests, you won't get your money back) if you're buying second hand, I can't stress it enough, it is the only way of getting your money back if there is something wrong with the bike.
flag never-stop
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 19:11 Quote
theres more sites to use than ebay, personally i don't like ebay, i like it on here where i can chat to the seller before i buy, can usually tell what they are like from there profile and how they talk to you, if there a scammer i mean
flag road-psyclist
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 19:18 Quote
Paypal can cover you to a certain extent so always use it when buying. But eBay is the only site I know of which will cover you with Paypal as back up if you're scammed.
eBay is great for bargains too, it just depends on what is around. Nothing wrong with Pinkbike but you must be vigilant with any seller when looking, this thread says everything about how popular scams are on the site.
flag playererf
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 19:31 Quote
Thanks for all the input! Fab
I have bought many used mountain bikes before, all on Craigslist, so I have a decent amount of experience with that.
The real issue is that this is my first road bike, so I am not sure what to look for or when I am getting a good deal. Does a Cannondale R1000 for $750 sound good?
flag never-stop
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 19:36 Quote
i'm not an expert with road bikes, i know enough to get by sort of thing but tis all

but yeah i don't think you could go wrong with those cannondales

$650 is about £400, personally i would be happy to buy a new bike with that, but if i could afford something for £500 i would do that instead
flag never-stop
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 20:37 Quote
i thought you said $650! that first one is $1,199.98
flag never-stop
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 20:40 Quote
both the second ones look fine to me, i would just save the extra money and get the cheaper Diamondback Podium 2
flag playererf
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 20:41 Quote
$650 would be ideal, but if it is a great deal I can save up a little and spend more. $1200 is actually out of my price range, so I'll only go there if I hear great things about that bike. Also if it has a high resale value I can spend more.

Another option, the Gavin Linea 2009 (full carbon):
http://www.icatchdeals.com/gavin-linea-full-carbon-road-racing-bike.html
flag never-stop
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 20:50 Quote
well there's no point spending more than you need to, yeah a more expensive bike may have a better spec, but the cheaper one would probably do the job just fine

for example, i ride a heavy steel 70s peugeot with 6 gears and when i did a 60 mile ride a few weeks ago i was keeping up with people on carbon bikes with 20 gears
flag singlespeedtoday
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 21:28 Quote
If you can find a used Surly Pacer I'd recommend that. If you want something more race oriented it's better to save up and get something in the $1200 range.
flag playererf
Posted: May 27, 2011 at 22:02 Quote
never-stop wrote:
well there's no point spending more than you need to, yeah a more expensive bike may have a better spec, but the cheaper one would probably do the job just fine

for example, i ride a heavy steel 70s peugeot with 6 gears and when i did a 60 mile ride a few weeks ago i was keeping up with people on carbon bikes with 20 gears

That's actually a very good point. I would probably be just as happy on a used, $600 bike and can use the rest to build up a cheap trail bike lol
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