Originally Posted by
Mother_of_birds
When buying a used bike, you're bound to have to compromise somewhere, so I'm just wondering, what is your personal hierarchy of points when buying used e.g. condition, correct size, colour, components etc... what are you willing to compromise and what is a deal breaker? For example, if you found a bike in mint condition, good price, desired components but it was perhaps a size too big, would the sizing matter more to you than everything else? Or you found one the right size and colour but was SRAM and you're loyal to Shimano XD
It depends on your intentions for the bike - whether you're looking for a "turnkey" ride or as the start of a project. I honestly can't think of a used bike that (for me) wouldn't be the start of a tweaking/upgrading exercise, so I would generally buy for the frame, with the expectation of swapping out many of the components. On that basis, frame size and condition - everything else is negotiable