jim_de_hunter

I'm 53 years old with a lot of mechanical experience and getting ready to pull the trigger on my first road bike after spending this summer riding an old department store MTB that I turned into a hybrid. I haven't decided on a new bike or used; that decision will make itself when the time comes. However, IF I were to purchase a used bike, what are the common problems that occur on frames?

banerjek

Most likely problem is buying one that's the wrong size. If you're mechanically inclined, you'll be able to figure out everything else out.

Homebrew01

If you look at older steel frames, check for frame damage from head-on crashes. The fork may be bent back, and/or the frame's headtube can be bent back.
A bent fork can sometimes be seen by sighting down the head tube to the forkblades. It can also show itself at the lower headset cups, with a bit of a gap at the front of the frame, compared to the back.
A bent frame can often be seen as wrinkles in the underside of the top tube and downtube where they meet the headtube.

Dave Mayer

Frame? This should be among the least of your concerns. You still have to check for wrinkles, cracks, alignment problems. A lot of bikes show up on Craigslist because the fork was recalled or the afternath of the owner forgetting it was on the roof rack.

Here are my used bike observations so far in July:

• Every bike needed a new chain. Most needed new rings and a new cassette/freewheel because the chain had been left until it was absurdly worn out.
• Owner wants to upgrade the brakeset? Due to corrosion, it took 3 days to get the rear caliper out, which ultimately involved a blowtorth and drilling
• Quill stem stuck in frame. Going on 7 days... Lots of noxious chemicals and brute force. Won't budge. We will likely cut the stem and go with a whole new fork.
• Bearings. If 1% of the cycling population does any preventitive maintenance on their hubs, headset and BB, I'd be surprised. Every older wheel that comes in is filled with metal filings and vile red paste where the bearings and grease used to be.
• Wheels are always somewhat wonky and need truing. Many have irrepairable hops from impacts.
• Stuck seatpost. Took 3 strong guys to pull this out. It was close.

Buyer beware.

dalava

Depending on the price range you are looking at...

dalava

I would be very hesitant to go Craiglist if you are looking for entry level bike (kind of counterintuitive) because that's what everyone is looking for on CL.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a high-end, CL is actually pretty good place for find bargains. Most of the owners of these high-end bikes normally took care of their bikes (unless they are a racer, in which case, you need to check to ensure it's not crashed or abused). The sweet spot is around $2k, IMO, which can get you a couple of years old current model bike with limited mile that would've cost $4-5k when new, and you would have good choices.

jim_de_hunter

This was the bike that sparked my interested. It could be a great deal or a pig in a poke. And I've been poked enough lately.

[h=2]2009 Felt Z45 Carbon Road Bike - $1500[/h]This bike has had exceptional care and upgrades! Some features include:

- 56cm, full carbon frame
- Sram Red shifters, derailleurs, brakes, and crankset
- Fulcrum Racing 5 Evolution wheels
- 44cm full carbon bars (brand unknown)
- 80mm Salsa stem
- Specialized full carbon seat post
- Bontrager Race Lite 700x25 tires

Professionally boxed for shipping. Please contact me with interest and offer.

seymour1910

IMO if you can afford $1500 or more don't go used. I will admit that I don't see all these nightmares others are talking about with CL bikes either. My first bike was a CL purchase and all it needed was a tune-up. For $1500 you could get a CAAD10 or other nice aluminum frame from a bike shop. If you want carbon and want to save money you will have to either go used, search really hard at shops with last year close out models or go online. Just like buying from CL, if you buy online you definately need to know about sizing. If you prefer carbon and want to stay close to the $1500 mark, you can try this.

Colnago Ace 105 Road Bike | Italian | Carbon | 105 | Colnago

or this

Kestrel RT1000 Shimano 105 Bike 2014 | Carbon | EMS Pro Fork

Homebrew01

Most CL bikes I see look functional, but range from overpriced to very overpriced.

If you want a modern used bike, try Ebay, with the option to only select nearby zipcodes, so you can take a look at it first, and avoid shipping costs.

el_diabl0

My CL purchases have been great with 1 exception, where a guy scheduled me and 2 other people to come buy his bike at the same time in the hopes of starting a bidding war. I just told him to get lost and I left. Here's what I've purchased on CL over the past few years:

2010 Giant Rapid (excellent condition) for $300 (in 2012)
2010 Giant Defy (very good condition) for $400 (in 2012)
2011 Giant Avail (like new, for my GF) for $400 (in 2012)
2009 Fuji Newest 1.0 (excellent condition) for $200 (in 2012)
2010 Trek 7.2 FX (very good condition) for $100 (in 2013)

I sold the Defy for $550 a week later, and had intended to sell the 7.2 but have kept it as a spare for guests or people I'm trying to get hooked on biking.

It's been my experience that CL prices will vary widely because people have no idea of the value of their stuff, and don't do much research. This is especially true with electronics, which I buy lots of from CL, and re-sell on eBay for profit.

dalava

This is not a deal. From what I can see, this bike sold for less than $2k when new.

Also, given the details, this bike is probably built from the frameset with mixed set of parts-bin component. The wheelset is mediocre.

woodcraft

The frame on that bike may be fine, but, as dalave points out, appears to assembled with somewhat mixed parts.

In my area, mid to high end bikes are readily available on craigslist. A good profile is the 'unused exercise equipment'- a nice bike bought by someone thinking that they would get into it, & sold two years later.

I recently bought a craigslist bike for my gf (newbie but athletic). Specialized Roubaix w/ Sram Apex components, bought in 2012 from LBS for $2300+, I paid $1200. I doubt it had 100 miles on it, & included the owners manual and sales receipt.

With many modern bikes available, anything vintage may not be the best choice for a first bike, as there will be more issues of gearing, upgradability, and maintenance.

Try to look at & test ride multiple bikes before settling on one.

Buying used can get you a bike for about 1/2 the cost of new, at the cost of warrantee, and the hopefully expert advice of a shop. Don't settle for a transaction with someone that you don't trust for get a bad feeling from- not worth the money.

Dave Mayer

Here:

Save up to 60% off new Road Bikes - Gravity Comp20 | Save up to 60% off new road bikes

New. Alu road frame with carbon fork. Mostly Shimano 105 components. $800. We've brought in 2 bikes from Bikesdirect in the last month. Both were unridable out of the box, and needed 30 minutes of simple tuning, but ultimately proved to be outstanding value.

I have to vent some more: the last bike I worked on was a 15-year old KHS roadie. Every bolt and nut on the machine was corroded hard into place. The derailleur barrel adjuster was seized up solid. So were the downtube-mounted cable tension adjusters. And both cable mounting bolts on the derailleurs! So it was not possible to do any kind of indexing adjustments.

Stem bolts were locked up, as were the brake mounting bolts, rack mounting bolts etc. Every #@%&!! piece of fastening hardware had to be destructively removed and replaced. The chainrings were pooched, so this required drilling every chainring bolt out and replacing. On a triple.

On a bike I worked on in May, one of the pedals was seized up in a $500 Campagnolo carbon crankarm. I assume the owner was playing saltwater polo on this bike. Despite the destruction of the pedal, and then massive amounts of force/impact, this thing never came loose.

So if you are buying used, know exactly what you are getting into, or brace yourself for a world of frustration.

jim_de_hunter

Yeah, I'm not looking for a project bike. I'm hoping to find a CL nugget. That was the purpose for starting this thread. I want to know what frame damage to look for to keep from buying someone's wrecked, newer bike. I know what wear and tear look, sound and feel like so I'm not worried about those. If a CL bike doesn't come up, BikesDirect is looking pretty good.

scplus5

I sure would not hesitate to buy off cl. My bike came from there and was a steal. 09 caad9 w/ full campy and I paid $800 for it. The bike is pristine. I also recently found a pretty good deal on a barely used bike for my wife and got an even better deal on some extras the guy was looking to get rid of. His wife nixed some parts of the deal or I would have walked out of there with an almost new bike and armloads of gear for a great price.

nuclearturnip

I've been looking at a lot of these lately, and they seem to be the most overpriced. I.e. 'Like New' 2011 Fuji Roubaix 2.0 asking $1000. Original 'MSRP' $1200. Retail 2014 model sells for $900.

Do you guys use or have success with the bicycle blue book? For example they list a like new 2011 Roubaix at ~$530.

Axiom

Spot on. It's usually the chain, cassette, cables, derailleur adjustment, brake pads, tires, and sometimes bar tape. Corrosion has caused several bikes brake calipers to rust on. If you ask if something has been replaced and they don't know, chances are nothing has. You're looking at $100 minimum to get certain bikes back in tip-top shape, so make sure the price reflects that.

I just purchased a Giant Rapid that was terribly mistreated by the previous owners. Salt water corroded the FD, all the cables, lots of rusted nuts and bolts, worn consumables etc. Once I and the LBS finish with repairs (I let them service the drivetrain) it will be like-new again.