Buying a Used Bike

Before I address topics related to buying a used bike I think that it would be helpful to answer the question of whether or not you SHOULD buy a used bike.  Buying a used bike isn't rocket scientist but as with all pre-owned merchandise an extra measure of caution and thought is in order.

In my opinion, there are four things to consider to determine if buying used is the right path for you.

• Are you willing to do some research?
  
  I frequently get questions from friends and relatives who ask me general questions like "Is this a good bike?" or "Is this a good deal?"  Almost always these are questions where the only real answer I can provide is "Well, it depends."  Not that I'm not willing to have a conversation but there are several things like age, condition, size, etc. that need to be assessed before answering those questions.  These are all variables that I don't know and, as a buyer, you need to be willing to research.  The internet is your friend and you can usually find a lot of information about most makes and models.
  
  
• Are you willing to look and be patient?
  
  Depending on the market you live in, it may take some time for the "right" bike to come along and so you need to be willing to scrounge the typical used postings and have the patience to walk away from deals that are not right for you.  Larger population centers are going to have a wider array of used bikes to choose from but many smaller markets have quite limited selections.
  
  
• Do you understand proper bike sizing?
  
  I'm not going to go into the method(s) for determining size but I will say that getting the correct size is vital.  Do your research on this topic and know what size you need.  Go watch the YouTube videos.
  
  
• Can you recognize problems and make repairs?
  
  You DO NOT need to be a master bicycle mechanic to feel comfortable buying a used bike.  However, if the thought of changing a flat tire or changing the hand grips gives you an anxiety attack, you should think twice about buying used.  The majority of bikes that I have bought used have required at least some amount of maintenance to make them safe and rideable.  There are some used bikes that are rideable AS-IS but just like used cars, used bikes are more than likely to have some imperfections.  Some common consumables are tires/tubes, brake pads, saddle and hand grips.  These are parts that are expected to wear out over time and may need to be replaced.  These are also items that can add up in cost.  New tires can easily cost over $50.  It is very possible that a used bike make require a tune up from the local bike shop before it is ready to ride.
  

I don't want to scare anyone away from buying a used bike because there are so many good bikes out there just sitting around unused.  However, whenever I review the questions listed above with others, they will frequently think twice about what they are doing.

Finding Your Bicycle - Thoughts on Price/Cost

There are many things to consider when purchasing a bicycle but before we talk about any other details I would like to get the topic of price/cost out of the way.  This is one of the topics that comes up with people I know quite a bit.  If you've recently visited your local bike shop and taken a look at their inventory, you may have experienced a little bit of sticker shock.  The price of bicycles runs anywhere from a few hundred dollars all the way up to several thousand dollars.  Bikes are not cheap, especially good bikes.

There are many variables that go into the price of a bicycle, just like any consumer product.  I can't cover all of those variables but I will illustrate how I think of the cost of a bicycle.

When I was a kid in elementary school in the late 1970s I dreamed of a Schwinn Scrambler.  The Scrambler was a basic single-speed BMX bike that was appropriate for kids.  This bike was available at the local Schwinn retailer for $200.  I'll never forget that.  At the time $200 was a sum of money that was out of reach for my family.  It was never going to happen.

So just for fun, let's translate 1978 dollars into 2021 dollars.  To do this we can use the online resource Inflation Tool**.  This tool will apply previously calculated and researched inflation rates so that a comparison between 2 different points in time can be made.  In this case, $200 in 1978 translates into about $840.  WOW!!!

I realize that this is not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison because there are other variables in play that make the cost of a kid's bike significantly less than $840 such as offshore manufacturing, cost of materials, etc.  However, I think that this does illustrate the point that if anything, the real cost of some bicycles has actually gone down.

Let's consider the cost of an adult bicycle from the same era.  I own a 1977/78 Raleigh Competition GS.  This would have been considered a good quality bicycle for recreational purposes.  Not a fancy racing bike like a competitive cyclist would have used but definitely a reasonably nice bicycle.  I believe that the original price of this bicycle was about $350.  This translates into $1,470 in 2021 dollars.

So when you visit your local bike shop and see the that the prices start at about $500, just realize that these prices might not be as inflated as they seem.

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**NOTE:  I don't know how inflation rates are calculated and I'm trusting that this website has done enough research so that their estimates are reasonable.

In the Beginning...

Just like most of you, I learned how to ride a bike when I was a kid, maybe 5 years old but I didn't take up cycling as a hobby until I was about 40.  I had taken up running/jogging when I was about 30 because I had become somewhat overweight and out of shape and needed to start exercising.  I later added some weight training and the got into cycling to add some variety.

Over the past several years I've learned quite a bit about cycling and bicycles from a lot of different people and sources and so I thought that I would try to impart some of what I've learned here.  With some frequency I get questions like "What bike should I buy?" or "Is this a good deal for a bike?"  Most of the time my answers are some flavor of "It depends...".  So I'm hoping to create a source for beginners to start out.

Over the last several years, maybe even decades, it seems that bicycles and cycling have become more complex, almost to the point that they may not seem all that fun.  I don't think that this needs to be the case so I'll try to decode and demystify some things.  I'm not going to tell you what to do or what to buy but I think that I can provide some opinions that might help you make your own decisions.  Please realize that the articles I provide here are going to be heavily subjective to my opinions and that there are going to be a lot of cyclists who disagree with me on many things.  My opinion is not any more valuable than that of others so I would encourage you to find those other points of view and come to your own conclusions.

So Let's go...