Randolph Palmer With a few mountain bikers converting their motorbike more regularly than their socks and resale values diminished by using the influx of direct-income deals, it’s a awesome time to get that top-dog rig you always wanted at a first rate rate.
Where to look, what to search for and a way to near a deal on a second-hand mountain bike? We’ve put together a manual to 2d-hand mountain bike purchases (but numerous these guidelines observe to street bicycles too).
Step 1: What to search for
First things first, identify what it’s far you need from a motorbike and what kind of you have to spend. That manner you could dive into the numerous on line promoting platforms with a bit of reason – sifting through loads of capacity deals can be plenty simpler.
Define your budget, and stick to it – it may be clean to get carried away
Decide the style of motorbike or motorcycles which you’re seeking out; wheel length, suspension tour, body fabric and so forth. You’ll soon find out in case you need to rethink your expectations
Go for the latest model year bike feasible – generation together with Boost spacing, metric surprise sizing and so on is crucial for resale fee, even though slightly out-dated motorcycles will of direction come at a miles lower rate factor
You can locate advertisements on bike-precise web sites including Pinkbike, wellknown-interest sites like Gumtree, Facebook buy-and-promote pages like Bike Buy and Sell, and Facebook Marketplace.
Bike-particular web sites have large numbers of motorcycles for sale, but are from time to time a bit disorganised
eBay is of direction the traditional cross-to, but watch out for stolen bikes
Gumtree now and again hides some unbeatable offers wherein many mountain bikers might not assume to appearance
Facebook buy-and-promote pages are super, but may be quite jumbled with out a clear order to listings
Facebook Marketplace is a super device to refine your search locally and to a hard and fast price range
Many bike parks and stores promote vintage demo motorcycles, so research to see if everywhere near you is promoting
Don’t overlook your nearest fine nearby motorcycle keep. Many good shops can have a healthy base of return clients and will realize of ability right deals. Importantly, they’ll realize the bike in question’s provider history and the way hard a lifestyles it’s had.
Step 3: Identifying the high-quality advertisements
By knowing the way to become aware of a valid ad from a phoney one, and a capability hidden good deal from a no-hoper, you set yourself on course to securing a fantastic deal whilst minimising faff.
Seller records: if the vendor is new to a platform and has few pix on their profile on the likes of Pinkbike, negative engagement on Facebook, or a feedback score decrease than 10 on eBay, alarm bells need to be ringing
Always test if the advert has a cellphone wide variety. If yes, ship the seller a message or name them immediately and ask as many questions about the motorbike and its records as feasible. If they could’t solution your queries, then it might be a stolen bike or a rip-off
If there’s no smartphone wide variety, contact the seller with a prepared listing of precise questions about the motorcycle, in which it’s been ridden, whilst and in which it become bought, and so forth. If their solutions are incoherent, beware
A awful picture and/or description don’t necessarily suggest you ought to avoid. On the opposite, occasionally humans don’t have time to take good pics and write a first rate evaluation, and for this reason they’ll get little interest within the bike they’re promoting. That way you may be searching at a good deal. Get in contact immediately for further photos and with the ones organized questions
If a component on the motorcycle is damaged, that’s now not always a cause to keep away from it. Small breakages (or even a few larger ones) may be replaced at low price with 2d-hand parts, so test out the average pricing for a replacement part and weigh up your options
If you intend to shop for from afar and get the motorcycle delivered, make sure you don’t forget the value of postage and/or import taxes when looking at pricing
Step four: Making a deal
Once you’ve diagnosed the motorbike or bikes that hobby you the maximum and you’ve asked as many questions as viable, it’s time to strike a deal.
When you’ve determined at the motorcycle(s) on your price variety and asked a few questions, go in with a low provide. Chances are the seller has indexed the motorcycle at a higher price than they’re watching for
Always try and join up with the seller. You’ll have a quite right concept right away whether it’s the motorbike for you and whether or not the seller’s solutions to your continual wondering healthy up in actual lifestyles to those provided on your preceding communications
Even if you don’t intend to pick out the motorbike up personally, ask if it’s feasible to do so. If now not, the ones alarm bells have to be ringing
Step five: Checking it over
Now you’ve selected the bike or narrowed down a shortlist, it’s time to fulfill up and check it for unseen harm – be thorough and don’t be shy!
Severely worn tyres, brake pads all the way down to the metal and rubber-less grips are likely a sign which you’re looking at a heap
Put the bike upside-down and test all welds and search for excessive dents, in particular round the lowest-bracket (a place that takes a number of hits)
Check the suspension for apparent damage to the fork stanchions and surprise shaft – scratches and scrapes are horrific news for sturdiness. Ask whilst the final time it become serviced became and what changed into involved
Ensure there are not any leaks from the brakes, that they have interaction well and don’t stick – if they do it’s a sign of poor-to-zero upkeep. Check the rotors for scoring – a sign that the pads are for the bin and that the bike probably hasn’t been that properly taken care of
Check the wheel spoke tensions – in the event that they seem vastly unbalanced then it’s a signal that the seller may have tried to cover up wheels which are on their closing legs
Even if you aren’t there to check the motorbike in man or woman, you may nonetheless ask for snap shots of those key regions
Step 6: The buy
Paying must be the smooth (if slightly painful) bit, but there are ways to guard yourself and to help make certain the most secure viable transaction.
To reiterate, constantly attempt to meet up to seal the deal. If you without a doubt can’t, then cross in with as many extra questions as possible and ask for more pix. Get at the telephone to the seller and ask but more questions before intending with price
Avoid any non-blanketed bank transfers until you already have the motorbike to your hands (you’re with the vendor). The likes of PayPal provide properly purchaser protection for on-line transactions
If you meet in person and also you’re satisfied with the motorbike and consider the seller, then there’s little reason now not to make payment instant
If you haven’t met up and also you paid online, what happens if your motorbike in no way suggests up? As lengthy as you’ve paid through a at ease carrier then you could increase a dispute against the vendor. Make sure you keep all correspondences and provide the entirety – emails, textual content messages, notes from cellphone calls – to the charge platform (i.E. PayPal) when you accomplish that. It can be a prolonged procedure to get your cash again, but you’ll be happy you didn’t transfer immediately out of your financial institution account
Now experience away into the sunset in your perfectly functioning, all-making a song, all-dancing, new (kind of) steed.
A huge thanks you to Peter Ballin for his assist with this option. Check out his books on mountain bike, ski and snowboard preservation here.
