Texas - Where do you go to get a used road bike?

i live in houston, but would be willing to travel as far as austin to find a good LBS that has some used bikes for sale. i've been lurking on CL for months and see maybe 1 bike per month that's worth an email, but haven't found the right size/price yet. my target price range is 400-500 and i'm looking for a 58cm bike.

any suggestions on where to start would be welcome.

thanks
md

58's a popular size, too popular which is the problem. I know what you meen about CL, the pickin' are slim in some areas, bikes vanish once up. e-bay is a good choice.
Folks whine about shipping being fifty to ninety dollars but what can one do, it costs closer to ninety to ship to a zone 3. Frt. chgs. are artificially low quite often.

e-bay, especially of late is structured to place the buyer in a possition of strength. It always tended to be that way but moreso the past year, you've little to worry about. I've gotten a couple few bikes that've been tossed in the box like junk. More often than not (95%) bikes arrive well packed, as described, ready for minor assembly. The poor ones I've won were from goofy sellers, cheap or the odd creap.

Just recently I took to calling the odd bike shop and was surprised to find-out that SOME had used. This.. after a neighbor told me he'd bought one from a local.
That same shop had denied me two years ago. Search bike brands then find out through the sites where there dealers are local to you (or not) then simply obtain phone numbers of all the shops. Yellow pages aren't nearly as effective, even those on the net. Go store by store as directed by the bike Co.s. It's how I've found new ones even two hundred miles away. Finding bikes DOES depend on region.

check out enthusiast forums for sale ads. mountain bikers often place a lower value on their road bikes, or have older ones that they only ride when they can't get on the trails.

Call Bike Barn.

The store by Rice has used bikes, I think.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/bik/1454388552.html

I have bought bikes off CL. There are lots of local bikes for sale. You want a popular size and with a $400-500 price you have to jump on any possible candidates. CL in both DFW and Austin both increase selection, but Austin items will cost you more money. Most of the bike stores in town do not have any selection of used bikes. Good luck.

Another option ... check out the web

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/motobecane_record_x.htm

Any particular type, year, or brand? I might be willing to reduce the herd by one, and don't want money, if you want it as-is. I don't want to turn this topic into an ad, but there is one bike I have considering thinning from the herd. Let's take it to PM.

Call Bike Barn.

The store by Rice has used bikes, I think.

They used to, but unfortunately the West U Bike Barn no longer deals in used bikes

Cyclone Cycles sold used bikes when they were on Kirby. They moved to West Holcombe (or is it Bellaire Blvd by that point?) just east of the tracks in Southside Place.

My Buddy has a nice Lotus up FS. I could bring it down there and you could pay in person next weekend.

http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/bik/1456083459.html

i live in houston, but would be willing to travel as far as austin to find a good LBS that has some used bikes for sale. i've been lurking on CL for months and see maybe 1 bike per month that's worth an email, but haven't found the right size/price yet. my target price range is 400-500 and i'm looking for a 58cm bike.

any suggestions on where to start would be welcome.

thanks
md

Try Dan Boone's shop on Crawford. They just had their annual sale and got several bikes traded in for new/upgraded bikes. They may have something used in your price range.
Good luck!

Planetery Bike on Brasewood and Stella Link definately does.
Cyclone's new location on bellaire and stella link does (can build one with parts if not)

My buddy got a great bike from a pawn shop on washington and shepard (or one block over). that was a few months back but he said there were others in the shop.

but, i hope you've been checking CL, becuase in the last week i've easily seen 4 or 5 bikes sized around 58 and priced decent.

Good luck with your search and see you on the roads.

thanks for all your input everyone! that was very helpful.

as usual, the first possibility i saw turned out to be the best one. one of the guys, Rex G pm'ed me about a bike early on in the search, and as we exchanged emails, i called bike shops, and watched CL and ebay like a hawk. i found a lot of great bikes, but nothing with the size/specification/price range that rex offered. along the way i got outbid for a nice 98 fuji/campy on ebay.. in the last 17 seconds! it went for way more than i would have paid anyway, so i wasn't worried by it.

so in the end rex and i negotiated a price we both considered very fair and i picked up my new(to me) bianchi trofeo. specs below... pictures soon.

if bikepedia is accurate, i'm pretty sure it's the 97 model.. looks like that was the only late 90s model in dark marino blue.
also the only one with stock ttt stem, campy rims, and miche cranks, bb, and hubs.
there's a stamp on the bb 'F6' so maybe the frame was built in 96 for the 97 model year.

the bike was originally outfitted with avanti components, except the headset, hubs, crank and bb, those are miche.
shifters and the whole rear wheel are upgrades to... veloce shifters / veloce hub and 9sp casette / mavic open pro rim
they left the original avanti front derailleur.. wouldn't mind upgrading that to veloce also
the front wheel is original with miche hub, campy rim .. but i'd like to upgrade to campy veloce hub and possibly mavic rim to match the rear
the front wheel still had the original 22cm vittoria tire, and the rear was a usable, but old and well beat up 22cm michelin. most of my riding will be on city streets, so i put new tubes and serfas sera 25mm tires on it for flat protection and a wider strip of rubber on the road.
for the time being i'm keeping the spd pedals, and bought some serfas casual shoes with cleats.

Size -- 59 cm
Color -- Marino blue

Frame & Fork
Frame Construction -- Lugged
Frame Tubing Material -- Dedacciai zero-tre chromoly, double-butted
Fork Brand & Model -- Bianchi
Fork Material -- Chromoly, unicrown crown

Components
Component Group -- Campagnolo Avanti/Veloce
Brakeset -- Campagnolo Avanti brakes, Campagnolo Veloce levers
Shift Levers -- Campagnolo Veloce Ergo
Front Derailleur -- Campagnolo Avanti, bottom-pull/clamp-on 28.6 mm
Rear Derailleur -- Campagnolo Veloce 9sp
Crankset -- Miche Monolithic, 39/52 teeth
Pedals -- SPD
Bottom Bracket -- Miche, 111 mm spindle
BB Shell Width -- 68mm English
Rear Cogs -- 9-speed
Chain -- Sachs SC-20, 1/2 x 3/32"
Seatpost -- Selcof, 27.2 mm diameter
Saddle -- Selle Italia Tieffe
Handlebar -- TTT Podium
Handlebar Stem -- TTT Chromix
Headset -- 1" Miche Trofeo

Wheels
Front Hub -- Miche Monolithic
Front Rim -- Campagnolo Melbourne 56, 32-hole
Rear Hub -- Campagnolo Veloce
Rear Rim -- Mavic Open Pro, aluminum 32-hole
Tires -- 700 x 25c Serfas Sera
Spoke Brand -- Alpina stainless steel, 2.0mm straight gauge
Spoke Nipples -- Brass nipples

Glad you found a bike. Rex is really a nice guy. Too bad the weather has been so bad ( ice and snow ) that you can not ride your new bike.

AG

MD, glad you like the bike! My wife was on a walk when you were on the test ride, and she commented on how big your grin was, when you rode past. :)

My buddy got a great bike from a pawn shop on washington and shepard (or one block over). that was a few months back but he said there were others in the shop.

They accept stolen bikes, and don't give them back to the original owners even once ownership is proven. My friends 3 year old Cannondale ended up there, and they never did get it back. Buyer beware at that place.,,,,BD

They accept stolen bikes, and don't give them back to the original owners even once ownership is proven. My friends 3 year old Cannondale ended up there, and they never did get it back. Buyer beware at that place.,,,,BD

agreed. i don't buy from any pawn shops, anywhere, ever. that's where broken and stolen goods go to find a new home.

MD, glad you like the bike! My wife was on a walk when you were on the test ride, and she commented on how big your grin was, when you rode past. :)

yeah, this bike is real smooth compared to anything i've ridden before. so far i've been on a couple around-the-block rides, but due to weather/holidays i've yet to take it out for a good distance ride. there are many more grins to come!

Well don't go overboard with the generalization. This one is a little crooked, not all of them are?,,,,BD