Richelieu

Hi, this is my first post so bear with me. I am wanted to purchase a new or slightly used bike and I have been looking at the ebay site. Since I live up here in hoser land, not too many of you Americans like shipping bikes up here. There seems to be a few new bikes for sale from online or ebay stores. Some of the pricing seems not too bad. I have never actually ever bought anything off ebay before so I am a little nervious to begin with.

I would like to spend around 800.ish usf. I like to ride about 3-4 times a week and just started doing the TRI thing? I don't want a TRI specifc bike and I cannot figure out why so many bikes I see out there have Triple chainrings up front? I always thought if you cannot get up a hill with what you got already, you need to get into better shape or ride a mtn. bike. Vancouver is a hard place to get a Road bike, everybody (almost) rides mountan bikes.

Tequila Joe

I've made a whack of bike related purchases off of eBay with great success and found that I am able to save up to 40% off new items over my LBS. You can get used stuff at much more of a savings. I think you can get a pretty good used bike for $800.

Advice: Buy only from folks that have 98% or higher ratings with a good number of major transactions. I.E. If the guy has been selling paper clips 49 times and this is his first big ticket item, i would be nervous buying from this guy even if his rating is quite high. If buying used, watch out for older bikes (2002) the components may be worn out and in need of a replacement or rebuild. Never send money even via Western Union. Use PayPal. It at least give some validity to the seller and protects you from getting ripped off.

T.J.

baxtefer

where have you been looking in Vancouver?
There are plenty of shops that will hook you up with a good new bike for around $1000 CAD.

what size are you looking for? I might have something you'd be interested in.

simplyred

All I can say is lifetime warranties aren't usable anymore...
Think about that... ^^

Would you put 800 on a bike, whose frame no longer has any warranty whatsoever?

operator

Warranty on frames is overrated.

theopowers

I have bought some bikes off ebay with mostly satisfactory results. My main advice is to send them a link to "how to pack a bike", like the page on Park Tools or Bicycling. I have received a couple bikes that were not well packed, one of which had some significant cosmetic damage, and one of which I had to assemble from scratch.

H23

I have bought an entire bike from ebay. The vendor I bought from was making a living sell ing bikes on ebay, lots of volume, and all of the (very few) complaints were trivial stuff from impossible to please customers, so I was comfortable with him.

simplyred

I'm a wussy.. I need security.. I need hugs..

roadracine

I built my whole bike from ebay parts over the winter. Mostly 1 year old parts or take offs. I did buy the ergolevers new.All Record, (Chorus brakes/b.b.) bike for around $1400. Watch the shipping price . It should cost about $40 in U.S. Also good photos that show any desribed flaws. I bought a frame with a chip, and it turned out to be a 1/4 rust blob.

suntreader

I've been ripped-off almost every time I've dealt with ebay. I won't use them anymore.

lisitsa

Bike is a personal thing. Buying from ebay is like a lucky dip. Your best bet is the trading post. Not only do items get less exposure, so thus they would normally go for less, but you can try before you buy.

Portis

Ebay: Great place to sell your bike. Maybe not so great of a place to buy one. Deals and steals are few and far between. Simply to much exposure and too many lookers. You'll always find some idiot who will pay more than something is worth. THe more people, the greater the odds for this.

boze

last summer i helped four different friends buy road bikes and three of them ended up buying off of eBay. all three were satisfied and got what they were expecting. it's true that things go for a fair price rather than super-deal low prices because they get lots of exposure. but still, that expression ppl use "at the end of the day" is how i think about it -- i mean the girls i helped spent like between $800 or $900us and got bikes that were just a year or two old, in good condition, had quality Reynolds 853 steel frames and full Ultegra groups. One was only a Motobecane Legacy Pro - nothing fancy, but the other was a Lemond Zurich - and that girl could have also won an auction on an '03 Gunnar Roadie with 105 for the same money if she'd managed to take her test rides with me a bit sooner.

it's important to be careful and it's important to know what size you are in one brand or another. but still if you had to look at a used Lemond Zurich with Ultegra like the one my friend has and then I told you that same money would only get you a Razza 3 from performance or maybe a Cannondale R300 with Tiagra components.. that's what eBay shopping is all about for me.

i'll bet the folks are right that going to a big bike swap meet type thing would be even more fun. but if you can't spend $1200 or $1300us then I think the best values are in used bikes.

good luck!

my58vw

I am buying a cervelo frame off of ebay... I am very happy so far!

blandin

I've bought lots of cycling related items off ebay including a new frame, fork, cranks and wheels, but never a whole bike. It's where I go for saddles, accessories, clothing and the like. Never had a problem, but I always check their feedback before I bid.

markwebb

I buy bikes and parts off eBay all the time. I have yet to have a real bad experience - in fact I can't think of a time in last 3 years I had to leave someone negative feedback. Some of the sellers are not very responsive to emails - that's probably the only knock on any of them I have. It can take 1 week to 2.5 weeks to get a bike - many sellers use a LBS to pack the bike. That may take 3-5 extra days. When I sell a bike on eBay that's what I do - have LBS pack it. I would highly recommed eBay. If you limit your purchases of a bike to a seller with 99% positive feedback and no negative feedback over last 6-12 months you should be OK. But - If you buy from someone with just a few sales or several recent negative feedbacks you are asking for trouble.

SoulBlade

I have bought both a high-end roadie and a high-end mtb from the same guy on eBay. I did my homework, called and talked to the gentleman personally, and would do it again in a minute. Hard to argue with $8500 worth of bikes for $4500. I do buy all my accessories and gear at the LBS, however.

WayneTeK

i too would like to buy from ebay, however the problem is the fitment issue. every bike brand seems to have a different frame size rating..

any way around this?

jitteringjr

Buying bikes on Ebay is great. Where else could I sell my used bikes for more than I paid for them brand new?

Moonshot

In most cases this is true. However, the Litespeed that I got off ebay from preownedbikes came with a lifetime warranty. New components and a one year old frame for about $1300 less than the cost of a new one.