BikerPat

Okay well I am in a smaller market and looking to get into riding (I think). There are only two or three shops around me and they have mostly new stuff. I am worried about buying it on ebay due to scammers and such. I can sit and scour Craigs I guess for a used one. i have one shop pushing a Fuji or Raleigh, one pushing the Orbea, and the third not talking much to me since I don't look like a die-hard rider.

Wait for a used or bite the bullet on a new one for an entry level?


Thanks,

Pat

Homebrew01

Buying on Ebay is fairly safe. Ebay rules tend to favor the buyer in disputes, and if you know how to spot the few shady sellers & scammers, then you should be OK. Also, on Ebay, you can filter by location, so you could look for listings X miles from you, and go check it out in person (although that limits your selection).

Brightwork

+1 for ebay being safe, but you may want to go for a day trip to a larger market(or call) to see what they have if it's not too far. I called a bunch of shops a couple hours away from me to see what discounted models they had. When you tell them you are 2 hours away, they know they need to make it worth your while. I ended up getting my bike somewhat locally for $200 less than the best price I found on ebay/online. There are also discounted online stores you might want to look at. There are enough BD threads to keep you busy.

BikerPat

Correct me if I am wrong, but I keep trying to read about BD and they are saying it isn't worth it to buy from them due to the brands, putting them together, warranty, etc.

Am I kind of close to the mark? I see they have like Motobecane and Windsor or something. I haven't researched those brands due to looking at the ones everyone else is talking about.

knobster

I've bought most of my bikes off ebay. Have yet to be disappointed. The anticipation of waiting for it to arrive is quite exciting. My wife thinks I'm addicted to it as I keep buying and selling bikes.

I wouldn't do that if it was my first bike, as I think you need some experience determining what you want in a bike. For me, I bought an entry level bike at a shop where I could ride them and talk to the shop employees about the different features. It was also quite helpful to get the right size by them doing several measurements on me which I would have never gotten right if I tried to just go out and buy a bike with no experience.

ptle

If you buy online, just be smart about it and you won't get scammed (hopefully).

Buying used or on craigslist will most likely give you a better bike for th money. Buying at an LBS will give you a new bike, and they usually have some kind of simple fitting along with free tune ups for a year and warranties. Also you'll be supporting local business.

I honesty prefer buying online or used as it's usually cheaper. Also the free tune ups and fitting don't really help me out as I can do all that stuff myself.