Aeolis

Im going to be spending a lot of time on eBay and Craig's looking for a good used carbon bike. What should I be searching for? Have around 1400 to spend. What are the main brands? Trek, cannondale, specialized? Have you guys ever seen any decent carbon bikes used in my price range?

Im hoping to get a 4 or 5 year old carbon bike with ultegra or 105 components. Is this just a pipe dream at my price point? I could keep saving but I'm only half way there to affording even a low end new carbon so I'm thinking used is OK.

When I inspect a Carbon frame what do I need to watch out for? Do thy typically crack in the same spots? Any help would be MUCH appreciated as I'm still new to the world of cycling but so far I love it

Gjc985

If your buying carbon I would say buy new

Aeolis

Why?

Clem von Jones

The one from nashbar is within your budget and it looks cool. I want one.

milkbaby

How can you inspect a bike on ebay? Even a local bike on CL, you could still be fleeced. It's basically caveat emptor (buyer beware). You could buy a discounted new but old stock (old model year) bike from a reputable shop or online vendor with warranty. Carbon is also not the be all and end all in bike frame material. Carbon can be somewhat wooden in ride quality compared to metal frames.

If you insist on used, you should also be prepared for the possibility of taking a bath on a defective frame (regardless of material). If you can't afford that, then you probably shouldn't go the used route. Disclosure: the last two bikes I bought were used. Good luck!

jtwilson

I recently bought a used carbon frame on Ebay and had an overall positive experience with it. If a seller's description, pictures, or Ebay reputation don't give you confidence in the auction, then don't bid. I think it's possible that you could find a carbon bike in your price range if you have enough patience and savvy with Ebay. I would recommend looking for more uncommon brands in the hopes of snagging an auction with no other bidders to compete with.

cale

There's no substitute for education. Do some research and then come back with your impressions of your local used bike market. You don't have a pipe dream, from what I can tell, but you might be looking for answers to questions where there is no better answer than "it depends" and "possibly".

Good luck.

Aeolis

Just found a 2011 felt f5 he's asking 1600. Still used
but only a year old, how much damage can one do to a bike in a year lol. I wish I lived in a place wwith more cyclist, good bikes on CL are few and far between in Connecticut. I don't know anything about felts but they seem low-mid grade road bikes(what I want).

Velo Dog

Steel.

cale

I always thought Raleighs and Diamondbacks were low-mid grade but they make some great higher end bikes. Same is true of Felt. How much damage can someone do to a carbon frame in a year's time? I guess I'd have to see the frame but I would imagine that if I couldn't see any damage and I couldn't feel any damage when I test rode it, there's a good chance that the frame is solid.

Classified ads are hit or miss. It isn't like a bike shop which will sell you the bike model you want in your size. BTW CT is full of cyclists, you just haven't been paying attention.

Aeolis

Well I just became a cyclist so I don't really know hhow many of us there are. Doesn't seem like motorist around here know how to handle cyclist very well. My LBS doesn't even stock a carbon bike...maybe I need to explore some not as local bike shops in the state. ThThere's just no way I could buy the kind of bike I want new anyway. Not until I finish school atleast.

Cale are you from CT?

c_bake

Bikes Direct
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/fuji/fuji_sl1.htm

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/..._carbon_xi.htm

pgjackson

OP, why do you need a carbon bike? Sounds like you are planning to plop down a hefty sum of money just to get you on a used bike. Why are you going that route instead of a really nice NEW aluminum bike? Just wondering? You might have serious buyer's remorse if you don't know what you are getting. A new $1000 AL bike is more bike than about 99% of the people here could ever max out. I'd recommend getting something like a Felt Z85 and ride the hell out of it. Have you ever ridden a CF bike? As a new cyclists, you probably wouldn't even notice a difference.

cale

I grew up in the NE and spent much of my 20's riding in the region. When I lived in Brooklyn in the eighties, I would ride in NY, NJ, CT, MA on the weekends. I was especially fond of the Hudson Valley and Berkshire regions.

cruiserhead

Performancebike.com has the 105 equipped Fuji SST - they have them on sale for $1600.

The SST frame is just awesome, pro-level frameset and the parts are all solid Shimano and Oval.
That frameset is worth upgrading all the way to DI2 or Record.
Great bargain

-you can get the Fuji Altamira for $1400... these are both pro-level framesets- again, great deal.

Wesley36

If I were you, I would reconsider buying a used carbon bike. I am not saying that carbon fiber is fragile, but understand that every material, every machine, every engineered object, involves compromises.

Individual carbon fibers are extremely strong in one direction, and one direction only - if you apply force from another direction, they will be extremely weak. When it comes to designing a bike, this is a good thing. Carbon fiber is built in layers, so by overlaying one ply of carbon fiber over another, each layer oriented to give strength in a very specific direction, the layers together act as a matrix, allowing the designer to give the bike very specific characteristics. This means that a carbon fiber bike, if well designed, can both be very stiff under pedaling force, but also soft in other directions, allowing it to absorb vibration (stiff in one dimension, compliant in another).

But like so many things in life, this strength is also, in a way, a weakness. It is entirely possible for a carbon fiber bike that has been crashed, for example, to have absolutely no visible external damage, but to have sustained damage to a ply of carbon fiber that is beneath the surface (remember, the plys are layered, one over the other, and they are bonded together). This cracked layer then becomes a ticking time bomb, no longer able to offer strength in a given direction, the matrix itself weakens over time, and eventually, this can lead to a sudden and catastrophic failure.

I am NOT saying that carbon will just asplode on you. However, unlike steel and alu, a damaged carbon frame can look pristine - steel in particular tends to bend before breaking. This is why I would personally never buy used carbon fiber, even if carbon fiber is an incredible material that works really well, which it is. Then again, some people have had luck, and bought carbon fiber bikes that had no damage, superficial or hidden. I guess it comes back to a Dirty Harry-style rhetorical question- do you feel lucky? Well, do you?

Seriously, if you must ride carbon fiber, save up, buy something new - you know where it has been and what it has been through. That said, there are plenty of great alu bikes in your price range that will be more bike than you need. Personally, if I had the budget you did, I would be seriously looking at something like a (new) Specialized Allez (alu with a carbon fork).

OldManRiley

It only takes one good crash to total a bike. And my last crash took about 3 seconds. So I would say quite a bit. As a poster above me mentioned, you can crash a bike and not sustain much visible damage to the frame (things like bars, saddle, pedals, and cranks, and the rider can take the worst of it) but there can be invisible damage. And since you (usually) don't get warranty coverage as a second-hand buyer, that's a bad situation. There are ways to repair damaged CF frames but considering the cash and time involved, I don't think its worse the hassle.

If you know how to build a bike you can get a NIB CF frame from a year or two ago off ebay from a reputable manufacturer and do a component swap from one of your other bikes . . . that would save you some money. Just a thought.

Debusama

In 2009 I bought my first race bike (2006 Carbon Giant TCR W/105) for $1000 on consignment from an LBS. I know the shop did a tune-up and gave it a look-over before selling it. I felt a little better about buying a used bike from the shop than from a random Ebay stranger. For $1400, you should definitely be able to get the bike you are describing without having to resort to buying it on Ebay without even being able to take it for a test-ride to see if it fits.

Aeolis

It looks like the felt f5
New iis only about 2k. Based on most of the replies I think I'll save up for awhile mmore and maybe get something like that. NNew bikes come with warranties?

abstractform20

see if any shop guys want to sell their carbon bikes...

pgjackson

Save your money. Get the Felt Z85. You won't notice any difference. Sounds like you want a CF bike just to have a CF bike. You also sound very eager to blow a large sum of money. What is wrong with your current bike and why do you feel you NEED a CF bike?

ThinLine

First of all, Felt makes a great bike their W and F series line are awesome machines. I paid $1500 on a Tomasso Aggriazato from randall scott back in 07, full CF w/ full ultegra group and mavic aksium wheels. I put over 5000 miles on the bike w/ no problems xcept a new BB.
Just goes to say that a good deal can be found for the amount you have alloted.
Good Luck.

cale

I disagree with this post on a number of different levels.

Firstly, it contains enough authoritative information that it suggests that any further conclusions made by the poster are reliable. Arguments made in this way can be very misleading because the factual data they impart do not necessarily support the conclusions drawn.

Secondly, the post consolidates a category of manufacturing under a single roof. It is almost as though the entire manufacturing run of carbon fiber frames had been made at the same factory at the same time. There is no allowance made for manufacturing process differences or manufacturing changes that have occurred over the years.

Thirdly, the post suggests it would be impossible to detect significant structural weakness within any given product but only suggest that such weakness is possible in a particular category of carbon fiber bikes, namely used ones. The fact that these weaknesses could be contained in a newly manufactured frame, for reasons of manufacturing variances, damage in shipping, etc., makes the "used" frame appear most suspect of defect.

Lastly, the post does not impart any evidence to support the claim. Evidence is tricky stuff. If the evidence is a referral to a single event, or even multiple single events, it may appear to be damning. But evidence of this sort is not reliable because it has not been gathered and examined using the tools that make evidence reliable.

I don't disagree with the idea of buyer beware when it comes to products, new or used. Especially one that you will use for transportation or recreation, mixing speed and traffic. Let's work together to explore how buyers can make better choices regardless of the material they want for their bike frame.

Aeolis

I just recently Got clean from a very dark and scary heroin addiction and I've been saving all of the money I woulda spent on that towards a bike. It's still scary for me to have a rather large sum of money and I think rewarding myself with the best bike possible would do me some good on my levels. 3 months ago the extent of my excersise was getting in the car to drive to Hartford. Sometimes I would do a few push ups to make my veins come out. Needless to say my life is incredibly different now and in a way I think I need to treat myself.

Sorry if this is too much information but it does have much to do with me wanting to buy my "dream" bike. Cycling has saved my life and it's taking me to places, mentally and physically that I never dreamed of during my use.

xjustice09x

If you want to buy a used bike you might be able to find a shop that would let you do the transaction there. That way you have knowledgeable people there to inspect the bike to see if there are any obvious problems. I would also feel more comfortable doing such a high dollar transaction at a store instead of at someones house. One of my friends is currently bike shopping, and a local shop told him he could do that if he was interested in a bike on craigslist.

This time of year some shops have good deals, many are trying to clear out old models since the 2013's will be arriving soon. It shouldn't be too hard to find a nice carbon frame with at least 105 for 1500-1700. If you are patient and shop around you might be able to find something nice for even less.