calmebob

I am looking for a good deal on a used road bike in the SF Bay Area. I am 5'8", have a budget of $100-$200 and would like a solid bike for commuting to work a few miles away. I am entirely new to biking and wary of getting ripped off. Can you guys help a newbie find some good deals on ebay or craigslist?

ken cummings

Calmebob, at those prices I would spend a good amount of time at thrift stores and such. Go to your local stores frequently. I expect many good bike fixers find machines there, fix them a bit then sell them on Craigslist and Ebay for much more. There may be some bike shops (lbs) that can offer you a deal.

Prime Directive

Usually with eBay you cannot ride or even see the bike in person before buying, so I wouldn't recommend that for you. In my experience (still a newbie) I watched Craigslist for about three weeks, almost buying several bikes, before running across a really great deal for my budget (< $100). Luck was on my side as I was not only able to grab this bike before anyone else but managed to not grab two or three earlier bikes I tried for. So, my advice would be to watch CL for a good while, learn what kind of bike offers usually pop up, and then be able to recognize the rare, better deal when it comes along. In my experience, my local thrift shop had bikes in a condition so poor that it would have cost me more to fix and upgrade these than it did to buy the CL bike. Garage sales were a dead-end for me as well, but you should still explore all your options.

BTW, I would suggest you check out books at the library related to newbie cycling and read as much as you can, both online and off. There are great resources online, including ways to stay safe in traffic. This board is also a good read. Personally, I found "Buying a Bike" by Robert van der Plas to be an excellent starting point.

huhenio

Craigslist -buy locally, see before you buy