Looking for some advice on buying used.
 

Hi,

I want to get a road bike mainly for commuting, but also for general riding. I currently have a Trek 7000 mountain bike that has been great and probably has made me very biased to Trek bikes so far in my search (this will become very apparent). Anyway, my budget is about 350, so obviously new is out of the question. There are a ton of bikes available in that range down in Phoenix, I just don't really know what to look for when shopping. Here's the top options I am looking at now. All look to be in great condition based on pictures, I am just wondering if any are worth is, and like I said I haven't explored much other than Trek so any suggestions would be great. The years are the closest I can estimate using google.

1. 2005 Trek 1500 that has been "ridden <10 miles" $400
2. 2000 Trek 1000 that looks beautiful...$300
3. 2000 Trek 2200.......$300
4. 2000 Trek 2300........$400

The only one that I talked price to at all was the 1500 and they said they have some room. The 22 and 2300 bikes are from the same owner and are completely stock where the others have clipless pedals. Any insight would be appreciated. I am also wondering if 16 years old is too old for a bike. My mountain bike is a 1999 and still rides and shifts great, so I assume these will hold up as well?

Thank you,

Travis

I would choose the 1500, but show the seller this:

2005 Trek 1500 - New and Used Bike Value

Thank you, would you do that based on the 5 year difference over the other bikes or based on the verbal stating it's basically brand new?

16 years is for a road bike could be nothing, specs haven't really changed too much since the early 90's when STI's and 130mm rear hubs became standard. MTB's have changed far more in the last 15 years than road bikes if you were to compare a current model with a 1999 model.

With that in mind do you think then it would be worth going with the 2300 for the upgraded gearset at the same price as the 1500? I contacted the 1000 seller and said that price is too high compared to the others that I am looking at , they weren't negotiable so that's out of the question now. I guess more than the bike itself deteriorating I am worried about the gearset and stuff deteriorating. In the pictures I have all of the bikes appear to be all original except pedals. Wheels are definitely original on the 22/2300.

Those values are not very reliable. In reality, at least around here, you'll find very few sellers willing to sell for the prices based on that value.

Gear/cassette/chain can be replaces relatively cheaply and easily.

I think the 1000 is the only one that has braze ons for racks, if that matters to you

Okay, so this does matter as I bring a duffel bag full of food everyday to compete with my crazy metabolism. You're saying the rear racks will not fit on these bikes? Is there an easy way to make them fit or alternative ways to carry approximately 20 pounds?

It doesn't hurt to show the seller.

Yeah, it's five years newer and the difference between 105 and Ultegra is nothing you would notice.

there are other good bikes than just trek. Having bought my road bike used, I would say that its important to buy something that is fairly new or with low miles. test ride it, make sure the wheels have no cracks or are egg shaped, as wheel sets are very expensive.

I get that and I am open to other brands, I am just unsure what to look for/ what other brands are actually good and which one's use cheap stuff. Treks also seem to be the most abundant currently so that is part of the reason they are primarily what I am looking at.
I've come across a number of bikes that the seller doesn't know the model, which makes it hard to figure out if the bike was decent. The convenient thing about Trek is they put their model right on the side haha.