I keep seeing all these used bike questions on here. Figured I'd share my experience. I'm super happy with the bikes I've got and feel pretty comfortable buying and selling.

So I bought a bike new when I graduated from high school. Was supposed to be a cannondale s500 but the factory had no more and did have an s1000, so thats the frame I got. I've now owned it more than 30 years. Derailleur hanger tore out so I can't use the smallest cog, and its now upgraded to a 7 speed cassette from the original 6 speed freewheel. Everything's been replaced more than once and shifting is still awful. Anyway, a fine bike but not keen to put more money into it. Its the only bike I've ever bought new.

Im primarily a mountain biker but find myself road biking when I don't have time. Had been looking for a while for another bike and came across this Lynskey R330. Lynskey made my kona titanium singlespeed, its treated me well so I'm a fan. Watched the ad for a while and finally price dropped enough so I went and looked, it was a neat ride. Next day I test rode a bunch of other bikes in the same price range but liked the lynskey the best, bought it for $1500. Lynskey R330: 11 speed ultegra. Lynskey was very light, I never weighed it but it was like... wow.


Adjusted everything so fit was perfect. Rode it 8-10 times... just wasn't feeling it. Started riding the old cannondale again and liked it better. Crazy right?

The lynskey just didn't have much 'go', felt soft when I was out of the saddle. Won't say it made me slower but it felt slow. Handling was terrific, super confident, but the feel in the pedals was not what I enjoy. Swapped back the bars and seat, made an ad and sold it in 2 days for what I paid.

The very next weekend I spotted an ad for a cielo sportif for $1100. King hs and bb and 11 speed 105. Messaged the guy and went to visit, we met half way, drove an hour. Got on the thing and wow. Such a great ride, a fine solid feel in the pedals. Fork tracking is aces, just a very nice bike to be on. Much firmer ride than the lynskey but also had a terrific pedal feel. Also quite a bit heavier than lynskey but who cares? It came with different wheels, with dt350 hubs and rims, I put the carbon ones on for the picture (got them used before I even bought the lynskey.)

Cielo has been my bike for a year, no regrets. Took off the fenders, swapped over the 46cm bars that I'd put on the lynskey. Has gran cru brakes that are pretty great. Really pretty terrific bike. I wish the bar tape wasn't red but I'll leave it until it becomes damaged.



Found an incredible bike for sale at local bike recyclery. A hampsten made by independent fabrications for $1000. Came with 10 speed sram force, nice wheels with dura ace hubs and open pro rims, king headset. Too small for me but would fit my adult son. We went to look at it and my legs fell in love. What an incredible ride! Surges when you pedal and terrific spring from the pedals, just divine. He liked it too and bought it but wow... it'd be mine if it fit. What a bike! So there's one that was not to be. That is the bike with the most magical feeling.

And then for no reason at all I acted on this ad 2 weekends ago. Just a neat bike for a good price. Why not. I was 8th in line but everyone else was 2-3 hour drive away, wanted it shipped, had some excuse, etc. $700. Its older 10 speed ultegra, moots psychlo x from 2005 with king hs and paul cantis. Its got the kind of shifters with the annoying cables out from the levers.

This one had been sitting a while, needed new chain and had an 11-23 cassette, brake pads were hard - when I replaced them I snapped the old ones in half with my fingers. Got some new bar tape (black sram super cork) but trying to decide on the bars, I like 46cm bars but this has 44cm richey streem bars that are quite comfortable on my hands. Local bike recyclery had an old trainer for sale for $10 - had a perfect 10 speed 12-28 cassette so thats what I'm using. They also had an ultegra crank, no rings, with stages power meter for $90 so I got that and put it on the non-drive side of this bike (luckily compatible because R8000 cranks need special chainrings.) For pedals I'm using my ancient m737 I think from 1991 - heavy but I'm not stripping the cielo (which is using newer lookng 525).

Funny thing this moots... terrific bike. Solid when climbing but still nice ti feel. Great handling and braking. The rear chain and seat stays look quite a bit beefier than the lynskey, just goes to show its not material that makes a bike feel soft. I suspect the fork is really helping the ride.

I usually do the local cross races on my mountain bike but am tempted to give them a go on this - it will suck! I'm honestly trying to decide if I still like the cielo better.


I think its pretty interesting that I like this thing as much as the cielo. Probably means I'm some sort of troglodyte. I'm really impressed by its ride though. Taken it off road (on road tires) a few hundred meters and it felt fantastic, now I'm tempted to find some knobbies for it, take it on the singletrack.

But amazing thing, all 3 bikes fit me. All three of these bikes have reach thats within 5mm of each other. I've setup so bar height is same, reach same. Same. Not hard to do so long as you know the measurements you want, stems are easy to swap.

So, some tips for used bike buying:
- know your fit measurements - bring a tape measure and verify you can make bike fit you
- don't overspend, you want to be able to sell if you don't like it
- trust your instincts, if a bike feels good get it, if a bike feels like a dud don't get it (lynskey was a case where I didn't know I didn't like it until I gave it time)
- always check online databases like bikeindex and 529 to see if a bike stolen - before you pay​​​​​​. talk to owner and get the back story.
- lots of fish in the sea so take your time and enjoy

Cheers!

When I saw your title I was hoping, one bike was made of straw, one bike was made of sticks and the final bike was made of bricks. But you told a good story anyways, thanks.