Rock Toy

First post here. Please don't burn me down right away

Been riding mountain bikes for 15+ years and am ready to transition to road. Just ran my first half-marathon and am itching to do a triathlon. So I'm in the market for a bike. But not specifically for triathlons. I would like to just ride for fun on weekends and maybe participate in some longer group rides, etc.

Been to a few shops in town (San Francisco) and have received a lot of advise on bikes. Know that a decent AL bike ranges from around $800 to $1,500 and a decent carbon one starts at around $1,500. I'm typically not the kind of guy that likes to buy new though.

When I surf the web and visit bike boards, all I hear and read about is people that are upgrading their bikes. So where are all of the old bikes going? Can't find them on Craigslist. Don't see many on e-bay. Even the classifieds on here appear fairly barren. And how much of a break can I expect to get on price?

Say someone bought an AL bike last year for $1,500. They have been riding for a year and have decided to upgrade to Carbon. What would they sell their bike for? $1,200? $1,000? Or would they buy a new frame and transfer components? All things on my mind.

And if anyone is looking to get rid of a 50-52" AL bike that could be a good starter for me, let me know. I'm in the market

tcwayne

Go to your LBS. Some shops sell used and some of the employees put their bikes on the floor after an upgrade. Around here, the nicer bikes that people upgraded out of sold to other local roadies looking to upgrade. If that makes sense.
My buddy had an '09 giant and moved into a '11 BMC. He sold the giant to a guy that wanted an upgrade from his '04 AL trek. Etc etc.

dstrong 

Welcome Rock Toy. Some LBSs have bikes from 1 or 2 years back, that are new. I wouldn't hesitate buying one if I was in the market. Buying off CL or eBay requires knowledge and diligence.

Now that you're talking road bikes, remember measurements are in cm, not inches.

Again, welcome!

Right Said Fred

It's not uncommon to see someone on CL trying to sell their 3-4 year old used bike for not much less than, and in many cases more than, you can buy a brand-new 1 or 2-year old leftover for. Usually these are people who either paid MSRP or use the original MSRP as the starting value of the bike, when in reality very few educated buyers pay full MSRP for new bikes. I laugh whenever I see people asking $3500 for a 4 year old carbon/Ultegra bike that can be bought brand-new as last year's model for $2800-3000.

JustinNY

You'll notice this is my first post as well. I'm a long time MTB owner who is tired of riding 90% road with a MTB.

I've been lurking for a few weeks while I shopped around for a used road bike. Since I picked it up this morning, I figured this would be a good time to join.

I looked for weeks on CL for a used bike. I was looking to spend $500-$800. What I noticed was that this price range seems to be the most popular. High end, full carbon bikes seemed to sit for weeks with multiple price drops. 10+ yr old bikes were generally priced on the high end making them a poor value.

But 3-5 yr old bikes from the usual suspects (specialized, trek, c'dale) were gone within hours of the posting, and there was very little to choose from.

I ended up going with a 2007 Trek 1500 56cm (comes stock with full 105 group), recently tuned, dura ace chain and new tires and I paid the guys asking price of $650. I think the price I paid is probably on the high side, but it was either that or wait for weeks hoping another great bike comes along and maybe save $50-$100. It wasn't worth it to me, so I jumped on this.

I would advise the same if you're looking to buy used. Do not compromise on what you want, especially dont compromise on the frame size, and be willing to pay a little over what you might think is market price. You're typically still getting a great deal over buying new.

DeadheadSF

I don't have any aluminum, but I do have a "nearly new" 2011 Giant Defy Advanced 3 carbon fiber rig, all stock, Shimano 105, size "Medium" (fits riders up to 5'11") with a mere 250 miles on it. I'm planning to sell and replace it with a steel co-motion... I'm a "carbophobe"...

fastbub

5'6" on a medium Giant? I would definitely say a small, especially if he likes a smaller frame. I am 5'8" and like a smaller frame with more drop to the bars and like an xs Giant.

bobonker

You didn't say what your budget is, but here's what a search for 52cm bikes turned up for sfbayarea craigslist.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/2942475699.html
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/bik/2974818533.html
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/2969155449.html

Don't be afraid to haggle, make sure you know what you're looking for, and make sure you test ride!

Bob

LowCel 

Please don't try to sell items on the open forum. Items can only be sold in the classified sections.

LowCel 

Thread cleaned up, please keep for sale items out of the open forums.

DeadheadSF

Oops, sorry - forgot about that rule.

LowCel 

No worries, just a friendly reminder this time. Next time the hand slapping might leave a mark though.

StanSeven

"So where are all of the old bikes going?"

Many people keep their old bikes. They feel its not worth the time and effort to sell a bike at a fraction of what they paid and having the old bike as a spare/back-up/alternate ride is worth more.

Grasschopper

Here is the used bike market in my area in a nut shell: https://pennstate.craigslist.org/bik/2972316581.html

This person is selling a 2009 (I looked through the archives to find the year) Specialized Sirrus for $600.

The 2012 version of the same model (bottom of the line) retails for $500. WTF?

Our CL is littered with crap like this. MTBs from the 90s that people think are worth $500-$700 and WalMart bikes. People don't understand that the bike they bought last year could be had on closeout for 20% less than they paid and that a 5 year old bike actually loses value and no I don't want 9 speed shifters.

To me closeouts are the way to go...you can save so much money and get a lot of bike. Sure I just got a 2012 Giant Defy Advanced but I get a discount as a "friend of the shop" otherwise I would have purchased a 2011 demo bike and saved the coin there.

OOOh here's another good one: https://pennstate.craigslist.org/bik/2975124442.html 2005 Allez Triple...again lowest spec in the Allez line that year. They want $600 for a 7 year old bike...the new bottom of the line Allez costs $770 more would have a warranty, new tires gears chain etc. These people are nuts.

LowCel 

When looking for used bikes I always look at the classifieds here but there is another site that I really like for classifieds. I don't normally link to other sites but I'm going to make an exception since their classifieds are so nice and their members are generally pretty trustworthy.

NSpooner

I just went through the same thing. I used to race mountain bikes in the 90's and worked in a shop in college. I am also not much on buying new if it's something that I know about and can service myself. I picked up a 2011 Orbea with 105 for my wife in mint condition for $1200 and a 2010 Tarmac Pro with Sram Red for myself for $1700. Both were pretty good deals if you ask me and I saved a ton of cash too. Just keep watching CL-I'm a 52 also and I agree its not a common size. I really wish I could ride a 54 but its just too big.