Source
r/bicycling•
Hawknight

Looking for advice on buying a used bike

Sorry if this isn't the right place to ask about this.

Long story short, one of my housemates is big into biking, and I'd like to get into it. I was discussing this with another friend at the gym when someone we'd met earlier overheard us and mentioned that he was looking to sell his old bike since he can't use it anymore.

Pictures

Here's what I know/have been told about the bike:

  • It's a Specialized Rockhopper
  • Has around 300 miles on it and is 4-5 years old
  • Hasn't been ridden in a couple years
  • The pictured helmet and u-lock are included
  • Apparently was $650 new

Basically, I'm wondering what would be a good offer to make him/if it's worth making him an offer. I'm pretty much brand new to this, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Posted Oct 17, 2013, 11:13 PM UTC

36
moonyenoom•

The real question is does the bike fit? Have your ridden it around, does it feel comfy? If it doesn't, don't get it. It sounds like a good bike, but its worth nothing if it doesn't fit you. Also, how do you want to ride this bike? Do you commute or do you want to head straight down a mountain? If you have more questions, let me know.

3
HawknightOP•

So to answer your questions:

  1. I haven't seen it in person yet, but I'll definitely make sure to give it a test ride to make sure it feels good before buying it. Honestly, it's almost guaranteed to feel better than what I've got now, so I don't know how accurate my analysis will be.
  2. It's mostly going to be a weekend rider (granted even that won't be happening soon until spring rolls back around). What really prompted this is I moved into the city, and my housemate and I did a ride around town a few weeks back and my bike (Vertical PK7, a.k.a. the Wal-mart special) felt like it was going to fall apart under me.

Honestly, I'm just looking for something that I can ride around town, maybe do some trail riding, and be dependable without getting too invested. I could afford to buy a brand new bike, but I don't want to do that until I decide if I'm actually going to make use of it, and this seems like a pretty good middle ground between quality and price.

1
moonyenoom•

If it fits then, I would get it - unless a better option comes around. D0rk4L says it may not be so nice. I would offer $100 tops for that bike. I would personally say spend a bit more money, get a nicer bike that you really like and that is really fit for you and can do everything you want new, but you don't have to. If you find you like biking you would probably want to upgrade this bike, so I would start with a better one you wouldn't want to upgrade right away.

1
D0rk4L2013 Ritte Crossberg•

I bought the exact same bike nearly two years ago off craigslist for $220. It wasn't ever used off-road. It's held up okay but the drivetrain is pretty low quality and the fork leaked oil like crazy out of the rebound knob on the bottom and basically caused the fork to perform like total shit. Turns out there was a recall for that, but I replaced it with another Dart that was lying around my friends garage.

1
gosu_link0Merlin Extralight/Dean Castanza/Schwinn Prologue•

I would offer 200 to 300 depending how generous you are. It was not an expensive bike to begin with.

1
HandMeMyThinkingPipe2013 surly disc trucker•

I'm pretty new to this myself but I will say proper fit is the most important part ...I have a friend who hates bikes because of his ill fitting cruiser that he was riding ...it really can turn you off of it pretty fast in my opinion

1