With a few mountain bikers converting their motorbike more regularly than their socks and resale values diminished by the inflow of direct-sales bargains, it is a superb time to get that pinnacle-canine rig you continually desired at a respectable charge.
Where to appearance, what to look for, and a way to close a deal on a 2d-hand mountain bike? We’ve prepared a manual for 2nd-hand mountain motorbike purchases (however, many of these rules practice road bicycles too).
Step 1: What to search for
First, perceive what you need from a motorcycle and how much you need to spend. That way, you could dive into the many online promoting structures with a chunk of rationale – sifting thru masses of ability deals can be loads easier.
Define your price range, and keep on with it – it may be smooth to get over-excited
Decide the fashion of motorcycle or motorcycles which you’re searching out; wheel length, suspension journey, body fabric, and so forth. You’ll quickly discover if you need to reconsider your expectations.
Go for the latest model yr bike possible – technology which includes Boost spacing, metric surprise sizing, and so forth is essential for resale cost, even though slightly out-dated motorcycles will of direction come at miles decrease charge point.
Step 2: Where to look
You can discover ads on bike-particular websites along with Pinkbike, wellknown-interest sites like Gumtree, Facebook purchase-and-sell pages like Bike Buy and Sell, and Facebook Marketplace.
Bike-specific web sites have big numbers of bikes on the market but are now and then a little disorganized
eBay is of the path the traditional move-to; however, watch out for stolen bikes
Gumtree, from time to time, hides a few unbeatable deals wherein many mountain bikers might not think to look
Facebook buy-and-sell pages are great. However, they may be quite jumbled and not using a clean order to listings
Facebook Marketplace is an incredible device to refine your search locally and to a set price range
Many bike parks and shops sell old demo bikes, so research to look if everywhere near you is promoting
Don’t forget your nearest satisfactory nearby bike save. Many true shops may have a wholesome base of return customers and will recognize potential good bargains. Importantly, they may understand the bike in question’s carrier records and the way difficulty of existence it is had.
Step 3: Identifying the first-class ads
By understanding how to pick out a valid ad from a phony one, and a capability that is hidden a good deal from a no-hoper, you set yourself heading in the right direction to securing a tremendous deal while minimizing faff.
Seller records: if the vendor is new to a platform and has few photographs on their profile on the likes of Pinkbike, poor engagement on Facebook, or a feedback score lower than 10 on eBay, alarm bells have to be ringing
Always check if the ad has a phone number. If sure, send the vendor a message or call them straight away and ask as many questions about the motorbike and its history as viable. If they are able to’t solve your queries, then it might be a stolen bike or a scam
If there’s no smartphone variety, contact the vendor with a prepared listing of specified questions about the motorbike, where it’s been ridden, when and in which it became sold, and many others. If their solutions are incoherent, watch out.
A horrific photo and/or description don’t always mean you have to avoid it. On the opposite, from time to time, humans don’t have time to take desirable snapshots and write a decent evaluation, and for this reason, they’ll get little hobby within the bike they’re selling. That means you may be looking at a good buy. Get in touch immediately for similar pictures and with the ones prepared for questions.
If an element on the motorbike is damaged, that’s not necessarily a motive to keep away from it. Small breakages (or even a few bigger ones) can be changed at a low price with second-hand parts, so check out the common pricing for a substitute element and weigh up your alternatives.
If you plan to buy from afar and get the bike introduced, ensure you don’t forget the fee of postage and/or import taxes while searching at pricing
Step four: Making a deal
Once you’ve identified the motorcycle or motorcycles that hobby you the maximum and also you’ve requested as many questions as viable, it’s time to strike a deal.
When you’ve decided at the bike(s) on your price variety and asked a few questions, cross in with a low provide. Chances are the seller has indexed the motorbike at a better fee than they’re watching for
Always try and meet up with the seller. You’ll have a quite top idea right away whether or not it’s the bike for you and whether the vendor’s answers to your chronic wondering in shape up in actual existence to those furnished to your preceding communications
Even in case you don’t intend to select the motorcycle up, in my opinion, ask if it’s feasible to achieve this. If no longer, the one’s alarm bells have to be ringing
Step 5: Checking it over
Rachel units up her motorbike with group mechanic Joe.
Rachel Atherton and mechanic Joe check over her motorcycle
© TREK FACTORY RACING
Now you’ve chosen the bike or narrowed down a shortlist; it’s time to fulfill up and check it for unseen damage – be thorough, and don’t be shy!
Severely worn tires, brake pads right down to the steel, and rubber-much fewer grips are in all likelihood a sign that you’re looking at a heap
Put the motorcycle upside-down and test all welds and search for intense dents, specifically around the lowest-bracket (an area that takes numerous hits)
Check the suspension for obvious harm to the fork stanchions and surprise shaft – scratches and scrapes are awful information for sturdiness. Ask while the remaining time it became serviced turned into and what was worried.
Ensure there are not any leaks from the brakes, that they interact nicely and don’t stick – if they do, it’s a sign of terrible-to-zero renovation. Check the rotors for scoring – a sign that the pads are for the bin and that the motorcycle possibly hasn’t been that well looked after
Check the wheel spoke tensions – if they seem massively unbalanced, then it’s a signal that the vendor might have tried to cover up wheels that are on their final legs
Even if you aren’t there to check the bike in character, you can nonetheless ask for snapshots of those key areas.
Step 6: The purchase
Paying has to be the clean (if slightly painful) bit, but there are ways to shield yourself and ensure the most secure feasible transaction.
To reiterate, usually try and meet up to seal the deal. If you absolutely can’t, then cross in with as many greater questions as possible and ask for more photos. Get at the cellphone to the seller and ask but extra questions before intending with a fee
Avoid any non-protected bank transfers unless you already have the bike for your fingers (you’re with the vendor). The likes of PayPal offer proper purchaser protection for online transactions
If you meet in character and you’re glad about the bike and accept as true with the seller, then there’s little motive now not to make fee instant
If you haven’t met up and you paid online, what happens if your motorbike in no way suggests up? As lengthy as you’ve paid via a comfy provider, then you could boost a dispute in opposition to the vendor. Make positive you maintain all correspondences and offer the entirety – emails, textual content messages, notes from telephone calls – to the charging platform (i.E. PayPal) whilst you achieve this. It may be a lengthy process to get your money returned, but you’ll be glad you didn’t switch directly out of your bank account.
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Step 7: Go trip
Now trip away into the sunset in your flawlessly functioning, all-singing, all-dancing, new (form of) steed.
A huge thank you to Peter Ballin for his assistance with this option. Check out his books on a mountain bike, ski, and snowboard maintenance right here.
