# Tips for buying a used bike



## rjx (Apr 16, 2011)

I have been saving up for a Giant XTC 1 29er and I found one locally via craigslist.

Being a beginner I am afraid I might overlook important details while inspecting the bike.

Off the top of my head this is what I came up with:
- Inspect frame for cracks / dents / welding
- Test the derailleurs / shifters while riding
- Make sure rims aren't bent

I am not sure how to test a fork to make sure it's not defective.

Any ideas / tips of what to look for, and how to test it out would be much appreciated. Or specific questions to ask the seller over the phone.

The seller will be in my area tomorrow and said he will bring the bike if I am interested.

Being new, I am afraid of buying a lemon. That would be pretty devastating considering what I had to sacrifice to raise the money for the bike. The bike is stock except for an upgrade to the crank. He put in a Sram X9 2x10. I want everything to work flawlessly w/o needing to replace anything.

Thank you for any help.


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## mtbnozpikr (Sep 1, 2008)

rjx said:


> Being new, I am afraid of buying a lemon. That would be pretty devastating considering what I had to sacrifice to raise the money for the bike.


I hear you on the apprehension. When buying a used bike you covered a lot of what is important. With regard to derailleurs though, if your bike isn't shifting perfectly it could be that they simply need adjustment so that may or may not be terribly important. Cracks and dents are pretty much your largest deterrents and should be avoided like the plague (some dents are acceptable depending on many different factors but I won't go into that as it can be very complicated). You should find out how many miles are on the bike, spin the wheels and check to see if they are out of round (side to side can be fixed easily). Bearings should be smooth. With regard to the fork, you may want to make sure that the lowers and stanchions don't have any forward/backward play in them. Another important thing to check would be the derailleur hanger as most bikes have replaceable hangers but some don't. The bike you're interested in is easily supported but others are darn near impossible to get parts for so it's definitely something to keep in mind.

I hope this helps but it is certainly not the "be all, end all" list of what to look for and there are potentially other factors too. Good luck with your decision.


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

Check out sheldonbrown.com. Lots of great stuff on maintenance.

Of particular interest is drivetrain wear. It can feel and shift pretty good with a stretched chain, but that will require expensive replacement when it breaks - you'll need a new cassette and maybe some chain rings too. Measure the chain for stretch with a steel ruler or tape measure. (search "chain wear" on his site.)

Squeeze the front brake and try to rock the bike back and forth. Realistically, there's likely to be a little movement. But there shouldn't be any clunking.

Try to move the rims side-to-side. There may be a little flex, but there should be no clunking.

Honestly, I've been too lazy to do the next couple things...

Take the wheels off, and rotate the axles (NOT the quick release skewers) with your fingers. Feel for grinding.

Take the chain off the crank and rotate the crank with your fingers. Feel for grinding.

Rotate the fork from very close to the headset - like by the stem. Feel for grinding. Tilt the bike to the side with the front wheel installed. The weight of the wheel should be enough to make it flop.

Not all of these are necessarily deal breakers. Bottom brackets are cheap parts. Headsets are not that expensive, although installation can set you back some. Wheels are pretty pricey, and if you can feel grinding in the hubs, depending on type, it may be too late to repair.


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## rjx (Apr 16, 2011)

mtbnozpikr & AndrwSwitch, thank you very much for your detailed replies. I appreciate it a lot!! And thank you for the link.

I didn't know what a fork lower or stanchion was and I found it it on google images. I also didn't know what a derailleur hanger was and I also found it on google images.

I sent the seller the following questions (he lives about 20 miles away). I know it's a lot. But the way I see it is, if he won't answer all the questions, then maybe the bike isn't worth the $1450 he is asking. If he responds and everything sounds good I'm still going to inspect it in person.

-Do you have the original sales receipt?
-Are there any dents, cracks, or welding issues in the frame?
-Is there any rust?
-How often did you ride the bike?
-Where did you ride the bike?
-How many times (if any) was it serviced / tuned?
-Has anything been fixed or replaced (other than the crank)?
-Are the chain rings and sprocket teeth sharp or rounded?
-Do the wheels spin straight or do they wobble?
-If you try to move the rims side-to-side how much flex is there?
-Do the gears change quickly or are they sluggish?
-Do the gears slip when you put a lot of pressure on the pedals?
-Do the fork lowers and stanchions have any forward or backward movement in them?
-Is there any noticeable chain wear or cassette wear?
-If you squeeze the front brake and rock the bike back and forth, how much movement is there?

I didn't ask about mileage because he mentioned in an email he put on "around" 300 miles.

Thanks again for the help!


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

As a rule of thumb, bikes drop about half their value when they're resold.

The XTC 1 is advertised at $2050 this year. It could have been more last year, but that's rare.

http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-US/bikes/model/xtc.29er.1/7366/44091/

It's up to you to decide if the bike magically dropped $1000 of value or just $500. The extra value of a retail bike is in intangible things, mostly - you get a warranty on the frame, usually for five years or life, and usually a warranty on parts, usually for a year or two, you get the opportunity to try a bunch of different bikes all at once, and you help pay for branding, R&D, etc. Often, the shop will do some things like swapping a stem to improve fit for free, or letting the purchaser buy into an extended service plan of some sort. The value of a used bike, for me, is in its function. Not in branding, not in R&D, but how well it will do a certain job I want it to do. Frankly I'd rather not pay for branding and about half the R&D on new bikes either, but whatever.

I don't know the market where you are. You may not be able to do better for your budget. But, this sounds a bit high to me. Especially if the bike has been ridden much at all.

And this is just my opinion, which you can take or leave - but I don't think there's a SRAM crank that's an upgrade over the SLX that came on the bike, if that's what it was spec'd with in the year that guy's model is from. (What year, anyway?)


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

Also, I don't know if I'd ask the seller that list of questions. If I got asked that about a bike I was trying to sell, it would be a little of a "wtf!?" for me. Not that they're not legitimate concerns, but you might stick to the first five. Ask something about maintenance if you like, but it's not a car - he's not going to have a file with every receipt.

A lot of the other ones are pretty qualitative. All chain rings begin to round from the first time the crank is turned. There's no scale. He can't say they've reached a Rounding Index of 22. While it would be possible to describe wheel flex with that kind of precision, outside a lab it would be quite difficult. etc.

Also, with the movement I said to look for - it's not an issue of how much movement, but what kind of movement. If it's a "clunk" it's something that has play, so probably something worn out. With enough force, all materials known to man will flex, and while the flex of a bike frame shouldn't be something you can notice, there's a surprising amount (that's okay) in a fork or a wheel. I can tell you that when I squeeze the front brake and rock my bike, there's actually quite a lot of movement. Most of it is the front tire, but I'm confident there's some from the front wheel and some from the fork as well.

Noticeable chain and cassette wear wouldn't happen until waaay too late to replace the chain and still have a usable drivetrain. Did you look at Sheldon Brown's site? Did you look at the part on drivetrain wear? Chain "stretch" is still at less than 1% when a chain is worn out.

If you're worried about it, see if your shop will let you bring it in so they can look. I've heard of a lot of people doing that.


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## rjx (Apr 16, 2011)

Personally I would prefer $50% off of retail, or at least MSRP for a used bike depending on the age and condition.

In the past when I try to bargain with sellers they usually feel insulted with my offer and end up selling the bike anyway. I am in the Bay Area (Santa Clara) where it's too expensive to live.

The lowest I have found this bike new locally is $1800 + tax (9.25%) and that's only if they honor their quote from last week. Otherwise I am going to try to get a store to price match which is 35 miles away. So even if I was to buy it new, due to the distance, I probably wouldn't take it to that shop for service.

My local Giant dealer is about 5 minutes away and theirs was $1825. But that store is horrible. Some of the worst customer service I have experienced in many years. So I don't want to deal with them any longer.

I don't know. I am nervous to buy an expensive bike used from some random person with no rating / feedback system. I have been buying and selling on the net since the 90's, but those were items I had a lot of experience with and knew a lot about. Bike mechanics I am just learning about. Buying an old cheap bike from some random person I would be more relaxed about.

I saved enough to buy new, maybe I'll just stick with that plan. With my minimal knowledge it would give me peace of mind.


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## rjx (Apr 16, 2011)

AndrwSwitch said:


> If you're worried about it, see if your shop will let you bring it in so they can look. I've heard of a lot of people doing that.


There is a great shop near me that doesn't sell Giant bikes, but I thought maybe I could call and ask how much they would charge to look over the bike and see what might be wrong, if anything. They provide excellent service for their customers and maybe they would do something like that for me. I could ask the seller to meet me there. And I could pay him on the spot if nothing is wrong with the bike and then pay for a tune up. But I am thinking twice about buying this bike used now. :madman:


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

You could just buy a new bike from the shop you like.

Another thing it think about is a 2010 bike if you can find one that's been sitting on a shop floor.

And where you're located, you should have fairly decent access to some large inventories of bikes. REI can be good for still having bikes, there have to be some used shops in Santa Clara, and I know for a fact that if you hop over Highway 17, there are some used shops in Santa Cruz. Although you may be looking for a higher end bike than what many used shops will deal in.

Is there a reason you're set on a Giant XTC 1 29er? It seems very specific...


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## rjx (Apr 16, 2011)

AndrwSwitch said:


> Is there a reason you're set on a Giant XTC 1 29er? It seems very specific...


I was most interested in the Fisher Paragon, XTC, Stumpjumper Comp 29er, and Marin Nail Trail 29er.

REI and Sports Chalet are local and carry Marin Bikes, but not the Nail Trail. I would not order it w/o being able to test it first. And the next closest Marin dealer would also have to order it. The other dealers are too far away from where I live.

The Paragon is completely sold out at the factory in my size and I was told by a Fisher dealer the 2012's might not be released until August or September.

The Stumpjumper was a late addition to my list but I am loving what I have been reading about the XTC compared to it. I test rode the Stumpy and thought it felt great. This was at the shop that treats their customers well. And I test rode the XTC at the other shop that has poor customer service, but I didn't really pay attention to the test ride due to a lousy customer experience. I was very irritated and couldn't focus on what I was there to do since it's hard for me to just let things slide when I am mad.

Before I make my final decision I want to re-test the XTC with a clear mind at a different shop so I can determine if I like the feel. A thread I created regarding the Stumjumper and XTC only made me more interested in the Giant.

These are all the bikes I considered. Unfortunately am unable to test ride many of them.
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spr...SkY1RTJvZzVyUFh0N3c&hl=en_US&authkey=COiml7kL

I appreciate all your help


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## AndrwSwitch (Nov 8, 2007)

Wow. I thought I got thorough when I was choosing some new wheels.

For the most part, I like the spec. on the Giant better. The Shimano drivetrain and Fox fork are both pretty big pluses. However, I've got Avid Elixirs, and they're a product and brand name that have been around a while. Shimano has been adding disc brakes to their mid-range component groups only recently. I wouldn't be surprised if they take over a huge amount of market share quickly, but I'd like the product to be around a little while before getting too enthused.

It sounds like emotionally the Specialized worked a bit better for you, but the shop had something to do with it. So it sounds like you've shortlisted two great bikes, and just have to make a final selection. Terrible problem to have.


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## beanbag (Nov 20, 2005)

You should also make sure the bike is not stolen.

Why don't you ask on the Norcal forum to see if somebody can help you out with the inspection? People who are a lot more experienced with bikes will be able to quickly spot problems without having to go thru a list, and they will also have a good idea of whether something is a problem or not, how much it costs to fix, etc. 

IMHO, and I am not trying to be mean,I don't think you have enough experience to properly evaluate the used bike. For example, let's say one of the wheels has a little free play. Do you know if it's as easy as adjusting a cone nut? Do you have a cone wrench? Maybe you have to change out one of the cartridge bearings. Do you have a bearing press?


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## 3names (Feb 7, 2015)

Hello i have some questions and i would really appreciate your answers.

I am in the process of buying a used all mountain bike. Unfortunatly the budget is quite low. I am prepared to pay up to 650 euro that is a round 720 $. So today i looked at a zesty 08. The price is 550 $. Now i know that for this kind of mo ey i cannot expect a new bike. Basicly the only thing that stopped me from buying it was the sound of the fork.

Fork is a rockshox revelation dual position air. Good thing is the fork dives and returns nicely. It is a constant motion it dives smoothly. The rebound adjuster works and the difference in rebound speed is noticable. The compression adjuster works as well although it could work better. 

Now the dual position system does not work or should i say the difference between the two setting is maybhalf an inch instead of 40 mm. But i dont really need this dual position so no big deal. The problem was the sound when the fork dived. It sounded like you can hear the oil moving in the fork or something like that. 

The same goes with the rear shock it moved smoothly but there was some sound. The shock is a flot r. 

The questin is does the suspension need only a service. I am mainly worried about the fork or will i need to buy a new one soon. Oh and also the stancions of the fork are without any damage but the lower legs are quite bumped. Any issues with that.

Thank you very much for any replies.


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