2nd Hand Bikes

[Mblaster]

I've been look at getting a new bike as my current ride is getting pretty old and knackered, and thought 2nd hand bikes could be a good option as I don't have too much to spend at the moment.

I have found a few promising bikes on ebay, but is there anywhere else to look for 2nd hand bikes? And any comments on buying a 2nd hand bike in general?

I'm looking at hard tail mountain bikes, around the £200-250 mark (can go higher, but lower is better ).

[Guy]

If you've got a good independant bike shop near you, go in and ask them, chances are there keen riders and will know of friends/people that visit there shop that have got bikes for sale.

[adrianslack]

Try some of the cycling forums, in the classified sections. Might be a good place to find a bargain and with some knowledgable people to help you out. For example, try bikeradar.com in their MTB Classifieds section.

[Moby-Dick]

If you've got a good independant bike shop near you, go in and ask them, chances are there keen riders and will know of friends/people that visit there shop that have got bikes for sale.

You'll probably get a better deal than on ebay too

[Flibb]

My local independant does bike hire, and they get sold after a few seasons. Most have only been used on gentle trails, and are well looked after.

[Guy]

You'll probably get a better deal than on ebay too

Yep, and chances are it would be local so you could see it first, and usually the bike shops will have serviced/sold them to start with.

Oh also Moby, are there any good trails round your way? Next time Im up in MK I might see if I can chuck the bike in the boot if its a nice day.

[Moby-Dick]

I believe so , couple of guys taking their cycling pretty seriously in the office, I'll check with them.

areas to the south of MK are the more interesting ones I think ( little brickhill/woburn sands way )

[Guy]

Cool, not looking for anything to extreme, just a nice couple of runs here and there

[Recoil]

As others have said,

Theres a few sites I would check on, then also look to putting up a wanted thread in all of them!

Single Track World
Bike Radar
UK-MTB

All of these sites have a wanted/selling forums. Check them and keep in good contact with someone who you might want to purchase off! Most people are genuine on there, and most peeps will give you advice on what to look for!

I know its a little out of your budget, but just to give you an idea, someone on UK-MTB sold a quality Orange P7 with all the decent kit on it - SLX/XT Hope brakes, Reba Forks - That bike was well worth the £325 that someone bought it for.. Bikes unless rare - dont really seem to sell on that well unless brand new really. Well worth the bargins if you can find one thats been well looked after..

Bar that check ebay, though you really need to see the bike up close!

Hope this helps!

[Mblaster]

Thanks for the advice all. I've been looking through the classifieds on the forums linked, and there's not a lot in the 17/18" size, missed out on this by a few days unfortunately, hopefully something similar will be around again soon.

[MPJ88]

Most of the bike shops ive worked in have done part ex or bought 2nd hand bikes to sell on so go try a shop!