Bike shop vs. Craigslist

[FoundPeace]

I am ready to take the plunge and buy a bike for my transportation needs. I don't know much about bikes, so I'm a little skeptical about buying one off of Craigslist. I know that a lot of stolen and abused bikes end up on craigslist, and I would like to avoid this. I have read plenty on the subject, ( like http://biodieselhauling.blogspot.com/2012/01/buying-bikes-from-craigslist.html) but I would end up taking it to a bike shop to have it looked at after I buy it.

Would I be saving hundreds of dollars or $50? I live in the Portland, OR area, so there are a lot of bikes for sale on craigslist, and there are a lot of bike shops that sell used bikes.

I would really appreciate any advice you guys could give me!


*some more info.
My current apartment is about 15 miles from my work, so it would need to be a good bike. I am going to take a mixture of public transportation and my bike at first, because I know that is a long ride on a bike.

[AlanStache]

CL is great IF you know what you are looking at and you have time both to go look at stuff and to wait for the right product to be available on CL.  Extra hassle with bikes are they are NOT one size fits all. 

How much you would be saving is hard to say, you could even pay more on CL.  BUT buying from a dealer I would expect the bike to be in better condition (for an average used bike, but you can get GREAT deals on CL but you need to know what you are looking at).  What would you save if you had to take a CL bike to a shop to get a tune up?  If you dont know what you are looking at talk to friends who ride a bike if they have a good source or go look in a few shops and see what the prices are.  If the shop is not nice and helpful to a new rider, leave.

Sorry no simple answer.

Also a lot of shops will give you like 10% off gear the day you buy the bike (helmet/lock/reflector/etc can add up), also some may even give you a free tune up X months after you buy.

[gimp]

Bike shops have a gross margin of about 50% on bikes. Or at least the one my friend worked at did. Consider that in your calculus.

[onemorebike]

Stop through the Community Cycling Center there in Portland. They sell refurbished bikes (refurbished by mechanics and trained volunteers) and will help you get both your bang for your buck and reassure you of the mechanical condition of the bike.

[vhalros]

When I first got a bike, I ended up going to a shop. I tried looking on Craig's List, but not knowing much about bikes, it was really hard to tell what was even worth looking at. Its even hard to feel if a bike is in good condition if you don't know what they feel like new. At the shop, I was able to try a bunch of different bikes and get actual useful advice from the sales person. Also came with free tune-ups for the year.

A year later once I had ridden a bit and managed to develop some opinions, I bought one off Craig's List, and sold the first one. I managed to sell it for only $75 less than I bought it for, so it didn't really cost me much.

Also, I know that around here many shops have a significant stock of used bikes; these are cheaper than new bikes, but more expensive than Craig's List. But have been attended to by mechanics and usually come with some kind of warranty. This could be a good option.

You are looking at spending 50%-75% of the cost of a new bike by buying it on CL, depending on age and condition.

As far as avoiding stolen bikes, you can do a little due diligence. Deals that are too good to be true probably are. Ask the person why they are selling it, where they got it, how old it is, repair history, etc. Obviously they could make stuff up, but you do what you can.  I'm fairly certain my used one was not stolen, since I don't think any one living in a $400k house has a side job stealing bicycles.

[Mr. Frugalwoods]

Since it sounds like you are just trying out biking to work, I'd buy a bike on craigslist.  If you turn out to enjoy it and it becomes part of your routine... then sell the CL bike back on CL (hopefully for what you paid originally) and then go invest in a decent bike from your local bike store.

I see too many people who drop ~$800 on a new bike and then don't use it enough to justify it.

[YK-Phil]

Stop through the Community Cycling Center there in Portland. They sell refurbished bikes (refurbished by mechanics and trained volunteers) and will help you get both your bang for your buck and reassure you of the mechanical condition of the bike.

+1 I don't know this particular community group but the one I go to in Calgary (The Good Life Community Bike Shop) is a fantastic, friendly, and welcoming place to buy a solid bike for cheap, get good advice from the "greasers", and learn to maintain/fix your bike if you are willing to learn and get dirty a little. Unlike in bike shop where even the good salesperson will try to set you up with an expensive ride and will make you feel like a dumbass because you don't know the difference between a bottom bracket and a banana seat, community groups are much less intimidating for newbies.

[Left]

I like both, I got mine from craigslist mainly because I didn't find a good looking modern mixte that did better than the 12 speed one I saw there for the same price $50.

Yes, it cost money to get it tuned up (I tried myself and didn't get it right so I sucked in my pride and paid the local shop). Overall it cost about the same as if I would have bought one from the store, which they refurbished for me anyways since I paid them for it. So cost about the same but I came out with a bike I liked more

[brandino29]

Bike shops have a gross margin of about 50% on bikes. Or at least the one my friend worked at did. Consider that in your calculus.

I don't think this is very accurate at all.  In my experience, most local bike shops make little margin on complete bikes and do most of their business in service and accessories.  Big box stores like Wal-Mart are very different in this regard and probably do net 50% margin on bikes but they're shitty quality, put together by a teenager with no bike mechanic training, and priced way higher than a bike of comparable quality would be found at a LBS.

My vote is the local bike shop (or the community bike center).  Those guys know bikes and establishing a relationship with them will be very helpful when you need work done, or parts if you're doing the work yourself. 

[frugaliknowit]

Echo bandino 29.

Part of the decision depends on how valuable your time is.

Here in Chicago, whenever I have attempted to get the frame size of a bike on craigslist, if I am lucky I get, "I dunno", "the wheels are 24", "I am 5'8" and it fits me".  Good luck trying to get someone to measure the frame before you schlep all the way over to their pad.  Whenever I have been interested in one, it seems like the asking price is 75% of retail (couple years old).  A long time ago, I bought a used Schwin mountain bike from a shop which turned out to be a POS.  I ended up spending more time and money trying to fix it than it was worth.  If you have an extra $500 in your recreation account (in other words, if it is not painful), buy a good bike such as Specialized Sirus (just an example) and be freagin done with it!

[jjcamembert]

I've had good success going to bike-swaps. Usually they're in spring so you'd have to wait a bit but then you have a large selection of used bikes that you can review and test drive. Figure out what specs and price range you're looking for and then arrive early for the best selection.

[FoundPeace]

Thanks for all the good advice. I think I will stop by the community bike center in Portland this week and see what they've got.

[darkadams00]

If you haven't been riding, then learning online and using CL takes a bit of time. If you've been riding but want to start doing something new, e.g. you've been hitting the trails with your mountain bike and now you want to start riding to work, then you probably know a little more, so the reading/learning curve might not be quite as steep. The wait for a good bike on CL might still take a while.

Or you can get onto a new/newer bike at your LBS for more money but in less time. Just make sure you're using a bike shop that has knowledgeable sales/service staff.

If you plan to park your car and burn miles on your bike, the savings might be worth getting on with the bike--even new--sooner rather than later. I dropped our second car around the time I got my commuter bike. The savings would still have covered the cost of a new bike. I just happen to like researching new ideas/activities, and I hit a hot deal on a CL bike.