- Buying a used, second-hand bike
is potentially a great way
of getting a better bike for your budget.
Now this one isn't gonna win the Tour de France
but we did pick it up for just 90 quid.
So that's like, 100 euros or 110 bucks.
Now there is the risk, of course,
that when buying a used bike
you end up spending good money
on a complete pile of rubbish.
But let me assure you
that buying a used bike
is a far simpler process than buying a used car.
For a start, there's much less that can go wrong.
But then, crucially, you can actually check everything over
before you buy it without even needing tools.
How you find the bike is kind of up to you.
You could look at Craig's List or Gumtree,
or your local paper or a bike shop notice board,
word-of-mouth which is particularly good,
and then of course eBay,
although that does require a slightly different technique.
But if we fast-forward through the finding process
we will get to the point where at which you will go and see
what is potentially your new bike.
And it's at this point that I'm gonna show you
how you can avoid buying a complete turkey.
Firstly, we're gonna wanna check over
probably the most valuable part of the bike,
the frame and forks.
We wanna make sure that it's not bent, or cracked,
or dented, or starting to rust.
So, start at the front of the bike,
and very thoroughly check it over.
So we want to look for signs of bubbling
under the paint work that might indicate
that it's becoming corroded.
And then we also want to look closely for dents,
and, particularly if it's a carbon bike, cracks,
even hairline cracks.
And then, bending is slightly harder to spot,
or at least by eyeball,
so what you want to do is take the bike for a test ride
and then try and take your hands off the handlebars.
If you can normally do that,
but you're struggling on the new bike,
then the chances are that it might be out of alignment.
(cash register ringing)
If you're happy with the frame and forks,
then we're gonna start checking over the other components.
So, first up,
we're gonna begin by pulling on the front brake
and then rocking the bike backwards and forwards.
If you feel a knocking noise,
then chances are that it's got a loose headset.
So that's just two bearings at the top
and at the bottom here.
Now, they are quite easily fixed
and indeed not very expensive to replace.
But, if the bike's got a loose headset,
it suggests to me that the person who owns it
hasn't looked after it very well,
in which case we're gonna need to proceed
with a bit more caution.
(cash register ringing)
Wheels.
Pretty important I think you'll agree.
Give them a good spin.
Make sure that they are straight.
A couple of millimetres out,
and you can easily get that trued up.
Any more, you wanna start thinking about raising the alarm.
Also, check spoke tension.
So grab ahold of the spokes.
They should feel nice and tight.
And then, whilst we're still down here,
have a look at the rim braking surface itself.
So it should be pretty much flat.
If it's concave then that suggests that the rim itself
is nearly worn out.
And that's pretty expensive.
(cash register ringing)
Grab the tyre,
and try and move the wheel from side to side.
If there's any play or knocking
then it suggests that the wheel bearings are worn out.
They can be replaced but factor it in.
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Inspect the tyre as well.
How worn out is it?
Is there a flat spot down the middle?
And are there any cuts or holes that might mean
that it needs to be replaced.
This part of the bike here
is called the drivetrain,
and whilst each individual part of it
might not be that be that expensive,
because it's all so well-linked,
actually you'll find that if you need to replace one part,
you might often need to replace more.
So, it is worth checking the condition of it really closely.
We're gonna start by looking at the chain.
So pop the bike in the big chain ring in the front.
And then grab a link of chain and try and pull it away
from the chain ring.
Now how far the chain moves
shows how worn out it is.
This one is actually in really good shape.
If you can pull it away much more than that,
then you're gonna need to replace the chain,
at then which point, we need to definitely
look at the other bits too.
(cash register ringing)
A worn out chain is likely to mean worn out chain rings,
so these two bits here,
and also a worn out cassete.
They are unfortunately a little bit harder to tell
if they are on the way out,
but what you're looking for are teeth that are uneven,
so they're more worn out on one side
and it gives them a shark tooth kind of profile.
So these are alright but that one there
gives you a bit of an idea of what they might look like.
(cash register ringing)
Derailleurs.
The actual parts that change your gears for you.
Important and also potentially expensive to replace.
To check them, we need to actually change gears
and see whether everything works smoothly.
If it doesn't,
it may actually not be the fault of the derailleur.
It might that you have worn or rusty gear cables.
And that's not serious.
Those are very easy to replace.
And so we also need to move the derailleurs by hand,
so literally grab them with your thumb and forefingers.
If they feel stiff,
then they may well need some serious TLC.
And then whilst we're there,
also give them a bit of a waggle.
If there's too much movement,
then again that might show the derailleur is on the way out.
(cash register ringing)
Before we leave the drivetrain,
one last test,
and that is to grab the crank,
so the bit near the pedal
and then just try and move it from side to side.
If there's any play
then that shows that the bottom bracket,
which is the two bearings that live inside the frame,
is worn out.
And that might need replacing.
And that's not a straightforward job.
(cash register ringing)
Believe it or not,
we're nearly there.
Brakes though, incredibly important obviously
but just like with your gears,
the cables could actually be misleading.
So don't squeeze the levers necessarily.
You want to squeeze the callipers directly.
So they should move really quite easily
and they should spring back instantly.
Any stiffness and that could then mean they need replacing.
There are things on the bike where actually,
it doesn't really matter that much
so you shouldn't let them colour your impression
of the overall bike itself.
So right now I'm looking at dirty bar tape.
Absolutely revolting but easy to replace.
And then, there's also brake pads.
So worn out brake pads are relatively inexpensive.
You've just got to remember to change them
if you do buy the bike.
And then also,
as I've been talking about the brake and gear cables,
those are relatively inexpensive,
straightforward to replace,
but they can completely transform the way the bike
actually feels to ride, so probably a good investment.
In fact,
pretty much everything on the bike can indeed be replaced.
You just have to factor it in
to the cost of the bike itself,
and therein, I suppose, lies the trick.
You can get a complete bargain
even if you need to replace
the chain, the brake pads, and the bar tape as well.
But it does mean though,
while buying a decent second-hand bike is straightforward,
it's probably best done by someone that has a little bit
of mechanical know-how.
And if you don't have that much mechanical know-how,
then please make sure you set aside a little bit of money
to actually be able to take the bike
into a local bike shop,
and get them to have a look at it
before you get it on the road,
just to make sure that it is roadworthy.
Now another option is of course GCN
because we are quite the online resource
for mechanical know-how.
So your first port of call should probably be
to subscribe to the channel.
It's completely free.
To do it you've just got to click on the globe.
And then right now,
the two jobs I need to do are changing the bar tape,
so if you want to see a video on that
you can click just up there,
and reconditioning a rear derailleur.
If you want to see that video click just down there.