Used Mountain Bikes
Secondhand, Third-hand,
Whatever Hand
They can Still satisfy your Needs

Used Bikes may be a choice worth Your Attention.
And You surely don’t Need to be a Mechanical Engineer to Understand the Main Principles of Buying Secondhand

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Why Choose Used?

Just like buying a used car. You are on budget or you don’t want to spend that extra money for brand new shining stuff. The second option is even more likely since used mountain bike may be the wise choice.

Why?..

Let’s evaluate Price-Value ratio.

Let’s say we have 700 USD budget for our next mountain bike. Certainly this budget won’t let us acquire higher than entry-level bike. What about used one?

It’s more promising.

With such a budget we are already prepared to challenge and defeat the online auction bidders competing for used famous brand bike.

It is for you to decide whether famous brand guarantees quality. On the other hand – isn’t that quality that makes them famous?

I may sound conservative, but I would trust used brand bike and bike components more than new shining no-names…

How Choose Used?

Be sharp-eyed. It may be used, but if your target bike has been serviced regularly (service receipts are saved? Perfect) or even completely overhauled you will notice that immediately.

If you don’t believe in first impression, it is time to start asking questions and gathering information. Get some information from previous owner...

When the bike was manufactured? Was it used for hard off-road challenges or for smooth Sunday rides? What about periodical maintenance? Any accidents in the past?

You will find the answers very useful. Just use your human judgement.

And don’t forget that the owner always tends to give you better truth than it is.

Again, be sharp-eyed.

All serious online sellers provide plenty of photos of their bikes. Be patient and analyse every inch of them. Ask for more if you are not sure what you are seeing. Seller which is confident of his item won’t hesitate to give you more bike views, including...

Frame – check and avoid any fractures especially on seat tube, head tube and bottom bracket since these are the areas undergoing the most tensions.

Chainwheels and sprockets – avoid sharp shapes of the teeth. Sharp teeth (sorry for allusion with animal planet...) mean that chainwheel or sprockets are already worn out and tired. Be prepared for replacement any time soon.

Rust – it is obvious that bike materials (paint job) are damaged, older than expected, or bike was used in wet conditions a lot. Neither of these is acceptable.

Don’t be too critical, however. It is a used mountain bike. Accept normal wear and various non critical scuffs and scratches.

How “old” should you go? Well, if you are not considering a vintage mountain bike, better look for something not older than 2-3 years.

Finally, pay attention to the bike’s frame size.

Show Me the Money

Do your online home works when choosing used mountain bikes for sale.

Check the prices of new bikes in the same category. Compare the savings with possible expenditures for cosmetic (or even more serious) repair of your new-used-bike. Is it worth?

Let’s continue with...

Assessment of age and condition of the bike.

Don’t be over-fascinated with obviously lower than medium market price. Sharp-eyed, remember?

Finally compare several used mountain bikes with each other.

Bike with more than average depreciation should cost less than used mountain bike in perfect condition, always kept indoors and recently overhauled.

And one final thing – buying online is lot about mutual confidence.

Keep looking for sellers which accept returns and refunds if your purchase doesn’t meet your expectations.

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That’s it with Used Mountain Bikes. Proceed to Bike Shop

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