Buying a second hand carbon bike?

[DerikvRvO]

I want to buy myself my first carbon road bike.

 

Is it okay to buy a second hand carbon bike and if I do what should I look for before buying?

[Malpiet]

Its normally safe esp from a weekend warrior, if its a ex team bike I'll be careful although they maintained, they also ridden hard.

 

I normally check for any paint chips esp on the underside of the down tube this normally says the bike is either well used or not.

 

any scratches or road rash will also give you a indication of its past but isn't always clear cut.

 

then the chain stays on the drive side for any chain slap marks.

 

Anything 2nd hand is "voets toets"

 

[King_Crispy]

I have a secondhand carbon bike.

I've done 3 rides with it, and just bought carbon tubbies, which I haven't even used yet. I just can't seem to gain the enjoyment that I do on my SS mtb.

It has a full Ultegra groupset on, brand new 50mm tubbies and is a carbon team GT roadbike. All I want is R22k to almost cover the costs excluding carbon wheels

[Sharkie 2]

Its normally safe esp from a weekend warrior, if its a ex team bike I'll be careful although they maintained, they also ridden hard.

 

I normally check for any paint chips esp on the underside of the down tube this normally says the bike is either well used or not.

 

any scratches or road rash will also give you a indication of its past but isn't always clear cut.

 

then the chain stays on the drive side for any chain slap marks.

 

 

Anything 2nd hand is "voets toets"

Sound advice but not entirely true on voet stoets though, you can't hide a latent defect from a person

[G-Unit]

 

Sound advice but not entirely true on voet stoets though, you can't hide a latent defect from a person

 

Ja, in my understanding of the new consumer protection act , there is no longer such a thing as voetstoots.

 

Personally, I have bought 2 second hand carbon bikes with no issues. The only thing worth mentioning is that warranties are not transferable from the original owner to the second buyer.

[Tumbleweed]

Sound advice but not entirely true on voet stoets though, you can't hide a latent defect from a person

 

Problem is that you have to prove that the seller knew of the defect at the time of the transfer. Gets murky.

 

Also, the CPA doesn't apply to private sales.

Edited June 19, 2014 by Tumbleweed

[Pieterg]

Be carefull when buying take an expert with

[Li Mu Bai]

like anything second hand, you have absolutely no knowledge of the items history and whats its been through. Whether its been ridden hard, or suffered a "fall-over" standing parked against a lamp post.

and in the case of carbon, not getting the warrantee passed over is a problem, because you are on your own when it finally does decide to develop that little hairline crack.

[King_Crispy]

If ally is dented, you throw it away.

If carbon is cracked you have it repaired.

Easy peasy

[Brett]

I agree with king_crispy. If anything ever does go wrong you can have it repaired.

Otherwise you can insure the bike for replacement value and claim if it brakes.

[JGR]

Safer than buying a second hand car