Bike4more sustainability….

If you are looking for a new bike to ride you should follow steps 1 and 2. You might consider looking for a used bike. You might be able to find a great deal and get a bike with some history and soul.

Buy a used bike and ride it places. Work,School, Movies, a thinner you. Reduce Reuse Recycle.

HOW TO BUY A USED BIKE

A. Become a garage sale eagle. Be able to spot two spoked wheels and a frame from the street at 25mph! I can spot a good fixed gear conversion candidate from 50 yards away on a sunday morning on the way to breakfast .

B. Check your local Craigslist, there is usually a smattering of random bikes for sale but once in awhile there is something resembling a bike that might have potential for a reasonable sum of money…. Call the owner and go get it. Always bargain

C. Ebay I love ebay for many things including bike parts. Buying a complete bike however can be kind of a PITA. Shipping and Cognitive Dissonance being the most troublesome issues at hand.

Vintage bike buying/hunting/stalking is much more emotional and can only be explained in long stories about old Schwinn Paramounts and gas-pipe Raleighs. More on this subject later. Or you can waste days at the Fixed Gear Gallery like I do.

When you’ve found a bike you like, go and look at it.
Consider all, some or as many of these following circumstances as possible

1. Does it fit you really well or is it outrageously too large or small? Straddle the top
tube, there should be 1-2 inches of clearance minimum before anything anatomical attached to you touches the frame.
A. Too big? If it is a little too big you might be able to make it work but you should get a
second opinion. Way too big? move on.
B. Too small? You are more likely to be able to ride a bike that is a little too small. If it
is hobbit small then move on or call your closest vertically challenged friend.

2.Does it work really well? Go, stop, shift, shift some more. If it does not then factor in your own or a mechanic’s time to get it sorted out. RIDE THE BIKE to make sure it fits and actually rolls. Brakes should be smooth, quiet, and effective. Shifts should be crisp and quick. The bike should turn smoothly. If it needs help plan to spend some time or money to get it fixed. Adjust your offer accordingly. Second opinions are valuable.

2. How are the wear items? Tires, brake pads,bar tape, brake/shift cables, chain, seat?
If it needs any of these things, automatically deduct the retail price of the parts from the offering price. Possibly the installed price.

3. Is the frame in awesome shape? Paint chips, clearcoat discoloration, carbon fogged or cracked, RUST ?? If the paint looks great and has alot of graphics and words all over it then it is probably the factory paint. If it is a newer bike that is all one color with no graphics at all then it is probably a repainted wreck. ( just like a car) Use your car buying knowledge here.

4. Take 50 dollars from the offer for a rusty chain no explanation needed. Just a rule deal with it.

5. Offer to give the seller back that ginormous picnic basket seatbag or (fill in the blank with something attached to the bike that has no current or future value to you.)

6. Take 5 bucks from the offer and offer to return the spoke reflectors because
“I wont be needing these”

7. You can try to convince the seller that the bike will need a full tune up which could cost 50-100 bucks. Ouch that one hurts.
Tip: Learn to fix it yourself or meet some new bike geek people like me who can fix it for laughs.

If all other attempts to whittle down the sellers confidence and patience have not worked so far then try my closing move:

Caution… Practice this move on somebody below you at your workplace or home to get the timing and order correct.

You can learn the dark art of the Compliment Sandwich <—Click this one its good
You can say “Well it looks like you have really taken good care of the bike” While scanning the frame and other structural pieces of the bike with your eyes.

Then while squeezing and pulling at the questionable areas of the bike.
“But It looks like it is going to need a new front tire and brake pads and cables. I’ll have to have most of that done somewhere.”

To finish them off “But its in such great shape and its my size and the paint is perfect!!!”

>MAKE IMMEDIATE AND UNUSUALLY LONG EYE CONTACT WHILE MAKING YOUR FINAL OFFER. “How about $125?”

After that, it is all your own instinct. Do your best but remember you can’t win them all.

P.S if it is an old bike being bought from an original owner then do not tell them you plan on cutting off all the cable hangers and making it a brakeless fixed gear. They will cry, so wait until you’ve paid the cash and are loading the bike into the truck. Avoid eye contact.

Got any old/used/unloved/new/wierd/difficult/vintage bike questions you need answered? Shoot me an email. Zak@bike4more.com