Best selection of used bikes?

cormie

Hi,
My dad asked me to keep an eye out for a bike for him, just one that'll be used a few times during the summer, nothing special. I reckon a hybrid would be best for him. He wont be doing any mad downhill off mountains, or racing anyone into work, just taking it easy enjoying the scenery with a mix of dirt tracks and normal road. I also want pretty much the same for another person too. My dad is 5'7 ish and wouldn't be fit at all, he's not overweight but is quite proud of his belly. I then want pretty much the exact same for another person, she's 5'10, tall and slim.

Would a hybrid be the best option for both and what about frame size and all that and how can I measure this if the sales person hasn't a clue?

Can anyone recommend anywhere, preferably in Dublin, or South Dublin/Bray area that would have a good selection of used bikes which would be taken care of and have been given a full service before being sold?

Any feedback appreciated

E@gle.

I think most bike shops wont take in a 2nd hand bikes any more unless they are trade ins and in very good condition usually road bikes.

I reckon your better off buying a hybrid

cormie

I don't think the use it would get would really warrant buying new, for both bikes. I spotted a nice dawes discovery 2nd hand in Dun Laoghaire going for 80 euro, but it was already sold.

Have you any idea what sized bikes I should be looking for for both the 5'7 man and the 5'10 lady?

cunnins4

I think humphries cycles in finglas have 2nd hand bikes and that guy down in fairview used to have them, although he's not had the best feedback on the board iirc.

Capt'n Midnight

put a wanted ad on adverts.ie

cormie

Thanks again for the replies Does anyone know what size bikes I should be looking for for both people? Does the bike size really matter to just casual users?

RDM_83

I'd check out the UCD bike shop I've bought an old raliegh and an old Trek (100 euro for the Trek 721 but then 50 on stuff like new chain, cassette etc ) from there both do the job, was in a rush to get them and have seen better deals for similar on adverts.ie .They also sell second hand trek bikes from irish cycle tours for 250 euro which too my unexperienced eyes look quite nice.
They'd probably also fix them up for you but I went to the squarewheel.

cormie

Thanks for the suggestion. Is it a shop run by UCD to give students cheap bikes? Is it in the campus?

neilled

cormie wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestion. Is it a shop run by UCD to give students cheap bikes? Is it in the campus?

Nope, its was formerly run by Eamon Ryan of the Green Party, I believe it has since been passed on to a family member (sister?). Fully commercial operation but pitches according to the market - 24,000 penniless students. Well us culchies and nordies. The South Dublin Brigade all drive to the uni, after all, "cycling is so, loike for the boggers and peasants".

A combined part of the operation is a cycling tours business, so they sell off the bikes that have had a summers use. These have historically been trek navigators
http://www.trekbikes.com/uk/en/bikes/2008/bike_path/navigator/navigator20equippede/
and they go for around €250-€300 or so in September. Highly practical commuting machines for those who want to take it easy as opposed to the flat bar racer style.

cormie

€250 would be way over budget for both bikes unfortunately. Be about €100 each to spend.

Do they have a good selection of used bikes for about €100 would you know?


Can anyone tell me what size bike I should be after for both people?

the boss of me

There's a shop on Dorset St between the junction of Gardiner and NCR that has loads of secondhand bikes outside. I've never inspected the bikes but they do seem to be in an around the €100 mark.

oobydooby

RDM_83 wrote: »

I'd check out the UCD bike shop I've bought an old raliegh and an old Trek (100 euro for the Trek 721 but then 50 on stuff like new chain, cassette etc ) from there both do the job, was in a rush to get them and have seen better deals for similar on adverts.ie .They also sell second hand trek bikes from irish cycle tours for 250 euro which too my unexperienced eyes look quite nice.
They'd probably also fix them up for you but I went to the squarewheel.

+1

Also, unless you're lucky, a 100 euro bike will give annoying problems that will be hard to fix. Get something reliable. These Trek tanks are excellent.

cormie

Thanks again, I don't think they'll get enough use to justify spending €250 and they probably wont get enough use for any major problems to surface either, I hope

So, can anyone tell me what size frame I should be after for a 5'7 man and a 5'10 lady?

blorg

You'll want to be very careful around the €100 mark, it is going to be very difficult to get something that works for that. Not impossible but very difficult. Definately go adverts.ie/ Buy and Sell, you won't get anything decent at that price from a bike shop. Best time of the year is probably end summer when people who thought they might give cycling a go chuck it in. There is definately the risk you will end up getting something that you would only spend more on fixing.

That Dawes Discovery sounded like a good buy, keep an eye out for similar. Sizing is probably not that critical with a hybrid as they tend to be quite compact geometry and have a lot of adjustment potential in seatpost and stem (my own Dawes Discovery has an adjustable stem.) You could probably go with the "inch clearance" rule. I am 6ft and went for 21-23" in hybrids in the past if that helps any. I would probably take a wild guess and suggest 18" and 20" respectively.

You might also consider chainreactioncycles.com which has some Dawes hybrids new around the GBP 100 mark.

TinyExplosions

cormie wrote: »

So, can anyone tell me what size frame I should be after for a 5'7 man and a 5'10 lady?

Depends on their inside leg measurements, and what they are looking for, if they want to be very upright, or more 'over the bars'. Going cheap and second hand, it may be a case of whatever you can get.

cormie

Thanks for the info.

Had a look at that dawes on chainreaction, seems ok I suppose. Might get it if I don't come across any decent looking 2nd hand ones

Suppose the leg measurements wont matter too much then:)

EDIT: Actually that dawes on chainreaction is only available in 16", too small I guess? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=20674

cormie

Would anyone hazard a guess as to whether this would be the right height for a 5'10 gal? http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=55759 Looks good for the price if it was bought for 200!

blorg

Difficult to tell as there is no size quoted, but should be reasonably adjustable. Ideally you would have her try it (adjusting the seatpost as necessary, it is currently much too low.)

Looks to be in good condition, I could believe the "never used" bit.

cormie

Looks spotless alright. I'm sure for the amount of use it'll be getting, it'll be worth the buy.

Looks like this is it here: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_253647_langId_-1_CarSelectorCatalogId__CarSelectorGroupId__varient__categoryId_60955_crumb_33980-33957_parentcategoryrn_60955

£90, was £134. Seems only a 15" and 18" are available so it's probably one of the two, yet somebody above recommended about a 24" for a 5'10 gal?

Edit: I see it was you and you suggested an 18 or 20", so hopefully it's the 18" for sale

blorg

24" would be far too big for 5'10. Sizing does depend on the bike really and obviously that style bike won't have any clearance issues with the crossbar. If the saddle will go up far enough and the reach to the handlebars is suitable you should be fine.

cormie

Cool, thanks again for the advice Probably buy it if the seller accepts. Just rang halfords there and it's 140 new, might see if they'd accept that 75 offer so

cormie

Got it for €80 and it's an 18" frame Only thing is it wont go onto the 3rd gear level. Probably easy enough to fix, if not really necessary.

spurscormac

cormie wrote: »

Got it for €80 and it's an 18" frame Only thing is it wont go onto the 3rd gear level. Probably easy enough to fix, if not really necessary.

Should be easy to fix - check out the park tool and utah mtb links for maintenance details on anything bike related...

I had an annoying problem with the largest rear gear slipping, after reading through the instructions & a bit of fiddling around, got it working perfectly.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

http://www.utahmountainbiking.com/fix/

cormie

Thanks for that