Buyer beware! What should you consider when buying second hand?

[K78]

What a load of rubbish your problem is you need the bike to be cheaper I get that, I am sure if you search hard enough you will find something in your price range.

I’m not child who rides what his parents buy him.

If you can’t buy whatever car you want at my age you‘ve failed in life, let alone what pushbike you want.

Im guessing all your money went on a bike and you like to think it’s still worth something?

The exhaust on my car cost nearly £8k. I’m not delusional enough to think I’ll get more than £1500 when I change cars after 2 years.

The options on my pick up truck were nearly £10k. I’m not delusional enough to think it’s worth £10k more than a non highline model, with fabric seats.

”what a load of rubbish”? Please tell me what is rubbish? They are factual statements you idiot.

 

[Mitchb]

I bought a Yamaha Ydx Moro 1 year old with 217 miles on it for $3700. A great bike for the price.
Yamaha has a 3 year transferable warranty on the frame, battery, and motor so I felt very comfortable pulling the trigger. I haven't heard of a better warranty yet.

 

[Moderator]

Gentlemen,

Before we have to start deleting posts and locking people out of the thread, can we ask that you possibly get back on thread and put any miss construed comments behind you ?

Possibly PM each other and accept that maybe someone was having a bad day ? You're hopefully all here with the same basic intrinsic reasons, interests, passions.

 

[Bummers]

You don’t need to own either to have an opinion.

Whyte bikes are great but ridiculously priced used. The fact the warranty is non transferable on a £7k-£10k push bike is embarrassing, and makes the £10k bike worth half that a day after you buy it. Not the 75% of new rrp people are trying to sell 2 year old bikes for on eBay.

Cubes frame warranty is total dogshit. It’s laughable. It’s less than half what you get on a £300 Raleigh bike from Halfords.
Not reassuring with their history of frame failures.

The Specialized warranty makes both companies look amateur at best.

People have a ridiculous idea of what their used e mountain bikes are worth. Batteries degrade, the motors are unreliable and they have a very hard life due to what they are.

Curious, what is this history of frame failures? I'm in roughly 6 cube ebike related FB groups, thousands of members in total and I'm not sure if I've even seen one post about someone having a failure, let alone many.

 

[LeftItLancs]

I am useless with anything mechanical, but I sold my Cube to an engineer who bought it for his son and went over it with a fine tooth comb. The guy told me the main thing he was looking out for was an engine that had not been thrashed or derestricted, and obvious signs that it had not been opened or tampered with in any way. They had seen a few others that had really been bashed around and just walked away, and so don't be tempted. If it's too good to be true, then it is more than likely is. General checks on frame, cassette, gears, etc because it all adds up if you have to replace them.

Edited: Mine was low mileage and clean. Dirt and oil hides a multitude of sins

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

A careful inspection of the frame would be in order for any used e-mountain bike, looking closely for frame cracking from exuberant jumps, followed by a road test for the ebike drive system. A battery health check, if possible with the brand ebike drive you are looking at.

I've read through these posts and saw just one Yamaha endorsee. Let me be the second. 2016 model year Haibike Full FatSix.Yamaha PW drive. Approximately 19.000 absolutely trouble free miles. Motor never opened. No battery failures with the original 400wh batttery, nor the 3 spare 500wh batteries I purchased later.

Parts here for the PW motor are available online at RevZilla. Repairs can be attained through the US distributor/repair facility for Performance Line Bearings.

Of course, going used is a roll of the dice. But I would not hesitate on buying a used Yamaha powered ebike from Yamaha, Haibike or B&H. The Giant version of the Yamaha is another kettle of fish as the battery and the controls are Giant-exclusive, whereas the Yamaha, H-Bike and B&H were standard Yamaha off-the shelf tuned drive systems and batteries.

The key to any used ebike purchase would be how well the owner treated that ebike. Fording through of deep water? Jumping like that Sam Pilgrim dude? Put away wet and muddied? I'd walk away.........

 

[Burner]

When a brose motor goes into the bearing man, does this cure the problems and they last longer or do the motors still fail??

 

[Formulasuper]

Bosch definitely. I put over 8,500 miles on my Scott Strike 920 in 2022 and had zero problems. Changed the drive train 3 times, new tires and brakes when needed. If you take a Bosch powered bike to an authorized dealer they can plug it into their shop’s computer and give you a printout of the complete history of the bike’s Bosch system.

 

[Maxi]

I bought my Cube hybrid 2nd hand (from a member on here) and it was a pretty easy thing. Besides a good inspection, make sure you get to ride it (preferably, off road) and listen for creaks / rattles that aren't there unless you are putting it under strain. Enough already said on motors / batteries but an easy enough check to see how far current has travelled.

Lastly, I bought 2nd hand because (a) budget was tight and (b) I wasn't sure if I would use it enough. (b) has proven not to be a worry and if I was buying now, I'd save a bit extra and buy new - there are some fantastic bargains as long as you don't want the top of the range. As an example, Wheelbase has 2022 Cube Reaction Hybrid 120 Pro 625 at £3,800 (cheapest full-sus bike they sell).

 

[1oldfart]

Bikes should not be washed and Ebikes should never be washed.
Do not buy a clean Ebike.
Select a brand you trust and with a good retailer close to you.
Buy off season to get a decent price.
Go for a HT if you are on a budget.

 

[robbydobs]

Yeah I never wash mine. You’re getting water into places it wouldn’t normally get, especially with a hose or jet wash, and then you put the bike away allowing that water to sit there corroding stuff. Does more harm than good!

Santa Cruz did some research showing this I think

 

[E-MAD MALC]

I bought a 21-22 Cube stereo race 140 April 2021 600 miles on it cost just short of 3 grand
Got it from a fella just thought he would use it through Covid but did'nt really materialise so sold it i feel back then i got s good deal
Enough for me over the last year to upgrade it to race spec components
Got really good deals on all the new things like Forks, drive train, wheels/tyres,
Bars, Brakes,
And ive even put the Archer wireless shifter on it which is spot on plus if you knacker a rear mec you can swap it out to anything you likes
I suppose being dab hand mechanic wise does help a bit

 

[E-MAD MALC]

In the same vain, but would anyone buy a second hand 6 amp Bosch charger

 

[edruid]

Hi folks, hoping to mine some of your experience/advice when considering my first ebike purchase.

I'm confident when it comes to second hand, regular bikes. What to look for, red flags etc. But I'm in two minds about a second hand ebike. It seems like most eBikes have had some issue with motor/battery and have been warrantied even if they've been well looked after. Obviously the advantage of buying second hand is the value for money, so assuming the worst and the motor/battery need replaced soon after buying, what's the break even point for buying second hand, instead of the premium for brand new with warranty?

Anyone have any horror stories from either side? Or good experiences?

Thanks!

My rule of thumb in the light of all the variables others have posted is to never pay more than 50% of the RRP of the bike when it is new. You're probably going to need that other 50%. And that's for a bike with no apparent defects. baah Humbug.

 

[shredder]

Yeah I never wash mine. You’re getting water into places it wouldn’t normally get, especially with a hose or jet wash, and then you put the bike away allowing that water to sit there corroding stuff. Does more harm than good!

Santa Cruz did some research showing this I think

Do you ride your bike in the rain?

 

[shredder]

not trying to be rude, just wondering

 

[robbydobs]

Riding in a torrential downpour, even in Wales, is nothing like the pressure and quantity of water you get from using a hose or jetwashing. Just forces the water past all the seals.