Expensive bikes - hard to sell 2nd hand

[yellowjack]

I suspect there might be an element of 'S-1' about some of these ads...

"Have you sold that bloody bike yet? We haven't got room for you to keep ALL of them!!!"

"I've advertised it for weeks, dear, but there just aren't any takers. I suppose I'll have to keep it, as you don't want me to sell it too cheap and make a loss on it, do you?"

[scherzkeks]

Rocksteadyeddie said:

They were less automated in those days?

There is loads of adjustment to a frame with stem length/height, seat position and crank length that can fit a frame top a reasonable range of sized person. The notion that your average cyclist has a frame that ever fitted that well is somewhat fanciful. I can recall going into a VERY well known master framemaker as a young rider and the artisan taking one look at me and "knowing" what frame would fit. Compare and contrast with the uber-science that goes into bike fitting today. I am the first to acknowledge that a bike "should" fit as well as possible, but also acknowledge that the ultra-marginal gains to be had for most people in a super-science retul fit are as nothing compared to the huge leaps forward in their riding that could be made elsewhere with less expense (but possibly more effort).

There is no über science in bike fitting today. In Europe and with select fitters in the US like Andy Pruitt, it is still largely based on proper CONI methodology and real-world testing. Retül is nothing more than snake öil. If I had a nickel for every person I've run into that has permanently garaged their road bike after one of these clusterfk fits, I'd be rich.

As you seem to acknowledge to some degree, you can't just muck about infinitely with tube lengths and seat posts and stems if you want the bike to handle right (and have decent comfort). There is a fairly narrow window of what will and will not work (properly) on a road frame.

[GnuBee]

tobinen said:

Indeed and I am intrigued to know what is or makes a boutique bike.

Price and potentially lurid paint? That's it and some additional fluff that talks about "soul", connection, history and throw in some French words

[Raven Flyer]

I am rather stunned that we are having this discussion on Pistonheads... a website for those of us that spend too much money on cars, just because they are pretty or are rare.

As for the Bianchi, my mrs has the same bike as that advert. She boght it new and haggled it down to £2400. It is a great bike with excellent detailing and excellent finish quality. She would kill you and all of your relatives, if you tried to take it from her. And that makes it worth every penny she paid for it.

[TKF]

stongle said:

TKF said:

I don't know about anyone else but I'm pretty gutted to find out my Ultegra is not just heavy but also obsolete.

People don't half talk some uninformed st.

Calm down treacle, it's the internet. I'm very well informed. If you followed the thread, no one said it was heavy

You might be very well informed, treacle, but your memory is poor

stongle said:

Heavy, fairly obsolete group set

Anyway, can't talk now, I'm off for some resistance training with my heavy, fairly obsolete groupo. Train heavy, race light and all that.

[stongle]

TKF said:

stongle said:

TKF said:

I don't know about anyone else but I'm pretty gutted to find out my Ultegra is not just heavy but also obsolete.

People don't half talk some uninformed st.

Calm down treacle, it's the internet. I'm very well informed. If you followed the thread, no one said it was heavy

You might be very well informed, treacle, but your memory is poor

stongle said:

Heavy, fairly obsolete group set

Anyway, can't talk now, I'm off for some resistance training with my heavy, fairly obsolete groupo. Train heavy, race light and all that.

The heavy bit was in respect of the Pinarello frame it was attached to (you also missed the bit about me saying groups will do the job) - Question was asked about the bike, in one sentence (inc commas I summed it up). Really, I didnt think it was that poor usage of English. But ho-hum.

I hope you enjoyed you're session, I'm just back from a threshold booster myself (non boosted); but we're heading of topic again.

I hope the OP finds his boutique bike; not sure this thread is helping any longer. If OP does want to look at some / talk to someone about proper "boutique" bikes; then worth checking out Bespoke. They have Parlee, Independent Fabrication, Passoni, Moots and Lightweight. they also stock Colnago, Look, Trek (mainly Project One) and some Specialized.

[TheLemming]

Loudy McFatass said:

TheLemming said:

It does look overpriced for the spec. £500 of gruppo, £150 of wheels, struggling to see where the rest of the money is...

I recently spent a lot of time looking at a £4k new Boardman Air 9.4. Full Dura Ace inc deep section wheels etc, current model under 12 months old.

It was being advertised at £2200 and eventually sold for £1800 after about 6 weeks for sale.
I'd spoken to the seller, seen the ads on facebook, Ebay etc etc and eventually bumped into the guy who bought it.
The only reason I didn't go for it in the end was just not that much of an upgrade over my current bike.

The higher the price, the harder the sale - and the depreciation is staggering...
Ironically if you bought a £1k bike in the sales at about £700 ish you'd likely get most of your money back a year later.

Is there a Facebook group for second hand road bikes for sale then?

Lots of them, mostly full of tatty sports direct MTBs and BMXs but there are some good ones

[wattsm666]

[quote=ALawson]That road cycle exchange has some interesting stuff on it!

http://roadcycleexchange.com

I bought something from these guys, great value and selection. Would use them again.