With a big shortage on new bikes a lot of us are now looking to the second hand market to find a road bike because you'll be able to get it faster and you may actually be able to find the model you want. So, we've put together a list of things you should either check or replace when you buy a second hand bike to ensure it's going to be safe and fun to use. There's nothing worse than a bike that doesn't operate smoothly so if you follow our tips then you should be set for a hassle free bike ride.
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00:00There are so many reasons to buy a second hand bike. The huge amount of money saved
00:04is a major one, but with the continuing constraints on availability, buying second
00:09hand can make it that bit easier to find the model that you actually want. It's also better
00:14for the environment to use a bike someone no longer wants, rather than adding in yet more
00:18demand. But whilst the brand new box fresh bike only needs a little bit of adjustment to get you
00:24rolling, a second hand bike does require that little bit more care and attention. So we've
00:29put together five things which we'd either check or replace on any second hand bike.
00:35Let's get into them.
00:41You probably don't need us to tell you just how important functioning brakes are.
00:45The first thing to check is how much life is left in the pads. Whether they're rim brakes
00:50or disc brakes, chances are even if you don't need to replace them immediately,
00:55you probably will in the near future. As a side note, if you've got disc brakes and they
01:01sound noisy or feel underpowered, that's a sure sign that they've been contaminated with oil.
01:06You can try sanding the surface off or you can bake the oils out in the oven, but chances are
01:12you'll have to replace the pads. Just make sure to give the rotors a proper clean with
01:16specific disc brake cleaner or isopropyl alcohol before you fit the new ones.
01:22It's also worth checking the braking surfaces for wear, whether those are the rims or the rotors.
01:29These have a longer life than the pads, so you likely won't need to replace them,
01:33but it's certainly worth checking just in case. Finally, if your cable actuated brakes are feeling
01:40spongy or the lever won't spring back as quickly as it should, that's a sure sign that the brake
01:45cables and the outer housing need replacing. It's very much worth splashing out here,
01:50getting some top-level housing and cables will transform the braking performance,
01:55making them more powerful and easier to control. Now, they may be double or triple the price of
02:00some of the cheaper sets out there, but it still comes out to less than half a tank of petrol,
02:06and there aren't many upgrades of that magnitude that can be had for that kind of price.
02:11If it's hydraulic disc brakes that are feeling spongy, that's a sign that they do need to be
02:15bled. Now, if you haven't done this before, it can seem rather daunting, but in reality,
02:20it's as simple as a syringe full of oil through the brake lines. It is a lot cheaper to do
02:26yourself than taking it to a bike shop, so if money is a consideration, it's a skill worth taking up.
02:32To sum up, you probably do need to buy new pads for your second-hand bike,
02:36and there's a reasonable chance you'll need to either change the cables or give them a bleed.
02:41You probably won't need to replace the braking surfaces with new rotors or rims,
02:45but it is definitely worth checking.
02:52There are a few things in life more frustrating than a bike which doesn't shift gears properly.
02:57The first port of call should always be making sure that the cable tension is set correctly,
03:02and then checking whether the neck hanger is aligned. Investing in what may seem like a big
03:08metal stick might feel like a bit of an extravagance, but really, they are so useful
03:14so often. If the gears still aren't shifting right, then you're probably going to have to
03:18replace the cables. Now, if your bike is sufficiently secondhand enough that you've
03:22got external cable routing, then this might be a job that takes you about five minutes per derailleur
03:27if you're practiced, or maybe 15 minutes per derailleur if it's your first time.
03:33If the bike has internal cable routing, depending on the model,
03:36it could take a professional mechanic hours to complete. Now, if you have the money,
03:41it might be worth saving your time here. If you're looking to save money though,
03:45then there are kits out there that you can buy to make the process a whole lot easier.
03:49Definitely worth the investment for the time saved.
03:53It's also worth getting a chain checker tool to see how worn your chain is,
03:57or you can use the time-honored method of pulling the chain away from the chainring
04:01and seeing how far it will go. If you can see a lot of daylight, then it's too worn
04:05and needs to be replaced. Do bear in mind though, if the previous owner has been riding around on
04:10an extremely worn chain, they will have also accelerated the wear on the cassette and the
04:16chainrings to the point that the shifting could be even worse. Unfortunately, this means that you
04:21may end up needing to buy a new cassette and chainrings, but it's worth using this as an
04:26opportunity to consider your gearing if you need something a little lower or easier, or if you
04:31want a tighter spacing for more even changes in cadence. As chainrings are typically included when
04:38you buy a new crankset, this could even be an opportunity to change your crank arm length.
04:43So to sum up, adjust your gears, but also it's probably going to be worth buying some new cables
04:49and outer housing. And if you're doing your brakes at the same time, then it does make sense to buy
04:54these together. Do check your chain, but you're probably going to need to buy a new one. And just
04:58bear in mind that you might need a new cassette and new chainrings.
05:08As with buying any bike, it's pretty unlikely that the stock saddle is going to be a perfect
05:13fit for you. You might be selling your current bike to back finance the new second-hand one,
05:18in which case you can just swap the saddles over and save yourself the money. Otherwise,
05:23you'll be having to shell out for another saddle, which you know works for you. Now,
05:28new bar tape almost goes without saying. For something that can look and smell quite so bad
05:33and cost so relatively little to replace, it's amazing how many people go without and how many
05:39people will splash out on new wheels whilst keeping the tape same for the entire season.
05:45As for your final contact point, you probably don't need reminding,
05:48but you're probably either going to need to swap in or buy new pedals.
05:58Now, we're coming to the upgrades which can potentially be left for a little longer after
06:03the initial purchase of the bike. Definitely do check the tyres for heavy wear, but generally,
06:08there will still be some life left in them. That said, a set of lightweight,
06:13fast-rolling tyres really does transform the feel of a bike in terms of the performance
06:18and also just keeping your consumable components refreshed. New tyres are a great investment.
06:25But even if you're not obsessed about speed, it's unlikely that the tyre spec'd will have
06:29the right balance of puncture protection or be optimized precisely for the terrain that you're
06:34riding. Should you wish, you could also take the opportunity to go tubeless if the bike isn't
06:40already set up as such. You'd get the benefits of greater puncture protection, the ability to
06:45run lower pressures, and a decrease in rolling resistance and weight, although the technology
06:50does work best on those wider tyres. Finally, your bearings. Now, they do tend to last quite
07:04a long time, but equally, that means that it's an area that can get neglected. Now,
07:09we'll look at the bottom bracket first, which is the bearing which allows your cranks to spin,
07:14and we'll probably also protest the loudest if it's worn out, especially if the frame is designed
07:20for press-fit BB cups rather than threaded. It is worth noting that it is possible to get
07:26thread-fit bottom brackets for press-fit frames. Now, this consists of two parts that screw into
07:32each other, and this means that you don't need to hit them in and out of the frame,
07:37which makes maintenance a whole lot easier. Although, you will need a specific BB tool
07:42to screw them in, as with any threaded system. And, of course, you will need to get the current
07:47BB out in the first place. Now, a bike shop is usually best for that job. Your wheel bearings
07:53may need servicing, especially if you can wobble the wheel from side to side. On cheaper wheels
07:58and some select high-end ones, these tend to be cup and cone bearings. Now, to service them,
08:04you'll need some degreaser, some fresh lithium grease, and potentially some new ball bearings
08:09if the current ones are worn. It's a little fiddly and does require some specific spanners,
08:13but the tools are cheap, and once you've done it a few times, you do get a pretty good knack for
08:18it. Wheels with sealed cartridge bearings will need a specific bearing puller and a drift for
08:23slamming the new ones on. These kits tend to be rather expensive, and we wouldn't advise trying
08:28to bodge this. If in doubt, a bike shop is definitely best here. Finally, there's the
08:34headset bearings, which are the ones that allow your handlebars to move. These protest the least
08:39and don't have so much of a negative impact on your speed, so they are something that are often
08:44really neglected and can be really quite corroded by the time you get to replacing them. But it is
08:50very much worth doing, not least so that rusty grease doesn't keep seeping down your fork.
08:56To sum this one up, you'll know if your bottom bracket needs replacing, and if it's a press-fit
09:00system, it is worth thinking about getting a thread-fit system as a replacement. Wheel bearings
09:06need swapping if they wobble or they feel gritty when you spin them. And if they're cup and cone,
09:11that's great because they're cheap, but they are then fiddly to work on. Whereas the sealed
09:15cartridge ones, although nice and easy to maintain, you do need some expensive tools.
09:21Headset bearings can get forgotten, so it's really worth checking them. If you're unsure,
09:26a bike shop is always your friend. To recap, in descending order of importance,
09:31check and replace the parts of your brakes, then do the same for your gears.
09:36Get the contact points, those being your saddle bars and pedals, set up as you prefer,
09:40then check the tires and bearings for wear. They'll either need replacing immediately if so,
09:44or can be a nice little upgrade later down the line. So there we have it. If you've bought a
09:51second-hand bike recently, did you follow any of these tips, or do you have some of your own
09:56that you'd like to share? Do drop them down below. If you enjoyed the video, drop it a like,
10:00subscribe to the channel for more content, and I'll see you again very soon.