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Buying New or Buying Used?

12.20.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

The past two posts about buying stuff has triggered a lot of response, not just in the comments but in emails to yours truly. I hope there’s enough interest out there to put up with one more shopping post — when do you buy used gear? And what kind of used gear do you buy? (It just occurred to me that we’re spending a lot of time talking about shopping — and the readership of this blog is overwhelmingly male. Flame comments from the ladies are expected, and probably deserved.)

I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever bought used gear. Only one item sticks in my mind — my San Marco Ponza saddle. That came from my friend David. I bought it for two reasons: He was letting me try it out, and I was close to pulling the trigger on it anyway — I like it — and I had a minor fall that scuffed the side of the saddle. He would have taken it back, but I go by the “you break it, you buy it” ethic.

I inherited a jersey from my wife. She bought a man’s cut jersey, and even though it was a size larger than she normally takes, a man’s cut doesn’t fit a woman’s curves. But she only wore it once before tossing it in my lap one afternoon.

Our old friends at eBay sell all sorts of used bicycling gear, including clothing — including pre-owned shorts(!). I think I’d draw the line there.

Craig’s List is another option for used gear. You can buy used shorts here, too. I was amused by the disclaimer in this ad:

Giordana mesh-top bibs, size Medium
I have used these bibs no more than three or four times.
I am a professional cook and bought them at a smaller weight. I have since gained too much and they no longer fit.
It is not gross to buy used cycling bibs. These have been kept clean, washed after every use and stored in a dry area.
For the bargain hunter looking for great, virtually unused bibs, these are the ones.
Italian quality, good style, great fit, comfortable pad.

Hmm. If I took a medium, I’d give him a call … no I wouldn’t.

Based on your comments, it looks like most of you avoid buying used clothing. But a number of you indicated you do buy some things used. Regardless if it’s a use bike or a used derailleur, it’s probably wise to give it a thorough inspection before agreeing to the purchase. That’s a lot more likely if you buy used from someone locally, as opposed to an online purchase.

What things? And what attracted you to the used item when, with a little astute shopping, you might have been able to get the same thing new at a deep discount?

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Categories // Accessories, Equipment Tags // shopping

Good Deals on Bike Stuff

12.17.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 7 Comments

The previous post on bike expenditures got me thinking: What’s the best way to save money on bike stuff?

This may not be the best time of year to write on this topic, being the prime shopping season and all, but maybe it is. Maybe, if we’re going to make some last minute biking purchases, we can get the greatest cost-benefit out of them. Or maybe we can build up some strategies to save money in the new year.

Jeff Hemmel’s idea to use eBay seems to have paid off well for him. He bought two pairs of Pearl Izumi Slice Ultrasensor shorts, which usually retail for $100, for $40 and $44. He also used eBay to dispose of some things, like his old cycling computer, and then bought a new computer — a Trek Incite — for $50.

A quick check of eBay with a search for “cycling” turned up a plethora of biking swag. Everything from complete bicycles — new and used — to frames, to lights, jerseys, and accessories. As always with eBay, it pays to know what’s out there, so you can size up potential deals. And being adept at watching wanted items, and pouncing in the last few seconds of the auction, is a skill every eBayer must learn. I haven’t bought bike stuff from eBay yet, but I’ve had good experiences buying golf equipment there, so I’ll have to give it a try in the new year.

Jeff also got what I consider a great deal on tires. In fact, several of you mentioned these folks back in September, when I polled you on your favorite tires. England’s Pro Bike Kit has THE deals on Continental tires, the premium ones — GP 4000s and Gatorskins. You can often find the GP 4000s for around $36 and if you’re a sharp-eyed shopper, you can get Gatorskins for about $31 (I paid $53 at my LBS for one of those). Pro Bike Kit usually ships free to the US, so you’re not making up in shipping costs what you saved on retail price.

Don Blount watches for sales, although he told me he did drive an hour to a Pearl Izumi outlet store to buy some bib shorts. I wonder if the cost of driving that far offset the savings on the shorts? Unfortunately, the closest PI outlet to me is in Fort Worth — a four-hour drive away.

I tend to make impulse purchases when I’m in bike stores, so I wind up paying retail. We have two brick and mortar Performance stores in town, and I’ve had good luck with purchases there, but I found that their in-store stock is nowhere near what the online store offers. And you can get better deals from them online.

How do you save money when shopping for bike stuff? Any tips to share with our readers?

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Categories // Accessories, Equipment Tags // shopping

Budget Busters

12.15.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 13 Comments

Our regular guest poster, Don Blount, came up with a suggestion the other day: Track how much we spend on biking during the year.

“Someone told me that biking was not an inexpensive activity,” said Don. “After buying a bike, what’s left? Little did I know the black hole I was getting sucked into.”

He’s not alone. I started tracking my biking expenditures this year, just to see how much this pastime put me back, and it’s been an eye-opener. So I checked with our other regular guest poster, Jeff Hemmel, to see if his story was similar. It was, but different.

Here’s a look at what we’ve spent this year. We broke it down into three categories: Apparel, equipment, and miscellaneous (Blount didn’t account for miscellaneous expenses).

So Don emerges as the winner (or loser), with $1,100 spent on biking. He explains his leading total this way: “I spent much less than this last year, my first year of riding, as I just used many of the items I already had, most of those were just barely adequate for riding in any season. And in the fall and winter I froze my behind off.”

Even though he spent over a thousand dollars, Don says it could have been worse: “I saved about $300 – 30 percent – by purchasing everything and I mean everything on sale. That’s either a sign of: a) my shopping savvy or b) the great markup on inventory by the biking industry.”

Jeff’s story was different because of the way he bought his stuff. “I had received my road bike last Christmas,” he said, “so was getting a lot of stuff I might not have purchased in a normal year. I thought it was interesting what I did to support my habit -— lots of deals on eBay, sold a number of other items on eBay when I wanted to upgrade to something else. Looking back, I feel like I didn’t really get much of anything this year, as I was really watching my money. Looking at this list, however, maybe I was wrong!”

Jeff notes that he bought three Pearl Izumi jerseys, either on eBay or at the PI outlet store, for a total of $80. His bike rack was a $6 eBay purchase. But his $90 shoes, that came as a birthday present, were given to him by his wife, “…so it’s really my money in the long run.”

In the Bike Noob household, we’ve been careful shoppers this year, too. Some of what I count as apparel purchases are really Christmas presents that I won’t be using. And then there was the entry fee I paid for a ride I never rode in because of illness. And the two nights in a Houston hotel plus meals and sundry expenses could have been added to the miscellaneous list, because they were the result of the MS150. But I decided not to.

I think the three of us would agree that all these items were needed. “I don’t consider many of these items frivolous purchases,” says Don. “Maybe the Garmin, but even that replaced a $20 broken bike computer. The others I can justify as either items needed for comfort on the bike (bibs) or safety (light) or replacement (tires).

“Looking toward next year I think I’m set on a number of things and don’t plan on spending nearly this much. But then again I didn’t plan on spending this amount this year.”

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Categories // Accessories, Equipment Tags // Blount, expenses, Hemmel

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