What to Spend

Guidance about how much money to spend on a bicycle

• £50 used bike If you're on a very tight budget, for as little as £75 will get a  fully serviced and mechanically sound bike perfect for use around  town  a much more reliable, more cost-effective and less theft-vulnerable option than spending e.g. £79.99 on a brand new mail order or department store bike.

• £150 used bike: For £150 I can sell you a very reasonable fully serviced second-hand hybrid or road bike which would have been £250 or more when new. A bike in this price bracket would probably be best suited to purposes such as commuting and short leisure rides at the weekend.

• £250 reconditioned bike: A budget of £200 or £300 will buy an excellent refurbished tourer or road bike, or a perfectly usable mountain bike, originally worth upwards of £500 when new. These sorts of bikes would be ideal for longer rides, touring, mountain biking etc.

• £more £300 or over will secure you a very nice fully reconditioned bike, or a custom-built bike tailored to your specification and built from a mix of new and used components. This process can include a frame respray and production of graphics and lettering.
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•  new bikes,  if you are going to buy new I recommend you do not spend less than £250 on a hybrid or road bike, or £500 on a mountain bike, anything less is likely to be a false economy because soon you'll end up spending more on servicing and upgrades.

 

  

Reasons to buy a second-hand bike

 

Why buy a used bike instead of a new one?

 

1. Value for money: You get almost twice as much bike for your cash! A second-hand bike purchased for £150 is likely to be better than a new £250 bike will be after even only 1 year of use. (And please do not spend less than £250 on a new bike, it is a false economy and you will regret it in a year or two). If you're planning on doing anything more than just commuting and cycling locally then I suggest you spend not less than £500 on a new bike. In contrast, as little as £200 would buy a very capable and reliable mountain bike or tourer, and £500 would buy a superb tailor-made second-hand mountain bike, tourer or sports bike.
   
   

2. Environmentally friendly: Repairing and re-using a bike is an environmentally sound option. It means one less old bike in landfill, and one less new bike being manufactured - with a consequent saving in materials and energy.
   
   

3. Bike theft: A second-hand bike is far less attractive to thieves, and less is lost if it does get damaged or stolen. If you have the space to store two bikes, why not buy a cheap £75 second-hand bike for use around town, and reserve your expensive bike for use on occasions when it's less likely to be damaged or stolen?

Why buy used from nantwich cycles instead of privately?

 

1. Fully serviced: Unlike what you might buy on ebay or from a classified ad, all bikes sold at nantwich cycles are fully serviced. This means that you can rest in the knowledge that you have properly adjusted gears, safe brakes, and a bike which has been professionally safety-checked. On many bikes this servicing will also involve the replacement of brake blocks, inner tubes, tyres, and sometimes other components. When you buy a second hand bike from nantwich cycles, you are buying a bike which is mechanically almost as good as new.

   
   

2. Warranty: One of the reasons often given for not buying a used bike is that new bikes come with a manufacturer's warranty. However, nantwich cycles offers different guarantees on all reconditioned bikes
   
   

3. Correct sizing: I can advise you on the correct type and size of bike for your intended use. If you buy a used bike privately, perhaps from a classified ad in the paper for example, you do not get this kind of advice and service.
   
   

4. Seven-day money-back guarantee: All bikes come with a 7-day no-quibbles money-back guarantee, so if you change your mind soon after buying you can just bring it back for a full refund (provided the bike is clean and in the same condition that it left the workshop). And of course you will have the opportunity to test ride any bikes prior to buying provided you can leave me with a suitable deposit as security, normally in the form of cash (although other securities are also acceptable including your spouse, child or a more expensive bike!)
   
   

5. Anti-theft certificate: All bikes I sell come with a certificate which proves that their frame numbers have been theft-checked and shown not to have been reported as lost or stolen to the police.