If you are a vintage lover on a budget then buying a second hand bike is definitely the way to go. Not only do they have character and retro charm but you can get some incredibly well built, reliable bikes for a fraction of their original price….and for all you green goddesses this is taking re-cycling to a whole new level!
5 CycleChic recommendations for second hand shopping
1. Camden Cycles
They specialise in re-conditioned bikes, this means all second hand bikes are fully repaired so there is no chance of being sold a dodgy set of wheels. You can get some great brgain here, the baby blue retro racer pictured above was on sale for the bargain price of £69.
2. Recycling in Elephant Castle is another good second hand bike shop
They will let you test ride but can be a little pushy so perhaps take a friend for moral support.
3. Ebay - go for bikes that are in your area or you may find you are spending more on getting the bike to you than you do on the actual bike. Ensure there is a good photo of the bike and plenty of information and if possible try and have a phone conversation with the seller to be sure you know exactly what your getting.
4.Gumtree is great as It's London based and you can get a bike for as little as £20. Same tips as above though, ensure you see a picture and get all the info before you buy. You could also try Going Going Bike, a new ebay style auction site dedicated to bikes
5. Re-Buy-cycle is a great website specializing in retro, vintage bikes, you can buy online.
The LCC website has a list of all the bike shops in London that sell second hand bikes. Some sell more than others so make sure you phone the shop before you turn up.
13 comments:
Thanks for your research for how and where to buy secondhand bicycles in London.you made my journey to work quick, safe, healthy and most important very cheap. I was thinking to buy a seondhand bicycle for a long time but could not find one even trying from local news papers and searching them online near my area. I made four or five very odd time visits to some kids who was trying to sell some ...... bicycles through Gumtree. I think most important thing is to test ride and get familiar with bicycle before you buy. I been to few shops recomeded by you but they dont seem intrested to sell me a secondhand bicycle. Finaly bought my dream ride Raleigh Chiltren from Camden Cycles for £60.00. These guys are doing great stuff and they are realy helpfull in real terms. They happily gave me first free serivce with this price as well. They are very conveniently located near Mornington Cresent Tube Station and have large selection of secondhand bicycles of almost every type and price. I would recomend Camden Cycles to anyone who is looking for buying a secondhand bicycle in london.
Thanks for your research for how and where to buy secondhand bicycles in London.you made my journey to work quick, safe, healthy and most important very cheap. I was thinking to buy a seondhand bicycle for a long time but could not find one even trying from local news papers and searching them online near my area. I made four or five very odd time visits to some kids who was trying to sell some ...... bicycles through Gumtree. I think most important thing is to test ride and get familiar with bicycle before you buy. I been to few shops recomeded by you but they dont seem intrested to sell me a secondhand bicycle. Finaly bought my dream ride Raleigh Chiltren from Camden Cycles for £60.00. These guys are doing great stuff and they are realy helpfull in real terms. They happily gave me first free serivce with this price as well. They are very conveniently located near Mornington Cresent Tube Station and have large selection of secondhand bicycles of almost every type and price. I would recomend Camden Cycles to anyone who is looking for buying a secondhand bicycle in london.
Hi Jhon Paul - So glad you found your dream bike.. I love the old Raleighs, you'll have to send me a pic (caz@cyclechic.co.uk) Camden cycles is such a good place for affordble second-hand bikes and yes such helpful and friendly staff, it really makes a difference.
Hope cycling in London with your Raleigh Chiltern is going well. Keep in touch
I too bought a classic Raleigh from Camden Cycles! I couldn't agree more with your comments about them being helpful. I got a Raleigh Reynold 501 (or so the sticker says - i'm no expert). Tragically, my back wheel has been nicked so I'm out of action for a the moment.
Love the blog, by the way.
Your comments about Camden cycles are interesting, but may be out of date. We visited the UK last month and visited Camden Cycles they seemed expensive and pushy. Their other shop, Station Cycles at Walthamstowe seemed better and we bought three bikes for 135 each with a verbal agreement to buy them back for half that. After three weeks and no more than 200 miles cycling, they would offer us no more than 30 GBP, after they kept us waiting for hours with excuses about not being responsible and the "boss" being away. Beware of Camden and Station Cycles! They were expensive to start with and you would be far better off selling bikes on Ebay or Gumtree.
Recycling used to have a good reputation, but has gone rapidly downhill since the business changed hands a couple of years ago. Not only are the staff routinely rude and patronising, but the brand new bike they sold me turned out to be a death trap when numerous spokes in the back wheel snapped while I was in traffic. Recycling refused to accept liability for the faulty goods they sold me and their 'mechanic' tried to make out that the problem was my fault. They did offer discount on the repair, but I wouldn't give this bunch of crooks another penny.
We visited the UK last month and visited Camden Cycles they seemed expensive and pushy. Their other shop, Station Cycles at Walthamstowe seemed better and we bought three bikes for 135 each with a verbal agreement to buy them back for half that.I would recomend Camden Cycles to anyone who is looking for buying a secondhand bicycle in london.
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Motorhome For Sale
the article was so informative and i would go there to buy the secondhand bicycle,i am crazy to have it and as you told its is stylist then i cant stop myself to go there Thank you very very much for the information...
Cheers,
Class motorhomes
Hello thought I'd like to recommend another hidden treasure when it comes to buying second hand bikes in London.
Squeaky Chains CIC have a great workshop near Blackfriars Bridge where you can drop in for a bargain second hand bike and they will take care of any repairs you may need later on for a very reasonable price. Lovely guys and do good work in the community also.
http://squeakychains.com
I'd like to second the above comment (and thank him/her for the headsup!), and suggest Cyclechic update your listings!
Squeaky Chains in Southwark are immensely knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and affordable! They offer you genuine time and consideration! They also have a wonderful public works project.
On the other hand, I found Camden Cycles to be patronising, pushy and overpriced. They didn't listen to me and then tried to pressure me into buying a bike I never asked for. Recycling was just aloof. I wasn't even worth their attention.
Squeaky Chains is the obvious winner! And they well deserve the recognition!
Squeaky Chains do indeed seem great from research on the web but their opening hours leave alot to be desired...you'd have to be unemployed just to get down there...10am/5pm mon to fri????
Thanks for the recommendations. I have a good tip if you're SE London way - there's a little locally owned shop called Jozef's cycles that I've bought two bikes off & so have my flatmates. They are cheap & have quite a good range. My mountain bike was only £50 & was in excellent condition, & my road bike was £90. They are so friendly & helpful too, & when I got my tyres fixed they gave me a discount because they remembered that I'd been there before. It's a pity I live on the other side of town now. http://www.jozefscycles109.co.uk/
Out East is BikeWorks but they don't have that many second hand bikes.
I truly like to reading your post. Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a nice information.
Second Hand Bicycles
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