What we do to every bike before we sell it

When a bike comes to us it is usually fine. That is the point. We only take on bikes that are already in good condition, because it is much easier to make a good bike ready than to rescue a bad one.

But fine is not the same as ready. So before any bike goes up for sale, it gets three things: a clean, a service, and a proper check over. This is what each one means.

1. 1

   Clean

   Dirt hides faults. The clean comes first because it is how we find out what the bike actually needs.

2. 2

   Service

   Brakes, gears, chain, tyres, wheels, bearings and every bolt that matters.

3. 3

   Check

   Looked over front to back, then ridden. A bike can look right on a stand and feel wrong on the road.

4. Or it does not go out

   If it cannot be put right properly, we do not sell it.

Why do you clean a second-hand bike?

A clean is not just to make the bike look nice, though it does. Dirt hides things. A cracked frame, a worn chain, a tyre that has perished at the sidewall: all of them are easy to miss on a muddy bike and obvious on a clean one. So the clean comes first, because it is how you find out what the bike actually needs.

Frame, wheels, chain, gears, the lot. By the time it is dry you know exactly what you are dealing with.

Also, nobody wants to buy a bike with someone else’s mud on it. I would not.

What does a bike service involve?

A service is going round the whole bike and making everything work the way it should. The brakes get adjusted so they bite properly and the pads are checked for wear. The gears are set up so every one changes cleanly. The chain is cleaned and oiled, or replaced if it is stretched. The tyres are checked and pumped up, and anything cracked or bald is changed.

Then the bits people forget. The wheels get checked for wobble and for play in the bearings. The headset, which is what lets the handlebars turn, is checked for looseness. So are the pedals and the cranks. Every bolt that matters gets tightened. The saddle and the bars get set straight.

None of that is complicated. It is just a lot of small things, and every one of them is something that would annoy you, or hurt you, if it was wrong.

What do you check before it goes up for sale?

After the service, the bike gets looked over again from front to back, and it gets ridden. Not far. Just enough to know the brakes stop it, the gears change under load and nothing rattles, clicks or rubs. A bike can look right on a stand and feel wrong on the road, and the road is the one that counts.

If something is not right, it gets fixed. If it cannot be fixed properly, the bike does not go up for sale. That has happened, and it will happen again. I only sell good quality bikes, and I mean it.

Does that mean the bike is as good as new?

No, and we will never tell you it is. If you have one sitting in the garage yourself, here is what to do with an old bike you don’t use. We have also written about whether a cheap second-hand bike is safe, including what the law actually requires on a bike.

A second-hand bike has been ridden. There will be scratches, and there may be small marks or faded paint. What a clean and a service give you is a bike that works properly and is safe to ride, with nothing waiting to go wrong the week after you buy it. What they do not give you is a new bike, and a second-hand bike is not priced like one either.

Every bike we list says what is wrong with it as well as what is right. If there is a scratch, we will tell you where. You should never find something on collection that you did not already know about.

What should you do when you come to see it?

Ride it. Squeeze the brakes hard, change through all the gears, and go up the road and back. Look it over as if you were buying it from a stranger, because you should check any bike that way, including ours. Then decide. If it is not right, say so, and you pay nothing.

We do all of this so that when you turn up, there is nothing to find. But you should still look. It is your bike, and you should be sure. Here is what to check on any second-hand bike, including ours.

The short version

• Every bike gets cleaned first, because dirt hides faults
• Then it gets a service: brakes, gears, chain, tyres, wheels, bearings, bolts
• Then it gets checked again and ridden
• If it cannot be put right, it does not get sold
• It will not be as good as new, and we will not say it is
• When you come to see it, check it yourself as well