Craigslist: What to search for?

What kind of bike are you looking for?  Are you looking for a road or a tri bike?

Also, what is your budget?  People should be able to give you suggestions based on how much you're looking to spend, and what you'll probably get for that amount of $$.

I bought my trek roadie off of craigslist last year for $300. It had less than 100 miles and came with pedals and a few extras. Great deal.

How I found it? I browsed the bike section everyday for months. The good deals are gone fast so you have to look all the time. I was the first one to call on that road bike and that's the only way I got it. In our area a good road bike goes for no less than $500. You also have to make sure that you find a bike in your right size. I got sized at a bike shop so I knew exactly what I was looking for. And with craigslist remember you can call to look at an item and then do your research. Don't do your research before you call because it might be gone by the time you're done.

Good luck. Craigslist is a great resource. Me and my husband both got set up with road bikes and aero bars all from craigslist for less than $500.

You could try searching for  "2008 Cervelo P3C, brand new, $500".  Good luck.

Seriously, browsing regularly is the way to go.  I did that for several months and ended up with a pretty good deal off of ebay, after several 'failures' (i.e., price got above what I was willing and able to pay).  It took months, not weeks, in my case.

I've bought a couple bikes off Craigslist, here's my advice.

First, get a good idea what type of bike you want. That's more important than knowing how to use Craigslist. You might start looking at a local bike shop, reading reviews, trying out bikes to find out what you really want. Then you can go to Cragslist and see if something comes up that is what you actually want, and you can better decide if it's a good deal.

Search your listings for words like triathlon and for the manufacturers you are interested in (Felt, Cervelo, Trek, etc). Lots of bikes are listed as 'triathlon' bikes but are often just old road bikes, maybe with a pair of clip-on aerobars. Buyer beware, do your own research on any bike you are interested in.

Search often to develop a feel for what's bought and sold on Craigslist, and don't buy the first one you see. Get to know the market and what bikes are being sold/resold. If you look regularly, you'll start to see the same bikes getting sold over and over and you learn to avoid those bikes and the sellers. Search other listings in your geographic area. I've seen the exact same bikes listed in the Baltimore CL for $1500 and listed in the DC CL for $1200. One time I saw a bike listed in Baltimore marked 'sold' but it was listed in Annapolis as available. Curious I contacted the Annapolis seller and got a great email saying the bike was available - and he'd ship it to me if I wired the cash to some Western Union number. Classic scam.

Lots of the Craigslist sales in the MD listing are actually bike shops getting rid of back inventory, often at higher prices. Beware of multiple listings from the same person as this indicates they are probably a shop. Not that a shop selling on CL is always bad - but if you're going to purchase from a LBS you'd be better off going in person and taking advantage of the in store customer service.

I've noticed that when decent tri bikes are listed, and they look legit, and the asking price is reasonable, they go fast, often within an hour. so when you finally see something, don't wait around to contact the seller.

Also, it's a classic scam to list pictures of a complete tricked out bike with all the bells and whistles (ZIPP wheelsets, computers, high-end aerobars, etc) but then sell the bike with degraded wheelsets, components, accessories. Get it clearly spelled out from the seller what is included and what is not. Know what your paying for.

Finally, there are lots of scams on CL - I see several each time I look there. If it looks too good to be true, it is. Use common sense, be safe, never meet the seller with a wad of cash - and ignore any attempt by the seller to use a 3rd party shipping company - all classic scams.

Thanks guys - appreciate the info.

I am basically in the process of doing what you guys are talking about - generally educating myself.  Both on the specs of the bikes themselves and on the marketplace.

Luckily I am able to check CL as much as I want during the day, so right now I am just browing to see what sells for what and that sort of thing.  I don't really have any intention of pulling the trigger for a couple weeks as I wont have time to train anyways so this buys me a nice learning time.

I did the bike fit calculator on competitive cyclist to give me a general idea of what I am looking for.  I plan to go to a few shops in the next week or two and actually get on the major brands that might be in my range and see which "feels" best.  I think that will give me a better idea as well.

I would love to get an actual bike fit by a pro shop but the cost of those basically takes up most of my bike budget itself haha.

It's funny - basically I am going through the house and through past hobbies trying to figure out what i can sell in order to up my budget.  I can't justify spending a ton out of pocket on something I have never done before, but if I trade in old stuff I think I could get that by the wifey, haha.

Edited by Kulprit 2009-06-22 9:33 AM

On ebay you can set up a recurring search, and it will email you when something is listed that matches your search.
I had a search for "Felt 48cm" or "Felt 48" to get the correct frame size. I had this search set only under the correct category, so I wasn't searching craft material, lol.

It took 9 months to find the correct bike listed in my size, but I ended up being the only bidder! And I'm super happy! If you are a more common size (not super tiny) I'm sure you'll have luck much more quickly.

Use a meta search engine like http://www.searchtempest.com//>
That way you can capture surrounding regions.   The "advanced" search engine will take boolean variables and you should be able to narrow your search pretty effectively.

I struck gold this weekend and hit a 3 year old Trek 1500 for $500.  Good deals abound (though mostly they weren't in my size).

I know exactly what you mean. I know a couple people who went out and spent $2K+ on a tri bike before ever doing their first sprint distance, or for that matter without ever doing a 20+ mile bike ride.

When I decided to get started I got an entry-level road bike at a LBS (Trek 1000) for about $500. I added clip-on aerobars and got a tri-specific saddle, added pedals and shoes, and probably ended up at a $650 investment, mostly new gear. I still use it all today, 6 seasons and 20+ races later. Sure I'd be faster in a tri-specific racing bike, but I get just as much enjoyment from my setup, and I find it very versatile. I'm not trying to open up the tri vs road bike debate, my point is that you don't have to spend much to have a setup that will carry you through your first race and more.

When I got my bike, eBay and CL were not as big as they are now and finding a used setup was more difficult. Today, you might be able to find a good solid entry level road bike that is road ready for $2-300. I regularly see entry level used Trek, Cannondale, Specialized road bikes on CL, sometimes for reasonable prices.

haha I am not a big guy - only 5'8" with a 30" inseam.  Can't figure out if this is good or bad.  I assume there will be less of a supply out there, but I keep telling myself that means there will be less competition for when I do actually find something ... lol

Mark me in the category of having not taken a long bike ride since i was a kid. 

Ideally I think if I were to buy new I would get a road bike.  I just think it would allow me more versatility, and if tri's didn't stick I would still have a bike to ride when my son gets older (only 4 months but am excited at the thought haha).

But I think I will let the market make a decision on tri-vs-road.  If I find something that fits that is a killer deal I wouldn't mind buying a tri bike first.  As long as the value is there, either is fine with me.

Edited by Kulprit 2009-06-22 10:00 AM

Yes, that's what happened with me. Limited supply, but also limited interest. If you have time and patience, and you know what you are looking for, you can score a good deal! I ended up with the tri bike I wanted in my size with everything included PLUS an extra set of ZIPP race wheels!  But I was adding this tri bike to the road bike I already had. If I had no bike at all, I would certainly not have had the patience to wait 9 months.

I also felt compelled to look online because my LBSs (at least the friendly ones) did not stock ANY tri bikes in my size, much less the one I was looking to buy. I figured if I could not ride the bike before purchasing, there was no point in bothering to order through my LBS. So I may as well get a deal on something used and get more for my $$.

I am exactly your size.  I would go enter your measurements at wrenchscience.com and see what total reach it says you should be (mine was 64cm).  That typically means a ~53cm effective top tuble length (+ typical stem length of 110mm).  I went and looked at a number of new bikes.  For me this meant, in general:

Trek: 54cm
Specialized: 52/54 (didn't like the Tarmac anyway)
Kuota: 52cm
Kestrel: 52cm
Orbea: 51cm (Orbeas run big)

Heck, go try some new bikes out.  You might really like something and at the least you can compile a database of bike sizes.  If I had to buy new I would have bought the Orbea Gavia - *nice* hydroformed aluminum frame and it fit great.  Ah well.

In my size I found a number of bikes around the right size.  True, there will be more 56s out there than anything else, but at least you aren't looking for a 63cm frame...

Thanks a lot - it's good to hear from someone same size.  I did what you said at wrenchscience and this is what i go:

Frame Size Center-to-Center:	49
Frame Size Center-to-Top:	50
Handlebar Width:	40
Overall Reach:	65.60
Saddle Height:	66.16

Keep in mind this was just me doing it myself mostly making marks on a door - so it wont be exact.  I plan to hit SunriseTri and have them do some basic measurements for me so I can get more concrete.

I do plan to do what you recommend, shop for new bikes to at least learn what I like/dislike and what brands seem to fit me best.