The marketplace or the company you used for payment may offer some protection if you run into trouble with a private seller, but the private market is rowdier and has fewer safeguards than if you buy from an established business. And if the seller packs the bike for shipment and doesn’t know what they’re doing, a very broken bike could arrive at your doorstep. The bike may have undisclosed-and invisible-damage, it could be stolen, and it might even be a counterfeit. But buying from a private seller can carry more risks.
Buying from private sellers is often the best path for the best deal, and they’re more likely to negotiate than a used bike shop. Most used bikes are sold by private sellers. Fan sites like and typically have for-sale boards as well. If you’re looking for something classic, a vintage-bike specialist like RetroBike, Vic’s Classic Bikes, and Steel Vintage Bike can scratch your itch for lugs. The best-known player is The Pro’s Closet, but other robust marketplaces are found at Bike Exchange and Bicycle Bluebook, and in the classified sections of, , and. Specialty used-bike marketplaces offer a more focused and curated selection of pre-owned bikes.
Behemoths like eBay and Craigslist offer the largest selection of used bicycles, and you can find some diamonds in the (very) rough if you’re willing to invest a lot of time combing through the hordes of clapped-out department store bikes found there. You can find a used bike almost anywhere-garage sales, flea markets, swap meets, even at the curb hung with a sign that reads Free. We scour online bike listings daily to find used bikes. They might not have that new-bike smell or fresh-off-the-line shine, but they can be a lot cheaper, and they have many delightful miles left in them. There are scores of great used bikes for sale. Turn those pedals and off you go-to a place you know or an adventure you don’t. Whether it’s a Schwinn from the 1970s or the most modern Specialized Tarmac, a bike is a machine with two wheels and pedals. And though bikes evolve and (usually) improve with time, in many ways they don’t change that much.