I wanted to get a used bike here for training since I figured even the cheapest new bike would be 400+ euro (at best). I window shopped a bit in the bike shops in Brussels, but didn't really see any used road bikes for sale. I did see a few on
2dehands.be, however, and contacted a few people to assess price. In the end, I got a
Longo frame bike for 180 euro (out of the requested 200), which was okay for its age and that I knew it needed a new tire. (I tried to haggle down another 10 euro, since the tire would cost 30 euro, but the older gentleman who was selling it got a bit emotional--also I didn't speak French or Flemish and he didn't speak English or Spanish, so language was a barrier--and I decided to just go for it since he seemed nice enough).
Unfortunately, I had to fix quite a few things:
- New tire and tube (37 euro)
- New brake pads for back tire (13 euro)
- New seat tube and screw, since the seat tube was too narrow for the post + labor (25 euro)
- Electrical tape to refinish handlebar wrapping and try to fix seatpost issue (1 euro)
Including a tuneup (45 euro), which I would not have needed if I bought the bike new, the bike set me back 301 euro.
View walking home from the bike shop.
