Do you prefer to buy new or used bikes?
I prefer to buy used, assuming I can find one close enough to my preferences.
Do you think buying used bikes are worth it to save money?
For me, who is experienced enough to judge condition and/or cost of repairs reasonably well - yes. Last autumn I picked up a road bike at 1/10 of its purchase price and about 1/4 of its expected "pre-owned" price because the owner couldn't be bothered to part with the required $60 it needed in parts to remain functional.
Or would you rather buy brand new and pay the full price to make sure that there are no issues with the bike you're buying?
Only time I'd "happily" pay full price is if I had no idea on how to go about getting the bike serviced, and/or where to source parts.
Or their cost.
One example is ebikes.
A huge part of the cost of an ebike is the battery. Buying a used ebike and ending up having to buy a new name brand battery would quickly sour the deal.
Besides, bicycles are pretty much all designed under weight restrictions.
All-out longevity and reliability have been sacrificed to keep weight down.
All bikes that sees regular use will develop "issues" within a foreseeable future.
Would you recommend a beginner to buy used because he will use it for practice and ensure that he really likes the sport before spending money on a brand new?
Depends on what buying support the beginner can get, and how financially sensitive he is.
Generally, buying a (too) cheap (department store) bicycle to find out if you like cycling may not end up well, as many of those bikes are simply too crude to perform well enough to give a reasonable representation of what riding is like.
An ideal, financially sensible situation for a beginner is probably buying a used bike from a shop that offers a limited warranty (1-3 months) on trade-ins, bikes never picked up after repairs, or previous rental bikes or something like that.
Or to pay a mechanic to inspect a bike the beginner is considering to buy, with the seller being informed that purchase hinges on the outcome of the inspection.
Or to have someone they trust AND knows bikes along to inspect the bike prior to purchase.
The price drop between 2nd and 3rd owner is nowhere near as steep as the price drop between 1st and 2nd owner.
An already used quality bike a few years old can generally be resold pretty much at the same price one season later.
Plenty of time to find out if you like riding or not. And minimal loss of money.
For someone willing to soak up the money loss between shop price and resell value, go ahead and buy new.
The bike should perform well, and if it doesn't, you have a full, no-arguments warranty to rely on.
Or will you tell beginners to stay away from buying used because they don't know how to check the specs ..of the bike properly yet?
Checking the spec is a so-so thing.
It's important if you think you're buying (and paying for) one particular model of a bike.
The bling value and bragging rights that goes with owning something like a Pinarello Dogma would be seriously degraded if someone had stuck a Sora crankset on it.
In car speak, it'd be like having a Shelby Cobra with a 4-cylinder engine out of a compact under the hood.
It's not as important from a functional perspective.
If it works, it works. No big deal.
That 4-cylinder will take you to the supermarket and back just as well as the snarling V8.
Maybe even easier.
Or will you tell beginners to stay away from buying used because they don't know how to check the specs..of the bike properly yet?
Depends on who they're buying from.
And their degree of cluelessness.
And their ability to recruit help.
But yeah, if you have zero ability to judge condition, zero ability to get some help with judging condition, and no reason to trust the seller, then don't buy used unless you're willing to risk needing to pay hundreds of dollars for parts and repairs to get the bike in working order.
