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Email: info@southwarkcyclists.org.uk
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Buying a Bike
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Buying a second hand bike in Southwark:My confident assumption that no one would be interested in nicking a rather clunky ladies Raleigh bike, chipped at the edges and strewn with odd plastic brackets from long lost accessories, was proved wrong one Saturday morning. Santa's little helpers had been out and about the previous night, and with them had gone my old lady. A posting to the Southwark Cyclists email list for some advice on buying second hand bikes which were not stolen, brought the following recommendations: South London Cycles, Peckham:Recommended as friendly and helpful. They also offer boxes of spare parts. To get there go up Consort Road moving away from Peckham High Street/Queens Road towards Nunhead. Pass under the railway bridge and follow Consort Road as it bears left. The entrance to the alley running alongside the railway and the workshops under the arches is to your left hand side. South London Cycles is about 150mtrs up the alley. Gum Tree: www.thegumtree.comThe Gum Tree is the web site for Aussies and Kiwis in London. Lots of selling across London goes on as people decide to up sticks and go back home and there is a good and permanently updated selection. Of course, no guarantee that the stuff is not nicked but you'll be able to look people in the eye and decide whether they're kosher. Re-cycling, Elephant and CastleA word of warning on these guys. I received a number of reports saying that they are not always sufficiently careful about the origin of the second hand bikes they do up and sell on, and there are some cases of stolen bikes turning up there Out of Town options:CJ Frost of Hitchin: www.cjfrostcycles.co.ukComment that a bike bought looking slightly tacky but in perfect nick and with all racks, accessories etc - and all for half the price found in London. Places with large student cycling populations recommended with likelihood that bikes cheaper than in London. Oxford and Cambridge within striking distance. (NB 27% of journeys in Cambridge are by bike compared with around 2% in London!) Chapter and Verse on new and second hand bikes can be found on the informative London Cyclists Campaign site: www.lcc.org.uk In the end though, I looked at the prices of second hand bikes, particularly those which came without a mechanics guarantee and decided that once a full service and possible new bits and pieces were factored in it was not much more to buy a new one. So I now have a gleaming new bike but actually I regret it. For one, the price of a new bike goes up enormously once you realise that you need to add in mud guards, rack, decent bell etc etc. And for seconds, I now worry when I leave the new machine… |
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