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 Cycling Buying Guide  

Whether you want to buy your kid a bike for the front yard, exercise your way to work, or take a rough-and-tumble ride through the woods, eBay makes buying your new bike an easy ride.
 Find a Bike That Fits Your Needs
Before you begin shopping, you should realistically examine how you plan to use your new bicycle. There are many types, so you’ll want to find one that fits your individual needs.
  • Road Racing: Designed for use on paved roads (opposed to track-racing bikes designed for tracks), road racing bikes are designed for speed. They have a lightweight frame made of aluminum or carbon. Riders usually sit at an incline, crouched toward the handlebars in a streamlined position.
     
  • Off-Roading: Mountain bikes have the weight and tread you need to move around unpaved areas. They can have tires more than 1.75 inches wide, up to 27 speeds, toe clips to keep your feet on the pedals, and often come with a dense foam seat/saddle that has some stitching to keep you from slipping around while you ride.
     
  • A Little Bit of Everything: Hybrid bikes make great all-purpose bicycles. Hybrids allow riders to sit in a more comfortable upright position than mountain bikes, lightweight frames make them perfect for use on pavement, and they can handle light off-roading on dirt and gravel.
     
  • Comfort Cruiser: Comfort bikes have the same sporty look as mountain bikes, but let riders sit more upright for superior comfort. Although they will not go as fast as a hybrid bike or deal with rough terrain as well as a mountain bike, they work great for beginners, commuters, or people who want to take a ride through the park.
     
  • Hanging Out: Older kids and teenagers love BMX bikes, which have the look of a motocross dirt bike. They have higher handlebars than road bikes and mountain bikes and the frames look small compared to the rider.
     
  • Kids in the Neighborhood: Bikes geared toward younger kids have a small frame and raised handlebars fit a child's body. They also include a spoke guard and coaster brakes that allow a child to stop when pedaling backwards.
     
  • Get Nostalgic: With a banana seat and high handlebars, lowrider bikes are a blast from the past. You can also find vintage bicycles and parts on eBay.
     
  • Sit Back and Relax: Recumbent bikes allow riders to sit in a chair-like seat lower to the ground than traditional elevated seats. Although some people may be taken aback by the unconventional look, recumbent bikes offer riders a comfortable place to sit back and relax.
     
  • Ride With a Friend: Great for a day in the park, tandem bikes have enough room for two or more people. Share your pedaling power!
     
  • Get on One Wheel: Show off your amazing balance and astound your friends with a unicycle.
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 Bicycle Sizing
Now that you know what type of bike you want, find out what size you need. You'll need to know your height and inseam measurement.
 
Wheel Rim Size
Some sellers will list a bike's wheel rim size, which works as a great measurement when you shop for a child-size bike.
  • 12-inch: Child 28 to 38 inches tall.
  • 16-inch: Child 38 to 48 inches tall.
  • 20-inch: Child 48 to 60 inches tall.
  • 24-inch: Adult with a 30.5 to 33.5-inch inseam.
  • 26-inch: Adult with a 33.5-inch or greater inseam.
Frame Size Different frames fit different people. More specifically, different seat tubes work for different inseam measurements. Adult bikes normally come with 12 to 26 inch (31 to 65 centimeter) frames, measured from the top of the seat tube to the middle of the bottom bracket. Road bike frames are measured in centimeters (divide by 2.54 to convert to inches) while mountain bikes and hybrids measure frame size in inches.
 
To find your perfect fit, find your inseam measurement in inches and do a little math.
  • Mountain bikes and hybrids: Multiply your inseam by .59 and round to the nearest whole number.
  • Comfort bikes: Multiply your inseam by .65 and round to the nearest whole number.
  • Road bikes: Multiply by 2.54 to convert your inseam measurement to centimeters, multiply your product by .65, and round to the nearest whole number.
Different manufacturers can use one of several methods to measure frame size. When you find a bicycle listing that interests you, contact the seller to determine how they measured. eBay sellers will happily answer questions and help you make sure you purchase a bicycle that fits your body. Simply click the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile in a listing.
 
Bikes Designed for Women
For the best fit, shop for a woman's bike. It will have a seat designed especially for a woman's pelvis and shorter top tube to avoid uncomfortable stretching when using the handlebars.
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 Must-Have Gear
Stay safe and look great while you ride.
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 How to Find Bicycles on eBay
Now that you know what to buy, narrowing down item listings to the bike you want shouldn't take much time. Go the Sporting Goods portal and choose Cycling.
  • Categories: If you know what type of bike you want to buy, select it from the Categories list on the left side of the page. You'll find links for BMX Bikes, Comfort Bikes, Kids Bikes, Mountain Bikes, and Road Bikes.
     
  • Keywords: Let eBay find items for you by entering the keywords you want to find into the search box. For example, if you want a new mountain bike, type "new mountain bike" (without quotation marks) in the search box. If you know what bicycle brand and model you want, type in the information to get your customized results. Visit eBay's Search Tips page for more advice about searching with keywords.
     
  • Let Sellers Help: A good item listing should include information about Listings should also include a clear picture. If you want to know about information not included in a listing, email the seller your question by clicking "Ask seller a question" under the seller's profile.
If you can't seem to find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, telling the eBay community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or saving your search so eBay can email you when a match becomes available.
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 Buy With Confidence
Know Your Purchase
  • Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.
     
  • Is the bicycle you want still under warranty? If so, what are the terms? If you want more warranty information from a seller, ask by clicking the seller's "Ask seller a question" link under a seller's profile.
Know Your Seller
  • What is the seller's feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive feedback do they have?
     
  • What do their buyers say in their feedback? Did they receive praise?
     
  • Does the seller have a return policy? Most top eBay sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?
Buyer Protection
  • PayPal Buyer Protection: In the unlikely event that something goes wrong, PayPal is there for you. Learn about PayPal Buyer Protection and how your purchases can be covered up to $1,000.
     
  • eBay Security & Resolution Center: If a problem arises in your transaction, eBay can help you solve it quickly and efficiently. Visit the Security & Resolution Center to learn more about eBay’s resolution tools.
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Trek Road Bike Frames


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