Purchasing custom bike second hand

[drssyoon]

I've seen some very nice custom made bikes on the sales forum at what appears to be very reasonable prices. Being a newbie to the "custom made" market, how do you know if someone else's custom bike fits you? Conventional wisdom seem to say that you need to go to an LBS and try out the bike you want to purchase, but obviously this is not possible with a custom bike. Do you need to go and get yourself measured/fitted as if you are going to have one made and try to be as close to those measurements? What else can one do to see if the bike is even reasonably close to what you need? I understand the general tube length, standover height, etc. but when it gets to angles, rake, etc. I am not at all comfortable. Is there an easy way to enter the custom bike market without getting a new bike? Or is a "second hand custom bike" an oxymoron?

Thanks in advance.

[1centaur]

I think you really need to know what works for you before you buy any bike on the net, custom or not. Otherwise it's an expensive experiment, some of which work, some don't. If you want to reduce your risk you can have a professional fitting and walk out with measurements that "should" work for you, but that won't help with what angles you would most like. You can also think hard about what you like and don't like on a stock bike you have ridden and estimate whether slight tweaks in a custom get you closer to what you seek from reading all the geometry threads on this board over the years. Ultimately, you pay your money and take your chances, so it's all about how much money and how much chance you are willing to take.

[rnhood]

I agree with 1Centaur, buying a used custom bike is a big risk, especially if you don't know exactly what works for you and, why you might need something custom in the first place.

[Lifelover]

I don't see it as that much of a risk.

Unless you are like me and are 250lbs + and you buy a bike made for some guy that just happened to be 6' 1", 150 lbs and ask for his bike to be noddlie.

You need to know if the geo will work but that is true with any bike.

If you are concerned with risk, ask the owner about it.

[markie]

But the reduced risk is if you buy prudently, second hand, you can flip the bike if you do not like it for a huge profit. :)

In reality if you go for a good deal you will make most of your money back, only loosing out on shipping and handling. I find it much less risky than buying new...

[palincss]

I've seen some very nice custom made bikes on the sales forum at what appears to be very reasonable prices. Being a newbie to the "custom made" market, how do you know if someone else's custom bike fits you? Conventional wisdom seem to say that you need to go to an LBS and try out the bike you want to purchase, but obviously this is not possible with a custom bike. Do you need to go and get yourself measured/fitted as if you are going to have one made and try to be as close to those measurements? What else can one do to see if the bike is even reasonably close to what you need? I understand the general tube length, standover height, etc. but when it gets to angles, rake, etc. I am not at all comfortable. Is there an easy way to enter the custom bike market without getting a new bike? Or is a "second hand custom bike" an oxymoron?

Thanks in advance.

You have to know the dimensions and the geometry that work for you. It's really no different than looking at the specs of a stock frame to try to understand how that frame will fit you and how it will handle. After all, from your perspective, that's exactly what a used custom is: a stock frame set to some arbitrary geometry and set of dimensions.

It can work out very well. How many of dbrk's Herses and Singers were made for him? I bought jbay's Longstaff custom. It handles exactly as I expected it would from the specs.

[MarleyMon]

... Do you need to go and get yourself measured/fitted as if you are going to have one made and try to be as close to those measurements?...
I did have a session w/ a Serotta Fit Tech and found it worthwhile.
I learned what to look for in a used frame,
and that a stock size would work well for me.
You can take in an existing bike to tweak the set-up,
or use the Size Cycle for designing your custom.
I found it very helpful to talk to an experienced fitter.

[Ahneida Ride]

Ask around .... locate a good fitter and get fit ....

The you'll have a good idea ....

If you are on the outer spectrum of the bell curve, new custom may be
your only alternative.

I found one used custom frame in my size in 6 years.

But definately get fit ....

[swoop]

forget that its 'custom'. its just a bike and it has a geometry and that geometry either falls into a range of dimensions that will work for you or wont.

i'd look to see whether its atypical or how it deviates from what are typically standard dimensions and go from there.

you can force your points of contact onto almost anything.... but there are any number of ways to get there that are right and any number of combinations of adjustments across several dimension that give a bike attributes of handling.

i good measure is listening to your own certainty or uncertainty about the fit and trusting it or using it to enlist the help of someone that does it for a living.
trust your gut.

[cmg]

Waitng on the 2nd used custom i have found in the classifieds to be delivered. the first one i bought because i was curious about the steep seat tube angle (76), short top tube (51.5) and tall head tube (117) thought it would work, close to my dimensions 52-52.5 tt. Sold it for a profit so it was no risk, learned what didn't work and how to build a bike from the experience. Helped me decide on what i wanted when i ordered my custom. Used customs usually offer better tubing and builders name at a lower cost. if it's close to what you need there's no risk.

[Len J]

forget that its 'custom'. its just a bike and it has a geometry and that geometry either falls into a range of dimensions that will work for you or wont.

i'd look to see whether its atypical or how it deviates from what are typically standard dimensions and go from there.

you can force your points of contact onto almost anything.... but there are any number of ways to get there that are right and any number of combinations of adjustments across several dimension that give a bike attributes of handling.

i good measure is listening to your own certainty or uncertainty about the fit and trusting it or using it to enlist the help of someone that does it for a living.
trust your gut.

Beyind just fit to contact points is:

1.) Fit to general weight.
3.) Fit to purpose. (Don't get a bike beefed up because it's designed and built for an agressive sprinter...if you want to use the bike for brevets...or vice versa)

Len