Buying a used road bike

[chefsardeep]

Good Day Legends,
I'm planning to buy a road bike probably a full carbon frame and carbon wheels, earlier wanted to buy brand new but due to the long waiting time and non availability of sizes thought of going for an used one for now, also I'm bit confused with so many brand options in the market place i dont know which will suit me well as a beginner, I always had a merida speeder and i do 24 kms everyday from home to work and I do 60-70 kms on my days off.
Below ive shortlisted few options please let me know which one will be the best bike for me.
Option 1 - Specialized Tarmac carbon road frame with Roval Cl 40 rapide carbon clinchers wheel, shimano Ultrega Di2 gears, Praxis Works Cog, turbo grip gripton tires 700x23c, Rim Brakes & deal includes Di2 charger, pedals & rear light price 4.6 k
Option 2 - Cervelo s5 with Fulcrum Carbon 40 mm ceramic bearings, wheels 700c, Groupset Ultrega Di2, drivetrain 2x11 Electronic, Di2 Dura ace Groupset, Ultrega cranks, Rim brakes price 4.8 k
Option - 3 Trek Emonda Sl6 Pro Disc. Full carbon frame & forks, ultrega Groupset, Bontrager aelous elite 35 carbon clinchers, bontrager elite VR-C handlebars 2021 model. price 4.8 k

Thanks in advance
S

[AndrewCowley]

The comparable Cervelo would be the R5.

They are all classy bikes. Are you able to ride any of these? If you can, that would be the next logical step.

[chefsardeep]

No not one of them, but long time back I have tried one of my mates Giant SLR and BMC roadmachine SLR 01 four.
Will the Cervelo S5 be a good option out of 3 ?

[warthog1]

No not one of them, but long time back I have tried one of my mates Giant SLR and BMC roadmachine SLR 01 four.
Will the Cervelo S5 be a good option out of 3 ?

Rim brake S5 are very tight for tyre clearance.
My older S5 is limited to 23mm tyres. You may squeeze in a 25 in an newer one but I think that is about it.

The rear dropout is made of plasticine too.
Mine has developed a compressed ring where the rear wheel sits on the drive side.
It has 2 screws that hold the derailleur hanger at the top.
They have stopped the top compressing.
The result is when the quick release is closed it pulls the hanger, and derailleur toward the wheel. The hanger has needed a bend to correct this.

[g-boaf]

I like the Trek Emonda out of those ones, very nice bike. S5 is a pretty old option if it is rim brake version.

Rim brake bikes are on the way out, sadly - so as much as people argue for them you probably don't want one if it's something you might intend on selling later.

[chefsardeep]

Thank you very much, ill keep this in mind.
Also ive googled few things and saw some youtube videos for how to check the frame of a bike before you buy especially a used one, but every different channel has different theory on it which was making me confuse over it.
so what all points shall I keep in mind before buying a used carbon frame bike.

[open roader]

so what all points shall I keep in mind before buying a used carbon frame bike.

Don't buy without a test ride.

Inspect it in broad daylight

Be prepared to turn it upside down balanced on seaddle and bars and rotate around it to see it all in good clean light.

Take note of the following :- tube unions, esp headtube and BB area and chainstay/seatstay bridge areas, look hard where the bars might strike the top tube when folded in a potential crash, chainstay damage, rotate the wheels - see that they are locked properly into the dropouts and do not spin with a warp and that clearance is even in the chain and seat stay bridge area, remove the wheels and look at the dropouts for damage, check the derailleur hanger for damage and alignment, check the saetpost and stem clamp areas for cracks.

Take good clear photos of anything you are unsure of and post here for mulling over.............

In the test ride, if you can't isolate any squeaks and noises to the running gear or seatpost etc then don't buy it.

[Duck!]

Everything in the above post applies to all bikes, not just carbon frames.

Aluminium frames are more likely to suffer stress failures at tube junctions, while carbon is more susceptible to impact damage. Out of those two possibilities, the carbon frame will be more repairable.

[warthog1]

Yeah I have a much higher failure rate with metal frames. Broken 2 aluminium and 2 steel.

I bought a second hand cf TCR frame, sight unseen, for 450- on ebay.
Had a good look at it and put it together myself apart from the bb where the local shop pressed it in for me.
Yeah it has marks and nicks on it.
Tbh it is better than my Cervelo that I bought new and now has 30k km on it.
Anyway didn't appear to have any structural problems that I or the lbs could detect.
I have put 22.5 k km on it now.
No hurry to replace it.
I can't see myself being anything but disappointed by the relative performance conpared to it, by a new bike, given the price.
Yeah it has rim brakes and I would prefer disc, but I hate riding in the rain, so not a big issue.
It will fit 28c tyres, that is more than big enough on the bitumen for me.

[chefsardeep]

Thank you very much Warthog1, Duck & Open roader.