Buying a second hand bike

[Mhelkior]

Hi guys and gals

I'm new to this whole electric bike thing, but I want to get one to commute the 8 miles to work (and back) 5 days a week. I did some research on new bikes, but found a lot either out of my price range, or nowhere near me. I found someone selling a 5 year old Freego Hawk near to me for £500 (which is about as much as I'd like to spend for getting my first electric bike), that has had moderate use in its first few years but almost none in the last 2 years. It has been stored in a garage for most of its life. I've Included the picture of the bike in case it helps



So here are my questions,
What should I look out for if I go and view the bike, are there any tell tale signs that it's broken or damaged?
How is the battery likely to be after so long? The seller says it has a 16ah battery which lasted over 35 miles originally. He said that last year it had about 100 miles of use, and this year none, and prior to those "moderate" use.
Assuming the bike is in a good condition, is this a fair price for it?
Are there any other questions I should ask him, or any other things I should know before going forwards?

Regards,
Matthew

 

[Alan Quay]

Hi guys and gals

I'm new to this whole electric bike thing, but I want to get one to commute the 8 miles to work (and back) 5 days a week. I did some research on new bikes, but found a lot either out of my price range, or nowhere near me. I found someone selling a 5 year old Freego Hawk near to me for £500 (which is about as much as I'd like to spend for getting my first electric bike), that has had moderate use in its first few years but almost none in the last 2 years. It has been stored in a garage for most of its life. I've Included the picture of the bike in case it helps

View attachment 15969

So here are my questions,
What should I look out for if I go and view the bike, are there any tell tale signs that it's broken or damaged?
How is the battery likely to be after so long? The seller says it has a 16ah battery which lasted over 35 miles originally. He said that last year it had about 100 miles of use, and this year none, and prior to those "moderate" use.
Assuming the bike is in a good condition, is this a fair price for it?
Are there any other questions I should ask him, or any other things I should know before going forwards?

Regards,
Matthew

I would assume the battery is end of life. A replacement will be in the order of £300-500.

Sorry to burst the bubble, but even if it was free it'd be borderline.

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[LeighPing]

5 years old. If the battery was ok, it's a big one, I'd buy it. You may need to replace the rubber, if not already done.

Check their prices new and the difference between the battery size and their differing prices. Others will no doubt know more. Welcome aboard.

 

[Mhelkior]

Thanks for the responses guys. What do you mean by replace the rubber? And is there any way to test a battery without fully charging it and riding till it dies?

 

[LeighPing]

Thanks for the responses guys. What do you mean by replace the rubber? And is there any way to test a battery without fully charging it and riding till it dies?

The tyres and other bits and bobs, if not well serviced. Brake blocks, chain maybe.

 

[soundwave]

the battery needs regular use and charging so any length of time not being used is bad.

if you had to buy a new one then the bike is worthless but you could have it re celled or the bad cells replaced but doubt it would be worth it tbh.

spend a bit more and get a new one with warranty

 

[Alan Quay]

Thanks for the responses guys. What do you mean by replace the rubber? And is there any way to test a battery without fully charging it and riding till it dies?

There are ways to test the battery capacity, but no way to know how much life is left before it fails completely.

Most li-ion are good for about 800 charge cycles, or 3 years. LifeP04 lasts longer, possibly 2000 cycles/10 years, but is a bit bigger/heavier.

I don't know what the battery tech is in that bike.





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[Mhelkior]

Thanks all, looks like I'll do the sensible thing and pass on this bike, and save up some more money for a new bike with a warranty (and brand new battery)!

 

[Alan Quay]

Thanks all, looks like I'll do the sensible thing and pass on this bike, and save up some more money for a new bike with a warranty (and brand new battery)!

Probably best. If you can get cycle to work scheme then you can have it on interest free credit and get it tax free, saving a few hundred ££'s and negating the boring saving up bit.

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[soundwave]

https://twitter.com/eCycleUK/status/786521014473666560/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

 

[Deleted member 4366]

That bike would be OK if you can get it at the right price. A battery is £200 to £250 on Aliexpress. There's not much else to go wrong with it. The only practical way to know if the battery is OK is to ride it and see how far you can go. You can get an idea about the battery condition by riding it up a steep hill or riding it on full power with the brakes on at about 5 mph. If the battery is knackered, it'll probably cut out under those conditions. Bikes like that normally go for about £350 on Ebay. At that price, they're worth a punt. If the battery on that bike is proven to be good, it would be worth about £600. I have lots of bikes and batteries, and I often leave them for a couple of years and they seem as good as new when I try them again, so that bike's battery won't necessarily be bad.

When buying a used bike, get one with at least 3 levels of pedal assist. The older ones and cheaper ones often only give full power when you pedal, which is not very convenient.

 

[D8ve]

There is a formula that flecc produced, deduct the value of the battery then about 20% devaluation per annum which leaves the cycle components virtually worthless. Then for the battery value it at zero after 3 years.
So that says any 5 year old bike is worth about nowt. But the bike looks clean, the real issue is the battery. It should be charged regularly. If not it can fail. No use for a year is a risk. You need to give it a serious test ride. If it can manage D8veh's test then it's worth a punt.

 

[gray198]

5 years old. If the battery was ok, it's a big one, I'd buy it. You may need to replace the rubber, if not already done.

Check their prices new and the difference between the battery size and their differing prices. Others will no doubt know more. Welcome aboard.

My Freego Eagle is coming up to 5years old and still gives over 30 miles on a charge. Admittedly on fairly easy riding

 

[mike killay]

Almost an aside, but my local council dump has a pile of discarded bikes that all look in good condition. They go to charity, so the bike parts of that £500 bike are worth about £10 at best.
The motor may be good or worn, in any case not worth very much

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Hub-motors on Freegos don't wear out in normal use. You should expect way over 20,000 miles from one. I don't know what the average e-bike mileage is, but It's very rare that somebody ever goes that far.

About £60 to £100 for a working ebike motor wheel on Ebay.