2nd Hand Carbon Bike

Is buying 2nd hand carbon wise?

I can see how you might make a mistake with a bike rack once but either the decals Trek use are useless or someone appears to not give a fig about their bike. I know nothing about the seller but £350's a lot of money to spend if it turns out to be a wreck. By the way I ride several thousand k's a year and don't have a Pinarello but frame protection stickers cost pennies.

Really? That's just decal damage, I did more damage than that to my Giant just by putting her on a car rack for a 10 minute drive without padding the bungee cords, and by that I mean the actual cord bit not the metal hooks.

Yes it's upsetting when you scratch your pride and joy, but ultimately bikes are for riding, not hanging on the wall. That one looks like it's owners gotten the most out of it anyway, so obviously time to renew. Folk who buy Pinarello's and ride them 5 times a year should be banned from owning bikes; not the folk who use them for what they were designed!

I would want a better look at the actual frame; the damage looks like wear and tear to the paint, that could be touched up. But this does not look like someones pampered first bike. If I was to buy this frame I would collect it; that way if the damage looks more than superficial I could walk away.

I don't think there is anything wrong with buying second hand carbon, as long as you know its been well looked after.

But the owner of that bike should get a banning order from ever owning a bike again, cruelty to bikes should become a law.

I've seen kids bikes that have been used day in day out for years in better shape.

Jesus. I can honestly say I've never seen a 3/4 year old road bike in such poor nick. If the previous owner(s) was that careless with it, there's a fair chance it's been binned more than once.

Personally, unless you've got a x-ray machine and can test the integrity of the frame, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

Get a new, warrantied Ribble or PX frame if you want cheap carbon.