 The more conscientious Oxford bike shops have mixed feelings about these. We see some terrible and dangerous bikes coming through our doors – some of them are cheap new ones that are only a few weeks old and already falling apart. Others are supposedly ‘renovated’ second-hand bikes that people have paid inflated prices for, but which are not safe to ride. On the other hand, we have huge numbers of customers coming in looking for cheap bikes and don’t want to turn away all the potential business. |  | Used Bike or Cheap New Bike?
Because of the large market and competition between shops, Oxford has some of the cheapest new bikes to be found in the country. The supply of decent quality used bikes is never enough to satisfy demand, so prices tend to be higher here than elsewhere. If you’re a UK student coming to Oxford the best bet is to buy a used bike in your home town and bring it with you. Otherwise look for a cheap(ish) new bike when you get here, but beware the very cheap ones sold for ‘self-assembly’ (they don’t usually last the first term!) and try to buy as simple a bike as possible (if it’s a ‘mountain bike’, try to get one without suspension). We sell used bikes and offer a three month guarantee on them (but they’re usually sold within a day or two of putting them out for sale). We also sell some cheap new bikes. Our current best new bike deal is on an old-school Raleigh single-speed town bike which has decent brakes, mudguards and a rear carrier ready-fitted and sells for £149. |
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