B&W, 1 sheet of A4, printed both sides.
A guide to selecting a secondhand bike to buy, for those who aren’t yet familiar with bikes or the things to be looking for.
It includes information on:
- things to consider when choosing the type of bike that might work best for you;
- how to do a basic bike fit;
- warning signs for when to leave that bike alone;
- essential safety checks before you try to ride the bike;
- suggested next steps after buying a bike;
- and an inside spread showing how to check components for wear and an indication of how expensive different parts are to replace
It doesn’t assume any prior knowledge, but it does use the proper names for each component – this means you know what words to search for for more information!
Useful for the early stages of your decision-making and also great to just tuck into your bag or back pocket for when you go and look at what might end up being your next ride…
Download the zine (version 1.10) and print it at 100% scale on 1 sheet of A4 paper.
Folding instructions: video, diagram
Released under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. You are welcome to remix, translate, adapt etc for non commercial purposes, with an attribution to “Nikki Pugh, www.everydaysuperpowers.org.uk”
We love to hear how this zine has spread out into the world – let us know if you’ve put it to good use:
London Bike Kitchen (UK) included it in the resources for their online lesson How to Buy a 2nd Hand Bike. “It’s great!”
Cyclista Zine (USA) included it within their second edition of Volume 2: DIY BIKE CULTURE.
Rat Race Cycles, London (UK) are giving them to customers to help them avoid money-pit junk bikes. “These zines are wonderful!”
RamBikes, Virginia Commonwealth University (USA) “Each semester a few folks bring us a used bike they just bought via an online marketplace, and we deliver the tough news that the replacement parts they must purchase to get the bike working are worth more than the bike itself! Don’t be on the receiving end of our bad news!! There are two ways to prevent this: 1) Teach yourself how to do a bike inspection with this zine from Everyday superpowers; 2) Make an appointment with RamBikes for an inspection! […]”
