Looking to get into gravel cycling from road, and came across this bike on Facebook Marketplace. It is custom-built, with GRX: RX800 drivetrain. Full carbon frame, but the owner couldn't identify/remember which brands the manufacturer produced for.
Seems in relatively good nick but unloved for a couple of years. Is this worth picking up for £500? Not sure if the frame is a red flag or not. Any advice is greatly appreciated.
by BlackGellie
19 Comments
Frame is the Carbonda CFR-696, also used by different brands for their own gravel bikes (I recall Kross using it for their previous gen Esker model). It is a fairly common frame, nothing wrong with it. I can see from the pictures only some scuffs in the paint, possibly cause by the lock and a bit of rust/dust everywhere. You’re gonna need some deep cleaning, greasing, replace the chain and possibly the cassette, check tires and cables and you are good to go.
Yes, definitely, check the serial number.
Get a full service than your good to go
Can’t go wrong for £500. Factor in some replacement parts though.
An amazing deal, especially in the UK. This will get you 80% of the bike any enthusiast would want. Before you start getting into silly price ranges for kit. Well worth!
As mentioned, the frame is Carbonda 696 aka Flybike FM696 (Carbonda is the B2C to them). It is an open mold frame, but popular and used by few brands as well.
I got this frame some 2 years ago, before I sold it to a friend of mine and it was fine. Not very aggresive geometry, plenty of mounting points and quite comfortable. Check it for major damages and cracks, but the frame I got was very well build.
The GRX 800 is good. Check / replace the cables, chain etc. Check and relube if necessary the clutch on RD as well. It tends to not work properly sometimes, especially when used in bad weather.
Not sure about the prices in GB, but 500Ł seems to me as very good deal .
Hello, for my part buying a second-hand carbon frame bike is a risk that I will not take unless it is in a store. A defect on a carbon frame easily goes unnoticed. If used, I would use a high-end aluminum or steel bike.
Cdt
check if stolen or crashed… suspiciously cheap
From what I can see, the scrapes aren’t structural or a concern. I think an aluminum frame with GRX 600 is easily worth that price if no issues so I find this suspiciously cheap. Could very well be fine though, if someone can afford a nice new bike every few years they may tend to be more generous with asking price.
Looks legit. Seller made close ups of damage, which is a good sign in my book. Best ask for a pic of the frame number too to run it against potential theft. And as others mentioned, replace some wear & tear parts like chain, tyres and brake pads. Once you’ve ridden it to the point where you feel like upgrading, get a pair of secondhand quality wheels
Score !!
Pretty sure its exactly this:
https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gravity/gravel-bikes/gravel-zilla-elite-discbrake-carbon-gravel-bikes.htm?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17941149503&gbraid=0AAAAAD-wLOd1ptglMXfqsbAncknO4WX_n&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIs4_4tKWjjQMVR9HCBB1oDSGeEAQYAiABEgJgBfD_BwE
If you’re worried about the frame I’d probably hazard a guess that the groupset covers most of, if not all, that. Unless the frame is an immediate write off, I can’t see how this isn’t a steal.
That’s an Edinburgh tenement if I ever saw one!
Great deal
Clean it, get a new chain, new bar tape , make it tubeless if it possible and you are ready to go.
Its really nice frame
I would imagine you had to carry it out with oven mitts from how hot it was…
probably stolen
Whereabouts in the UK are you? That apartment building really doesn’t look like the UK to me. (not doubting you, just curious)
One random thought I just had.
There’s a garmin mount on the handlebars. Ask the guy to show you how to mount the “device” on there and if he says he doesn’t have it anymore, ask what it was used for. Should be able to sus it out at that point.
Yes, the groupset itself is the price of the whole bike.
But first, you must check if he is the real owner, because nobody want to get stop by a police for riding a stolen bike.
Just a friendly reminder.