Hey everyone, I've been enjoying the content in this community for a while, and it's finally inspired me to get out there and start bikepacking. I've been down several rabbit holes researching entry-level gear and bikes, and I'm aiming for something with the lowest barrier to entry—just trying to get my feet wet.
In my search, I stumbled across Breezer, and from what I can tell, they make solid bikes with durable frames. For context, I'm a bigger guy (5'11", 260 lbs—former college athlete with long arms and massive legs), so frame strength is important to me.
I plan to start with short trips in New England. Because of my location, I'll be spending a good portion of time on pavement before hitting the trails, as I live in a pretty urban area. With that in mind, I came across a Breezer Radar Expert on Craigslist listed at $700 (firm). The seller says it's been ridden only a handful of times and hasn't been exposed to rain or rough terrain (Basically new). They bought it in fall 2023.
Is this a good price, or should I be looking at other options? Again, I'm looking for something basic but worth uupgrading if I end up sticking with bikepacking. Any advice is much appreciated—thanks in advance!
by Lazy_Painting_2899
2 Comments
I haven’t ridden one but from what I can gather they are nice steel bikes (can take heavy weight) with plenty of places to mount racks for bikepacking. Looks like a good deal to me
Looks like the same frame as my Doppler Team. Except steel fork instead of carbon, and mine has 650B by 47 mm.
Handling is different than the bikes I grew up with, which works really nicely on trails with obstructions. Front end easy to dance around stuff, rear wheel much steadier and rolls over pretty much anything. I’ve bikepacked mine through some brutal stuff and used it for utility and road work. Eats up anything, pretty much. At bottom bracket depth in water starts to slow down a lot. Super steep stuff won’t do, but gives plenty of warning that you’re risking going over the bars or toppling backwards. Feels heavy and a bit clunky, but my elapsed times are horrifyingly close to those with my Wilier carbon road bike. Beezer is so smooth in comparison.
$700 is probably fair. And you’ll have a bike that’s good on an off road. I’ve often said my Breezer doesn’t care. Good road, bad road, gravel road, trail, water crossing etc. Just plows on ahead!