Bike Fit & Buying Used Bikes

Not sure as I actually bought my used tri bike at a bike shop, and the owner included the fitting with the purchase. It was beneficial for both of us as riders here are overwhelmingly expat males who ride much bigger bikes, and few of the (smaller) locals are interested in tri bikes. The bike (a size 51 P2 sold to the shop by a departing Japanese expat) had been sitting there for months, and I'd been looking for a secondhand tri bike for months as well! Possibly not the ideal way to do things but in my case it worked out fine--it's a very good fit.

The general advice is to do a fitting first get an idea of what makes/models of bikes are suited for you, purchase a bike, then tweak the fitting as needed. Many shops waive or discount the fitting cost if you end up buying a bike from them. But if, after a fitting, you bought a used bike from elsewhere--it would definitely be worth asking about a discount on the subsequent fitting on your actual bike, though. I know in my case the owner mentioned that he wouldn't charge for any subsequent tweaks needed with the fitting. I think many shops would be happy to be flexible to gain your loyalty as a customer. Generally with a used bike, you'll soon be making other purchases like switching out the saddle, pedals, etc. (which is something to consider about buying used--often those parts aren't included or the original owner puts the stock parts back on and keeps his favorite ones) that might affect fit. Particularly if you're making those purchases at the same shop, you should be able to negotiate something.

I have only bought used tri bikes. I am too cheap to pay retail. Contact Brian Richards at www.mybikeshop.com and he will help you out. I have bought 90% of my bike gear from him (including my Felt DA2), and he is great. Brian is a used bike broker in Maryland and he deals in all makes/models. The main thing you want to get right is frame size. You could go to your LBS and pay $250 for a fitting, and then buy the bike, but with some basic measurements, Brian can get you hooked up. Depending on how you fit on a tri bike (pretty different then a road bike), you will want to go to your LBS to work on your stack/reach. They can add spacers on the aerobars to raise you up, our adjust your pads to make you more comfortable. Either way, start with Brian before you drop $250 on a fitting. Just my opinion.