Advice on Getting a Second-Hand Gravel Bike?

[Rileymcgraw]

Hello!

I just finished my first walk on El Camino, from Sarria to Santiago, and had a great time watching all of the bikepackers zoom by on the trail. So much so that I've had a sudden interest in doing my next route, Porto (or maybe Lisbon) to Santiago by bike.

I understand that there are many rental companies that would be more than happy to rent me gravel or mountain bike for this, but I'm not sure yet if I want to stop once I reach Santiago, or potentially continue cycling around Northern Spain. Because of my uncertainty about my end date (and end place), I was leaning towards purchasing a second-hand or used bike. I would cycle El Camino and potentially going even further with it, and then resell it at the end of my journey, whenever that is.

Does anybody have any advice/resources for finding a second-hand gravel bike and the necessary accessories for doing something like this? Also suggestions on routes, bike safety on roadways etc. are very much appreciated.

Also, if anybody just arrived in Santiago and wants to sell their bike to someone who will love and respect it dearly, feel free to reach out! I would be happy to further your bikes story.

Much appreciated!
Riley

 

[Corned Beef]

Try the Decathlon site who sell both new and returned (segunda vida) gravel bikes. A "second life" gravel will be fairly rare but you could pick up a second hand mountain bike for €150. (There is not a lot of difference between the two at the lower end of the scale)

Bicicletas de Montaña de Segunda Mano | Decathlon

Si estás buscando una bici de segunda mano, en Decathlon Segunda Vida tenemos lo que necesitas. ¡Encuentra tu MTB al mejor precio y con todas las garantías!

www.decathlon.es

 

[SilentNight]

The goto website for 2nd hand gravel and mountain bikes is pinkbike.com, which started in 2000. Google pinkbike gravel, then select the top listed link. As of this writing, pinkbike has 146 webpages of gravel bikes and their components available, with 2.9K used bikes available in North America and 208 used bikes in Europe.

I like pinkbike for its content on fun videos of top mountain bikers, mountain bike events, and bike and bike component reviews.

 

[Skinnybiker]

If you're living in or are in Spain atm try Wallapop or Milanuncios, plenty of bikes available. Accessories, routing and all the other interesting stuff are another chapter in the book. Buen bici-camino. Richard

 

[Slowninja]

I bought a second hand touring bike on Milanucious and collected it in Vigo. It successfully got me to SdC where I gifted it to charity. It was less trouble than flying the bike over