Hello,

I just moved to Basel last week and so far am really enjoying the city and the people. The cycling network here looks very good so I'm keen to buy a city bike to get around on. What's the best place to go to get a cheap (second hand) bike? Should I try the Swiss 'marktplatz'?

Any advice welcome! Thanks!

Hi Scholek,
I've seen some pretty cheap ones just across the border in Marktkauf recently. They were going for about €140 if I recall

Hope this helps

Also, Marktkauf has a 20% off night I think next Saturday (between 9pm and midnight) plus you can claim back the 19% MWST.

They're not the best bikes, but they comply with standard German reguations (with respect to being solid, having dynamo lghts and a bell).

What do you call cheap?
I got my old Velo at Marktplatz UniBasel. Bought it for 70 CHF and started by spending 60 franks in a repair that didn't even last long. Did last me for 1 1/2 year though, witch must be pretty good for this money, but guess I have spent round 200 franks in repairs and it never really worked properly (gears & light never worked, and later the breaks gave in). So total cost for this Velo has been close to 300 franks.

Now I just bought a new one, in Migros, the cheapest one for 345 franks and am super happy to have all functionalities fully working. If it last me for more than 2 years I think I did a good deal here. And I do have warranty for the next 2 years, so how can it go wrong?

If you plan to use your bike quite often and for some time i would not get the cheapest one. Also some bike shops have bikes which are priced resonable.

http://www.velomaerkte.ch/bike_basel.php

Cheers for the advice. 70 CHF is cheap, but like you say if it costs a lot in repairs then worth getting something a bit more durable.
I'll check out the other suggestions, especially with 20% discount next week and 19% tax back - thanks for those!

Very useful website, thanks! Exactly what I'm looking for.

We got a used man's bike for 70 CHF at Peterplatz market over the summer and so far it has worked great. My husband rides it everyday back and forth to work in Aschwil and he is very happy. We checked that everything was working properly and the guy first wanted 120 but I offered 50 so we settled it at 70...good deal so far.

So, you're generalizing that all bikes sold on Unibas will be exactly the lemon that yours was?

Buying any second-hand anything normally entails a bit of caveat emptor, whether you buy it from a neighbor or someone who you got in contact with through an online platform. The problem was not that your bike needed repairs, it was that you bought a bike that needed repairs because it was 70 Fr. and expected it to be in full working order without having it inspected by someone who knows more than you do about bikes.

I also bought my bike second-hand in Basel. I paid 110 for it and have put in 40 Fr. of repairs over the past five years of daily biking.

Yes, that exactly what I meant!!

Nooo, of course not. I was just sharing my personal experience.