Buying two wheeled vehicles around Wudaokou

[calamindos]

I'm thinking of getting a second hand bike or electric bike and saw one place that only had new bikes near the north gate of blcu.

Do you know of any places where can I buy used bikes for a good price in the area within Zhichunlu--Linye Daxue--Qinghua Dong Lu--Mudanyuan?

[Brian US]

My friends and I all got electric scooters at a place on 荷清路 just north of 清华东路. It will be the first shop on your left followed by about five more down the street. Not sure about many used ones and I had to haggle a little even after getting the "valued customer" discount.

I recommend it as every time we had a problem, they would do minor repairs for free. Driving over too many speed bumps may disconnect the cells in the battery.

[tboasis7]

how much did you pay for an electric scooter?

[Brian US]

I've seen electric scooters range from 400 kuai to over 2500. My first one I bought used for 1300, but it was stolen. I bought a new one for 1500 that does over 40 km/h. I'm going to use my electrical engineering friend as a reference, saying the real value comes from the battery. Most of the scooters will use the same four cell battery and go about the same speed. With the 2000+ models, you are paying for style and probably more room for another person.

With a car, a lot of things can go wrong. Yet, throw a new battery on an old scooter and it's almost as good as new. It costs less than 400 kuai for a new battery. You can also get cheap scooters off foreigners leaving the country last minute.

[calamindos]

Nice tips Brian.

Does anyone know how much do cheap second hand bikes range for?

[Brian US]

Used bike prices vary greatly. The beijinger always has ads of people selling. One posted yesterday has a scooter for 900 kuai in Wudaokou. No pictures, but be sure to use common sense when buying. People have been known to lie about the quality of their scooter.

[kongli]

Like Brian US said, the most important thing is the battery. However, unless you take the scooter to get looked at by someone, you will have no way of knowing if the battery is good or not. Most second hand scooters will be able to go around 30-40 km with one charge. If you buy new you can go 60km with one charge.

But even if you buy new you will have to replace the battery after a year or so.

Try this link for second hand scooters, http://bj.58.com/zixingche/

As you can see the price varies immensely. I bought mine second hand for around 650 bargained down from 800. It can go around 40 km with one charge.

Also, in the Wudaokou area there is a scooter 'shop' (just a bunch of bikes outside a gate) across the street from the mcdonalds. There you can get a second hand scooter for 800 and he can guarantee the battery for a year. Seems like a good deal.

[calamindos]

How about used normal bicycles? I'm thinking about exploring both options

[Brian US]

The first thing I did when I came to China was buy a regular bike. I bought a new one for 150 kuai. I originally asked for a used one, but they wanted 120 kuai for some beat up ones in the corner.

The prices will of course vary on quality and model. Be warned, if you buy a nice bike, IT WILL BE STOLEN...unless you park it in your room/office/classroom.

[Flying Pigeon]

Calamindos,

Did you find a bike? I'm selling my Jiahe electric scooter. If you're interested, please PM me. I'm near Zhichunlu.

[calamindos]

Thanks Dean. I ended up buying a second hand bicycle from a foreign student who got back to his country