• Select a Bicycle That Fits Your Needs

• Determine Your Bicycle Size

• Buy Essential Bicycle Gear

• Find Bicycles on eBay Australia

• Buy Bicycles with Confidence

• Need More Help?

• Legal Disclaimer

Select a Bicycle That Fits Your Needs

Select a Bicycle That Fits Your Needs

Before you start bicycle shopping, you should carefully think about how you plan to use your new bike. With various types of bikes out there, it's important to buy one that will suit your individual needs.

• Road racing bikes : Road racing bikes are designed for speed and use on paved roads (as opposed to track-racing bikes designed for tracks). Made from aluminium or carbon, these bikes have a lightweight frame. Riders normally sit at an incline, crouched toward the handlebars in a streamlined position.

• Mountain bikes : Mountain bikes have the weight and tread required to move around unpaved areas. There are mountain bikes with tyres more than 4.4cm wide, up to 27 speeds, and toe clips to keep your feet on the pedals. You will also find that they come with a dense foam seat/saddle, which has some stitching that prevents you from slipping around while you ride.

• BMX bikes: Teens and older kids love BMX bikes, which have the look of a motocross dirt bike. With higher handlebars than road bikes and mountain bikes, the frames look small compared to the rider.

• Kids bikes : Bikes designed for younger kids have a small frame with raised handlebars to fit a child's body. They also include a spoke guard and coaster brakes that allow a child to stop when pedalling backwards.

• Comfort Cruisers: Although comfort bikes have a sporty look similar to mountain bikes, they let riders sit more upright for superior comfort. Comfort cruisers aren't as speedy as hybrid bikes and aren't as smooth over rough terrains like mountain bikes, but are great for beginners, commuters, or people who want to take a leisurely ride through the park.

• Tandem bicycles: Tandem bikes have enough room for two or more people and are great fun through the park. Double your pedalling power!

• Unicycles: Unicycles are great for completing awesome tricks and show off your amazing balancing skills to family and friends.

• Hybrid bicycles: Hybrid bikes are great all-purpose bicycles. Hybrids have lightweight frames, can handle light off-roading on gravel or dirt, and lets riders sit in a more comfortable upright position than mountain bikes.

• Lowrider bicycles: With a banana seat and high handlebars, lowrider bikes are a blast from the past. There are also vintage bikes and parts as well on eBay Australia.

• Recumbent bicycles: Recumbent bikes allow riders to sit in a chair-like seat lower to the ground than traditional elevated seats. While they have an unconventional look, recumbent bikes offer riders a comfortable place to sit back and relax.

Determine Your Bicycle Size

Determine Your Bicycle Size

Once you have figured out what type of bicycle you are after, determine what size you may need. To do this, you will need to know your height and inseam measurement.

Wheel Rim Size

A good measurement provided by some sellers in their item listings is a bike's wheel rim size, which is especially handy when you are shopping for a kid's bike.

• 12-inch (30cm): Child 70cm to 95cm tall.

• 16-inch (40cm): Child 95cm to 120cm tall.

• 20-inch (50cm): Child 120cm to 150cm tall.

• 24-inch (60cm): Adult with a 76.25cm to 83.75cm inseam.

• 26-inch (65cm): Adult with a 83.75cm or greater inseam.

Frame Size

It's natural that different bike frames will fit different people. In particular, different seat tubes work for different inseam measurements. Adult bikes usually come with 12 to 26 inch (31cm to 65cm) frames, measured from the top of the seat tube to the middle of the bottom bracket. Road bike frames are measured in centimetres while mountain bikes typically measure frame size in inches.

To find your perfect fit, find your inseam measurement in centimetres and do a little math.

• Mountain bikes: Multiply your inseam by 0.236 and round to the nearest whole number.

• Road bikes: Multiply your inseam by 0.65, and round to the nearest whole number.

There are several methods available to manufacturers to measure frame size. When you find a bicycle listing that interests you, contact the seller to determine how the frame size was measured. Simply click on the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile. eBay Australia sellers will happily answer questions and help you make sure you purchase a bicycle that fits your body.

Bicycles designed for women

Women who are looking for the best fit should look specifically for a ladies bike. These bikes have a seat designed especially for a woman's pelvis and shorter top tube to avoid uncomfortable stretching when using the handlebars.

Buy Essential Bicycle Gear

Buy Essential Bicycle Gear

Make sure you stay safe and look great at the same time while riding your bicycle.

• Personal protection: Protect your knees and elbows with pads and use a full face helmet or a standard bike helmet, available for adults and kids.

• Bicycle safety: Ensure that you can be seen by motorists on the road with safety lights and reflectors. Buy a bike pump to help you maintain proper tyre pressure.

• Food & water: While cycling, carry a water bottle or hydration pack to ensure you will stay well hydrated. A bag or bike basket would also be useful for carrying food, clothing, or any other items you may want to take along for the ride.

• Bicycle clothing: Wear the right clothing while cycling to streamline your ride. Buy yourself some comfortable shorts, pants, jerseys, bibs, shirts, jackets, and vests. Invest in gloves to keep your hands warm. Don't forget shoes, socks, booties, and arm or leg warmers.

• Bicycle accessories: Protect your eyes from the sun, dust, and dirt with sunglasses and goggles.

• Bicycle storage: Storing your bike while it's not in use is easy with a stand or hooks. Ensure you have a lock to keep it secure in public locations. You can also store your bike or take it on holidays with you using a car rack.

• Bring the kids: Your kids can enjoy the ride too. Get a bike seat or trailer so that you can bring your children on a ride in the park with you.

You can also find bicycle parts and accessories especially designed for road bikes and mountain bikes on eBay Australia.

Find Bicycles on eBay Australia

Find Bicycles on eBay Australia

Once you know what type of bike you want, go the Sporting Goods portal, click Cycling, and start searching for items on eBay Australia.

• Categories: The Categories list on the left side of the page will help you narrow down your listings by item type. You'll find links for BMX & Kids Bikes, Clothing, Dragster Bikes, Mountain Bikes, Parts & Accessories, Road Bikes and more. Clicking on these links will also direct you to further subcategory links.

• Keyword search: Search eBay Australia listing titles for specific words. For example, if you want to find a Shimano mountain bike, type "Shimano mountain bike" (without quotation marks) into the Search box. Click "Search title and description" to expand your results. Visit eBay Australia's Search Tips page for more tips on searching with keywords.

If you can't seem to find exactly what you want, try shopping eBay Stores, tell the eBay Australia community what you want by creating a post on Want It Now, or save a search on My eBay and eBay Australia will email you when a match becomes available.

Buy Bicycles with Confidence

Buy Bicycles with Confidence

Before making your purchase, make sure you know exactly what you're buying, research your seller, and understand how eBay Australia and PayPal protect you.

Know your purchase

Carefully read the details in item listings.

• Figure delivery costs into your final price. If you spend a lot of money, make sure the seller will insure the item when it ships.

• If you want more information, ask by clicking the "Ask seller a question" link under the seller's profile.

• Always make sure to complete your transaction on eBay Australia (with a bid, Buy It Now, or Best Offer). Transactions conducted outside of eBay Australia are not covered by eBay Australia protection programs.

• Never pay for your eBay Australia item using instant cash wire transfer services through Western Union or MoneyGram. These payment methods are unsafe when paying someone you do not know.

Know your seller

Research your seller so you feel positive and secure about every transaction.

• What is the seller's Feedback rating? How many transactions have they completed? What percentage of positive responses do they have?

• What do buyers say in their Feedback? Did the seller receive praise?

• Most top eBay Australia sellers operate like retail stores and have return policies. Do they offer a money-back guarantee? What are the terms and conditions?

Buyer protection

In the unlikely event that a problem arises during your transaction, eBay Australia and PayPal are there for you.

• Pay safely with PayPal: PayPal enables you to pay without the seller ever seeing your bank account or credit card numbers. In fact, PayPal protects buyers 100% against unauthorised payments from their accounts. Plus, with PayPal Buyer Protection, your purchase can be covered up to $1,500.

• eBay Australia Security & Resolution Centre: Visit the Security & Resolution Centre to learn how to protect your account and use eBay Australia's quick and efficient resolution tools.

Need More Help?

Need More Help?

Visit our help pages or start a thread on one of our Community Discussion Boards - If you have a quick question that needs answering, try posting it on our community Answer Centre - there's bound to be a seasoned eBay Australia veteran with just the information you're looking for!

Legal Disclaimer

Legal Disclaimer

Buying Guides are intended merely as a guide or review for members when considering what products or services they may be interested in bidding on or purchasing. eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the accuracy of the information or content contained in these Buying Guides. Furthermore, eBay does not make, and nothing in these Buying Guides is intended to constitute, any warranties, guarantees, representations or assurances about the nature or performance of the products or services appearing in the Buying Guides. Content, trademarks and brands referred to and contained in the third-party links provided are the property of their respective owners, and eBay has no control over and accepts no responsibility for their content. eBay is not affiliated with nor does it endorse the use of any particular product or service.