I'm trying to buy a bike

This strike is really having a crippling effect on my life and I need a bike asap. The thing is I really have no idea how to buy one. I haven't owned a bike in over 15 years, I don't know what to expect to pay, I don't know what to look for... in short, I have no bike buying savvy whatsoever. Add that to the fact that my German really isn't good enough to peruse German ads (and certainly not good enough to haggle with any degree of subtlety).

So I came across this ad. I was wondering if someone can just take a quick glance at it and give me your impressions:

1. Good price?
2. Is there any mention of repairs needed or damage?
3. Advice

I can't comment on bike buying or haggling, but I will share my speck of knowledge with you. By law you must have a bell (klingel) and functioning front/rear lights on your bike. Even if you only plan on riding during daylight, you must have lights on the darn thing because, as a German friend once said, "you never know when it'll get dark!" Huh? From personal experience, you'll also want those mud flap things. It's no fun showing up at your destination soaking wet and covered with mud.

Looks ok if it includes the lights which it doesn't show in the photo, there's only reflectors.

Try it out and if the tires look ok, the brakes and gears work, and includes working lights then it's an ok price to pay and if you're unhappy with it or decide in the future you don't need it or want to upgrade or something you'll easily get you €55 back.

If you can get away with just using your bike for even just one month without buying a monthly travel card it's covered itself cost-wise anyhow.

1. For 55 € you really can't ask for much more?
2. No
3. Ride it, look closely for damage and not smoothly moving parts, search online for a guide of things to check out. I think the fact that they do not use subjetive adjectives in the add is positive.

55€ seems ok. Add the cost of lights and dynamo.
If any parts are worn or damaged and you dont notice, you can always replace those bits with brand new bits. Bike spare part prices are not too bad if you avoid the fashionable stuff.
So lets say:
- Split saddle replace with Gel saddle. 10€ new.
- Brake pads 3€, Cable 3€
- Crank bearing if bike has had a lot of use 25€ Fitting charge 50€
- Cracked and old tyres 2x 10€ Inner Tubes 2x 3€
- Bike all size spanner 1€. Bike Tool set 5€ Get both.

Welcome to cycling! With decent lights and rain trousers you can go almost anwhere anytime, all yyear round. And get fit for free. Public transport? Pffuh!

Thanks everyone for the replies. I went to look at it yesterday and came very very close to buying it. The only problem was that the handle bars were too far forward for me. (I have a very bad back and after riding it for a few minutes I realized it would be a bad idea). It was especially disappointing considering the whole affair, from my door back to my door, took about 4 hours!

However the good news is that, when I got home I had a email waiting for me from a friend who's looking to sell his bike to me for 35.
The bad news is that he's not back in Berlin for 10 days.
The good news is that, I also got another email from another friend who doesn't need the bike my roommate lent her and is returning it tomorrow.
The bad news is...

I should probably stop here.

Many thanks!

Have you tried writing soap operas?
Can you let us know the ending? We want to know if it turns out alright in the end? Was Kevin the real father of her baby?

The good news is... that PennyMarkt has alot of bikey things on sale next week.

here
or
here.

(atleast over here in Munich, not sure about Berlin)

The bad news is I don't know enough German yet to navigate my way around your first link.
The good news is, your second link has pictures.
The good news is also I have a Penny right on my corner.

Keep your browser tuned here where next time on "Moe buys a bike" we find out whether the news is good or... (cue dark mystery music) bad.

While shopping at OBI yesterday (at the corner of Ostseestr. & Greifswalder Str.), I noticed that Kaiser's super market next door was selling new bikes for €139. I can't vouch for the quality, though they did have aluminium frames. You'll find these type of "cheap" bikes at other big box stores like Kaufland. I would suggest ebay.de or the Zweitehand newspaper if your looking for name brands cheap. OBI has fairly inexpensive bike parts like cushy bike seats (€15-24) and a sale on LED head lights for €2.99 if you want to dress-up an old beater. I bought a pair of the lights as a back-up and they work great. The type of bike you mentioned you're looking for sounds like mine. It's a Schwinn (from America) that has handle bars that are higher and come back a little. They also have front shocks to dampen the Kopfsteinpflaster - like having the durability of a mountain bike while sitting up in a Cologne-style (as I've heard they're called) bike.