At the end of the pro cycling season, pro teams have a bunch of bicycles to offload. Most will have been kept in immaculate condition by the team’s mechanics, so buying one may be a more appealing prospect than getting something dodgy off Gumtree.
Retailer Bike Room offers a mix of ex-pro and other high-end bikes, all with certified histories. Each one is apparently inspected by a team under the supervision of a WorldTour mechanic.
That detail addresses our main hesitation when it comes to actual pro bikes – it's fair to say WorldTour riders are hard on their equipment and team bikes may very well have been involved in peloton pile-ups.
Bike Room's process involves going over every part of the bike and ‘frameset integrity’ is top of the list of the things the team focuses on. All bikes also come with a 12-month warranty.
Based in Italy but shipping worldwide, Bike Room secured funding of €500,000 which has helped it develop its offering along with a slick website and international postage programme.
With the current season only just ended, the firm will have more stock in the coming months. At the moment, the firm has 2021 season bikes from Astana and BikeExchange. However, in the past, it has also sold machines from AG2R-Citroën, Cannondale EF Pro Cycling, Ineos Grenadiers, Androni Giocattoli and Cofidis.
Bikes offloaded from the team bus are supplemented by other certified second-hand models, all of which go through the same check-over process. That means it could be a good place to offload a quality second-hand bike if you’re in the market for an upgrade.
Despite being guaranteed, the bikes on the website appear to be quite good value, although UK riders will need to factor in £210 for postage plus 20% VAT and likely around 13% import fees too.
Fancy ex-pro bikes currently on the Bike Room
Luis Leon Sanchez’s 2021 Wilier Zero SLR
At 186cm tall, Spanish rider Luis Leon Sanchez needs a large bike. His all-purpose Wilier Zero SLR will likely have seen service at the 2021 Giro and could have also been first across the line at the Prueba Villafranca de Ordizia in the Basque country.
It’s being sold with a Dura-Ace R9170 Di2 11-speed groupset and Wilier SLR42 carbon wheels fitted with 32mm tyres. At 7.4kg it’s not exceptionally light for a high-end pro bike, but look at it!
- Buy now from Bike Room (£4,848)
Lucas Hamilton’s Bianchi Specialissima
Another Italian bike, this time belonging to Australian Lucas Hamilton. His 57cm Bianchi Specialissima comes fitted with a brand new Shimano Ultegra R8070 Di2 11-speed groupset and Vision SC 40 wheels. However, it still sports the rider’s custom Reparto Corse one-piece cockpit.
It accompanied him on his successful 2021 season, which included rides at the Tour and Giro along with solid results at Paris–Nice, Tour de Romandie, and the Volta a Catalunya. Also clocking in at 7.4kg, a little tinkering could pare it back to the UCI’s 6.8kg limit.
- Buy now from Bike Room (£4,341)
Love a pro bike? Make sure you ogle Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig's stunning Danish-coloured Lapierre Xelius SL