Faced with the difficulty of obtaining a new bike without having to spend very high sums, the French are now turning to second-hand purchases, according to a study carried out for Troc-Vélo, a platform owned by AllTricks, a subsidiary of Decathlon.

According to it, 40% of respondents say they will favor a second-hand model, reports BFM Business, this Thursday.

Nearly half of those questioned will bet on an electric bicycle, which comes ahead of mountain bikes (34%) and city bikes (32%).

But second-hand buying is not synonymous with peace of mind for some two-wheeler enthusiasts.

Almost 60% of those surveyed fear falling on a bicycle with hidden defects.

Almost one in two fear a scam and a third fear buying a stolen bike.

Tools against scams and concealment

This change in consumption could be explained by several reasons, financial, eco-responsible, but also contextual. And in particular the shortage of new bicycles. "The current sluggishness of production on new bicycles benefits the second-hand market", explain the authors of the study. This shortage leads to higher prices due to rising costs of production and transportation for manufacturers. The choice to buy a second-hand bike at a lower cost, and available quickly, then seems tempting.

However, to counter scams, Leboncoin relies for example on the services of Obvy, a company specializing in payment security. Troc-Vélo has also created a team of specialists to moderate announcements and monitor new registrations. “This first action allows us to remove the majority of fraudulent ads. We have also succeeded in determining the most sensitive product categories, for which moderation is carried out on a case-by-case basis, ”said Chloé Lépany, head of the Used Alltricks sector.

The platform also recommends that users enter the marking number of their bike and offers the “Stolen bike alert” function.

“It allows a user who has had his bike stolen to post an ad with the characteristics of his bike as well as photos and location.

Our moderators immediately notify the Troc-Vélo community, ”added Chloé Lépany.

Every day in France, more than a thousand bicycles are stolen, which represents 400,000 per year.

France is the 4th country in Europe in terms of bicycle theft.

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  • Electric bikes

  • Scam

  • Economy

  • Bike

  • Shortage