Will a cheap 2nd hand bike be stolen?

[Haretest]

I want to buy a cheap bike to get to the supermarket, cycle a weekends, and build up to cycling to work.

I'm in London and worry that anything of Facebook etc will be stolen? But the nearest bike shops to me only have second hand stock that's £400 up!!

Any tips on how to get started?

Are you worried that you’d be buying a stolen bike, or worried that if you buy a bike someone will steal it?

Oh sorry, that I'll be buying something that was stolen!

I'm just as happy but cheap from Halfords etc but not sure what I'm looking for/where to start

How strange, just ask them for their proof of postage if it’s a real concern

I'm just as happy but cheap from Halfords etc but not sure what I'm looking for/where to start

Firstly start by thinking what you want from your bike, eg, frame size, gears, weight. I've got short arms and a bad back so step-thru frame and adjustable handlebars important to me. Visit a few bike shops, sit on a few bikes. I found 1" difference in frame size made a big difference to me.

Secondly some good advice here on reducing risk of buying a stolen bike:
https://ilovebicycling.com/how-to-know-if-a-bike-is-stolen/

I wouldn't assume anything you're buying will be stolen, but maybe I am naive.

I would look for an older second hand bike with a few gears (maybe 5-9 total), not too heavy, easy to maintain and not a magnet for theft. Avoid suspension. Disc breaks are nice but I managed for decades with standard pad breaks. Have a think about weight - the heavier it is the more weight you're having to drag up hills by the power of your own legs.

I don't think cheap from Halfords will get you a decent bike, older and second hand will be better.

I had a couple of nice bikes, both a little rusty, ex-tourers from the 1950s-1980s, now pretty old but you can get the chain, derailleur and break pads replaced if necessary. The first one I got for £30 off eBay, the second was rescued from a friend's granny's garage. Got me through about 15 years of cycling between them, and neither was giving up the ghost when I upgraded from them.

There are also some charities that accept donated bikes and recondition them to sell. That might make a good starting point.

Does your workplace have a cycle to work scheme? If you can access this then you can buy a brand new bike via salary sacrifice so you don't pay the tax and national insurance. Depending on what your highest rate of tax is, you might find it actually cheaper this way than buying second hand. And you spread the payments over a year, interest free so no big upfront expense.

On Facebook marketplace, IMHO yes it might well be nicked. There's various websites showing reported stolen bikes but a lot of owners won't have put theirs up there. If you're not collecting from the seller's home I'd say massive chance it's nicked.

I bought both my bikes on eBay because I figure if it does turn out to be stolen I'll have more comeback with all the payment being electronic.

(First one I had got stolen itself. I learned the hard way not to buy rubbish locks.)

Obviously not all second hand bikes are stolen but given how many people
I know have had a bike nicked, a good few must be! I’d be wary of high spec bikes offered cheaply.