Sport & Outdoor
Buy and sell sport and outdoor gear in Costa Rica.
The Tuesday-night mejenga on a synthetic five-a-side pitch in Desamparados and a weekend climb up the gravel roads of Tarrazú wear out kit in completely different ways, and that matters before you buy any of it. Football boots and bikes make up the bulk, alongside kayaks and home-gym weights, new and pre-owned, and with used gear the surface it was used on says more than the brand. A pair of boots with the studs ground down on artificial turf, or a bike whose chain has been eaten by a winter of mud, shows it if you know where to look.
Football boots and the synthetic pitch:
most mejengas in the country are played on synthetic five- and seven-a-side pitches, and the boot that suits them is not the one made for grass. Firm-ground boots with long, bladed studs grip too hard on artificial turf, catch in the carpet and strain knees and ankles. On a modern synthetic, look for soles marked AG, with many short studs, or TF, with rubber pimples for short, hard turf, and keep an FG pair for a natural-grass league. Neighbourhood cement courts and indoor halls call for flat rubber futsal shoes marked IC. All of these sit under football; paddles for the newer court sports are in padel and pickleball.
Mountain bikes built for gavllong descents:
the hills decide more than the brand. Frame size goes by the rider’s height, so a bargain in the wrong size is no bargain. Larger wheels roll more easily over the loose stone and ruts of a gravel road, while smaller ones feel quicker on a tight, twisting trail. Hydraulic disc brakes are worth having anywhere with a long way down, which in the Los Santos coffee hills means almost every ride. A hardtail, with suspension only at the front, is cheaper to keep running through months of mud than a full-suspension bike. Road bikes go under biking, with trail bikes in mountain biking. A new hardtail with hydraulic brakes and a single-ring drivetrain starts at around ₡400,000. One that has done a season or two on gravel changes hands for ₡200,000 to ₡300,000, and the difference is mostly parts: a worn chain and cassette, tired brake pads and a fork that needs its seals done are a bill the next owner pays within the first few months.
Heavy gear from home gyms and one-off trips:
a kayak, a set of dumbbells or a tent is the kind of thing bought with good intentions and used twice. Iron does not wear, so dumbbells hold their value unless a rubber coating has split or the lock on an adjustable set slips. On a sit-on-top kayak, check the hull for deep gouges and soft patches from being dragged up beaches. A tent from camping and exploration is worth pitching in the garden before money changes hands, because zips, poles and a waterproof coating gone sticky are what fail.
Studs, chains and fork seals on used kit:
turn a pair of boots over first. Studs worn to stubs on the inside edge, a sole lifting at the toe and a heel lining rubbed through mean the pair has had its life, whatever the upper looks like. On a bike, check the chain for stretch, look for hooked teeth on the rear cassette and wipe the fork stanchions: oil or deep scratches there mean the seals are due. Look closely at the welds and around the bottom bracket for hairline cracks, and ask for the frame serial number and the receipt: a bike with neither is hard to resell and harder to explain.
A bike ad that gives the frame size and where it was ridden:
saves the buyer a phone call. Give the frame and wheel size, the groupset and the brakes, and say whether it has been crashed and when the fork was last serviced. Photograph the whole bike side-on and the drivetrain close up. For boots, give the size printed on the tongue, since brands fit differently, and photograph the sole so the stud type shows. Someone coming from San Ramón to see a mountain bike will want to ride it up and down a slope before talking money, so pump the tyres beforehand, and if it has clipless pedals, say so in the ad so they can bring their own shoes.