Getting a bit confused / frustrated looking for a s/h road bike...

merc230ce

Like - where ARE they all?

I would have thought that with the B2W scheme there would be LOADS of secondhand bikes out there, either because people who have always been bikers would take the opportunity to upgrade, or others would get the bike on the scheme, then realise they were never actually going to use it so would sell it and pocket the cash!

In actual fact (unless I'm looking in all the wrong places) there are very few bikes out there, and (maybe because of that) those that are advertised are IMHO asking for too much money. Let me give you some examples:

Giant OCR4. 'Only used a few times, in new condition' €260
But when you do a bit of research you find that the last OCR4 model year was 2006 so at best it's a 6 year old bike. New it cost €460 so this one is asking well over 50% of its original value. Now am I wrong to think that that's unrealistic?

Specialized Allez 'Condition: New' €300
Our research says - that colourway was last seen in 2002. I'm not sure what the original retail price was, but let's say it was the same as today's model - €659. So they want 45% of the original value for a 10+ year old bike? Seriously??

Maybe I'm more used to buying cars where the general rule of thumb is that you lose a chunk of value the minute you drive out of the showroom, and by the time you've had the car 3 years it's worth half what you paid for it. Is there a similar rule of thumb for bikes?

As an exception to the rule, I was in the little bike shop off the main street in Swords and they have one s/h road bike for sale. It's a Ridley (not sure of model) that was bought new in the shop a year ago for €1,850 and serviced there regularly. The owner has now upgraded and wants just €850 for it. That's the kind of value I'm looking for!

So does anyone have any answers? Do you guys all just hang on to your bikes indefinitely and use them as wall decorations?

Lumen

The bikes I've sold have lost a large chunk of value, even when in almost as-new condition with less than 100km of use.

The car analogy isn't quite accurate since cars cost money to keep. Bikes sit there depreciating but that depreciation isn't realised until you actually complete the sale, and in some cases that will never happen - they'll just sit in the shed rusting.

C3PO

I recently sold a Giant OCR with a ding in the top tube for €280 and could have sold it 3 or 4 times at that price! Decent bikes from big manufacturers like Giant or Specialized drop in price very fast from new but reach a base price and stay there! €250-€300 seems to be that price (as you've discovered)! Personally I would much prefer to buy a tidy OCR or Allez with decent components than some new POS "No Name" with crap kit for the same money!

Lumen

RPL1 wrote: »

I recently sold a Giant OCR with a ding in the top tube for €280 and could have sold it 3 or 4 times at that price! Decent bikes from big manufacturers like Giant or Specialized drop in price very fast from new but reach a base price and stay there!

I guess the reason for that is because people are taking the risk that the bike is borked in some way that they can't tell from an inspection. The "might be a lemon, can't take it back" factor is the same regardless of age.

merc230ce

RPL1 wrote: »

I recently sold a Giant OCR with a ding in the top tube for €280 and could have sold it 3 or 4 times at that price! Decent bikes from big manufacturers like Giant or Specialized drop in price very fast from new but reach a base price and stay there! €250-€300 seems to be that price (as you've discovered)!

Interesting. How old was it as a matter of interest? It's funny - my expectation was that there would be so many of those base models from the big manufacturers on the market that the prices would be driven ever lower. Obviously not!

RPL1 wrote: »

Personally I would much prefer to buy a tidy OCR or Allez with decent components than some new POS "No Name" with crap kit for the same money!

Absolutely agree with this - hence my search. (That and the fact that I'm not eligible for the B2W scheme! :rolleyes:)

manwithaplan

I had an 'everyday' bike nicked last year and was looking for a second hand replacement. I thought the asking prices were too steep at that end of the market and I bought a cheap enough new singlespeed.

On the other hand, when I went looking for a high end second hand frame, I thought there was good value to be had. This kind of tallies with your experience.

Redmond101

I personally don't think I would sell my bike if buying a new one, couldn't justify giving it away for less than 50% of it value, that's just me thou......and also for the sake of 400ish I'd get for the sale I'd rather keep it....just goes to show the value is greater to me than what somebody else is willing to pay for it...maybe this could reflect why people have overvalued (monetary) asking prices

studiorat

I agree with RPL, the initial deprecation is very steep I think. (Your €850 Ridley for instance). After that the deprecation gets less steep and good bike will stay at the same general price for years, as long as it's in good nick.

What the BTW scheme has done IMO is introduce a load of €1000 to €1500 bikes to the market that are less than a year old and maybe 3/4's of the original price.

There's also the "Hoplessly Overpriced Bicycle thread" which is always good for a laugh.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056533384

Lumen

Redmond101 wrote: »

I personally don't think I would sell my bike if buying a new one, couldn't justify giving it away for less than 50% of it value, that's just me thou......and also for the sake of 400ish I'd get for the sale I'd rather keep it....just goes to show the value is greater to me than what somebody else is willing to pay for it

Even if you had no use for the old bike?

Keeping a bike has costs. There is the risk of theft, cost of insurance, and the space issues/domestic disharmony.

marknine

funny thing is, I have a cannondale C400 mountin bike that I bought 15-16 years ago and only got to cycle it around 200 miles 9long story why) its not like new but I wouls still expect to get between €800 and €1000 for it.

merc230ce

:eek: Is it now considered to be a classic?

merc230ce

Redmond101 wrote: »

I personally don't think I would sell my bike if buying a new one, couldn't justify giving it away for less than 50% of it value, that's just me thou......and also for the sake of 400ish I'd get for the sale I'd rather keep it....just goes to show the value is greater to me than what somebody else is willing to pay for it...maybe this could reflect why people have overvalued (monetary) asking prices

Yep, it's people like you who are ruining things for (cheap) people like me :rolleyes:

smush76

marknine wrote: »

funny thing is, I have a cannondale C400 mountin bike that I bought 15-16 years ago and only got to cycle it around 200 miles 9long story why) its not like new but I wouls still expect to get between €800 and €1000 for it.

funny thing is....you must be delirious.... are you expecting to regain the full asking price on your 15-16 year old bike which in the cannondale scheme of things couldn't really be regarded as anything like a classic..sorry op but I think like the thread title you are "getting a bit confused"

marknine

smush76 wrote: »

funny thing is....you must be delirious.... are you expecting to regain the full asking price on your 15-16 year old bike which in the cannondale scheme of things couldn't really be regarded as anything like a classic..sorry op but I think like the thread title you are "getting a bit confused"

No not at all. The bike was way way more expensive than that. I could have bought a good secondhand car for the price it cost me. Sorry to say I now drive a car and Im not fit enough to cycle. Im trying to loose weight so I can get fit again.

TheBlaaMan

I think a good number of people wo bought under the B2W are trying to 'flip' a sale but looking for very close to new prices ie, trying to make a profit, so there aren't that many deals around for basic spec bikes, unfortunately. I think €400 for a 3-4 y/o Allez or similar is what you need to consider. That said, its always possible that you'll see something on donedeal or the like, and there's always eBay if you are patient and dont mind the risk of buying a lemon "sight unseen"...

Redmond101

Lumen wrote: »

Redmond101 wrote: »

I personally don't think I would sell my bike if buying a new one, couldn't justify giving it away for less than 50% of it value, that's just me thou......and also for the sake of 400ish I'd get for the sale I'd rather keep it....just goes to show the value is greater to me than what somebody else is willing to pay for it

Even if you had no use for the old bike?

Keeping a bike has costs. There is the risk of theft, cost of insurance, and the space issues/domestic disharmony.

Well I suppose I'm in the situation that I only have one bike, when I get a second (hopefulllt early next year) I will be keeping my current one. It will certainly still get a decent amount of mileage!

However I do consider you points valid if you have 3 or more bike, that cost would begin to accumulate. (unless u have 3 specific types of bike road/commute/track etc, then I suppose your just luckly ;-)

Tonyandthewhale

If you look at entry level bikes from the major manufacturers (giant defy/scr, trek 1000/1.1 and specialised allez) most of the bikes enter the second-hand market with an asking price around 400-350 (more if they're obviously brand new and/or have a lot of accessories) and sell for about 350-300.
The reason these bikes don't drop in value much is that despite differences in year of manufacture they're pretty much the same. They all have alloy frames, generally a shimano 2200 or 2300 groupset, tektro brakes, whr500 shimano or Alex Da22 wheels and a decent but not exotic finishing kit.
A friend of mine has a 2011 giant defy 4 while another friend has my old giant scr 4 from 2006 or so. Apart from the paint job and some subtle differences in the frame the only real difference between the two is a carbon fork on the defy.
Another factor in limiting depreciation is the fact that it's much easier to spot a lemon when it comes to bikes than it is with cars and they're much simpler and cheaper to fix. I've never owned a car so I've never had to buy second hand but it seems like there's an awful lot more that could go wrong and a lot of it's much harder to spot whereas with a bike you can tell roughly what condition the majority of components are in from a basic visual inspection.

Of course, depreciation or no it's still possible to get surprisingly good value second hand, you just have to look very hard. I've bought a number of very nice bikes second-hand for less than 100e (sadly gave passed most of them onto friends though) and have even gotten a few bits and pieces free, it's just a question of right place, right time.

fat bloke

You can see yourself here on the adverts section, there must be 4 "entry level road bike wanted" ads on just the front page.

Everyone wants a bike these days, and a large section of the population can't do the btw scheme - employer won't facilitate it, they don't have an employer of any kind, or they employ themselves.

If you move up the money chain though, there is some serious value to be had in higher end bikes.

Wishbone Ash

merc230ce wrote: »

I was in the little bike shop off the main street in Swords and they have one s/h road bike for sale

I didn't know Richie's sold used bikes? I don't recall ever seeing any there.

merc230ce

They normally don't apparently. They're happy to show this particular one out the front for the guy selling it because he bought it and its replacement there, and they did all the servicing on it.

merc230ce

Yesterday's missed opportunity was a Carrera Vanquish of uncertain age (possibly 2008, not the current model) asking €120. Seemed like a good price but I couldn't get into town to view it until today and it sold in a few hours yesterday evening.

Does anyone know what previous versions (horizontal top tube) of the Vanquish were like? I know the current one has gotten great reviews (with the usual Halfords caveats) but I couldn't find any for previous ones.

Squidgy Black

merc230ce wrote: »

Yesterday's missed opportunity was a Carrera Vanquish of uncertain age (possibly 2008, not the current model) asking €120. Seemed like a good price but I couldn't get into town to view it until today and it sold in a few hours yesterday evening.

Does anyone know what previous versions (horizontal top tube) of the Vanquish were like? I know the current one has gotten great reviews (with the usual Halfords caveats) but I couldn't find any for previous ones.

If it sold for that price, it's likely that it was stolen and he wanted to offload it quick.

smacl

@merce230ce, probably worth noting that if you pick up a second hand road bike, you could incur extra costs much sooner than the equivalent new bike. I bought an older 2nd hand Ridley last year and to date have replaced chain, cables, tyres, and am in the process of replacing the wheels and front derailleur. ~€400 extra. Also replaced the stem, cassette, pedals, saddle and bars, but that was due to personal preferences rather than necessity. Next time out, I think I'll either buy a new bike, or buy a good frame and groupset.

On the plus side, I love mucking about with bikes, now know a little bit more about them then last autumn, and have a bike which suits me well. A new bike would have made better economic sense.