Which titanium bike brands holds its value the best?
 

Hey guys.
I'm looking for a titanium road frame to ride with a group but would like to buy a brand that has good resale value.
Background: I currently ride a old 90s Trek with old 90s parts and am the ugly duckling in the group.
This bike will be my biggest investment to date because I plan on putting aero wheels and a new groupset onto a titanium frame.
If possible I'd like to stretch my purchasing dollar on a titanium brand that holds its value over several years in case I plan on selling.
Titanium is nice because it is the most durable material besides steel on a bike and the bikes seem to hold its value longer than carbon or aluminum.
Question: Can anyone help give me tips about which brands to buy?
I've gotten mixed reviews from other forums from other people feeling something more unique like titanium/carbon seatstays from Airborne, or something made by a veteran frame maker like K Bradford, or something more common like a Lynskey for more name brand recognition will have a higher resale value.
Any advice is helpful at this point.
:fight:

Moots, Baum, Firefly seem to hold their value well.

You will need disc brakes and wide tires compatibility until something changes. With this said I would buy a good bike. All these are.

Moots, except the Psychlo X.

buy a used moots, lynskey e.t.c disc road bike and you won't lose as much when you flick it on. . Chances are you might crash it anyways so investing in a primo bike doesn't make much sense if you want to ride it like it was designed to be ridden.

poke around sold listings on ebay...

i have the impression that moots retains value well, if you buy it used. Any titanium frame new is likely to depreciate by at least half in short order, possibly more if custom and a bit unique.
If it has modern provisions (1 1/8 head tube/rim brake) you probably could buy well used and sell for nearly the same if you got a moots for example.
however technology is changing rapidly.
some people don't want rim brake frames, or disc without thru axles or clearance for only 25s etc. so you cant count on any bike as an investment, or even as a predictably depreciating good. market is very soft now which is good for you as a buyer, but not so much as a future seller.

Some of the aforementioned brands will likely have a higher resale value, but also come at literally double the cost of some others (i.e. Moots vs Lynskey), or more. So while a Moots may have a higher resale value, why does it matter if you paid $5k for it, and then sell it for $3500? You can score a new Lynskey for some crazy prices these days. Let's say you buy one new for $1400, and turn around and sell it for $700 - then your net loss is half that of the Moots. In fact, you would come out $100 ahead, versus the Moots scenario, by simply giving away the Lynskey vs reselling it. It's hard to rack and stack the kind of impact depreciation may have, and my numbers can be debated.

Buying used can help defray the depreciation hit. That way you are paying fair market value right off of the bat and not absorbing the initial loss like the first buyer.

Either way, a bike is a poor investment. They don't hold value, and even vintage collector pieces do not fare well compared to other types of gear like guitars or automobiles.

I wouldn't buy a bike based on possible resale value. Or to put it in another way, it would be a very minor consideration for me. The market is volatile, and there are more flavors now (disc versus caliper on road bikes, i.e.). My advice is to buy what you love that fits your budget.

I was about to post the same. If this is your biggest purchase to date, then fit, finish, ride quality, etc. should be your priority. Not resale value. I’d rather lose several hundred $ on a frame that I love to ride than losing several seasons of riding on something I’m not totally in love with, despite its excellent resale.

And frankly, if it’s a frame you love, then resale won’t matter.

Don't Try To Flip, Try To Buy Cheap Now
 

The new and used bike market has been and is saturated. There's more options than ever too, disc, electronic shifting, gravel/road. It has made for a great secondary market to buy, not so much to sell.

Buy used. Look at every site you can that has used titanium bikes. You'll see pretty quick that someone's dream is now a steal. Buy that person's financial mistake and save your money.

Season is coming to a close, you'll see quite a bit for sale from now till spring.

Moots
 

Moots by a long shot in terms of ti bike value. Especially a stock Moots.
The more custom a bike is, and the smaller and more esoteric the builder is- The bigger the drop vs. retail price paid and secondary market price.

You mean as a percent of it's value.....or just the dollar amount it depreciates.

If a popular $4000 frame loses half it's value, you lost $2000.

if a $2000 frame loses half it's value, you lost $1000.

If a $1500 Lynskey frame and fork loses down to $500.....you still only lost $1000 and only had to spend $1500.

Or a $1000 Ti frame and fork (and headset) from Bikes Direct .com made by Ora Engineering for Motobecane loses all it's value.....the purchase price is all you lost. And these are pretty nice frames.

I've purchased two Ti bikes (Serotta, Lynskey) on this forum's classifieds. Both are outstanding bikes.

If you really live in Brooklyn you might get the most bang for your buck buying an "old-fashioned" ti bike with rim brakes and clearance for only 27mm tires with 10 speed group. It's hard to find a hill on Long Island so you don't need disc brakes and 11 or 12 cogs. A nice MOOTS, Serotta, Hampsten, Erickson, Lynskey ti bike will NOT hold you back in the rides you have described and even if you "lost" 1/2 in a future resale it would only be a few hundred bucks at most.

The worst are generally Moots Vamoots SL's in a 54. Terrible value retainer, especially if in great condition. Get rid it now if you have one. Oh and PM me if so, I might know someone who will take it off your hands.

As a machinist I have bought many many thousands dollars of machinery over the last 29 years only thinking of the money that could be made off those machines, never thinking about resale value. When I buy a bike I only think of the miles and smiles I will get from it. If you’re that concerned with resale value I would suggest a Caad 10 with 105 that can be had at a great price and is a great bike ( I realize it’s not Ti ). This is coming from someone who owns 4 Ti bikes and was very surprised with the Caad, it’s a keeper!