Cycling gears value

[cyan]

Just wondering, why cycling gears (new or used) very rarely appreciate in value, let it be bikes, frames, wheels, what have you. Even one-off/limited/collectable edition items will likely go down in re-sale value over time. Brand new items once left shops most likely will take a haircut. I'm sure there are exceptions, but such cases seem far fewer than other hobby items, e.g. cars, watches, or even sneakers.

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by cyan

Just wondering, why cycling gears (new or used) very rarely appreciate in value, let it be bikes, frames, wheels, what have you. Even one-off/limited/collectable edition items will likely go down in re-sale value over time. Brand new items once left shops most likely will take a haircut. I'm sure there are exceptions, but such cases seem far fewer than other hobby items, e.g. cars, watches, or even sneakers.

Doesn't stop people from tryin'... ahem, that ex-Indurain Pinarello on ebay..

[Peter P.]

Bicycle gear is not in demand by collectors of a wider audience, and those that would drive the prices up (read: the wealthy) don't covet bicycle gear.

Also, they are items likely to wear out so they'll depreciate much like cars.

[cribbit]

Cars, sneakers require not being used to appreciate in value and even then it's only a select few. Cars are luck of the draw on how the brand does over time. Shoes are also artificial scarcity. Watches don't go down as much with being worn but also have artificial scarcity.

Bikes have a much more functional component to them. They're also relatively bad $$$ per sq ft for being flashy collecting and don't have the societal cachet for it either.

There are a handful of bikes and parts that are worth a lot more now than when they came out, especially unused/new old stock items.

There are also things that have "bottomed out" like rim brake titanium frames that can't really go down in value for functional usability reasons.

[oldpotatoe]

There are a handful of bikes and parts that are worth a lot more now than when they came out, especially unused/new old stock items.

YUP...The shifters are 1985/6 RetroFriction downtube shifters..same guts a CRecord retrofriction but SuperRecord..saw some sell in the $500 range.

[bigbill]

I've got a Nobilette built US Team GT that I hope to have hanging on the wall one day. It needs a new paint job and a DT shifter Mavic group. I bought it to save it from some kind of hipster fixie fate.

[pdonk]

Vintage box stuff goes for crazy amounts. 80s and early 90s mountain bikes from specific companies draw fair sized bucks.

[slowpoke]

Originally Posted by pdonk

Vintage box stuff goes for crazy amounts. 80s and early 90s mountain bikes from specific companies draw fair sized bucks.

Yeah, vintage MTB is in vogue right now. 5 years ago, prices were cheaper. 5 years later? They'll drop again. Look at how NJS track bikes are selling (if anyone is actually buying) compared to back in 2011.