Resale values

[littleego]

Suppose I buy a mid-high range off-the-shelf road bike today - i.e. something like a Trek or a Spesh for $5-6k - ride it for a year or so and then sell it through something like the Pro’s Closet. How much resale value should I expect the bike to hold at that point?

[RoosterCogset]

Originally Posted by littleego

Suppose I buy a mid-high range off-the-shelf road bike today - i.e. something like a Trek or a Spesh for $5-6k - ride it for a year or so and then sell it through something like the Pro’s Closet. How much resale value should I expect the bike to hold at that point?

If you bought a year ago and selling now, answer is $4K. If you buy today, and a year from now Covid issues have much diminished, then $2.5k

[eddief]

i am not selling but could sell both for more than i bought them for. these are not normal times for the bike biz...or are they?

[joevers]

Depends,

Rim brake with a groupset that'll be outdated next year? probably lose over half it's value.
Disc brake with something like Force AXS/Ultegra Di2 R8070 on a current gen frame and carbon wheels? Probably retain something like 65-70% of it

If you're not great at cleaning or routine maintenance, subtract more.

[batman1425]

Originally Posted by RoosterCogset

If you bought a year ago and selling now, answer is $4K. If you buy today, and a year from now Covid issues have much diminished, then $2.5k

This. We had a customer in recently that got offered (and accepted) 80% of MSRP for a 1yr old bike by Pros Closet. They are going to wash it, oil the chain, and sell it essentially for retail. For a used bike with a thousand or so miles on it. They'll get it too. Strange times for the industry.

I suspect that shortages will continue through this calendar year and will begin to normalize with 2022 model year rollouts. There will still be a lot of pent up demand though, and manuf. are unlikely to increase production run numbers. Availability will be better due to increased supply, as factories come back on line. Components are a particularly big bottleneck right now. I suspect it won't be until late 2022 or early 2023 before things look more "normal".

I'd bet that you could get 3-4k next year for it. You could probably sell it at the end of this season for close to what you paid for it and start again next year with another new one. Basically renting.

[charliedid]

You just never know.

[zmalwo]

if you are selling it to Pro's Closet then you will probably only get 50% of what you paid for a year ago. Bikes lose value too quick.

[Frankwurst]

Originally Posted by charliedid

You just never know.

This is the correct answer.

[buddybikes]

Find nice bike on this forum and not worry. So what if it is 11 gears vs 12 you won't go any faster

[littleego]

Thanks all so far. Not normal times indeed - that's how I got into this situation in the first place. Just wondering if I'm likely to take a bath if I get a stop-gap bike for a while. Have never spent so much on a bike, and have no experience with selling...even if I feel like I live to ride now.

[LeMond123]

Originally Posted by steveandbarb1

Find nice bike on this forum and not worry. So what if it is 11 gears vs 12 you won't go any faster

This this this. My 60 y/o friend who has never been on a road bike keeps turning down 9s/10s used options for decent prices and good condition. He’s bound to drop $2000 on a Shimano 105 Scott gravel bike one of these days. He was even thinking he might drop the extra $2000 or whatever it would be for Di2. Can’t even get him to try the pristine $100 80s sport tourer Trek with 531 (fits 33s/35s) that came up and I could’ve popped some old 9s 105 on for him just to give it a spin. Almost bought the damn thing for him. If anyone around 5’6” needs a gently used gravel bike in 3-4y let me know I bet I’ll have a lead on one at this point.

[cuda]

I'm with the Charlie above " you never know." That said if you think you may end up selling, buy wisely. In normal times Trek, Spec, Cannondale and other mass market mfg bikes can be difficult to resell because the market is flooded with these bikes. High end boutique brands, and artisan built bikes will fetch a better resale value because they are generally speaking, of a high quality and or have an established reputation and following. Lastly, if you can find a near new version of the later there is a good chance that bike will hold its value and you wont take a bath when you sell.

[Mwhitby]

You should be able to sell the bike (in normal times) for 60% of the value. The Pros Closet will probably give you 50-60% of what you can get from the free market but at no hassle. For covid times add 20%

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by littleego

Thanks all so far. Not normal times indeed - that's how I got into this situation in the first place. Just wondering if I'm likely to take a bath if I get a stop-gap bike for a while. Have never spent so much on a bike, and have no experience with selling...even if I feel like I live to ride now.

If it's a stop-gap bike as you say why not consider a used bike....or maybe you are?

If you buy new it's worth 50% the moment you buy it IMO or at least I wouldn't give you more but that's just me.

[geoffreychin08]

Best to not use Pros Closet, it's obv easy to get immediate cash but they'll offer way less. I had a 2018 canyon cf slx, msrp 3900, they offered like 1200. Obv they need to make a profit and what not but oof that price was too low. It's a harder job selling on your own on craigslist, or here or pink bike but people will generally know what the bike is worth on the market. And demand is high right and probably will still be in a year.