Folding Bikes - Pricing an upgraded R20 for sale?

Hey there. I know that Raleigh Twenties typically go on ebay for the 100-150 range, i'm not sure what to ask for one with some upgrades done to it. The R20 itself is in excellent condition with absolutely no rust or mechanical problems.

The R20 has a brand new Brooks B17N not broken in, cork grips, a suspension seatpost, an IRO track crankset with some toe cage pedals, the Shimano UN72 + Phil Wood cups upgrade, brand new jagwire brake pads on the front, and a front wheel handbuilt using the original Raleigh hub, DT Swiss spokes, an Alex DX2418 rim, and brand new Schwalbe Marathon.

Would asking $400 for this R20 be too much? Too little? Around a reasonable range?

Opinions, expertise, whatever appreciated.

I've been building this bike up to ride, but find that I would like something which is more convenient to regularly fold up.

Thanks!

might help if we had a picture of the bike, sounds pretty good though :D

If you're going to eBay it, you don't want to start the auction too high. There's a weird psychology of auctions that if the starting bid is too high (even if it's still a good price) no one will bid on it.

As for the value of the bike... Start off at $75. Add the cost of the components you've added to the bike. Subtract the cost of the components removed from the bike. Add the cost of labor ($X per hour).

That should give you a baseline price to shoot for. If it goes for more at auction, consider it a bonus. If you would prefer to set the price for a non-auction sale (Buy it Now or Craigslist), add whatever amount you want to make as profit on top of the price derived from the above "formula".

--sam

$ [Market price for R20] + $[upgrades cost] less $[upgrades usage]

Regards

Not folder related, but every time I've tried to sell a used bike that was heavily upgraded I didn't get much value for the upgrades. I'd say figure out the cost of the original bike + 25% of the cost of the upgrades. It's sad, but that has the experience of other people I know as well. You may get lucky if you find someone who wants a bike with exactly the mods you've done to it, but that's rare and many people enjoy the upgrading process and want to do the work themselves so you aren't giving them value to their perspective having done a bunch of upgrades. If you still have the old parts you'll likely get better value selling the original bike and then selling the upgrade bits separately.

Of course it's worth a shot at selling the whole bike as is for whatever you think it's worth as long as you aren't in a rush to get the $$$ and move on. You can always try other strategies down the road if that doesn't work. Good luck with the sale.

... If you still have the old parts you'll likely get better value selling the original bike and then selling the upgrade bits separately...

That's what I've been thinking as well. I too have a somewhat upgraded R20 that I'm considering selling. It was pretty rusty when I got it, but since I've taken all the original parts off and cleaned them up, it might actually look pretty shiny when it's all reassembled more or less as original. So... is it the general consensus that the upgrades don't add significantly to the value of the original bike?

So... is it the general consensus that the upgrades don't add significantly to the value of the original bike?

Yep. Generally, you get a very poor return.

You might do better on craigslist, if someone road it they might understand it better.

Make sure you explain the BB upgrade so people understand the improvement.

$400 does not seem unreasonable, but finding a knowledgable buyer might be hard. You are competing with new Dahons.