Classic & Vintage - Vintage Bike Prices Doubling, Tripling - What's Going On?

Hey guys,

Have any of you noticed bike prices steadily rising recently? In the Denver craigslist, bikes that used to go for $80-100 are now going for $150-200. Some bikes are being listed at $250, $345 and way beyond.

Just wanted to see if that's the case in Denver, or if people are also seeing it in other cities.

- Joe

same in atlanta and baltimore.

probably due to an increase in bike flippers and people wanting vintage bikes.

I've seen it in Seattle too....The deals are few and far between.

I don't know if it's always been like that here but "vintage" bikes in Gainesville are never less than $150.

Maybe a part of it is that people are trying to ride bikes more now, considering gas prices. But I'm pretty sure it's related to the culture of converting old bikes into fixies and singlespeeds (not like I can judge since this is exactly what I did), especially in cities.

In the end, maybe bikes are just more hip now.

same in atlanta and baltimore.

probably due to an increase in bike flippers and people wanting vintage bikes.

I've seen some pretty blatant flipping. There was a Trek 1000 I wanted to check out for my wife, but missed out on that went for $75. I saw the same bike go back up a few days later (same frame color and size, was women-specific) for $150 after the guy threw some new bar tape on it.

hey times are tough and folks have to make a buck where they can.

I'd hazard to guess that there are ten times as many people riding bikes on the streets of Chicago as there were five years ago. Could be substantially higher than that even.

More bike demand = higher prices.

Bad news for collectors, good news for flippers. I've flipped a couple bikes now, so I guess I'm technically part of that bunch as well.

I'd say that it's a healthy combination of "bike culture" being very hip right now, high gas prices, and the simple fact that, at least during the wamer months, riding a bike in the city is one heck of a lot faster and more fun than driving a car or taking the train.

My commute is about 14 miles (each way). It takes about 50-60 minutes by bike, 30-75 by car (depending on traffic), and 70-80 by train.

Riding the bike makes you feel good. Driving stresses you out. Taking the train kind of sucks, but lets you catch up on your reading.

Style is the biggest driving force behind the current boom, but practicality and fun will, hopefully, keep most of these people riding once the craze has run its course. Next summer should tell the tale, as I think that this past summer was the height of the style peak. By next summer, the cooler than thou folks will have moved on to something else and the rest of us will continue to ride.

Oh well, higher prices are also bringing more and more bikes out of people's garages and basements as they try and make a dollar or two.

It's easy to find real bargains on Craigslist. Only they're always Somewhere Else. If you're in Denver, read the Honolulu Craigslist, there's sure to be lots of bargains there. (In my case, I'm in Dallas, all the good stuff is in Houston, but still to far to drive for a $50 bike).

Same on the California coast.
Everyone is dumping their heavy cruisers for vintage lightweights.
I think it's a style thing.
I guess that makes me super hip this year!
Before, I was super square, riding them bikes with the skinny tires.
I feel like the Fonz now.
Eeehhhhhh!

I'll disagree about the extent to which style alone is driving the current boom in old bicycles, classic or not. The Williamsburg fixster crowd is a fairly small % of the national population. That segment's big enough in a few urban areas, but it's still a segment of the boom rather than a driver of it.

The more likely cause - and it was mine, and that of many friends - was simply the price of re-entering cycling after a long absence.

People pushed back to cycling either by higher transportation costs, or those simply catching the enthusiasm of the new boom in popularity, are generally shocked at the price of entry level bikes. Having gone to the LBS to be told that your buy-in for a basic multispeed bike is now well north of $1000 has driven lots and lots of folks to CL or eBay. At least those folks unwilling spend a grand for a ten-speed, or to put their faith in dodgy department store bikes.

So to see old Motobecanes, Schwinns and low-end Bianchis going from 100 to 250 to 400 in the last year makes perfect sense. Those prices seem steep to longtime collectors, who for years had that market to themselves, but are still well south of what it costs to buy even a crappy new Bianchi or Trek.

Yup! Raleigh too. I've said this on earlier posts. The prices have gone up. Ironically, not so much for the really nice stuff, but the low end bikes, like a Raleigh Record or Schwinn World, used to sell for around $50, now they bring around $100. There's a Fuji road bike in our area right now for $165. Clean bike, but the stem shifters tell me lower end. I never thought I'd see anything considered entry level going for that kind of money.
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/bik/882581744.html
This dude is not alone, I've seen Schwinn's with stem shifters asking similiar prices. They take a little while to sell but according to some of my freinds that are flipping bikes, they get close to asking.

It's easy to find real bargains on Craigslist. Only they're always Somewhere Else. If you're in Denver, read the Honolulu Craigslist, there's sure to be lots of bargains there.

It is impossible to find anything here in Hawaii. Believe me.

In RVA (Richmond, Virginia) as well. Used to pick up old roadies here for a song, but now they go for real money, even at the thrifts. Easily 10x the prices I was paying just 3-4 years back.

Bike-boom gaspipe bikes go for ~$150 here. Anything with a decent name on the frame goes for $200+. It's getting pretty ridiculous.

It is impossible to find anything here in Hawaii. Believe me.

Probably true my friend, now that you've bought the only decent bike on offer!

The 70's was the pinnacle of bicycling. More people are figuring that out
after suffering the bike culture created by marketing and ad men :)

My brain is still stuck on the old prices. I sold a guy a 78 Peugeot U-08 last week. Its been sitting in my bike area for about a year. I did not have time to clean and lube it. It's a nice bike that the previous owner had upgraded with alloy rims (one of them a Super Champion) and Suntour rear derailer. I let it go for $50. At first I thought, maybe that was too high. Then I look at what other bikes are selling for and read what others are experiencing and then I realize, that was a great price. It's just hard to adjust to today's prices.

Well, they are listed on craigslist for mucho quan, but are the selling for the price. I personaly hope so I have 6 bikes on craigslist now. I am by default a flipper. What I mean, is I pick up nice bikes that are going to cheap that fit me or friends. I fix them up. Then like a regretfull bullemic ,I purge. I am not one who buys for $10 takes a nicer photo and relists for $110. I have noticed with the first cold snap here the prices have been dropping

Well, they are listed on craigslist for mucho quan, but are the selling for the price. I personaly hope so I have 6 bikes on craigslist now. I am by default a flipper. What I mean, is I pick up nice bikes that are going to cheap that fit me or friends. I fix them up. Then like a regretfull bullemic ,I purge. I am not one who buys for $10 takes a nicer photo and relists for $110. I have noticed with the first cold snap here the prices have been dropping

Same, I'm sitting back waiting :D:innocent:

I have been seeing more and more "vintage steel" posts on the Roadie forum. I think now that carbon fiber frames are becoming main stream, the Starbucks lycra crowd is looking for something new to set their bikes apart from the typical showroom floor bike.

I let it go for $50. At first I thought, maybe that was too high. Then I look at what other bikes are selling for and read what others are experiencing and then I realize, that was a great price. It's just hard to adjust to today's prices.

That was cool of you :thumb:.

I don't expect someone to find, fix, and sell a bike and not make some ching. I.E.; I wouldn't expect someone to find a bike for $50, add $50 worth of stuff and then sell it for $125. People's time is worth money.

Although some people are just greedy. I came across a nice Fuji I was wanting a few weeks back. The seller told me they got the bike from a resale store something like Goodwill or whatever, for $25. Why he told me that I can't figure out why. Anyhow, he put on new tires, brake pads, and tubes. The bike needed cleaned. Obvious to me from the surface rust, dust, and grime, it had been sitting for quite a while. It needed to be lubed, the crank tightened, and front wheel hubs adjusted, yet the dude wanted $250 for it :twitchy:.

I would have seriously given some thought to getting it if it was all cleaned, lubed, and adjusted, but come one... about a $175 profit seems a bit out of hand. If he can get someone to buy it, good for him. I passed.

That instance screams greed to me. There is a lot of that out there and I guess good for them. If I was a flipper, I'd offer a solid bike for a fair price. That's not to say I wouldn't make some cash, but gouging people is bad karma.

I've noticed an increase in the asking prices for older steel road bikes on my local CL here in SOCal. I think several factors are responsible, some having been mentioned on this thread already. However, one can ask for a premium price but selling your bike for that price is another matter. Of greater concern to me is the fact that Michael Kone is updating his Vintage Bicycle Pricing Guide. That will increase the asking prices for vintage steel.

I wish people around here were so desperate for vintage steel. I don't think I'd get what I want for my Bob Jackson. Although there hasn't been much interest in it here in the For Trade thread either. At least it is a fantastic ride in the mean time.

I know my wife says I do not charge enough, but hey the more on two wheels the happier we all are. I figured what time I spent on a BMX bike last weekend. It was 5 hrs + grease, wax , & occilic acid. I know I can not pay for my time on it, but a kid is going to have a well tuned old Schwinn.
The guys that bug me are the ones you know didn't even inspect it before flipping, let alone repair or tuning.

Maybe there has been lower prices on drugs nationwide because so many sellers seem to be on CRACK with they prices they ask for "vintage" bikes that are in "great shape", "ready to ride" and of course are "rare!

A lot of it this year was the gas prices got a lot more people back onto bikes. I work at a bike shop and we saw a huge increase in repairs of people bringing in their older bikes wanting to fix them up to ride to work, school, groceries, etc. New bike sales were up for most places as well which caused a lot of bikes and parts/accessories to be out of stock for awhile. For a few months the shop I work at look like we were going out of business because we couldn't keep bikes in stock and couldn't get any more to replace them until the new models (09) arrived because 08's were sold out.

But, I am also a flipper. I did notice it more this year sellers thinking they could be a flipper without actually knowing how to work on bikes or have the proper tools to do it. They were all the bike a bike for $25 and turn around do nothing to it and sell it for $150 type of sellers. My bike repair flipping skills led to my job at the bike shop. I do make a profit on bikes, but everyone I sell is completely overhauled and fixed up. My bikes are truly ready to ride, and with the increase in demand this year I did raise my selling prices slightly. But, the majority of my overhauled bikes were still priced lower than many of the crazy CL sellers so my bikes always looked like better deals. The longest any bike took to sell was two weeks and that was a big 63cm touring bike.

It has been harder for me to find the "deals" on CL, garage sales or the local thrift stores. The local thrift stores always use to be a great source of decent vintage bikes at reasonable prices (under $50). They to became outrageous with their pricing ($50 for a rusted out Magna MTB with no seat, Puk-O UO-8 $150!!!, etc). I noticed it at some garage sales as well, but for the most part most of my finds came from the garage sales, and I think my most expensive bike I bought to flip was $40.

Bikes sales are slowing way way down now with the colder temps and less daylight. I will still and try to sell some bikes and mostly parts during the winter. If I don't sell the bikes after a week or two I will hang onto them until the spring. Maybe this winter and I get working on the pile of bikes I have to flip and get them ready to post up in the spring.

Here in B'ham the pickings have always been slim, but now there are more for sale. Unfortunately at prices that make no sense by the time you get them in (for me) ride ready shape. There is one fellow that sells refurbished gas-pipe bikes at a reasonable price, but that's not my flavor.

I've noticed an increase in the asking prices for older steel road bikes on my local CL here in SOCal. I think several factors are responsible, some having been mentioned on this thread already. However, one can ask for a premium price but selling your bike for that price is another matter. Of greater concern to me is the fact that Michael Kone is updating his Vintage Bicycle Pricing Guide. That will increase the asking prices for vintage steel.

I just checked the Mike Kone guide, and the Sheldon Brown version from days gone by, I was surprised at how close the two were actually, some updating, not enough in the Cinelli dept, and no mention of Basso.
The problem with the guide is that many who skim it, immediately think the rusting hulk behind the garage is in guideline condition, and therefore worth mucho.

I have found SoCal craigslist vintage bike prices absurd for some time, ebay is often cheaper.

Here in Ann Arbor we have several expert flippers (redxj among others!!!!) who really deliver a bike that is in excellent ready to ride condition. In a college town like this the students (all ages) want a bike to get around on, and they appreciate getting a sturdy bike like a Raleigh or Schwinn, that is clean and shiny, with bearings and rims that roll right, gears and brakes that are smooth and functioning, and that will not mess up their clothes. These guys have word of mouth repeat business. The bike prices, which are worth it when you look at the near-total rebuild that gets done, are a big bargain compared to new, and the quality and service is far better than a big box bike.

OTOH, there are others just picking up complete bikes in real questionable condition, and trying to sell them at similar prices after hitting them with a garden hose. Big difference.

One thing about what redxj says, it's gonna be harder for flippers to score bikes that can be refurbished.

Toronto gets a lot of listings for old clunkers at $150 or so but I don't think they are selling all that well because they keep getting re-listed. However, I do see many "track" bikes that don't seem to last very long and the prices are usually high. A $600 conversion with deep-Vs, that sort of thing.

Toronto gets a lot of listings for old clunkers at $150 or so but I don't think they are selling all that well because they keep getting re-listed. However, I do see many "track" bikes that don't seem to last very long and the prices are usually high. A $600 conversion with deep-Vs, that sort of thing.

I'm not too surprised - here even with the student market, I expect to see "needs rebuilt" for $25, and "ready for a year of regular use" for $150. People who know nothing about bikes can see dirt, rust, scratches, and dings, and that doesn't move smoothly

I think it has to do somewhat with people who sell on CL and EBay
knowing buyers are seeking out vintage stuff and sort of using that
to their advantage. In Vermont, I had a basement full of fabulous
classic and vintage stuff that I dont think cost me 125.oo
altogether because it was picked up at spring yard sales for 5.00
to 15.00 from older owners who just wanted them gone at any price.
Here in s.Fl, there is a good amount of stuff to be had, but 150.00 for
a low level stovepiper is the norm. That still isnt too bad in my opinion
though. 150.00 for a nice rider still isnt that much money relatively speaking :)

I put three bikes on CL in the last week and got nowhere near the response that I was getting during the summer and September. Due to the chilly weather I listed all three at prices about 10% less than what I would have done in summer. The best one found an out-of-town buyer who will pay to have it shipped at my asking price. I also listed that one in Chicago for a day since I was going there for a day trip on Friday, and that one also received no response from Chicago buyers.

Has anyone had good luck in convincing Craigslist sellers to ship? If I have to shop around in different cities to feed my addiction, I may just consider ignoring the Denver CL altogether :D

It seems to be very reginal as others have said. I know that two years ago, I had a Viscount aero pro that locals were shocked at my $80 asking price. It was tuned and ready to ride, and came with an option of wheels, clencher or tubular. I craigslisted it and had several responses. One family drove about 3 hours and bought (or was given ) 5 bikes. But they knew what the were looking at.
It has been strange last week. Our craiglist has had some nice bikes cheap ( under $50). That were dusty and looked like people were cleaning out storage units.

Has anyone had good luck in convincing Craigslist sellers to ship? If I have to shop around in different cities to feed my addiction, I may just consider ignoring the Denver CL altogether :D

I shipped a bike when someone contacted me and agreed to pay shipping, but only because I was selling a bike in the middle of winter that no one in Toronto seemed interested in.

I found a fork for my Ciocc in Oregon for $20 and convinced the seller to sell it to me for $50+shipping, which worked out well. He even refunded me $10 because the shipping quote he initially received was wrong.

I think this link has been posted in the past but this engine searches CL and Ebay for bicycles (and a ton of other things), which might make life easier for you. Go to "cloud" on the top right and a drop down menu of all the marquee bike names pops up and you can search the whole planet for a Ciocc fork ;)

http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi?cat=cpbike

http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi?cat=cpbike

Man, this is evil. It could add to many hours of wishful thinking :notamused:!

^Cool linkage Jet...

As for wanting vintage, I can only say that I like not just the look of the older workmanship but of the graphics or lack thereof, what is with new bikes? They often look like crap aesthetic wise, and yeah I know looks don't make the ride but to me it is a factor in my desire of a particular bike. Same with jerseys... I can't wear stuff that looks clownish (sorry guys not to demean anyone's true abilities or lack of... lol)

If I could afford a Kona Kapu or anything new that appealed to me I'd be on it and in the streets huffin' and puffin' instead of spending what time I have looking for bargins (not that there's anything wrong with that, my time is somewhat limited though...).

I know I wouldn't get rid of this baby for less than $500. But then again, I wouldn't sell it even if I was offered a grand. It's just an italian bred machine!
Campy Victory gruoupo. Frame has chrome stays and is chrome under the off white paint. Sorry for the terrible picture.


I recently got into bikes after I walked into the shed and saw this beauty just sitting there. I've never been interested in it until I actually saw the quality of the machine, rode it and couldn't believe how much fun these bikes were. Now I'm working on building a fixed gear. I'm upset I didn't see this gem earlier.


http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/4766/bike6om4.jpg

^Sweeeeet!

We went "window" shopping to see whats out there.
It is really tough to look at a bike for $1000-8000 and wonder if its worth replacing a quality old bike.

Some of those new ones don't look like they'll last 5 years under normal conditions,
the ones that a 20-35 year old bike have already gone through and still go!

Most of us know that not much has changed geometry wise since the 70's,
-only maybe adding 6 gears and losing 5 lbs.
Seriously a wheelset costs $400 now!

A higher end older road bike for $200-400 is really a deal compared to the new stuff,
regardless if the "finder" has cleaned it up for a profit.

Anyway I love my old road bike and it will go circles around most money bikes!

TP

I am not seeing a marked difference in C/L pricing around here.

+1 Prices peaked during the late summer, interest is down now.

You want a vintage bike wake-up, here are some no-name calipers! :eek:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Campagnolo-No-Name-Brake-Calipers_W0QQitemZ110298736451QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item110298736451&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I'll be watching those. :p

http://www.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/mash.cgi?cat=cpbike
Curse you for posting that, now everyone will have the same advantage I have. I love that search engine. Except I wish you could search for components too.

As for Craigslist shipping, I've found it's very unlikely. The whole reason sellers use Craigslist is because it's easier for them than eBay. The thing that happens is that if you ask they'll only ship if nobody local wants to pick it up.

3 years ago , you could have a nice older 70's-80's-90's bike , Columbus/ Reynolds or whatever almost for nothing , no body wanted them .
Just after the "fixie" booom hit here in Sweden everything has gone out of sight . not only are the decent columbus / reynolds frames going for double or tripple the price they were even a year ago the old junk bikes have risen as well .its totaly crazy to see a junker starting at say $400 ..

T

Curse you for posting that, now everyone will have the same advantage I have. I love that search engine. Except I wish you could search for components too.


Heh, I thought about not posting it but it really came in handy for me in the past (scored my Concorde this way plus the aforementioned Ciocc fork) so figured it would be good karma to pass it along. I like how I can search the whole province because the Toronto market is pretty bloated.

I think in general people are stupid about what items are worth whether it's a bicycle, car or motorcycle. But I see buyers pay some ridiculous prices for things. With the invention of ebay and Craigslist, sellers have a wider audiance for selling junk --- junk that in years past would have been donated, trashed or sold cheaply at a garage sale.

Here is an example of a buy bike/repost on CL for more. This Centurion was up the other day for $10 (shown in CL heads up thread) and now is up for $100 with the same exact picture in a different city.

http://detroit.craigslist.org/bik/884220417.html

I've been flipping in Denver/Boulder for 5 years and have noticed it too.

Lately I am finding much better deals on ebay...... Don't forget that many of these bikes are way overpriced and the college kids aren't falling for it. I am tracking nearly 30 bikes on Denver CL that have been posted a minimum of 6 times this month. Some of them are nice people, some *ssholes, some trying to supplement their income, some clueless.....

I just spoke w/ a CL employee on Fri...Rumor has it that CL is going to lower the threshold for flagging so as to eliminate the "dealers" and "flippers". Which will mean you either list under "services" or go out of business if you are doing this as a hobby/business....

I just spoke w/ a CL employee on Fri...Rumor has it that CL is going to lower the threshold for flagging so as to eliminate the "dealers" and "flippers". Which will mean you either list under "services" or go out of business if you are doing this as a hobby/business....

You have a source, and I do not, but this seems highly unlikely to me. If they make it easier to flag, I would suspect that there will be a rash of people flagging everything else to make their own post stand out more. They need a somewhat high threshold for it. Moreover, it seems like it would not be consistent with their business model to start making decisions about who is selling their stuff and who is selling stuff that they bought to sell.

jim

I agree with you Jim,

This lady, an employee from CA, says that they are seeing way too many sellers violating the rules of CL....Apparently, some people are complaining that the spirit of CL is lost on flippers and they are requesting some new "auto flag" button HTML which allows you to instantly delete posts from "known flippers" and would also enable CL servers to "ghost" your post based on the IP address, something that they are considering doing more of.
I'm kind of worried that big changes are coming to CL.....But I guess that it was only a matter of time.

I asked what the "limit" is for selling bikes per week, and she said that what I asked was the whole problem.... "You are not supposed to be selling bikes every week, that is a violation of the rules.."

She said that "too many people are running a home business and are not listing it under the SERVICES category, which is a violation.... They must be listed under SERVICES...." And then she got kind of huffy

She just about blew a gasket when I told her that CL has been a valuable selling tool for me for years....