riomx

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

abeyance23

same in atlanta and baltimore.

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

kpug505

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

unprintable

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.

riomx

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.

bmaxwell

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

bibliobob

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.

StephenH

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).

mackerel

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!

bartonfink

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.

roccobike

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.
https://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.

swif

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

Poguemahone

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.

Exit.

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

Oldpeddaller

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

-=(8)=-

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

roccobike

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.

ebr898

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

mazdaspeed

Same, I'm sitting back waiting

steppinthefunk 

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.

Hasek

That was cool of you .

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 .

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.

retyred

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.

drpaauwe

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.

ebr898

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.

redxj

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.