Originally Posted by
mdilthey
You would be shocked on both counts.
First off, the MAJORITY of bikes sold in the US are rarely used. Some are never used. My local shops sees bikes that are ridden to the point of complete failure about as often as they see basically unridden bikes coming in for a "tune-up" because 10 years in storage has rotted tires/housing.
They had a pair of Serottas come in that they sold in the late 90's for like $2,000 apiece, new in all ways with a nice coating of dust. They just weren't ridden.
.
A couple of years ago I bought a 2010 Cannondale T2 touring bike for less than a third of the new cost. The guy got it to commute to work with, "rode" it for three months, and put in in storage for 4 years. It was just like new.
Last year I picked up a 2014 42 cm LHT for my daughter at $500. The woman who sold it planned on doing a big tour, but it never materialized. The bike was also in like new condition.