Originally Posted by
oldroads
The Krate Bubble popped a few years ago.
The high prices for Schwinn Sting-Ray Krates and other musclebikes are now about half what they were back then.
I think it will be many years before collectible bicycles start gaining in value.
Over the next few years people will be putting their money into other things, like mortgage payments and new shortpants for Junior.
The trend I've seen over the past year or so is the rise in value of ridable commuters.
Brit 3-speeds of course, but also iron like Sears Free Spirit 5-speeds and non-lugged Columbia 10-speeds. Stuff we used to ignore or donate or recycle for scrap.
I see a lot of people who are not into bicycles using these as commuters.
So... If you're looking at bikes as an investment, and you have a big barn, buy all of the under $15 adult bikes you can find.
+1 I have made a lot more money on '70's and 80's road bikes lately than on muscle bikes. Of course, that means selling a lot of old road bikes. With luck, you can still flip a collectible muscle bike and make several hundred bucks. There is a lot of overseas interest in the muscle bikes.
However, I find the old road bikes are a faster sell and I am shipping them all over the country. People are buying them to ride them. They could buy cheaper newer bikes, but many people want an original Peugeot, for example or Schwinn Continentals or Varsity. A lot of folks want the collectible 10-speeds to turn them into fixies.
I think the next really big money maker is going to be the British three-speeds; Raleigh, Hercules, Robin Hood, etc. 20 years ago, you couldn't give them away. Now, you can't find them to save your life. They are so asthetically charming and the ride so sweet, and so rich in culture that they are bound to be very collectible. For years, I tried to save as many as possible just by repairing them for free for the owners so they would keep them rather than tossing them. I hope they survived.