bikeman18

Yesterday I purchased a vintage bike at a yard sale for $70. Its an old trike bike with the basket. I bought it because a town wide yard sale event was going on and I didn't want to have to keep walking all the way back to the truck to drop off something every time I bought it. I was originally just going to buy the first bike I found that was rideable but luckily the few I came across first all had flat tires or just simply were not rideable. When I came across this one it looked like it had a few decades of wear on it but seemed like it could carry me around town for a few hours. Sure enough after I bought it I hopped on and rode it around town for over 3 hours. I was really impressed at how well it held up considering I'm 250 pounds and this bike had a lot of wear and aging signs.

Anyway, I am curious as to what it is worth and how good of a deal I got. A lot of people complimented me on the bike and 2 people even tried to buy it from me (for not more than a few bucks than what I paid). I'll attach pictures to the post of the bike and if anyone can give me anymore information on it that would be great.

wrk101

Around here, you paid full market value (for one that needs clean up and servicing). Trikes are a very limited market, hard to find them, harder to find buyers for them. Nearly impossible to ship, and Walmart sells one at a relatively low price that is shiny and new which is what most buyers want.

Now if you are in an area with a concentration of retired people, demand would probably be better. Even then, I have been retired for many years and still ride a traditional road bike. So not all retirees want a trike either, but some do.

StarBiker

I would have gladly sold him that for $70. The condition is killing him.

bikeman18

Ok, so I shouldn't worry about keeping any old parts on it and just replace everything on the frame if I decide to keep it? I just wasn't sure if this was a valuable rare find or not. For me I mostly just wanted it to get me around town all day and hold the stuff I bought at the sales. It served its purpose. Right now its parked in my backyard and I'll just use it for going to the convenient store down the road now and then. My mom loves it and says it looks like one she had when she was a kid. I'll probably just let her have it but I'll want to replace the tires and everything before she rides it around.

bikeman18

They actually had a $100 price sticker on it. I asked if they would take $50 but the best I could do was $70. I almost didn't get it but I also didn't want to walk around a big crowded town all day.

FBOATSB 

And that's the only reason you need to keep and refurbish it
The guys in the English three speed thread would probably love to see it and join in with thoughts.

StarBiker

wrk101

Value in the general market for this bike could be zero, given rust, trike, etc. The way to get value out of it is to use it like you are doing. Pretty easy to get "$70" worth of value using it. Buying to sell? Not so much.