I'm reading reports that bike shops are having a difficult time keeping up with demand for bikes in the last 30 days. The lock down and a desire to avoid mass transit is putting people on bikes. Has anyone had better luck selling restored C&V bikes?

good bikes that are well priced seem to be selling fast in my area but nice vintage bikes can still be had for $100-$150 unless its something really cool. Also plenty of people asking way too much for junk, but they aren't selling them either. I don't live in a bike crazed area though

Not sure about the C&V sellers, but local news just had a segment on one shop located near University of South Alabama is selling as fast as they can assemble new bikes, and used are going out the door too. Two week backlog on service so the mechanics can assemble new bikes and check them over (long time local shop, good reputation all around.)

Heard the exact same from my local favorite LBS last week when I stopped by to try and find some new spd-sl shoes. His inventory and back stock is steadily going down, and they are assembling as fast as they safely can, while still carefully checking the bikes over. Several people came in and took bikes straight out of the box, had them assembled, and paid cash straight up. Lots of people getting older bikes serviced and I have noticed more people out riding as our traffic is way down around here. Still plenty of logging trucks to watch for though, seems the paper mill is going strong.

Bill

My LBS still hasn't been able to build my TT wheelset that i dropped off a month ago. Im not complaining bcuz he closed shop for 3 weeks and i know hes busy now that people want to ride their bikes around the neighborhood now.

Of course I told him not to worry about my wheels.

It's nice that you are allowded to go into your LBS most around these parts are curb side pickups only.

No, based on the many vintage bike deals I see on C/L and FB marketplace that continue to linger for weeks and or even months.

In my area, tuned up bikes are selling well. All the ones I was selling have been sold and a lot of the bikes I'd consider a good deal don't last long on CL. The nearby bike shop use to put out ~20 new / used bikes outside viewable from the street, but now a days, I only see 1 or 2. The city's MUP is much more crowded then it was pre social distancing.

Agreed. Mine are still sitting there, a trio of time-wasters (interestingly, all from out of state) being the only interested parties in the past 2 months.

1979 Sparrow

Somec Super Corsa

DD

Things are a little strange right now. To say the least... Give it some time and maybe things will turn around.

I don't know how to sell a bike.

It may depend more on the type of bike than whether it is vintage or not. I'm not familiar with the market in regards to nicer vintage road bikes with downtube shifters. The bikes I see moving are vintage mountain, hybrid and touring bikes that appeal to more casual rider. These consisted of 4/5 I have sold this year, the 5th was a modern bike.

Do you know how to buy one? Just turn things around.
It's a buyers market. Enjoy.

It's a perfect time to sell a $1,000 bike for $400.

FWIW I gave two bikes to neighbors yesterday.

They are furloughed and need grocery haulers.

I just lost out on a vintage Peugeot bargain yesterday. $50...probably racing steed, mid range. helped her bid it up from $50 to $75, because I felt she was undervaluing...then she ended up selling it to someone closer for $75...She thanked me for getting an extra $25 out of it.

I spied something interesting on CL a few days ago and offered a trade but nothing he was interested in. I had no bike $ so I put my trade bait on CL and it sold in Two days for a price only 5% less than my asking price two months ago. That was cool. So today I picked up the bike that was interesting. The seller informed me that his nearby coop was too busy for him to work on the bike he sold me. That's cool. On my rides, I see An extraordinary number of down tube shifter bikes. That is cool too. I put another semi rare bike on CL. We'll see.

Wileyone , To my great surprise, both Florida and Alabama declared bicycle shops to be essential businesses during the Stay At Home orders, issued on the same day. There is one shop that went to a single location from two, and all have cut the hours back, closing by 4:00 PM weekdays, and the one that had Sunday hours stopped them as of last week. All are watching social distancing and all have hand sanitizer on the counters. about the only places I'll go, other than weekly grocery shopping trips.

Bill

Glad you are staying safe.

.

Chance: I can't read.

Stiegler: Of course not! No one has the time to read! One glances at things, watches television...

Chance: Yes. I like to watch.


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Thought this thread's article would be appropriate here.

Bicycles are the new toilet paper in Australia

Hello,

Our son told us that in New York City that within a couple of days after the initial announcements were made, all of the reasonably priced bikes had been sucked up. People didn’t want to ride public transit/taxis or be stuck without a way to get around if the streets were closed to non-essential traffic.

Locally, the co-op where I volunteer, has a large repair backlog due to demand and limited staff. They’ve also suspended all volunteer programs and classes. They take repairs only via curbside drop off. Only one retail customer is allowed in the shop at a time when they call ahead for an appointment. I can’t just drop in when I need a part.

Sounds some areas are doing OK, while others are struggling.


Stay safe and sound.

Cheers,

Van

It's dead in my region but my sister says a bicycle rental guy in her region is doing great business.

It's kind of here and there in Seattle I think. Maybe not for C&V, but for other, newer bikes. I have things for sale, and have been selling components almost exclusively. I'll take it. The bikes I sell are properly gone through and set up, so its $275-300 at minimum, and it goes up from there. The bikes I have for sale or will have for sale are tall, and are quality frames with quality parts. You can imagine how this goes. If it has disc brakes and/or 11-speeds and a fairly new frame, above $1k is not much of a problem. An '85 Paramount? Will need to find the right buyer.

I do think demand will increase. Our bike shops are essential, but only open for essential repairs etc. No browsing, no rentals, no 'non-essential' classed repairs. So they're hamstrung, and thus the market is a bit stalled.

Take a look at the Richmond CL. Everything is overpriced and not selling. The DC market almost look cheap compared to Richmond.

Weird-cold weather here in New England has everyone riding between the snowflakes. Deals are out there if you are diligent, but overall I would say that any increase in C&V sales would be due to people shut-in and cleaning house. Prices aren't great, IMHO.

Lately, it's been a good news / bad news scenario around here. On the down side, almost everything for sale is junk, overpriced, or overpriced junk. The good news is, if you have a decent low or mid-level C&V bike and offer it at a fair price, it will sell quickly. I offered 3 bikes for sale and they were all gone in a week at tha asking price.