social suicide

With every other investment vehicle in the toilet why are Raleigh Twentys , Schwinn Stingrays, and other collectible bikes still going up 20% or more per year (based on what I've seen selling on Ebay). Does a Krate bubble exist? When will it burst? What kind of bike would Suze Orman collect? I can see Jim Kramer on a Schwinn Manta Ray.

big chainring 

I think Suze Orman would have a Schwinn Breeze. Shes filled with a lot of hot air. She creeps me out, Whats with the hairdo?

bbattle

And the teeth. The TEETH

jgedwa

Don't loose sight of the fact that bike collecting is a small-time, marginal activity. Nothing wrong with that. But it does mean, as a small market, that prices will tend to be all over the place. As such, I think a person would have to be either very foolish or very brave to consider it a genuine investment opportunity.

As long as we are just playing around, collecting these things is fine. But, the minute we start actually putting our investment money into bikes, we need to get our heads checked.

jim

urodacus

turning $100,000 into $200,000 would need a LOT of flipping and garage saleing to happen.

sure, small investments will pay off, but who wants to spend years making $100?

sciencemonster

Collecting follows the whims of the 50 year old boy. Ten, fifteen years ago it was a cowboy, Lionel and '57 Chevy bubble. Now it's a Stingrays (car and bike,) Starwars, and old decrepit rockstar bubble.

You'd be better off investing in Telebubbies.

canonizer

Collectibles are taking a massive hit. As described above, you can probably turn $50 bikes into $200, with a lot of labor. But you're not going to turn $50-$200 bikes into $1000 bikes without investing a ton of time finding super secret projects, and there just aren't enough of them out there. Also, people's disposable income is tanking too, so the people who might have been in the market for expensive bikes might now be looking for beaters.

repechage

Late December it will be Ford Gran Torinos, as the new Clint Eastwood movie has one. Next MAy it will be 1966 Corvette Sting RAy convertibles, as the New Star Trek has a great scene with one driven by a very young James Tiberius Kirk.

I guess we need another bike movie, son of Breaking Away.

bikemore 

$1200 for a pair of downtube shifters> or $500 for a headset? I don't think the disposable income has has been hit all that hard.

canonizer

The recession has barely started. Wait 2 years, unfortunately, and we'll see where people are with their disposable income.

luker

Of course. Art is even more volatile.

That isn't why we have it, though. It is good for the soul.

Investments aren't all that entertaining, unless you are that rare guy that likes money for money's sake.

due ruote 

Wait a second. Wouldn't you need to sell the bike to take the gain? Forget that.

roseskunk

you need to warn us when we open a thread and see an ugly pic like that. she's obnoxious. just one of the many reasons that i don't own a television.

iab

The $1,200 was a good deal, HS sold one last year for $1,700, almost a 30% decline.

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.

DavidW56

Whoa! What a coincidence! I just happen to have rescued a Sears Free Spirit and a Columbia from the trash last week. I'm on my way to financial independence!!

luker

overall, my bike portfolio has consistently outperformed any other investment that I have, excluding property. But I insist, that is not the reason to have that stuff. It is to use, and mess with, and learn about, and wonder about the lunatics that used to ride it in races over dirt mountain passes, and all of the other stuff that goes with it.


and...the cost of all of the bike crap that you fill your garage with won't make a dent


...in the bypass surgery that you'll be needing if you spend too much time on the couch.

cs1

Having been involved in the collectible industry for years I feel qualified to offer some insight on your comment. The value of collectibles usually stays steady or increases over time only when true collectors are the market. As investors invade a certain market you'll notice the price make sudden and large jumps just like you saw in the real estate market. You'll also see sudden and large drops when investors get out of the market.

When you're a collector, the rule of thumb is buy what you like not what you think will make you rich. You can't put a price on your hobby. Look at Cabbage Patch Kids and Beanie Baby's. The vintage bike market is headed that way IMO.

wrk101

+1 As a 50 year collector, collectables go up and down in waves. When they are hot, you are a genius. Sooner or later, they drop.

As far as a boom in bike prices, I picked up a Univega last week on ebay for $21.25. Not exactly a boom. I sold a similar bike last February for $165. Hopefully I will be able to recoup a similar amount on C/L.

+1 I am earning less than minimum wage flipping bikes, probably a lot less. Not only do you have the actual time spent working on the bikes, but you also have the time seeking/searching for deals. I spend more time looking for deals than I do fixing them. But I am not doing it for income. I am doing it because I enjoy working on bikes. And I combine the search time with looking for other sellable items for consignment shops and ebay, so it works out a little better....

+1 I end up keeping too many of them, cutting the "profit" significantly.

I basically make enough to fund the keepers....

roccobike

I have one MAJOR problem with the concept of making big bucks flipping bikes. When I find a really nice one thats even close to my size, I can't sell it cause I never know when I might want to ride it.
Somehow I'll bet I'm not alone with that problem.

luker

hunting for deals is just like fishing. You know that there's a big 'un in that hole. You just know it.

the beauty of ferreting out deals is that you don't have to torture any fish to get your fix. The downside is that it is tough to drink beer while doing it.

nine14six

I've heard that the way to make a small fortune in hobbies is to start with a large fortune. So far I've been unable to prove it wrong.

cs1

LOL, my father told me that years ago. I haven't been able to prove him wrong either.

mike

+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.

mike

Ha ha. That is a good one!

I haven't gotten rich off of bicycles, but the hobbie has paid for every bike in my fleet with some left over. Years ago, I decided that bicycle collecting could pay for all of my bicycle purchases - new and old, including parts.

So far, it has worked. In addition to the money I save from bicycle commuting and the joy of the hobby, I have put a couple thousand dollars in the bank. I am slowly selling off parts of the collection and continue to turn them into money and profit.

The fun thing about collecting bicycles is that you can still find plenty of collectibles in garages and thrift stores. Even if you can't flip a $25.00 bike, you can still ride it for a week and save yourself that much money in gas.