Ok, so I just picked up a Raleigh Rapide mixte for $10 off of craigslist (passed up another $10 ten speed too, but it was an old JC Penneys bike, no lugs, figured it wasn't worth the effort).

I figured even for a low-end bike, $10 is a pretty safe investment on my first flip. I figure I could probably put this back on craigslist in a month (when freshmen start showing up for college) with a pretty basket on the front for $100-150 and sell it no problem with zero work on my part, except.

So here's the question—how much work do you put into your "flip" bikes?
Or rather, where do you find the sweet spot for money spent vs. value added?

To give an idea of where I'm starting from, the Raleigh Rapide is clearly a lower-end roadbike—cottered cranks, suicide brake levers, stem shifters, dork disk and a chainguard bolted to the chainwheel. I'm guessing its from the early 80s (judging on decals). That said, pretty decent condition—not a lot of scratches, no dings I have seen, and rust is fairly minimal. Most significant rust is on the headset, and there's a little oxidation starting on the cranks. Should clean up nice enough though, definitely one of those bikes that can look really great from a distance of a few feet.
The one here is nearly identical, except that mine is a mixte and not in NOS condition.
Tires were flat, but tubes seemed to hold air when I got it home. Tires do have some cracking. Wheels are fairly true. Brakes will stop the bike, although the pads are not so rubbery, and they aren't adjusted very well (both seem to want to hang to one side, rubbing the rim even though the wheels are true—how is this fixed?). Shifts into all ten gears (not the smoothest, but probably not much worse than it was new, really).

So what to do? If I find that the tubes are holding air well, then this bike is rideable right now. Should I leave it be and let the next owner deal with new tires, brake pads, etc? Or do you find that it's better to get the bike as close to "new" as possible?

I've found, generally speaking, in the long run, all things considered...

I'm better off stripping the frame, hitting it with appropriate cleaners, putting at least new tape/cable /tires/tubes on, repacking all the accessible bearings and then asking a reasonable price.

YMMV

I pass on Dept store bikes unless they have new tires, then I'll give $10.

I should add that I give free tune up's for life, and wouldn't sell anything I wouldn't ride, or give to my children to ride,

Short answer: Quite a bit of work. But I have gotten a lot more efficient at stripping/cleaning and rehabbing bikes.

Long answer:

I sold a Rapide that I put a fair amount of work into earlier this year for $110. Around here, it is too bottom end, by the time you cover acquisition, parts and your time, there is nothing left. It was super clean and ready to go when I was done with it, but it wasn't a mixte. It took a long time to sell. A mixte would sell faster, for a little more, so you should be OK. I basically broke even on the Rapide, assuming my time is worth zero.

At least I got a bike back on the road!

I replace any cracked/dry rotted/old tires. Whenever I have any doubts, the tires go. I pick up tires at a low cost from Niagara Cycle. I replace all bearings too, as the bikes I pick up have been ignored/neglected for a decade or two (or three). Niagara is also where I get bearings, brake pads, cables and housings too (I buy housing in 50 foot rolls). Tubes come from Pricepoint ($2 each when bought in quantity). No need to scrimp on questionable tubes.

Buyers want bikes ready to go, not projects. Projects are what I buy....

I usually aim for a higher bike, one that can sell for more: alloy rims, alloy crank set, chromoly frame (with no damage and good paint), and decent to good components. That's the sweet spot around here. I can sell them for $175 to $225, depending on frame material and component grade. Touring bikes go for more.

The problem is that it takes just as much time and just as much in parts to rehab a Rapide as it would something higher end. Aim higher and your return improves significantly.

Occasionally I lower the bar, I pretty much always regret it (no return for the time and effort spent).

+1 I tear down older bikes to the frame. I occasionally find a newish bike in ready to ride condition (or close to it). In that case, I may just replace any bad cables, clean the bike good, adjust the derailleurs and it is ready to go. I did this with a 2003 and a 2001 that were in like new condition when acquired. So in that case, the value added is in finding the bike (the search) rather than the repair/rebuild.

Tires may or may not hold up, but you don't have to replace every tire just because it is not new. If they are in bad shape, order some new $5 tires from:
https://www.niagaracycle.com/index.ph...er_id=&sort=3a

They will be consistent with a lower-end, serviceable bike. As long as the cables aren't frayed at the end, you can pull the cables out their housings and oil them & drip oil into the housings to give them more life. They usually brake at the ends that go into the levers. You should have a collection of good salvaged parts on hand from junked bikes. This can save you a few bucks. The brake pads should be replaced if they have hardened and are unsafe. Clean & wax the bike, true the wheels (watch out for "up and down hops" and dents in the sides of steel rims), adjust the brakes and deraileurs. Make sure the pins in the crank set are snugged up and tightened. Adjust the headset, etc. Make sure everything is in order. This is what we used to do at the shop I worked at...along time ago. We also put a guarantee on the bikes. Talk about headaches!!!

I tend to do the same. Most of the time its just easier to snip all the cables, remove all the parts, lube and grease everything and put it all back together again, than to try to work with frayed, kinked cables and dirty,rusty grimey parts. That being said if things are pretty clean on the bike a quick squirt of Simple Green, followed by a shot of WD-40 can bring back a bike pretty fast.

My $10-20 dollar finds are usually in need of alot of repair and I strip 'em down. My nice bikes I usually get hung up on making them super clean and redo all the bearings and bring it back to like new condition.

When I do flip them I probably am making $5-10 an hour for my effort, but its an enjoyable effort.

I clean the bike. that is take everything off, clean and wax the frame, clean all the parts, chain rings come off the crank so even the little spacers get cleaned. I repack the bearings if thay are less than totaly smooth. tires, cables,cable housing, bar wrap, brake pads, chain, are replaced as needed. I can turn a $2 auction bike into a $250 sale over night.

Same as OFG and many others - I strip, clean, and reassemble, replacing anything I deem unservicable. If I wouldn't ride it, I won't sell it to someone. It's gotta be clean, safe, and fully functional.

So, at minimum my bikes usually get new tires/tubes, tape, and cables. And, I disassemble, clean and repack headsets, bb's, and wheel bearings if needed.

Any bike that passes through my hands will be as clean as possible and completely ready to ride before I move it on.

I've done everything from a complete strip and repaint to simple wash, wax and adjust. I've actually made my biggest scores, moneywise, on bikes I did the least work to. Go figure. I enjoy the process of taking apart and refurbishing bikes, however, so I don't begrudge the time I spend. Average time on a bike is 2-3 hours and I try to replace as few parts as possible.

In the end, I don't sell a bike unless it's fully functional and ready to ride.

Because its a hobby for me I tend to put alot of work into mine. I enjoy working on bikes and fixing them so I'll strip most of them down to the bare frame and fork and rebuild/repack everything and replace whatever disposables need to be replaced. Becuase I do this to my bikes I'm also very, very picky with what I buy. I buy nothing with rust. Period. All of the bikes I buy are in relatively good condition which in turn means I need a lower overall parts investment and it also makes them easier to sell.

I have a C-note minimum profit policy on all of my bikes. Taking that into account I cant spend more than $50 on a run of the mill name brand bike.

Bike = $50
Tires = $20
Cables = $5
Bar wrap = $10

Minimum total = $85 plus my minimum $100 profit dictates what I can and cannot buy. Of course you need to know your local market as well. I'm sitting on a Schwinn World I paid $50 for and have a total of $75 into, add my C-note minimum profit and I need to sell it for $175. Thats a tough sell in my market. I've had it listed for almost a week @ $150 with minimal action.

Knowing the overall market is key as well. My last 2 flip bikes cost $350 and $500* respectively. I used partial profits from the sale of the $350 bike to pay for the $500 bike. In a certain sense the $500 bike was free. This is another key rule. Bikes always pay for bikes. If you obey this rule you'll never lose money because your using profit money not pocket money.


The one thing I do NOT do is offer any kind of after the sale service. IMHO once you do that your operating as a buisness. As far as my buyers are concerned my small bikes are something my girlfriend doesnt ride anymore, my big bikes I'm selling for my father-in-law etc.

I look at flipping as a hobby that pays for itself. Some guys fish, some guy do wood work, some go boating, some go bowling. They all cost money. I play with bikes which pay for themsleves.

Being most people want stuff for free I do very little, but I will point out what it does need and I will not post it as "ridable" unless it truly is.

It's like you're reading my mind - these are the tenants I live by. I gotta make at least $100, and ALL my cycling needs/wants are paid for by flipping bikes.

The $100 profit rule is good.

Here in NYC, another factor I've found more important over time is the season, and I rarely plan on selling anytime during the winter months. Those are the months to buy.

One major problem, however, is people tend to underestimate how much work should go into a used bike. I avoid anything that's lower quality because the amount of money/effort you have to put in just can't be recovered (along with the $100 profit) in a sale.

I find that not to be true here - I've sold many overhauled low-end Centurions, Univegas, etc and made my $100 and then some. Demand is demand, and a clean, pretty, well-presented bike will get sold for a good profit.

I do avoid dept store bikes - unless I get them for next to nothing AND I can use the tires/tubes, grips, etc. I'll never overhaul one and resell it, but I will strip it for usable parts and toss out what I don't need - if the price is right.

I don't flip, but I buy and sell a few bikes, mostly to pay for my addiction and get people into the sport. I've had two Rapide's pass through here, and I think yours is about an '83. Taiwan steel frame, I think.

I've flipped two of those, one a blue one like yours, the other a black one. Total cost for both, to me, was $20. On both, I kept the rear freewheel as is, and dropped the RD, FD, and small chain ring, using washers on the bolts. On one, I went to bullhorn bars and kept the levers, bought a blue/black saddle and blue tires, took off all the decals except "Raleigh" and sold it $150. On the black one, I went with used swept bars, free from a junk pile, red Oury grips, used in line brake levers, and sold it for $140. Avg investment per bike, about $50 each. Labor was high because I had to remove rust on wheels and bright pieces, especially headsets, polish the chrome pieces, especially the wheels, buy some tires, and change out cables. I probably had 15 hours in each bike, easy.

If I had yours, I'd do pretty much the same, look for the single speed girls who hang out with the hipsters. Mixte single speeds right now are the "in" bike on campus, especially if the boyfriend is riding around on a fixie... Same price, you can get $150, but you'd need to get upright bars.

Although everyone likes a deal (I do too), I find there are plenty of buyers out there that are ready to pay market value for a clean, ready to ride bike. I rarely see anyone that expects to get a nice bike for nothing. Of course, I ask market pricing, so those looking for a super deal don't bother contacting me.

I don't sell any "projects", I donate those to my favorite charity, or I just part them out for inventory.

+1 - that is my primary buyer. I get a lot of folks that don't know how and are not interested in fixing up a bike. They want one that is ready to go, and are willing to pay a fair price for it.

I live in Lawrence, KS, which is very much a college town. Right now is a great time to find deals—all the leases are up and people are looking to clean stuff out. If you go out at the right time, you'll find brand new TVs and stuff in the trash.
I figure prime bike selling season is either at the beginning of summer or right in the middle of August—twenty thousand students move back into the city and a good portion of them are gonna be hipster freshmen.

I figured I could have probably made a little money on the dept. store bike, but not enough to be worth it. The raleigh is low-end, but at least its a name brand.

Yeah, for some reason it just screams "early 80s" to me. I figured about '83.

But yeah, the students here eat up vintage bikes—you should see some of the stuff that gets ridden. We have hipsters, but not the rich ones toting track bikes that you might see on the coast. All the fixies here are conversions and most people seem to just ride old ten-speeds around.
I'm pretty sure that, given a good cleaning and rebuilding, I could clear $150. Ten dollars on tires, ten dollars on a cute basket, this bike could look very nice.

I think the way we're each defining low quality is very different. Here in NYC, almost all of the Japanese brands you referenced are much sought-after. When I say low quality, I mean very low-end 70s/80s Huffys or Schwinns, or dept. store bikes.

The sleeper, I've found, are the low-end Raleighs from the 70s and 80s. They often aren't the best quality, but the frames are often far lighter than one would expect of Hi-Ten steel, etc. I've gained new respect for the company of that era--they definitely seemed to be making much better stuff than Schwinn (esp. on the low end).

It's nice to see everyone here has the same minimum level of pride in the craft to define "flipping" in this way. Most flippers here in the city basically sell lemons. I always tell friends when they're looking at online postings, phrases like "runs great" or "no work needed" means merely that the pedals turn and the two wheels turn. Most of the "fully tuned" bikes I see listed locally are obviously not in tip-top shape.

It depends on the bike. I don't mind putting in work such as cleaning and greasing bearings and such, but I get stingy when I have to fork out money. I only do it as a hobby and to keep me in bike parts, so as long as I make a few bucks I'm happy. I make sure it's safe to ride though.

I've done it, but the dept store bike has to be clean, in good shape, and cheap or it's a loser as far as flipping goes. Upright 3-speeds of any stripe seem to sell pretty well as campus bikes, though.

Excellent business plan

It's great to see the number of people doing good work before flipping. It's also great to hear how many enjoy it. I usually buy cl bikes and fix them, and either keep them or give them to my son. So I'm not doing flipping. My latest was a peugeot that I completely stripped and cleaned everything, fixing or replacing whatever didn't work or was worn such as: bearings, cables, tires, etc. The new owner was impressed, and so was I. And 90% of the work was fun.

Got any more for sale?

I have done everything from stripping the bike down completely and replacing all the worn parts and fresh grease all around to a quick clean up and adjustment of a newer lightly used bike. A few times I have done just new tires and adjustments on a lower end bike destined to be used as a campus bike. Those are bikes that would never recoup the effort to do a complete overhaul around here, and they let someone get a safe rider for about $50-75.

I don't use the c-note thing as a hard and fast rule, that is what I have in mind and shoot for with each bike. That said, I find that I am doing more bikes for friends that I just recoup my costs, minus labor.

Even for the quick turn around bikes, it has to be safe to ride. Normally with those bikes, after the tires are on and the adjustments made, I ride it on campus for a week or so just to be sure everything is working as expected.