AEsco48

or lack of...

for instance, a $5500 Specialized Sworks StumpJumper FSR....how much would it be worth after 1, 2, 3 years...ball park?

want to try and compare it to Titanium Litespeeds...

LowCel 

Here is the formula I use. First year a bike loses half it's value, next year half again, following year half again. Seems to be pretty accurate if you check ebay.

Original cost - $5,500
Two days old - $4,000
One year old - $2,750
Two years old - $1,375
Three years old - $690

*this is just my opinion*

wearyourtruth

depends on condition, how well it's been kept up.

i think it also depends on the brand and the desireability of it... look at Fat Chance, those bikes are hard to come by but highly regarded and therefore keep their value a lot longer

i think an Indi Fab or an Ellsworth (especially IF) will hold more value than a Specialized on any price level

i also think that right now, high end road bikes hold more value than high end MTB. thanks to mr. armstrong and probably just the longer life of the sport, there are good number or rich folk out there willing to drop serious $$$ on a road bike, but i don't think there are that many who would spend more than a couple thousand on a mtb. that being said i think a nicely kept midrange ($600-1500) will hold it's value better than a high end just because of market demand.

Maelstrom 

Pretty close for me. I definately wouldn't pay more than half for a year old bike, and thats in mint condition

Maelstrom 

Also because of progression. Suspension designs (shocks, forks and designs themselves) are changing so often that they really can't hold their value. Old style fsr bighits had to drop in price as they are no longer innovative. For example

That said high end single pivots do hold some value.

pinkrobe

I think it's largely what the market will bear, but depreciation on mtn bikes is huge compared to road bikes. That $5500 S-works will sell new for $4500 from a shop at the end of the season, just because they want to get rid of it before the new stuff comes in. Same thing for the Litespeed. After a year of riding, you might get $3500 for each bike. This will drop dramatically if the technology on the bike or the frame design changes on newer models.

I recall a guy selling a 4-year old S-Works HT that had been tricked out with carbon-this, and Ti-that. He was asking 75% of the original purchase price, but then 9-speed LX and XT came out and nobody wanted his 8-spd XTR bike anymore. I think it ended up going for about 1/4 of the original price. That said, I bought a 2000 Stump FSR Pro for about $3k [with upgraded fork, brakes, etc.] and sold it 4 years later for $1250. I got lucky because I took care of the bike and the technology hadn't changed significantly. If you're buying a mtn bike with resale in mind, I would say not to bother. Buy it because it's what you want to ride. If you sell your bikes within 12 months after buying them, you will take a massive hit in the wallet.

Road bikes are great for resale, because they tend to drop in price for the first year or so, then stabilize. My road bike could probably go for $750, even though I paid $2k for it 10 years ago. It's been worth $750 for about 5 years, and as long as I don't trash it, I could probably get $600 for it in another 5 years. If it had a high-end steel frame instead of high-end aluminum, I might be able to get even more.

C Law

I think that steel and ti hardtails are your best bets for holding value.


I think aluminum duallies are worthless after three years . Who the hell knows what the other guy was doing with it.

the wonginator

but steel also has a high chance of rust, no?

pinkrobe

Well, higher than Al or Ti, that's for sure. I wouldn't buy a used FS bike period, mostly because If I know the previous owner, I might be inclined to buy one used, but that would mean a steep discount.

C Law

Definately. If it was treated properly though it shouldn't be rusting (framesaver or other rust ******ant, kept dry, paint scratches filled in etc.)

Portis

https://search.ebay.com/StumpJumper-F...ageNameZRC0022

swifferman

I think your costs after second year seem a little low. A 2002 SWorks FSR for $690 seems like a veryyy good deal.

I would think that prices kind of level off after a certain point. It seems to happen a lot with roadies, once a bike hits a certain price it never really goes down and just stays at that price. (I'm talking what I've seen of bikes from the early 90's late 80's or so)

LowCel 

Well, it definately isn't set in stone. Everyone's values are different. Honestly though, a 2002 full suspension wouldn't be worth more than $700 to me. It's hard to tell how much abuse that bike has seen in three years, especially if racing was involved.

To me hardtails hold their value much better than full suspension bikes. Road bikes hold their value even more. I believe the reason is they don't see nearly as much abuse and they are very rarely crashed. Most roadies are still in great condition when they are several years old.

gm1230126

This past year my son picked up a 1996 GT Edge aluminum with 8 speed Ultegra. It was on ebay being sold by someone for a friend who had purchased it thinking it would be a collectors item some day. He had carried it to the car after buying it and it had never been ridden on the road. During the auction it didn't meet the reserve. The seller emailed us at the end of the auction and asked what we would be willing to pay for it. I explained that there was now 10 speed available and substantially lighter wheels on similar bikes. We made him an offer of 600 and that was enough to get it. I worked for a GT distributor back then and built the show sample bike of this model for the dealer trade show and back then they were ~1600 new. I think alot of what people are willing to pay differs alot depending upon personal nostalgia/attachment, how hard it's previosly been riden and what differing posted reviews and opinions say on that particular bike. I'm looking for an original GT Edge Ti myself right now and would probably be willing to pay way more than most would think it is worth.

EJ123

I was thinking the same thing for my bruiser. Like it was 1000 bucks rounded when I got it new ok. Well lets say after 3-4 years whats it worth? Except what if like ooh 400-600$ worth of upgrades are on it when I resell it?

LowCel 

Unfortunately upgrades don't mean much at all when it comes to buying second hand bikes. Figure if you spent $400 on upgrades you may get an extra $100 when you sell the bike. Just because the upgrades were worth the money to you doesn't mean they will be worth the extra money to someone else. It is best to keep the original parts and put them back on the bike when it comes time to sell it. Then either use the better parts on a future bike or sell them seperately.

EJ123

Yeah goodpoint. Haha well I dont think Ill sell my Bruiser anytime soon

xenochimera

i think XC bikes would hold up much better because theres nothing hardcore invovled, dh or fr bikes i wouldnt think so.

Raiyn

So long as it's cared for (as the others have said) a decent steel (Cromoly or better) frame will last pretty much indefinately. I know for a fact that my cromoly '99 Hardrock will outlast my aluminum FS bike (not to mention several of it's replacements) Steel IS real
Exactly. This is why when it comes time to sell an upgraded bike you'll make more money parting out the bike than selling it as a unit.
There's NO gurarentee on that. I've seen idiots bring in XC frames wanting them warranteed because they broke them hucking.
Caveat Emptor

ChroMo2

NOT BAD, BUT YOU FORGOT HOW MUCH MONEY YOUR GOING TO SPEND EVERY YEAR ON PARTS AND NUTRITION AND STUFF. IT SEEMS LIKE THE MORE YOUR BIKE COST, THE MORE YOU SPEND ON THE SPORT. BUT THEN AGAIN IF YOU NEVER RODE YOUR BIKE AND SAVED IT FOR 20 YEARS IT COULD POSSIBLY GO UP IN VALUE.

duckliondog

Interestingly, low end bikes probably hold their value more. A $600 bike will probably sell for $100 after two or three years with no problem.
This is why I'm always going to have a lot of bikes.

Raiyn

Don't YELL! It makes you look like a ignorant 12 year old

LowCel 

What does any of that have to do with the value of the bike in three years?

I knew I had been doing something wrong all these years. I have never taken nutrition into consideration when buying or selling a bike. Silly me.

Unless buying a bike similar to the Colnago Ferrari don't count on the bike ever gaining value. It is so rare that a bike gains value it shouldn't even come into play when buying a bike unless you are buying a one of a kind collectors item.

LowCel 

It's not the yelling that does that. It's the content (or lack of content) in his posts.

ChroMo2

even more interesting is the frame, that I beleive is the first component, in the value of the bicycle. I know a guy who's got an old Jamis that has a mint frame, but it is more expensive to it's owner, than the value of a reasonable selling price.