Resale Value of Carbon
 

What do you guys think about the resale value of carbon? Do you think people are still afraid to buy used carbon?

Do you think the fear of buying carbon will diminish over time once we get more used to having it around?

Is an Al, Ti, or steel bike a better investment than a carbon bike (put aside your opinions of how great these materials are in regards to performance)?

Are we more afraid of some parts than others? Are we more likely to buy a used carbon fork than an entire frame?

i can't speak directly about carbon frames and forks. but i will say that the resale of sporting goods is notoriously deflated in value ...on the other hand, a sucker is indeed born every minute.

i have routinely sold my used skis after a season for too much and for too little. there's no accounting for peoples perception of value.

don't know about others here, but a used carbon fork would give me the willys just thinking about the price i'd pay for its failure.

Agreed, you would have to question why someone was selling a used carbon fork.
"I upgraded to something lighter", wouldn't exactly explain it.

Haha, good one.

I've been watching ebay for carbon bikes, and they have poor resale value. I just saw a $2500 2004 frame go by for 1300. And even though I'm looking at buying the lower priced frame from the same company (Kuota) I couldn't bring myself to bid on it. It was my size and it was somewhat local so I could have checked it out before committing.

Some brands do better than others, like the popular ones, Trek, Giant. But the more exotic stuff doesn't do well at all on ebay. I think though that the original premise is true, people are afraid to buy it. Like in the fork example, he couldn't be selling the Kuota to get something lighter, there are only a handful that are, 1080g or so. I guess he went for that Nag that he always wanted.

This can actually be true with carbon. I am upgrading a carbon fork for a lighter one right now...

carbon frames can be said the same (I am upgrading this carbon 120 bike to 110...)

He could drop an easy 200+g with another frame, so I wouldn't rule that out. Just as my58vw did, I upgraded my fork for the sole purpose of saving some weight.

I've been checking eBay for any cheap old frames that might show up and noticed that carbon frames seem to go for pretty cheap. I'm not looking for a carbon frame, but it got me thinking about whether I would buy one used on eBay. I know that the fear of carbon breaking is irrational, but for some reason it's still there.

Then I got to thinking and it seemed kind of funny how some people still don't trust a carbon frame, but carbon forks are everywhere. I wouldn't really worry about buying a used fork. I guess I wasn't thinking about how rational it would be to upgrade a carbon fork, just that it wouldn't scare me to buy one used if it was out there and I needed one.

Would you buy a used carbon seatpost or used carbon wheels? That's a lot of money to spend for something you can't sell when you're done with it.

It's not great


Some are... I personally have no interest in buying used carbon anything.


I'm not sure. With the prices coming down, there may be no need to buy used carbon.


No new bicycle/bicycle frame is a good investment from a resale standpoint.


Yes with good reason IMO. I personally would not buy used carbon forks or handle bars, there are just too many things that could have happened to them that you cannot see during a visual inspection. I also personally would not buy a used frame but for different reasons.

I stacked a new Reynolds Ouzo Pro fork a few years back on a spring training ride into a freaking huge hole that was covered by what looked like a regular puddle. There was a god awful crunch from the front end and although I rode if for the remainder of the ride, my shop told me I should replace it after hearing about what happened. The problem was, the fork looked just fine. If I was a Tool, I could have sold the thing on Ebay for 200 bucks. Would it have broke on the next owner, who knows...

I always thought the resale value of bikes is pretty good compared to cars. I've never seen any average numbers, though.

I would never buy any used carbon parts that would be weight-bearing (frame, fork, seatpost, crank, etc.) So I guess that leaves carbon water bottle cages or bar end plugs. :) I admit that I do have a bit of a phobia about carbon breaking. The irony is that I have a carbon fork on my bike, because the manufacturer had a promotion where they gave the fork away for free with the purchase of a frame. That was 5 years ago, and everything has been fine so far.

While resale of bicycles and components is a losing proposition -- well, that is unless you have a collector's item -- why would carbon frames or forks be any more suspect than aluminum, extra-light steel, or extra-light Ti ones?

Manufacturers Warranties (Trek, C'dale, etc...) are usually extended to the original buyer and are not transferrable regardless of what frame material is used. Like cars, the evaporation of that warranty is what causes 2nd hand bikes and frames to loose about 15% of their resale value as soon as you sign the credit slip. Some exceptions include Co-Motion's frames (lifetime frame & transferrable at least for tandems) and Calfee who will extend their 10 or 25 year frame warranty to a subsequent buyer for a $250 warranty transfer fee which includes an inspection conducted by Calfee: cheap insurance on one of the $5,800+ tandem frames. Of course, if the frame is 5 years old, you're only covered for the balance of the original warranty period.

Yes, I've heard the carbon horror stories (some would qualify as urban legends where a single event has been modified and multiplied countless times), but I can recall many frame and parts failures with the more traditional materials. In fact, I've probably seen or heard about more aluminum handlebar failures than carbon over the years, noting that carbon has a lot of catching up to do in terms of market penetration.

Bottom Line: 2nd hand buyers are pretty much on their own regardless of what they buy.

BTW: If anyone out there finds they can't sell their carbon frame, you can give it to me. I'd be particularly interested in ones with 54cm top & seat tubes.

Note loose does not equal lose.

Resale value of used carbon = 1978 Ford Pinto