What is my bike worth?

This is a guest post by Going Going Bike

Do you know what your bike is worth? It’s not that easy to know and that is why we are now providing a free bicycle valuation service to everyone who visits Going Going Bike. We’ll be totally honest with you and tell you whether your bike is worth a tidy sum that will pay for a dream holiday to the Tour de France or if it is really not worth much at all.

Because we’ve been helping people buy and sell bikes for well over a year we know what bikes cost. Throughout that time we have built up a pool of knowledge and data about prices and valuations of second hand bikes which puts us in a tremendous position to advise you about the value of your bike.

Since we began valuing bikes we’ve had lots of interest from Brompton owners. This is partly because we are the official marketplace for used Brompton bicycles. Below is a photo of one of the recent Brompton’s we’ve valued. They keep their value really well and, so long as they have been kept in good condition, tend to be worth between £450 and £600.

We were recently asked to value the following Specialized Rockhopper mountain bike. It was 4 years old, 19 inches and stated to be in good condition. We valued it at between £150 and £180 and it was subsequently sold on the Going Going Bike marketplace for £150. A pleasing result!

Apart from the mountain of pricing data we have built up in this time, we take into account a variety of factors including the age of the bike, the condition it is in and the bike’s make and model. We’ll also credit the added value given to your bike if you’ve added new or better components/parts to the bike.

Just a note of caution though. A used bike is only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. The price someone is willing to pay for your bike will vary on the type of bike you are selling. Generally road bikes with drop handlebars and mountain bikes raise the highest prices. Kids bikes notoriously struggle to sell for a high price, while  bikes with step-through frames also tend not to hold value.

Like antiques, a rare vintage bike brand will retain value and be priced accordingly. Similarly a bike with branded components such as Campagnola groupsets or wheels will be more sought after.

Since we began offering our valuation service we have been asked to value a fabulous array of bicycles. Road, hybrid and mountain bikes have predominated but we’ve also been sent some wonderful vintage bikes. It’s always a pleasure to receive valuation requests and we will look forward to hearing from you.

Apart from offering our bike valuation service, Going Going Bike also provides a quick and easy place to sell a bike for free. You can list a bike even if you are not certain that anyone will want to buy your old bike.

Thanks to Andrew from Going Going Bike for providing this useful article.