Shemmy

I recently upgraded to a Trek Emonda ALR 5 and am planning on selling my old bike used online but am looking for advice on the price. It is in good shape, the slightest bend in the rear wheel, noticed by mechanic but said nothing to worry about. Its a Trek 1.5 Alpha; Shimano Tiagra set that is in good condition. Continental Gatorskin Tires, Cateye Cadence and Speed Sensor installed, pedals supplied by individual. Thoughts?

WhyFi

Check the Blue Book value and adjust for your local market.

Shemmy

I just googled that, I did not know they had bluebook for bikes. Thank you.

Iride01 

Depends on what you are offered and how bad you want to get rid of it. If no one wants to pay what you want, then you have to decide if you want it taking up space. Your market area might be better or worse than the average BBB is based on.

Tacoenthusiast

I'd suggest trading it for a pack of TP, 2 bags of flour and some eggs! #corona

datlas 

Keep it as a backup/beater/rain/trainer bike??

znomit

This!

Otherwise half the RRP and another 10% off for every year of age. R*0.5*0.9^y

Maelochs

Also, be righteous and tell the prospective buyer about the bent wheel.

mstateglfr 

look it up on blue book, then ignore that since its worthless.
price it at $500 if its on the newer side of that model's run(2015ish) and down to $250 if its on the older side(2008 or 2009?).

this assumes online = eBay. If it does, then also look up completed auctions for your bike. That kinda gives actual data vs what bbb spits out.
put it as a 'buy it now' instead of auction.

Disclose the wheel being bent. Thats a game ender for a lot of people, as it should be.

Then if you don't get hits, lower it after a month.

Shemmy

Thanks all, of course I will disclose the wheel.

base2 

Bent vs out of true are 2 different things.
To me, bent means irreparable. Like hit by a car while affixed to a bike rack. While out of true equals less than 2 millimeters total deviation, maximum, from nominal.

Just keep the bike as a winter beater, trainer, emergency bike.

I've found that selling a bike never really is worth the effort or trouble. People either want it free...or such a good deal they can resell it. Either way you'll it's a whole lot of hassle & a whole lotta money thrown away when you factor the transaction in total from original bike shop purchase to the next owner.

The only people that make money selling online, (craigslist & the like) are resellers scraping the bottom, getting a basically free bike that only needs a cable, an inner tube patched, or a brake adjusted before resale. Even then, unless it's a supremely rare or lucky find, the profit usually equals a small meal at a chain restaurant for all the trouble & run around.

Shemmy

It would be out of true but bent than. Its total deviation is less than 2 millimeters.

base2 

Then I wouldn't say anything. Out of true can usually be fixed in a couple of minutes by a competant mechanic. Your mechanic doesn't feel it's a problem, therefore it's not a problem. There's no sense devaluing your sale for such a simple thing few are going to notice or care about.

Around $30 would fix it should you decide it bothers you. FWIW: Most would consider truing a wheel basic maintance.

Maelochs

Well, now ... there is a big difference between a bent rim and one that is out of round or not straight.

I can whip a wheel on my truing stand and even being a complete klutz, can get the wheel usable with just a little effort. A bend, however, means that i will always be way over-tightening some spokes to compensate, rather than (hopefully) getting all the stresses sort of even, which means the bent wheel will be weaker and more prone to failure.

Also, a bend tends to mean the rim took a very hard hit .... but whatever. None of this is my issue to resolve.

I see two ways to sell a bike---one is to get whatever you can just so that the bike won't go to waste, and the other is to make a little pocket money. Unless the bike is almost brand new, you are going to lose huge money. I would look at selling a bike as a way to pay for a couple new tires ....

One easy way to set the price though .... what would You pay for it? if you saw it on EBay for say, $500, looked at it, saw it fit, saw the condition, looked at the drive train, knew about the bent wheel .... what would you offer and how much would you pay?

You might overvalue it because of the emotional connection, but you will probably come ballpark close to what some other person might pay. A lot of that is patience. if you want $500 and advertise for $650, you might have to turn down a lot of offers for $350 to finally get $425. How much is your time worth?

Shemmy

I decided to just keep the bike and prep it as a back-up to get to work. In the event of maintenance, wet conditions, etc. I would sell it for $300 when it originally retailed at $1,200, however my wife made a good point about having a back up for myself or a friend rather than $300 after the work of selling it.

Racing Dan

I suggest turning it in to a bug out bike ... Bike to the hills and survive! :-)​​​​​​