surak

Over a year on in the global pandemic, LBSes are still struggling to stock bikes and say they're selling the ones they do manage to get immediately. I have a surplus of bikes, but specifically amongst the road bikes in my stable, I have no use left for my oldest road bike (bought after joining Bike Forums but a few years ago) because I've supplanted it with better and more versatile bikes. I almost never sell anything, so it's not something that I've ever wanted to do. I have no need to sell, but I wonder if I should so that someone else desperately wanting a bike can have one?

If you had extra bikes, have you sold or seriously considered selling them during this bike shortage?

Rolla

I don't think people are desperate for old road bikes, but if you have unused inventory, it might be nice to see someone else enjoy it.

surak

I wouldn't think so except the LBSes here are still begging for any and all non-BSOs to trade-in, even the shops that never dealt with bikes until $2k pre-pandemic.

Anyway, mine's not that old. A 2017 Giant Contend SL Disc 2 with mostly stock components except upgraded HY/RD front caliper. Was using it during the pandemic as my partner's trainer bike until I upgraded our indoor setup. I could still make it my dedicated trainer bike, or keep it around to lend out to friends who are road-curious to coax them into riding after we've been vaccinated. But since I have two other road bikes, I could give it up and still have a spare for those tasks, if I could bear to give it up. N+1 comes naturally, N-1 not so much.

WhyFi

I wouldn't sit on the bike if it was that far down the back-up depth chart - I'd move it while the movin's good.

DaveSSS 

I always sell what I don't need, right after buying new. I always have two bikes, but no more. I sold all rim brake frames and wheels last year.

Ogsarg

I would do it for sure. I see no point in keeping something that isn't being used and besides that, I'm getting of an age where I'm starting to consider the burden on my children having to deal with all the stuff I have that they don't want.

NoWhammies

If you are not using the bike, and it is taking up space at home, I'd move it.

Leinster

I offloaded a Bianchi Brava frame, and a couple of kiddo BSOs that had been gathering dust in the garage. Not big ticket items, but I'd tried to sell that Brava as a complete bike, and as a frame pre-Covid and got no response; it got a lot of interest this time around, feeler emails on a daily basis. The eventual buyer drove over an hour to get it.

topflightpro

I already did. I sold three bikes, a frameset and a wheelset in the past year. (I also bought one bike and one frameset, so I'm net down two bikes.)

My wife also sold one of her bikes this past year. She didn't need three road bikes.

It actually feels quite nice to have sold the bikes off. In fact, one of the people who bought one of my bikes has messaged me with a few maintenance questions and it sounds like he's ridden the bike more in the 6 months he's had it than I did in the last 6 years.

surak

Sold my Giant to a friend today. It's his first road bike, so I spent a while giving him the spiel of how it's different from the cheap mtb he had. Tried to upsell him on taking my old Garmin Edge 520 but he's not ready to become a serious roadie yet. I'll have to work on turning him into one.

PeteHski

My wife makes me sell any bikes that I don't ride.

gear64

Within last year +. Already dumped one. Gave another to relative. Have intent to donate another one. Coop if still around, think it fell on hard times. Goodwill if not. Another that needs some work haven't decided if in safe condition to donate outside coop. No interest in dealing with sales, although that one needing work might be $$ to the right person.

​​​​That would leave me with three. A classic beauty, a nice errand/backup road bike I'm not afraid to lock up somewhere, and a modern gravel bike that's the everyday go to now.

jaxgtr

I am thinning my bikes based on how much I ride them. I recently thinned out 2 frames, I had laying around, and 1 completed bike. I sold the bike to a good friend of my wife's who has been looking for a good bike for about 7 months that was not super low end. I got my wife a new bike recently and gave her a call and sold it to her. Her husband is now jealous, as he has been riding a 55 lb fat tire bike, so I decided to unload, my Trek CrossRip, as I am no longer commuting due to my job change a couple of years ago. I figure it will get more usage with him than me, so why not.

That would free up a spot on my bike wall in the garage for a something else .

I also sold off all my parts from the framesets and a trainer. Been nice to clean out the parts bin on stuff I am never going to use that someone else can use. I gave a neighbor my wife's old Garmin 200 computer for his wife to use as I my wife is using my old Wahoo Elemnt when I got the Roam. Also gave another neighbor some Garmin cadence and speed sensors I was no longer using.

znomit

Sell em now before those people who bought high end bikes last year and have ridden them three times around the block decide to sell.