bikeinxs

Curious as to what the market is like for used tandems. My speedster will be up for sale in a few weeks once I replace some of the parts I moved to the new bike. What sort of price ranges have people seen? It's in good condition with a new(ish) 10 speed Ultegra upgrade, new rims and a carbon fork.

I'd appreciate any input.

Also where is the best place to advertise?

Thanks

LV2TNDM

The rule of thumb is to divide retail price (add upgrade differential) by two and add or subtract, based on age, condition and miles.

If you have original receipts for everything and the bike has been well loved and cared for, then the price may go up. Receipts for its service life don't hurt either. Price also depends on size with more common size combinations bringing a higher price.

Given that it's now fifteen years old, expect to be below the halfway mark to some degree. However, the newer components may edge things up a bit.

You'll want to also get lots of comps. Check as many online classifieds as you can to gauge value.

Ultimately, is your bike enough of a discount from what's currently available in equal quality to make a customer be tempted? I've seen such high priced used tandems, I just laugh. It doesn't matter if you've "put thousands into it" if I can buy something new with professional assembly, fitting, warranty and follow-up service for a similar price. The price difference has to be significant enough so that I'm getting a "good" deal AND won't get burned by unexpected issues that arise (Spoke failure, for example. The seller could have had several failures before selling and had them replaced before posting for sale. No way to know.) I was interested in a Periscope about a year ago. The seller made a big production about how great the bike was and all that. But when I considered its ten year age AND the fact that they admitted they bought it on closeout, I quickly determined that they were basically selling it for the purchase price. I guess they think buyers are kinda stupid. So I told 'em what it was worth and waited for the price to come down. They never moved on price. No big deal to me, there are a LOT of used tandems out there. Sellers simply have to accept the fact that they have to take a haircut on their price.

Plus, if you've had it for fifteen years, how much pleasure has it given you each year over that time span in monetary value? If you think of it that way, you could almost give it away! (I kid.)

Good luck determining a fair price. But remember, set the price high enough to give yourself some bargaining room. Either way, if you price it fairly for what it is, a serious and knowledgeable buyer will recognize this and will approach the sale seriously.

Advertise here:
Tandem Club of America Classifieds
Bike Forums
MTBR
Craigslist
Bicycle Bluebook MIGHT be an option. They advertise through Craigslist

jim_pridx

Great advice! Another place to advertise is through the Tandems East website:

Tandem Bicycles For Sale, Tandem Bike Components For Sale

Good luck with the sale!

LV2TNDM

Excellent for sale website! Thanks for adding. Just looking at the first ten posts shows you the variance in pricing. There are some smoking deals and then there are the dogs! It's obvious which sellers simply cannot accept the fact that their tandem has lost well over half its value. Most of the higher-priced models need to come down about a thousand dollars.

And the Aerolite? Laughable! Is that a Girvin FlexStem?!!!! It isn't worth $2k in my opinion, but the seller thinks he's offering a great deal at $4k ("A 50% discount!").

Again, it doesn't matter what you paid for the bike (with awesome upgrades!), it's how it compares to what's currently on the new and used market. The Aerolite is so lame, I wouldn't even take it for free. I'd rather have a bike that I can actually use! Not to be a jerk here, but this ad is the poster child for the delusional seller. Avoid them at all costs! And avoid being one if you want to sell your tandem!

jim_pridx

Yeah, I noticed some of those prices, too. Of course, some of those bikes on the lower-end of the price scale aren't necessarily great news for the OP, either, but it does reveal the reality of the used tandem market pretty well. I've seen some pretty nice bikes at very fair prices that haven't been moving at all.

My wife and I just purchased a new Co-Motion Carrera earlier this year, but I would've loved to have had the opportunity to purchase a used bike. Our problem is that I'm tall and she's short, so there aren't many used bikes out there that fall within our sizing requirements. Still, for a couple with closer to average heights, there are some great bikes for great prices out there! Unfortunately, when the time comes to sell any of our tandems, we likely won't get very much for them.

bikeinxs

Thanks for the advice and the links.

Philly Tandem

A new Speedster is $5k+. Depending on what components yours has (wheels, etc.), the size, your location (urban area vs. rural, west vs east coast), etc., I'd personally start at around $2400 or so and be willing to come down to $2,000-$2100 if you aren't having much luck. Or even $1900 if you want to move it quickly. You have a recent Ultegra 10 speed group, new rims, and the carbon fork, so it's not that far off from a current version with 11 speed drivetrain (you probably have V-brakes and not the current discs, too).

Post it locally on Craigslist first and see what traction you get. Also, CL makes posting photos easy, and you can always link back to your CL ad from other places you post.