Where have all the 10-20 year old 2nd hand bikes gone?

[Slagter]

Is it just me, or are older bikes not for sale in the classifieds ads as often as newer bikes.

I've been looking for a specific model from 10-12 years ago, and it's almost never for sale 2nd hand. And I remember there were tons of them at the time. And when I look at other models from that era, it's the same

As an example the Cannondale Caad series. Lots of 13's and 12's for sale a couple of 10's. But the older they get, the rarer do they also get.

I'm I wrong?

If not, what is the reason behind it?

Is it because riders who ride a lot tend to have newer bikes. And riders hos own older bikes, tend to ride more rarely (not everyone), and thus put them up for sale more rarely?

[magnusss]

Maybe the old bikes have become «trainer-bikes»?
Or they’re trashed because of press fit bottom brackets which drasticly shortenes a bikes life span?

[Slagter]

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[Ypuh]

Noticed a similar thing lately. 'Old bikes' have gone extinct in my country (The Netherlands), which has a very lively 2nd hand bike market.

Had someone at my club who started cycling 2 years ago tell me my Cervelo S3 must be really old and not worth more than €1.000, whilst I still see it as a super modern bike which I would've been extremely happy to ride a few years into starting out.

It seems like nowadays people who get into cycling see carbon + discs for €2-3k as minimum entry level and snub at the rest. I'd rather keep my old bikes for sentiment than give them away to someone who doesn't appreciate anything without discs.

[mrlobber]

Good question. 20 years might be stretching it, however, 10 years old, these are almost the times of rim brakes golden age, should be a lot of them
My only explanation is, that the bikes have landed by local (non-online) trade in the hands of cyclists who either ride occasionally only or maybe pass the bikes to their kids/relatives as the "entry" in the cycling world... who also do not ride that much to warrant any spending to replace them with discs.

As anecdotal evidence, my first (carbon) road bike from 2008 is still being (occasionally only) ridden in the family of one of my friends, while the first carbon rim bike of 2010 for my brother as far as I know is collecting dust in his garage as now he rides discs (of course).

[tymon_tm]

maybe it depends where you live. in the 90's and 2000's people would bring tons of used bikes from Germany or Netherlands to Poland; not the bikes they bought, but took for free from people who just left them to be collected (same goes for electronics or even furniture). they were really something for us kids back then, especially "mountain bikes" which were literally ridden till wheels fallen off. for westerners they were trash, for us nearly objects of desire.

while PL is far from a rich society (at least by euro standards) those who can allow themselves time consuming sports like cycling or skiing, in most cases are well off. with pay gaps increasing, these good money mean they can afford much, kuch more expensive toys than an average joe. so much that in many cases everything not up to date in any form is obsolete. hence a lot of 2nd hand 3-5 year old higher-end bikes, they then try to sell for sums, as if they were almost new. they often have better wheels or other forms of upgrade so they must come from people who a) could afford them b) moved to something even better. my working theory is that people who 'aspire' to that group buy such equipment maxing out to 'look fresh' but keep using it far longer, cause it's too expensive for them anyway.

I do see a variety of 10-15 old bikes however, but these are often sold by people who make a living out of it. there are several large sellers of 2nd hand road bikes and they almost have it all. of course some types are a rarity (e.g. some years ago i was searching for the first gen. Orca but couldn't find anything. same goes for Lance's Trek 5900) but one can really find some cool rides.

but there is something happening to 'old bikes', something unthinkable not so long ago; remember people bragging how many tens of thousands of kms they got out of their bikes? it's not happening anymore i'm affraid. sure, some older people are rocking their 2-3 decade old bikes but that's a niche. there are also no clubs who used to take these old bikes for their riders - those kids are mostly roadies' children and they often ride pretty much new bikes as well.

when carbon frames started becoming standard, many poeple here had doubts whether they're gonna stand the test of time. well, guess what, they don't need to really. maybe if nothing revolutionary regarding road bike standards pop out we'll see current rides survive a bit longer. but then I can see e.g. aero bikes becoming a thing of the past in next 2-3 years. I'm also sure there will be changes to drivetrain (because what else can you re-desing at this point?).

anyway, manufacturers will do absolutely everything in their power to shorten that life cycle of their products even more. and that can mean quality and thus longevity issues. for instance Audi suggests 30k kms interval for oil changes in their new cars. 30k! I assume for the average client that doesn't matter - he'll swap this car for a new one before it starts breaking down. but imagine buying a 2nd hand company car with ~150-200k mileage that had it's oil changed maybe few times. how long it's gonna run for? how old or young will it be when it hits the scrapyard?

[Ypuh]

while PL is far from a rich society (at least by euro standards) those who can allow themselves time consuming sports like cycling or skiing, in most cases are well off. with pay gaps increasing, these good money mean they can afford much, kuch more expensive toys than an average joe. so much that in many cases everything not up to date in any form is obsolete. hence a lot of 2nd hand 3-5 year old higher-end bikes, they then try to sell for sums, as if they were almost new. they often have better wheels or other forms of upgrade so they must come from people who a) could afford them b) moved to something even better. my working theory is that people who 'aspire' to that group buy such equipment maxing out to 'look fresh' but keep using it far longer, cause it's too expensive for them anyway.

I guess you're onto something here. In my case, I recently bought a new bike (discs, integrated cables, wide hookless rims etc.) and might be willing to sell my old bike which has been upgraded to the max (CeramicSpeed, Berk, Hambini, Red Etap, Quarq etc.), however I appreciate the value of those parts higher than someone who is looking for their next bike up. Someone with €2-3k to spend will make discs, 28mm, 12 speed and integrated cockpit part of their minimum requirements to look fresh, or decide to spend a little bit more on a new Canyon or Van Rysel that offers it all. The ones who appreciate expensive upgrades already moved to something better.

My Cervelo has ridden 35.000km and still looks like new. I'll probably keep it at my parents house or for when a friend wants to try out cycling. A bit ridiculous to be honest, but rather that then sell it for scraps.

[LouisN]

Big brands succeeded in applying programmed obsolescence to bikes.
I feel like a dinosaur when I show up at races on my 13 yrs old mechanical rim brake bike. It's not easy either these days to find 11S mechanical rim brake parts.

Louis

[London9921]

while PL is far from a rich society (at least by euro standards) those who can allow themselves time consuming sports like cycling or skiing, in most cases are well off. with pay gaps increasing, these good money mean they can afford much, kuch more expensive toys than an average joe. so much that in many cases everything not up to date in any form is obsolete. hence a lot of 2nd hand 3-5 year old higher-end bikes, they then try to sell for sums, as if they were almost new. they often have better wheels or other forms of upgrade so they must come from people who a) could afford them b) moved to something even better. my working theory is that people who 'aspire' to that group buy such equipment maxing out to 'look fresh' but keep using it far longer, cause it's too expensive for them anyway.

It's funny you should mention that. I've brought my "starter bike" permanently to Poland and use a newer, slightly better bike at home. The old bike is my summer ride when we stay at my in-laws (I'm married to a Polish woman).

The local Sunday chaingang is absolutely mad in terms of their bikes. Dogmas, Tarmacs, a lot of Focus bikes (which no one rides where I live) but all high spec. Some of those people are nice and some are... the same kind sitting next to your table at lunch in the alps (they always get shitfaced when skiing); very nouveau rich attitude and some act a little funny/inappropriately. Nevertheless they are passionate about cycling but perhaps too focused on the materialistic aspects.

In terms of the original post I agree. A lot traded hands during Covid I believe. The ones posted for sale are overpriced in my area thoguh, very opportunistic pricing with added "inflation". This is not a government coupon they're selling back but a used bike

I suppose 20 year old bikes have also gotten damaged over time. Especially the forks.

[AJS914]

Is it just me, or are older bikes not for sale in the classifieds ads as often as newer bikes.

I've been looking for a specific model from 10-12 years ago, and it's almost never for sale 2nd hand. And I remember there were tons of them at the time. And when I look at other models from that era, it's the same

What are you looking for?

My guess is that when a bike a 3 to 5 years old, people will tend to sell it as they upgrade into newer bikes. From 5 to 10 years old, I gather than people think those bikes are worth hardly anything so they aren't motivated to sell them. It's now their 2nd or backup bike. And if someone has held on to a bike for 15-20+ years then it's probably not their main bike. It's an old bike that they loved, they are probably not selling it unless forced to downsize. They will let it hang in the garage until they die.

[UpFromOne]

... They will let it hang in the garage until they die.

There's the sad truth.
I've been in others' garages that have 10, 20, 30 & more bikes.
And not talking washed-up museum types, but nice bikes from this age.
Never again to see the light of day.

[Ypuh]

Never again to see the light of day.

What would you suggest? I live in a 'rich' country, people aren't interested in (highend) second hand bikes. It may be good as new, have electronic shifting, powermeters and what not, but if it doesn't have discs or is limited to 25mm tyres, they simply won't spend a fair amount of money on it.

A 5 year old top of the line rimbrake bike may sell for $/€1.500 maybe. For that amount it has more value on the wall to me, as a kind of painting/functional art filled with good memories. Like Tymon said; nowadays even young kids who's parents are roadies ride newer bikes.