Is The Bicycle Hanging in Your Garage Worth Fixing?

A Cost Breakdown From a Professional Bike Mechanic’s Perspective.

In the last 4 years of fixing old bikes, many people have asked me if it is worth it to fix their old bike that has been hanging in the garage. My answer is usually, “Yes!” However, I like to ask additional questions about my customers’ particular goals.

(Above: The final result of fixing an old garage bike. Total Cost: $228.15)

When should you fix your old bike?

If your goal is to:

Have a bike to ride around the neighborhood.
Go on a short commute.
Pull a kids trailer.
Get back into cycling and see if you like it.
Restore your old bike and give it as a gift.

Then yes! It’s more cost effective to fix than buy new and will serve your goals better.

When should you buy a new bike instead of repairing one?

You know you want to cycle for longer periods of time
You want to do events.
Your bike doesn’t fit you anymore.
You don’t like the style of your old bike (road vs mtb etc.)

Listen. There’s no shame in fixing up an old bike. Taking a 90’s MTB around the neighborhood is awesome! Especially if it’s a bit nostalgic too. Or if riding a road bike with downtube shifters is still your jam, there’s nothing wrong with that! It’s economical too!

Cost breakdown of fixing up an old bike

Here’s what you can expect the cost to be for fixing up a bike. Please know that if your bike is unfixable, I’ll be sure to discuss what options you have and even give recommendations on where to buy a new bike.

Labor – I usually start the cost by adding services to the signature tuneup $110. This is because I have structured it to include many of the services an old bike is likely to need such as a wash, new part installation, and wheel truing.
Tubes and Tires – Usually old bikes need tubes and tires. At the low end these can be $60 for a full set, and with nicer tires $110.
Cables and Casings – All new cables and casing usually do wonders, you can count on about $30 in various supplies.
Chain – New Chains are sometimes needed, if so plan on $25.
Grips – New Grips help too, and usually can be acquired for about $10 to suit your bike.
Other Items – If your bike was well maintained before you can probably stop here, some bikes may require $30-60 in more labor for things like rebuilding hubs and other services that aren’t included in the signature tuneup.

So that brings the total to about $345 on average. Please note that this number can range in either direction depending on how well the bike was previously maintained, and how many other components just need to be replaced. For example a new seat, brake calipers and cassettes can often make this price higher.

Compare your old bike to new bikes:

To compare, this Kent Cruiser from Walmart is $200, and I can almost guarantee that the quality of it is less than any older bike sitting in a garage.

What could you get from a bike shop?

This Rockhopper is $600 and this Trek Hybrid is $500.

Unless you want to get into mountain biking, or plan to ride more than a couple times a month, you can save several hundred dollars while also recycling your old bike.

If you would like Prairie.Bike to help you with your old bike, reach out! Text or Call 316-262-1505 or shoot us an email at ride@prairie.bike.

Trade Offs

New bikes come with a warranty that you don’t get with your old bike. (Prairie.bike offers a warranty on labor called the premium adjustment policy though!) However, if you aren’t riding hard, it is unlikely you would need a manufacturer’s warranty.

Updated technology and gear range are better on newer bikes. This can be a concern, especially if you are looking at your old road bike. Usually nothing can be done to the old bike to update it, so if this is a concern, consider buying new. But if you ride flat streets, usually it doesn’t make much of a difference.

One Last Consideration – Depreciation of New Bikes

It is important to remember that as soon as you roll out of a bike shop with your new bike, it loses 15-30% of its sticker value. This drops even more as you ride it.

This isn’t a concern with your old bike however! If you are thinking about trying to sell off your old bike, consider the fact that no one else will be willing to pay enough for it to offset the cost of buying new. Someone in that market would rather buy brand new so they can have a warranty and know the complete history of the bike. So the most value your bike has is being a bike you already own, functions, and is already sitting in your garage waiting to be ridden.

Recent Projects at Prairie.Bike

Cannondale Garage Bike Tuneup $228.

I have done lots of these for about this price. These are the golden ones because they were nice bikes when they were bought and they were serviced once or twice.