Bicycle blue book: the right choice for evaluating, selling, or buying a bike?

Years ago, if you wanted to find out the value of your car, you would go to a place such as a local dealer, the classified ads, or the Kelley Bicycle Blue Book. This would be typically known as the blue book price and give you a rough estimation of the value of your car. The bike version of this is called the Bicycle Blue Book. 

In this article, we want to tell you all about it. From the services they offer to the pros and cons of using it compared to other selling services. We will also discuss how it compares to buycycle and what you can expect from using the Bicycle Blue Book.

What is the bicycle blue book?

The Bicycle Blue Book is a website that offers services for buying and selling bikes. It is well known because it is similar to the Kelley Blue Book, which works for buying and selling cars. Here are the services they offer.

Bike valuation

The bicycle blue book is a good way to value your bike. You can enter the details online, and it will give you a rough idea of what it is worth in a modern market. Although it is a very rough estimation, it can help when buying and selling. Here is a little more about the Bicycle Blue Book value guide.

Is it an accurate valuation?

Typically, we have found it is on the lower side, and it doesn’t really take enough details into account for an accurate representation of the bike. It can give a rough estimate, but that’s if your bike is completely standard and in fair condition. 

If this is your criteria, then the bicycle blue book will work for you, and finding out the bike's age will help, too. Unfortunately, there can be some complications when it comes to certain types of bikes, as we will discuss below. 

Specification levels

Although you have lots of different options to choose from when searching for your bike, it can be challenging to find the correct specification levels, provided they haven’t been changed over the bike's life. If you have a custom-built bike, it’s very challenging to list as the specifications don’t always match up. 

Upgraded and downgraded parts

Upgraded or downgraded parts can also get a little complicated here. A good example is if you have a bike that doesn’t have the standard groupset or wheels, then it heavily can undervalue what you have.

The same goes for the other way. If you are looking to buy a bike and it doesn’t have the original high-end parts, you can find yourself missing out on some great features because the previous owner has changed components. 

If your bike is not listed

Although the Bicycle Blue Book's database is fairly big, it is limited at times. If you have a very common bike, then it is pretty easy to find the bike you are looking for, but with a lot of new brands and models popping up, the Bicycle Blue Book seems to struggle to keep up.

The Bicycle Blue Book: Buying and selling

Bicycle Blue Book is also a place to buy and sell bikes. They currently have around 4000 available on the website and offer a good platform for people to buy and sell. You have a few options going down this route.

Straight buying and selling

The first option is just straight buying and selling. You list the bike you want to sell, write a description, add all the details, then negotiate the transaction with potential buyers and organize meeting up or sending. This does come with risks.

Certified listings mean that the bike has undergone a service from a mechanic and will arrive in near-new condition. The price will generally be higher, but it offers more value and a better bike.

Trade-In

Another option they have is to trade in. This is where you can take your bike to a bicycle blue book partner shop, and they will give you Bicycle Blue Book value guide store credit in return for the bike you are trading in to take off your new bike. To know more about the selling options, you can read our article "Where to sell a bike?".

Do you get transaction support?

When it comes to the Bicycle Blue Book, if you are trading into a store, then they help facilitate the transaction. If you are selling privately, you must be careful of scams and ensure that payment is made correctly. When other sites, such as buycycle, facilitate all transactions.

The Bicycle Blue Book: let's have a look at the bikes!

What is the bike database like?

As mentioned before, the Bicycle Blue Book database is big. They cover not only certain bike models but also different years, and often, you will see multiple specification levels. It’s amazing for the big brands, but it can be more challenging for the smaller brands. 

Are there many bikes for sale on the Bicycle Blue Book?

Currently, there are around 4000 bikes in the Bicycle Blue Book database. Although it is smaller than its competitors, it can still be a place to find a bargain if you look closely or know exactly what you want.

Where does the Bicycle Blue Book facilitate?

The Bicycle Blue Book is mainly US-based, but you can use the valuation tool in other countries to get a rough guide. Provided you can convert it to local currency, it can be used as a negotiation tool when buying and selling your current bike. 

If you are looking to buy and sell, the listings are pretty much all US-based. They also have a guide for meeting up to transfer the bike over. This is good to use, as you don’t want to end up getting scammed.

Bicycle Blue Book vs buycycle

When it comes to comparing Bicycle Blue Book vs buycycle, there’s a lot to speak about. Here is what you can expect. 

Valuation services

When it comes to valuation, we have told you about the Bicycle Blue Book, but buycycle also has a calculator. You can see the value of your bike by using an estimator of what your bike is worth. We also look into a little more detail, such as groupset, etc.

Audience

Then we have audience. buycycle has huge traffic when it comes to cyclists looking to buy and sell bikes. They have a lot of people ready to purchase and also sell bikes online. Many of the Bicycle Blue Book's audience is getting a rough estimate. Generally, it is not known as a big buying and selling website. 

Bikes listed

Bicycle Blue Book has 4000 bikes listed, while buycycle has 20,000. This will give you a lot more choices and definitely help you find the perfect bike. You can also read our articles about Bike size chart or wheel bike size chart to know which bike size you need.

Buyer protection

buycycle offers 100% buyer protection. If the bike is going directly from one user to another or from a shop to the user, it’s 100% guaranteed that you have support from the team and will be looked after. Bicycle Blue Book states that if selling from user to user, precautions must be taken, and it does come with some risk.

Another great point to mention is the warranty service that buycycle offers. If the bike is certified and has been through one of the partners, it comes with a warranty to ensure you stay on the road and the bike is perfect for you.

The bicycle blue book: A final note

The bicycle blue book is a good way to get a rough bike valuation. It does need to be standard for it to be roughly right and we have found that often the value is fairly low compared to sites such as buycycle. 

With the trade-in partners being a part of the business, it is good to get a second valuation on a website such as buycycle to ensure you get the right amount of money for your bike and you are not directed down the trade-in route.