On October 10, 1994, Recycled Cycles opened it doors to the public. We had envisioned Recycled Cycles to be an alternative to the "typical" bike shop by offering lower prices through the sale of pre-owned bicycles, parts, and accessories. We wanted Recycled Cycles to be a place where cyclists would want to shop, where bike shop professionals would want to work, and where both customers and employees could have fun sharing their knowledge of and enthusiasm for cycling. Although the shop has grown a lot over the past 12 years (we now also sell new bikes), these remain our goals to this day.

Our Staff

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do we get our used bikes? 

Customers just like you bring them to us for sale, trade, or consignment.

What is your selection of used bikes? 

Well, that depends.  Unlike new bikes, we can't just place an order for, say, a used 54cm Ultegra-equipped lugged steel road bike in racing red.  We have to wait until someone brings that bike to us. Generally speaking, you'll find our selection of used bikes will be greater on a dark,cold,rainy, November night than on a bright, warm, dry July day.  Sure, we sell more used bikes in July than November, but they sell so fast that they never accumulate on the sales floor.

Why do you sell new bikes? 

In the early years of Recycled Cycles, we only sold used bikes.  But or volume was quite a bit smaller then than it is today.  In 2009 Recycled Cycles sold about 2000 used bikes.  But the current demand for bikes exceeds that number by quite a bit.  If we still only sold used bikes, we'd have few bikes to sell during the summer.  Then we'd go broke and I'd be out of a job.  And, though one can find great value and utility in a used bike, there are some technological and design improvements that make investing in a new bike worthwhile on occasion.

When is the best time to look for a used bike? 

As mentioned above, we have the best selection of used bikes during the winter months, before demand ramps up.  But there is also a weekly cycle during the spring and summer.  Our busiest days are Friday through Sunday.  Thus, if you drop by on a Sunday afternoon, you're not likely to find many used bikes because any that accumulated early in the week were sold on Friday and Saturday.  So if you want to get a jump on the competition, a Wednesday or Thursday is your best bet.

How much do your used bikes cost? 

That question is rather like asking, "how much does a car cost?"  It all depends on the make, model, and condition.  But I can make a few generalizations.  For a used road or mountain bike, $150 and up; for a used kid's bike, $25 and up.  Of course, some used bikes cost quite a bit more than even our typical new bike. A new, race-ready road bike can easily cost $3000 or more.  So, if someone consigns such a bike in excellent condition with us for $1900, that's still a rather expensive bike, but it's also an exceptional value if you're looking for such a bike.

Why don't you have any bikes for less than $100? 

If we bought some used department-store-quality bikes for very little money, fixed them up in little time, and sold them for $99, we might be able to make a few bucks.  But, most such bikes are made of low-quality materials, are not designed to be maintained, are heavy, and don't work very well despite the best efforts of skilled mechanics.  So we generally don't buy such bikes or offer them for sale.