• IT'S SIMPLE

    Hassle-free decision process

  • IT'S SAFE

    No stranger danger meetups or ghosting by interested parties

  • IT'S EASY

    Get paid in cash, store credit, or trade-in credit

What Bikes Do We Buy?

We are actively seeking:

  • Entry to mid-level Mountain, Hybrid, Road, Gravel, Kids, and eBikes
  • Brands such as: Trek, Giant, Specialized, Cannondale, Canyon, Salsa, Fuji, Haro, Electra, Marin, Kona, Scott, Aventon, Velotric, Rad Power, and similar.
  • Good condition with fully functioning mechanical and electrical components
  • Made in 2018 or newer

If you don't know if we would consider your bike's brand, please call and ask!

If you have a high-end bike to sell, we will consider it, however, we find selling these bikes on consignment works out better for everyone involved.

Our Process

It couldn't be easier!

  • Bring your bike to Rats Cycles.
  • The bike's frame, wheels, brakes, and drivetrain components are assessed.
  • Your bike is looked up on Bicycle Blue Book to determine its model year and trade-in value.
  • We present you with a cash offer. (We pay more if you take store credit or trade-in the bike on a new one.)
  • Decide whether to accept our offer.
  • If you accept, we will complete a bill of sale, make a copy of your driver's license*, and pay you.

THAT'S IT!

*Your driver's license is required for us to purchase a bike. We do not support the stolen bike market, and if the bike sold to Rats is found to have been stolen, your ID will be provided to the police.

What else should I know?

Are there bikes you don't buy?

Yes. 

We will not purchase bikes sold through big box retailers.

Brands such as Roadmaster, Dynacraft, Huffy, Hyper, Kent, Magna, Schwinn, Murray, and Mongoose will not be purchased.

Please be aware that this is not a complete list of bike brands we will not purchase. These are simply the most common brands sold in big retailers.

Why won't we buy them? Because NEW bikes from these retailers are sold at a price point that renders them impossible to repair and resell profitably.

If you have one of these bikes and it is in good working condition, we'd recommend you give it to a deserving kid in your neighborhood.

If your neighborhood does not allow for this type of exchange, then the local transfer stations in Lorton and I-66 have their own area to dropoff unwanted bikes for FREE. Bikes For The World has a contract with Fairfax County to collect those bikes and ship them to low income people in developing countries.

Will you pay more if I take store credit or use my bike as a trade-in on a new one?

Yes! Our cash offer is the lowest amount you can walk away with. You will definitely get more for your bike in store credit or as a trade-in.

Is there a website where I can get an idea of my bike's value?

Absolutetly.  We recommend checking out the Bicycle Blue Book for a rough idea. A word of caution, though. Bicycles are bought and sold every day, but there are no state or federal laws requiring them to be registered.  Therefore, there is no solid source of used bike sales data to run comps against, as there is with automobiles. The result is the BBB uses an algorithm to make a best guess, and that guess can easily OVERvalue your bike.

Doing our own analysis of BBB data, we found that most bikes are valued at 67% or LESS of their MSRP within the first year of ownership! In other words, your bike lost 33% or more of its value the day you took it home! OUCH!

When we buy bikes, we will be evaluating the trade-in value, so be sure to review that figure when researching your bike on BBB.

What if I do not like the offer made?

We hate to disappoint you, but it may happen.

Please keep in mind that you are under no obligation to accept our offer, and we are not under any obligation to buy your bike.

We are searching for very specific segment of used bikes to meet a very specific need. As such, we cannot buy everything.

We understand that this situation may feel strange. It's not normal to walk into a store with something to sell rather than looking for something to buy. We will do our best to make this process as easy and comfortable possible.

So let's say you don't like our offer; what then? Our best recommendation is you try to sell the bike on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or other online forums.

There is no denying it; you will ALWAYS get more money for your bike if you sell it privately than if you sell it to a bike shop. It's simply significantly more hassle for you.

If you have a particularly nice bike, then you may want to consider having us consign your bike for sale. This can take longer and there is a chance your bike will not sell, but you will definitely get more for your bike this way.

PLEASE be careful selling online and meeting people you do not know to conduct business.  Always meet somewhere public. A parking lot in front of a bike shop is a GREAT place to conduct such business.

Are you willing to sell my bike on consignment?

Yes!  We love consigning bikes. We won't go into all of the details here, but generally it works like this:

Your bike should be on the newer side of 5-10 years old and be worth at least $500.  Any less than that and the math will not work out in your favor.

We charge a NON-NEGOTIABLE $100 prep fee to review and tune the bike before we will accept and sell it for you.  We do this because by agreeing to sell it for you in our shop, we are accepting some liability for the bike and its condition, AND we are using our brand and reputation to sell it for you. 

Our fee is 25% of the price the bike sells for plus the $100 prep fee.

We reserve the right to have you return and retrieve your bike at any time, for any reason. We are space limited and cannot have bikes around that won't sell. Rest assured, we keep consignments for an average of 3 months before returning them to you. Minus the fee, of course. 

Do you take donations?

Absolutely!

If you'd prefer to skip the appraisal and offer steps, and just want to be free of bike clutter, we will GLADLY accept your donation.

However, please be aware that we are NOT a 501c3 non-profit company, and therefore, we cannot give you a receipt for tax deductions. It is illegal to take a tax deduction for something you gave to a for-profit company. At least that's what our tax advisor told us, but what you choose to do is your business.