The quick answer
A bike loses roughly 20 to 30 percent of its value the day it leaves the shop, then sheds a further 4 to 7 percent of its remaining value each year for the first five years. By year three a well-kept bike typically changes hands for 45 to 60 percent of its original RRP; by year eight, 25 to 40 percent. E-bikes fall faster because the battery ages on a clock of its own.
Those are rules of thumb. The numbers below are not: they come from Cyclesite's market dataset, and as far as we know this is the only published bike depreciation curve in the UK that is measured from real listings rather than asserted.
For what your specific bike is worth today, skip the maths and use the free bike valuation tool, which prices your make, model, year and condition against live UK market data in under a minute.
What 19,000 UK listings say about depreciation
Most depreciation figures online are invented. A flat percentage gets copied from one article to the next, with no source, no sample size and no date. We can do better, because Cyclesite continuously tracks UK used-bike prices, over 290,000 collected asking prices at the time of writing, to power our valuation engine.
For this guide we measured depreciation the honest way: same model against same model. We took every bike model in our dataset with enough listings across several model years, computed the median asking price for each age, and compared each age against the current model year of the very same bike. That removes the biggest distortion in casual comparisons, which is that a five-year-old bike was usually a different specification and price point when new.
The result, from 19,112 UK listings across roughly 250 models (measured June 2026):
| Age of bike | Median asking price, as a share of the same model's current-year used price | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| Current year | 100% | 2,018 listings |
| 1 year old | 96% | 3,677 listings |
| 2 years old | 91% | 3,132 listings |
| 3 years old | 86% | 2,756 listings |
| 4 years old | 80% | 2,143 listings |
| 5 years old | 76% | 1,729 listings |
| 6 years old | 69% | 1,156 listings |
| 7 years old | 67% | 911 listings |
| 8-9 years old | 59% | 1,156 listings |
| 10 years old | ~41% | 434 listings |
Read it carefully: these are asking prices on the used market, benchmarked against the newest used examples of the same model, not against RRP. To translate to RRP, stack the nearly-new discount on top. A current-year used bike typically asks 65 to 80 percent of RRP, so a three-year-old bike at 86 percent of that lands at roughly 55 to 69 percent of RRP as an asking price, and a little below that as a sold price. That lines up with the 45 to 60 percent at two to three years we see in completed sales, covered in How Much Is My Bike Worth?
Two honest caveats. Asking prices run 5 to 10 percent above what bikes actually sell for, and sellers of older bikes are if anything more optimistic, so the true sold-price curve is slightly steeper than the table. And the oldest age bands have the smallest samples, which is why we quote 10 years as approximate.
The same measured curve is published on the Cyclesite depreciation report, which adds completed-sale curves by brand and category as marketplace sales volume grows.
Not all categories fall at the same speed
Within the same dataset, road and gravel bikes depreciate fastest and most predictably: by year five the median road or gravel bike asks only a little over half of what the current-year version asks. The category is spec-driven and fashion-driven, and groupset generations date a bike visibly.
Mountain bikes hold their relative value better in the first four years, partly because heavily-used examples leave the market early and partly because a capable full-suspension bike stays capable for years. The drop comes later and harder, once suspension platforms and geometry move on.
E-bike samples in our dataset are smaller and noisier, but the pattern is consistent with what every mechanic will tell you: the battery is the bike. An e-bike with a healthy battery tracks the normal curve; one with a tired battery loses most of a £300 to £800 replacement cost overnight. If you own an e-bike, charge-cycle count and a battery health report matter more to its value than its birthday. There is more on this in the e-bike section of the valuation guide.
Why flat depreciation rules mislead
Some online bike value calculators work by taking the RRP you type in and multiplying it by a fixed percentage based on age and condition. The same percentage for a steel touring frame, a carbon race bike and a folding commuter. No model data, no market data, just a lookup table dressed up as a valuation.
The measured table above shows why that fails. Real depreciation is not a single curve: it bends with category, brand strength, groupset generation, battery health and season. A Brompton or a sought-after steel frame can hold value for a decade; a rim-brake carbon road bike from the same year has fallen off a cliff since disc brakes took over. A flat percentage cannot see any of that, and it shows the same confident number either way.
A useful test for any calculator: change the model while keeping the price and age the same. If the valuation does not move, the tool is not reading the market.
Cyclesite's valuation takes the other route. It identifies your actual model, looks at completed sales and live comparable listings for that model, and falls back through progressively broader market data only when a model is rare. You also do not need to remember your RRP, because the market data carries the price history.
Which bikes hold their value best
Strong residuals: Bromptons and quality folding bikes, sought-after steel and titanium frames, current-generation bikes from brands with waiting lists, and anything rare that collectors want. At the extreme, desirable classics appreciate.
Average residuals: mainstream aluminium and carbon bikes from the big brands, kept in good condition with original parts. These follow the table above.
Weak residuals: performance road bikes with rim brakes, 26-inch-wheel mountain bikes, discontinued lines with poor spares support, e-bikes with unknown battery history, and anything heavily customised. Buyers price in the cost and risk of bringing the bike back to standard.
How to slow depreciation on a bike you own
- Keep the service history. A folder of receipts moves a bike to the top of its price band; it is the cheapest value protection available.
- Keep the original parts. Ride the upgrades, but store the take-offs. Original spec sells; you can sell upgrades separately, which returns more than bundling them.
- Store it dry. Corrosion is the one form of wear that reads as neglect, and it spreads from the fasteners outward in photos.
- Service the drivetrain before it wears the expensive bits. A £20 chain replaced on time saves a £150 cassette and chainring bill that a buyer would otherwise deduct twice over.
- Sell in spring. The same bike fetches 10 to 15 percent more from March to June than in late November. Timing is the only free money in depreciation.
Common questions
How much does a bike depreciate per year in the UK? After the initial 20 to 30 percent drop in year one, a typical bike loses 4 to 7 percent of its remaining value per year for the next five years. Our measured data from 19,112 UK listings puts a three-year-old bike at 86 percent and a five-year-old bike at 76 percent of the same model's current-year used price.
Do e-bikes depreciate faster than normal bikes? Yes, and less predictably. Battery condition dominates: a healthy battery keeps an e-bike near the normal curve, while a worn one subtracts most of the £300 to £800 replacement cost. A battery health report protects an e-bike's value better than anything else.
Which bikes hold their value best? Bromptons and quality folders, sought-after steel and titanium frames, and current bikes from brands with strong demand. Performance bikes with superseded technology, rim brakes especially, depreciate fastest.
Are bike depreciation calculators accurate? Only if they read the market. Calculators that multiply RRP by a fixed percentage for age and condition give the same answer for every bike of the same price and age, which real prices do not do. Test one by changing the model: if the number does not move, it is a lookup table, not a valuation.
Is a bike ever worth more used than its age suggests? Yes. Discontinued models with cult followings, rare sizes in popular models, and classics from collectible builders can hold or gain value. If your bike is over 25 years old and from a name collectors care about, check sold listings before assuming the curve applies.
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