The short version
- Typical range: £60 – £350 — see the full exercise bike value guide
- What decides your price: condition, and how well you evidence it in photographs
- Cost to sell here: nothing, at any price
- Category: Sports & Outdoors
Before you photograph it
Ten minutes here is worth more than anything else you will do. Buyers are deciding between your listing and someone else’s, and preparation is what visibly separates the two.
- Ride it through the whole resistance range and listen for grinding, and check the flywheel spins freely.
- Test the console: if it needs a battery, put a fresh one in so it displays properly in your photographs.
- Wipe down the frame and handlebars, and check the pedal straps and seat post clamp.
The photographs that sell an exercise bike
Four photographs do almost all the work. Shoot in daylight, near a window, with the item against something plain — and do not use the flash, which flattens texture and hides exactly what buyers are trying to see.
- The bike side on, whole, in a clear space
- The console lit and showing a reading
- The seat, handlebars and adjustment mechanisms
- The pedals, straps and any rust or wear on the frame
Photograph the flaws too. It feels counterproductive, but a listing that shows the worst of an item gets fewer questions, fewer withdrawn offers and fewer arguments at handover. Buyers who can see the damage stop imagining something worse.
Writing the title and description
Type and brand, because these are quite different machines: “Spin Bike”, “Upright Exercise Bike” and “Recumbent Exercise Bike” attract different buyers. Include the brand and whether the console works, and mention if it is magnetic resistance, which is quieter and more desirable than friction.
Then state these in the description, because a buyer who has to ask is a buyer who might not bother:
- Type: upright, spin, recumbent or air bike
- Resistance type, magnetic or friction, and how many levels
- Whether the console works and what it displays
- Maximum user weight if stated, and the assembled dimensions
What buyers will actually ask
You will receive the same three messages about an exercise bike. Answering them in the listing itself removes the back-and-forth, and answering them well when they do arrive is what turns an enquiry into a sale.
Test every level rather than a couple. Worn friction pads are the usual fault and a buyer will find them within a minute.
Fit a fresh battery and photograph it lit. A dead console makes buyers assume the whole machine is neglected.
Give the figure. Spin bikes are far heavier than they look and buyers need to plan the vehicle and the help.
Pricing it so it actually sells
Start from the honest condition grade rather than the price you hope for. WishThrift listings use five grades — New with Tags, Like New, Good, Fair and For Parts — and what each grade means is worth reading before you choose, because grading up is the most expensive mistake sellers make. It does not raise the price; it produces a buyer who arrives expecting something else.
The exercise bike value guide prices all five grades for this item. Pick your grade, take the figure, and if you sit between two grades price toward the lower one. Items priced honestly sell faster than items priced hopefully, and on a free platform there is no fee eating the difference anyway.
What you keep, compared
On a £205 sale — roughly the middle of the range for an exercise bike — here is what the commission-charging platforms would take, and what you would keep on each:
| Where you sell it | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| WishThrift | £0 | £205 |
| Poshmark | −£41 | £164 |
| eBay | −£28 | £177 |
| Mercari | −£20 | £185 |
| Etsy | −£13 | £192 |
Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026 — Poshmark: 20% commission on sales of $15 and above; eBay: 13.6% final value fee, plus a per-order fee; Mercari: flat 10% selling fee; Etsy: 6.5% transaction fee, plus a listing fee and payment processing. Percentages are applied to the sterling figure above; the fixed per-order and processing charges those platforms add are quoted in their own currency and are not included here, so the real deductions are slightly larger. Full breakdown: marketplace selling fees compared.
Timing and getting it to the buyer
January is the strongest month by a wide margin, with a second lift in autumn. Prices soften considerably over the summer.
Collection in practice, though lighter and far more manageable than a treadmill. Say whether it comes apart at the handlebars and seat post, which often makes the difference between fitting in a car and needing a van.
WishThrift does not process payments or arrange delivery — you and the buyer agree both directly — so confirm payment has cleared before the item leaves your hands, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed.
Ready to list it? It takes about two minutes, costs nothing, and there is no commission when it sells — create a free account or see how selling works.
Frequently asked questions
What is a used exercise bike worth?
Usually £60 to £350, with spin bikes and recognised brands at the top. See the exercise bike value guide for the condition breakdown.
Do exercise bikes sell well used?
Better than most home gym equipment, because they are compact, simple and easy to move. January demand is strong enough that a working bike priced sensibly often sells in days.
Should I fix a broken console before selling?
Try a fresh battery first, which solves it surprisingly often. Beyond that, a replacement console is rarely worth the cost — state that it does not work, price it in, and the bike will still sell to someone who rides by feel.
See also: what a used exercise bike is worth · browse live sports & outdoors listings · condition grades explained.