Selling Broken & Damaged Bikes

12 guides to selling bikes that are broken, damaged or incomplete. Every one covers what it is worth at Fair and For Parts, how to grade and photograph the defect, and what buyers ask before committing.

Bikes are the most repairable thing most people own, and a ‘broken’ bike is usually a serviceable one — a seized bottom bracket, a worn drivetrain or perished cables are consumables, not damage. Frames are the real question: a cracked or dented frame, particularly in carbon, is the end of the bike as a bike, though the groupset and wheels remain valuable. Helmets are the exception here and should never be resold at all.

1 of these say do not sell it. Where damage defeats something that exists to stop a person being injured, the guide says so and explains what to do instead. Those pages are in the list below like any other.

Before you write it off

Most ‘broken’ bikes are serviceable ones. Seized brake and gear cables, a dry chain, perished tyres and a rusted-in seatpost all look terminal and are consumables. The checks that actually matter are the frame and the fork: look for cracks at the head tube, the seat tube junction and the chainstays, and on carbon tap along the tubes for a change in tone.

What a defect actually costs you

WishThrift grades run New with Tags, Like New, Good, Fair and For Parts. Fair is roughly 45% of the working price and covers heavy use or a described fault; For Parts is roughly 25% and covers something not working or incomplete, sold as seen. Grades are seller-declared — nobody inspects them for you — so an honest grade plus a clear photograph of the defect is what actually closes the sale. All five grades explained.

Across the 12 guides below, For Parts prices run from about £2 at the low end to £300 at the top, against £10 to £1,200 for the same items in sound condition. Those are guide figures in sterling; WishThrift lists in your local currency and does not convert for you.

Every bikes guide

Frequently asked questions

Is a bike with a seized bottom bracket broken?

No — that is a service item, and so are cables, chains, cassettes and tyres. Describe the bike by its frame, fork and groupset condition, and list the consumables that need replacing as a separate line. It reads as honest and it is worth more.

Can I sell a cracked frame?

You can sell it for parts, but never as a rideable bike, and say plainly that the frame is cracked. The groupset, wheels and finishing kit often carry most of the value anyway, and many buyers want exactly that.

Listing is free and there is no commission. Neither side pays a buyer-protection fee either — create a free account to list yours, or browse the full faulty and damaged index.