Walk through any major Australian city on a sunny weekend and you’ll see it. Bikes of every kind — road bikes, mountain bikes, commuter hybrids — lined up against fences at markets, listed on phone screens at cafes, swapped between strangers in pub car parks. The secondhand bicycle market in Australia is quietly booming, and it’s bigger than most people realise.
So what’s behind the surge? Why are more Australians than ever buying and selling used bikes — and why does it matter? Here’s a breakdown of the real forces shaping the market right now.
1. The COVID Cycling Boom Left Behind a Lot of Bikes
The story of Australia’s current secondhand bike market begins in 2020. When the pandemic hit and gyms shut, Australians turned to cycling in massive numbers. Bike shops sold out. Wait times stretched to months. New cyclists flooded roads and trails in every state.
In 2020 alone, 1.7 million bicycles were sold across Australia — one of the highest single-year sales figures the country has ever recorded.
The industry enjoyed record revenue growth in 2020–21 and 2021–22, fuelled by this surge in demand. But consumer behaviour rarely stays at peak levels, and what goes up tends to come back down. By 2023 and 2024, new bike sales had cooled significantly, falling for three consecutive years after those twin boom years.
The result? A generation of bikes — many bought with enthusiasm, ridden occasionally, and then stored in garages — are now making their way back into the market. Sellers are clearing out bikes they no longer use. Buyers are snapping up quality rides at prices well below retail. The post-COVID ripple effect is very real, and it’s creating genuine opportunity for anyone in the market for a used bicycle.
2. Cost of Living Pressures Are Changing How Australians Buy
Australia’s cost of living crisis is reshaping spending habits across the board — and bike buying is no exception. When household budgets tighten, the logic of buying secondhand becomes almost irresistible.
A quality road bike from a reputable brand like Giant, Trek, or Specialized can easily cost $2,000 to $5,000 new. The same bike, bought secondhand in good condition, might sell for 40–60% less. For a family looking to get the kids into cycling, or a commuter wanting to ditch the car for shorter trips, that difference is significant.
The Australian bicycle market was valued at AUD 3.10 billion in 2025 — and is projected to grow to AUD 5.04 billion by 2035. More bikes sold new today means more bikes entering the secondhand market in the years ahead.
Rising fuel costs, increased public transport fares, and general inflationary pressure are also pushing more people toward cycling as a practical, affordable mode of transport. Many of those new riders aren’t buying brand new. They’re hunting for value — and the secondhand market is where they find it.
3. Cycling Is Now a Mainstream Part of Australian Life
Australia has always had a strong cycling culture, but participation numbers over the past decade tell a compelling story of steady mainstreaming.
36.7% — of Australians rode a bicycle in the past year (2023 National Cycling Participation Survey)
$18.6 billion — in economic and social contribution from cycling in Australia in 2022 (WeRide Australian Cycling Economy Report)
$313 million — in annual savings to the Australian health system from cycling activity
514,096 tonnes — of CO2 avoided annually through cycling replacing motor vehicle travel
Cycling is no longer a niche hobby. It’s mainstream fitness, mainstream commuting, and increasingly mainstream sustainability. As more Australians get on bikes — for health, transport, and recreation — the overall pool of bikes in circulation grows. And as cyclists upgrade, replace, or change their riding style, those bikes move through the secondhand market.
Over one-third of riders in Australia now use their bike for transport — not just recreation. That shift from leisure to utility means bikes are being worn out, serviced, traded up, and replaced more regularly than ever before.
4. Online Platforms Have Made Buying and Selling Frictionless
A decade ago, selling a secondhand bike meant placing an ad in a local newspaper, dealing with a notice board at the bike shop, or running a garage sale. Today, it takes about five minutes.
Facebook Marketplace dominates the Australian secondhand bicycle market — driven partly by the fact that nearly 83% of Australians have a Facebook account, making it the lowest-friction platform to list on.
Research tracking Australian peer-to-peer bicycle marketplaces found that approximately 150,000 bicycle units were sold through platforms like Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, and eBay in a single year — with around 312,000 units listed for sale, suggesting roughly a 48% sell-through rate. That’s a significant and active market.
Platforms like BikeExchange and Pinkbike’s BuySell section add further depth, particularly for enthusiast and performance bicycle buyers. The cumulative effect is a secondhand market that is more accessible, more visible, and more liquid than it has ever been.
The convenience cuts both ways. Sellers can reach a city-wide audience in minutes. Buyers can compare dozens of listings, filter by location and price, and arrange a same-day inspection. The digital infrastructure for secondhand bike trading is, arguably, better than it’s ever been.
5. Sustainability Is Driving Consumer Choices
There’s a growing cohort of Australian consumers who aren’t just buying secondhand because it’s cheaper — they’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do.
Manufacturing a new bicycle carries a significant environmental cost. Materials must be sourced, processed, and shipped — often from factories in Asia. Buying secondhand eliminates that production footprint entirely. The bike already exists. It just needs a new owner.
Cycling itself is already one of Australia’s most environmentally positive transport choices. According to the WeRide Cycling Economy Report, Australian cyclists avoided over 514,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2022 by replacing motor vehicle trips. Buying and riding a secondhand bike compounds that benefit — the environmental payoff is double.
This sustainability dimension resonates particularly strongly with younger Australian buyers, many of whom are actively seeking to reduce their consumption impact. For them, a pre-loved bicycle isn’t a compromise. It’s a deliberate choice.
6. The One Problem the Market Still Hasn’t Solved
For all its momentum, the secondhand bicycle market has a persistent and well-known flaw: trust.
When you buy a used bike from a private seller, you’re relying entirely on their word about its condition, history, and safety. There’s no standardised inspection process. No documentation. No independent verification. And in a private sale, usually no recourse if something turns out to be wrong.
This creates a genuine problem for buyers — particularly those new to cycling who may not know what to look for — and a frustrating one for sellers who want to prove their bike is in genuinely good condition but have no credible way to do so.
The secondhand bicycle market in Australia generated approximately $12 million AUD through peer-to-peer platforms in the past year — and that figure grows when you include retail secondhand and in-person sales. It’s a significant market operating almost entirely on trust.
Scam concerns compound the issue. Buying and selling fraud on Australian online marketplaces was the most reported scam type involving financial loss in 2025, with over 9,600 reports resulting in millions of dollars in losses. While not all of these involve bikes, the broader climate of marketplace mistrust makes buyers more cautious — and rightfully so.
This is the gap that Rideworthy was built to fill. By providing a professional, independent bicycle inspection and certification service, Rideworthy brings the kind of transparency that car buyers take for granted — a verified record of a bike’s safety, condition, and performance — to the secondhand bicycle market.
What This Means for Buyers and Sellers in 2026
The conditions driving growth in the secondhand bicycle market aren’t going away. Cost of living pressures remain. Cycling participation continues to grow. Online platforms are only getting better. And sustainability consciousness is deepening across Australian consumer culture.
For buyers, the secondhand market offers genuine opportunity — quality bikes at accessible prices, with more supply than ever thanks to the post-COVID inventory overhang. But buying smart means knowing what you’re getting. A professional inspection before you commit can be the difference between a great deal and an expensive mistake.
For sellers, the market is active and liquid — but standing out means demonstrating value. A Rideworthy certificate isn’t just peace of mind for the buyer. It’s a signal of integrity that can justify your asking price and speed up the sale.
The secondhand bicycle market is maturing. And as it does, trust and transparency are becoming the new currency.
Ready to buy or sell a bicycle with confidence?
Book a Rideworthy bicycle inspection today and get an official certificate that tells buyers — and sellers — the full story. Find a certified workshop near you in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Canberra.