Old mountain bike: What do you do with a bike you don't ride anymore?

Old mountain bike: What do you do with a bike you don’t ride anymore?

We want to know what you do with your mountain bike when you stop riding it, whether that's selling, keeping, donating, or trashing.

By Jeff Barber
July 26, 2026

22 comments

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There comes a point in every mountain bike’s life when its owner stops riding it. It might be after a season or two, or it might be decades from now. Either way, we’re curious to know what you do (or plan to do) with a mountain bike once you no longer ride it.

Tell us why you sell/keep/donate your bikes in the comments below. And if you chose ‘donate,’ give a shoutout to the non-profit you support!

Hardtail bikes

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A side-by-side comparison of mountain biking in the 1990s and 2021. The top section features a green and orange 90s mountain bike alongside a rugged, root-covered trail. The bottom section showcases a modern orange mountain bike with wider tires next to a smooth, forested trail. Text labels indicate "90s MTBING" at the top and "2021 MTBING" at the bottom.

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22 Comments

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Brandon Thomsen 2026
1 week ago

I turned my ex wife’s into my mail box. Mounted it on a 4 # 4 post and put the mailbox on the back rack. Turned out pretty cool and get tons of comments. Mostly good! 😊

3 reply

Johnny Guzman 2026
1 week ago

ATB/ X-Bike them. Turn old mountain bikes into gravel commuters. They also become dad bikes and trailer pullers. One day I’ll go car free and they will be grocery haulers too.

2 reply

ZipHead South Carolina // 2015
1 week ago

Donate.
Village Wrench in S.Carolina, Bikes Not Bombs in Boston. Both have gotten bikes from me, both are excellent orgs.

Ride29 Arizona // 2010
1 week ago

I hang on to my last bike to use as a backup or when a friend visits and doesn't want to bring his bike. Then either sell or donate the prior backup. All my bikes are ready to ride and are well maintained and upgraded.

dewebb61 Texas // 2017
1 week ago

I only have three bikes now, all of them old... I have a Transition Scout that I built up in 2016, a Surly Cross Check in robin egg blue that I put together in, perhaps, 2012, and a red Salsa El Marichi that I bought new in 2013. I regularly ride all three of them. In fact, I just finished a ride on the Salsa approximately 15 minutes ago, just before logging on and seeing this article. The El Mariachi and the Cross Check are my favorites and receive the most time outside. I keep all three bikes well maintained and don't have plans to replace any of them until a frame breaks, and as old as I am, that might not ever happen.

Phillip Walker 2026
1 week ago

I seem to hang on to them for one reason or another, but mostly because the resale value is too low 🤔

Hawk Hill Missouri // 2021
1 week ago

ATB'd it. Just put a Krampus fork and Moloko bars, 1x drivetrain on my 1999 X-Caliber. Its got modern XC geometry now with the 27.5" tire upfront.

1 reply

Joby Dynneson 2026
1 week ago

Depends on the bike, I have a couple that are special and have been put in semi original riding conditions and saved as wall hanging. Others are converted to townie bikes and ridden as such or passed on to people who need transportation. Parts also go to recycle and have been integrated into art

OhioFatBiker Ohio // 2016
1 week ago

I have an old one that I set up for a trainer, I have others that I donated.

Tim Crum 2026
1 week ago

I work for a bicycle advocacy non-profit. We have a program called Upcycle, wherein we receive donated bikes people want to get rid of, tear them down and then build them back up (using mainly used and donated parts and volunteer mechanics), then we, in turn, donate them to service organizations (usually other non-profits), who then donate them to clients in need. These bikes literally are the difference of people being able to get to jobs, schools, stores, etc.

thebadpixel Delaware // 2022
1 week ago

I've donated to my local NICA team. Not every kid who wants to ride can afford a bike. https://nationalmtb.org/

sscottt Vermont // 2024
1 week ago

My full suspension was truly outdated by a decade and all the bearing were very worn out. I finally stripped it as completely as possible to give the recyclers less reason to trash it. Hardtails however make great adventure/double track bikes. I recently replaced a retro modern build and gave the older one to my co-worker. Unfortunately, full suspension bikes reach a point of being so well used they are no longer safe to give away.

Dr Sweets Georgia // 2016
1 week ago

Chop it up into easily yeet-able portions to cast into oncoming traffic.

0 reply

alec sithong 2026
1 week ago

I keep all my 90s and 2000s mountain bikes for blood sweat and tears of working hard to buy them and riding them hard. There's a lot of sentimental values here and good memories. I also collect an old buy other vintage bikes too as a hobby and hoping to sell for profit down the road. If not profitable....who cares! I love bikes and enjoy having them in my man cave and possibly a personal bike museum

William Lyons 2026
1 week ago

I took am old m5 cannondale. Tore it down to nothing, all new bearings, BB,26”aero rims w/sturmey SS coaster, 11/8 fixed gear tires, Stella saddle. Cut down the original bars and cut off all the brake mounts. Badass bike relived. BTW same bike white/red was on the catalogue that year! Bonus

L. Ancel Foulds 2026
1 week ago

It's a Schwinn Project Colorado. I converted it to a 1x11 with disc brakes, in the hope that my kid or grandkid will ride it one day.

moon.brennan Texas // 2022
1 week ago

It’s kind of a conundrum/ multi answer.

I love to tinker. I also really love some of my bikes.

I still have my mountain bike from college 20 years ago. I’ve updated it. Upgraded it. Downgraded it. Taken it back to stock. Torn it all the way down, and now I’m rebuilding it as a rigid single speed. I don’t really have a use for it, as I have an old specialized hard rock that is also a single speed, so I’ll probably see if anyone wants to buy it, but if not, that’s cool too.

As for my old full suspension trail bike, it also has been turned into a single speed, but that change made me fall in love with it all over again, so it’s not going anywhere either.

I’ve sold a few bikes and plenty of parts that have been swapped in and out over the years.

2HIPinCO Colorado // 2025
2 days ago

Mostly sell to help finance new. Now in my early 70's, I recently became an e-biker - Motobecane hard tail adventure bike with Shimano motor, RockShox fork, and Redshift ShockStop seatpost for off-road riding. Sentimentally, I still ride an early 80's Stumpjumper I rebuilt with a newer 1x11 drivetrain for quick exercise rides on the dirt road around my neighborhood when I don't have time to drive somewhere to ride - an early 90's Mandaric cyclocross bike configured for light touring on gravel and paved bike paths - and an early 2000's Lemond MJ Classic road bike.

skypig Australia // 2013
1 week ago

My old bikes are so good, but almost worthless.
I have my newest of course. The one before I kept at work (other side of the country) and the one before that I put slick tires on and ride it to the beach/shops/cycleways.

Roy Miller 2026
1 week ago

Over the last twenty years I have donated 3 mountain and 2 road bikes to bike charities. Given 2 MTB to family members and sold an ebike. Depends on the situation. Our well used bikes don't have much resale value

mgroeger 2019
1 week ago

With the exception of “trash it”, I’ve done all the above. I do have two bikes from the late 80’s/early 90’s that I’d love to restore

confirmshop Utah // 2019
1 week ago

As soon as I got my first e Mtn bike 9 years ago I realized I was never going to ride my acoustic bike again so I sold it. If I had known how much fun an e-bike is, I never would have bought it!

-1 reply

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