Spokane Bike Swap draws hundreds of cycles waiting to be purchased Saturday

Bicycle owners funneled hundreds of mountain, road and electric bikes into the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center Friday hoping to find their two-wheelers a new home while picking up a check.

The 11th annual Spokane Bike Swap and Expo runs 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the fairgrounds.

LeAnn Yamamoto, Spokane Bike Swap’s board chair, said she expected 700 to 800 bicycles of all types, sizes and prices to be available for purchase Saturday. A line of people with their bikes stretched out the exhibit hall’s doors Friday afternoon as they waited to register their bikes to be sold Saturday.

Yamamoto estimated 85% of the bikes are typically sold at the event.

“We have some really nice bikes that come in here, and people tend to price them right,” she said.

Scott Tate was waiting in line to put his Transition mountain bike up for sale. He said he had been trying to sell the enduro-style mountain bike since October but hasn’t had any takers, so he thought he’d give the bike swap a shot. He planned to sell it for $2,300.

“See if it can find a new home,” Tate said.

He had luck last year at the swap. He planned on selling his “ancient” mountain bike for $50, but a bike technician recommended he sell it for at least $200. It sold.

Bob Hooker was looking to sell two road bikes, one for $125 and the other for $400.

He bought the cheaper one for his daughter about 25 years ago and it had hardly been ridden. He bought the other one at a yard sale for $50, but looked to turn a profit Saturday after making free upgrades to the bike thanks to a lifetime warranty.

Yamamoto said her nonprofit organization will receive 10% of the bike sales, and that money will be distributed to the community.

For example, she said the Community School in Spokane used the money last year to buy storage units for students to park 25 bikes. The school also started a bike program that, in part, teaches students how to ride safely.

Yamamoto said each child under 15 years old who buys a bike Saturday gets a free helmet. She said 150 to 175 helmets are usually given away.

About 30 exhibitors and two bike shops – North Division Bicycle and Bicycle Butler – will be on hand Saturday to sell bikes and accessories. She said The Bike Hub also registered bikes at the swap to sell.

Tim Dunn, manager at The Bike Hub’s downtown location, said his shop is approaching bike sales that resemble pre-pandemic levels. Many bike shops flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic as gyms and other businesses closed and people wanted to get outside.

Supply-chain issues negatively affected bike shops during the pandemic, however. Dunn said his shop was selling bikes when they hit the shelves, and buyers who ordered a bike sometimes had to wait a few months to receive it.

Now, bikes are only about a week out if ordered, which was standard before the pandemic, he said.

Dunn said bike sales and repairs increase when the weather is nice, like during spring.

“That’s when everything starts ramping up,” he said.

At the bike swap, Yamamoto said people registered 700 to 800 bikes before the in-person registration day. That number dropped to 400 to 500 during the pandemic.

Mountain and road bikes are the most popular bikes sold at the swap, but e-bikes have spiked in the last few years, she said.

“Lots of happy people walking out the door with a bike, so that’s pretty cool,” Yamamoto said, “or picking up a check, one of the two.”