You can now trade in your old bike with Sigma Sports Part Exchange - and they'll even come and collect it

Sigma Sports has introduced a Part Exchange bike trade-in programme to "address the increased bike prices". The scheme is run in partnership with Cycle Exchange, an established online retailer of used bikes. Sigma Sports says the scheme is the "first-of-its-kind at this scale" – though it's not the only retailer offering customers a trade-in incentive for getting a brand-new bike.

Evans had a similar scheme running a few years ago before things went a bit pear-shaped business-wise (whether that had something to do with the fact that in 2015 you could trade in even something that had once been a bike, who knows) and Halfords runs its own scheme in which you can bring in your old Halfords-brand bike and get up to £1000 towards a new bike. 

> Halfords launches Pre-Loved bikes trial trade-in and resale scheme - but only on own-brand Carrera models

To check how much your old bike is worth, you simply search for it on the new online Part Exchange tool on the Sigma Sports website. After about a 30-second process in which you input the brand, model, manufacturing year and condition of your bike, you get a rough estimate of the trade-in value. That money can then be put towards store credit or the purchase of a brand-new bike from Sigma Sports. To confirm the evaluation, you do need to provide a few pictures of your old steed, and if you don't live near a Sigma Sports store, you can even arrange a collection for your old bike. 

As a premium bike retailer, Sigma Sports' trade-in is a little more refined than the likes of Evans, it'll actually buy back quite nice bikes. We had a little play on the online evaluator, and you'd be looking at getting around £2,439 for a Specialized Tarmac SL8 Expert 2024, or £3,387 for a Cannondale Supersix EVO Hi-Mod 2 2023 in 'good condition'. Fair enough, both of those bikes sell for more than £6k each as new... 

Granted, you might not get the same money you could get selling your bike on the likes of eBay or Facebook Marketplace, but Sigma Sports says a scheme like this does "make it easier to buy that new dream bike" and in the current economic landscape, the retailer has chosen the right time to launch the tool. Not to mention, you don't have to go through the hassle of sorting out the scammy messages on Facebook, or get dozens of "is this still available" messages.

> Your complete guide to buying a second hand bike

Of course, the system also comes with sustainability benefits, contributing to the circular economy. 

Your old bike will then get polished and sold on Cycle Exchange, which it must be said, already runs a scheme of its own in which you can either sell or trade in your old, second-hand bike so perhaps worth checking both before selling!