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I'm planning to buy a bicycle "on a budget" (I'm sure yet if I should buy a new or an old one). But since I'm going to use for just a year, I'm wondering how much I'm going to sell it for next year (how much I'm going to lose in it purchase price)?

I don't know if what they say about cars (that you lose 20% of a new car's value after owning it for a year according to Car Depreciation: How Much Have You Lost?) applies also to bicycles.

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    Depends what kind of riding you want to do, and how you want to store the bike. For commuting and health, a used bike is ideal. A used bike, budget on $0 value at the end, and anything you get for it is a win. – Criggie♦ May 11 '17 at 0:11
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    Note that you're likely to save about 1/3rd on last year's model, or this years model at the end of the biking season, vs what you'd pay new in the spring. But for your situation used is definitely better. – Daniel R Hicks May 11 '17 at 0:24
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    As to what you can get for a bought-new bike after a year's moderately heavy use, I certainly wouldn't count on more than 50%, regardless of how you time things. – Daniel R Hicks May 11 '17 at 0:26
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    The biggest problem with the 2nd hand bicycle market is volume. For cars, the market is relatively stable, given that there are many buyer/sellers. Given the size of the market (and stolen bikes), it is much more of a "buyer's market". In many cities there are bike shops which specialize in selling the same bike many times (and buying it back again afterwards) to people in your exact position. – Aron May 11 '17 at 4:30
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    You need to understand that many bike stores don't sell their entire stock of new bikes in a year. So in 2018, if I hunt around, I can find a brand new 2017 model for sale at many bike shops. At a great discount, and it's new, and it has a warranty. So your used bike has to be priced less than this to sell. Your wear & tear on it will also decrease its value. – Gary E May 11 '17 at 22:11
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I would use bicycle blue book as a way to figure out the change in value of the bike. They have a system to estimate the resale value of used bikes. Your bikes condition at the end of the year will matter so keep it clean and lubed.

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    They're just estimates and they can be way off for a particular market. – Batman May 11 '17 at 3:53
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This is sooooooooooo wide open. You lose like 1/3 rolling it out the door.

Condition matters more than years. If it 10 years old with some out of date components that matters. But 3 versus 5 does not matter.

I buy used nice bikes and never pay more than 1/3 retail. Sometimes you can get a new bike for 80% retail at end of season.

I could sell every used bike I own for what I paid for it.

If you are using it for a year then used. If you know nothing about bikes then you might get ripped off.

High end bikes lose value faster. A $200 BSO is not going to lose 1/3 out the door but it is still not worth $100. Best value is picking up like a $1200 bike for $400 or even pay $400 for a $900 bike. They are cleaning out the garage.

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    Thanks, I guess I should opt for a used one, but I need to learn more about bikes. 1/3 retail price is surely very tempting. – Hakim May 10 '17 at 21:08
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    For other readers - MTB's have changed quite a lot in the last 5 or so years, More than about 5 years old age is now affecting price more than ever - two edge sword, great bikes in good condition at around 20% of what they were retail, but parts are harder to find. (e.g. Try to find a half decent 9mm QR 1 1/8th straight steerer fork today.) – mattnz May 10 '17 at 21:23

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