What Used Mountain Bikes Are Riders Actually Buying? 7

TPC is the world’s biggest retailer of Certified Pre-Owned bikes, so we have more data than anyone on what bikes riders are actually buying. Used bikes in particular saw a big increase in demand over the last few years. Now that supply chains are (mostly) back in order and things have cooled off a bit, I thought it’d be fun to take a look back through our data to find out what the hottest-selling used mountain bikes were over the past two years. The bike geeks out there can probably guess what models came out on top, but there were still a few surprises!

A few notes on how I organized our data: if a particular bike model was available in different wheelsizes, all wheelsize options were lumped together. If a bike model was available in both carbon and aluminum, both frame materials were lumped together. The data for every bike model listed only includes bikes made within the last 10 years, so the data is primarily focused on modern bikes (the majority of mountain bikes TPC sells are less than 5 years old). I did this to keep things simple and to preserve my sanity while sifting through data. So what used mountain bike models have been dominating the trails recently? Let’s dive in and find out! 

The top-10 best-selling used MTB models

1. Specialized Stumpjumper
2. Trek Fuel EX
3. Specialized Epic
4. Trek Top Fuel
5. Giant Trance
6. Scott Spark
7. Santa Cruz Tallboy
8. Santa Cruz 5010
9. Santa Cruz Hightower
10. Specialized Epic Hardtail

Are you surprised? You probably shouldn’t be. The Specialized Stumpjumper is the original mass-produced mountain bike and the modern version is arguably the benchmark for trail bikes. Its only real competition, the Trek Fuel EX, was a distant second. We sold nearly 60% more Stumpys than Fuel EXs!

Now, this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. The Stumpy has been around longer than any other bike on this list and it has been produced in big numbers by one of the biggest manufacturers in the world. So is the Stumpy our best seller because there are so many available? Or are there so many available because it sells so well? I’ll let the bike philosophers figure that one out.

There are a few other interesting trends I’d like to point out. First, no bike with more than 150mm of travel made it into our top 10. In fact, the only big-travel bike within the top 20 was the Specialized Enduro, way down in 19th place. It seems used mountain bike buyers are interested in more modest travel numbers. That might tell us something about the type of terrain most people actually ride.

Second, the Santa Cruz 5010 was the only dedicated 27.5” model in our top 10 (we haven’t seen many MX variants come through yet). Many bikes in the top 10 were available in a 27.5” version at some point, but this only accounted for a small percentage of sales. Smaller wheels aren’t dead, but 29ers are definitely stronger sellers in the used marketplace.

Finally, only one hardtail made it into our top 10: the Specialized Epic Hardtail. Hardtails accounted for only 20% of our used mountain bike sales. There are simply way more full-suspension options available.

A quick note on the data: Our Specialized Stumpjumper sales data did not include the Stumpjumper EVO, and our Giant Trance sales data did not include the Trance X. I felt the Stumpjumper EVO and Trance X were different enough from their base models for me to separate them.

Our Specialized Epic and Scott Spark sales data included the Epic Evo and Spark RC. This didn’t affect the standings for either model positively or negatively. Ultimately, I felt the different versions were all still similar enough to keep them lumped together. 

Best-selling MTB models: hardtail

1. Specialized Epic Hardtail
2. Santa Cruz Chameleon
3. Trek Procaliber
4. Trek Stache
5. Specialized Fuse
6. Scott Scale
7. Cannondale F-Si
8. Niner Air 9
9. Santa Cruz Highball
10. Yeti ARC

If you’re racing XC on a hardtail, the Specialized Epic Hardtail seems to be the ticket. Interestingly, the Epic Hardtail was the only Specialized mountain bike where we sold nearly as many S-Works models as non-S-Works models. Weight-weenies gotta have that S-Works. I was also surprised to see discontinued models like the Trek Stache and the Cannondale F-Si in the top 10. With features like 29-plus wheels and Lefty forks, they’re pretty niche bikes, but they clearly still have a strong following.

Best-selling MTB models: 120mm or less

1. Specialized Epic
2. Trek Top Fuel
3. Scott Spark
4. Santa Cruz Tallboy
5. Giant Anthem
6. Orbea Oiz
7. Cannondale Scalpel
8. Santa Cruz Blur
9. Evil Following
10. Ibis Ripley + Rocky Mountain Element (tied)

XC racing and XC bikes have changed a lot in recent years. 100mm of travel front and rear is no longer the standard formula. Now we have 120mm race bikes winning World Cups and this new-fangled “downcountry” category to contend with. To keep my head from spinning, I just looked at all full-suspension bikes with 120mm or less of rear travel. As a result, we see a decent mix of pure race bikes and shorter-travel trail bikes duking it out. Life is good in the short-travel world, with a plethora of options to choose from to suit your particular needs.

Best-selling MTB models: 120-150mm

1. Specialized Stumpjumper
2. Trek Fuel EX
3. Giant Trance
4. Santa Cruz 5010
5. Santa Cruz Hightower
6. Santa Cruz Bronson
7. Ibis Ripmo
8. Cannondale Habit
9. Yeti SB5
10. Trek Remedy

The definition of “trail bike” is pretty broad and will vary depending on who you ask or where you live. You might even look at the above list and consider some of these bikes to be “enduro bikes.” So to keep things simple, I’m once again focusing on rear travel only. Of course, many of the models featured here were also in the overall top 10. The big surprise for me was seeing the discontinued Yeti SB5 in 9th. A 27.5” bike that stopped production 5 years ago is still in demand! I suspect it’s going to be a future classic. Also, the Orbea Occam came oh so close to knocking the Trek Remedy from the top 10, selling only one bike less than the Remedy over the last two years. You’ll get ‘em next time, Orbea.

Best-selling MTB models: 150mm+

1. Specialized Enduro
2. Santa Cruz Nomad
3. Ibis Mojo HD
4. YT Capra
5. Rocky Mountain Altitude
6. Kona Process 153
7. Trek Slash
8. Specialized Demo
9. Specialized Status
10. Evil Wreckoning

Now we’re looking at the big guns. We tend to sell way fewer long-travel mountain bikes, but what’s interesting here is that there was a fairly even split between 27.5” and 29” models. With the YT Capra, for example, we actually sold more 27.5” models than 29” models. It seems that when you get into the gravity side of the sport, there are plenty of riders still interested in 27.5” wheels. The Kona Process 153 in 6th was a funny result to me. Yes, it has (slightly) more than 150mm of travel, but I would have rather lumped it in with the other 120-150mm bikes. If I had though, it would have been well outside the top 10. The biggest shock though was the Specialized Demo in 8th. I never expected to see a downhill bike outsell so many enduro bikes.

Final thoughts

This sort of sales data is incredibly useful to us at TPC. But will it be useful to you? Maybe you can use it to help narrow down your options when searching for your next bike. Maybe you can use it as confirmation bias to justify your purchases. Even if it wasn’t useful to you, I hope it was at least entertaining.

Because TPC carries more bike brands than any other retailer, this sort of information is very unique to our business model, and you’re not likely to get it anywhere else! If you’re looking for a new or Certified Pre-Owned mountain bike, I hope you come and visit us at theproscloset.com to check out our unmatched bike selection! If you’re in Colorado, be sure to drop by our retail location in Louisville where you can see and shop our inventory in person.