With all the horror stories about delays and mismatched component specs, what is the best time of year to buy a bike? I think I’ve seen Fall as being mentioned. When is the bike inventory at its highest level? You would think it would be in the Spring?
It seems like the industry is very slow to adjust to the huge increase in road/triathlon demand, but then I guess in any industry there is always a lag between increased demand and meeting that demand. What seems to be the main bottleneck in the industry? Components, wheels, frames, Chinese manufacturers?
Why don’t the larger companies (Trek, Cannondale, Specialized) seem to have many issues? Do the larger manufacturers have a better handle on forecasting demand for the bikes? Do they have better relationships and hence priority with their component vendors?
The larger companies do…often. They all have a game of chance to play, as does your local IBD…do they over stock themselves and then have to sell bikes at a loss next year when the new models come out? Do their order less than they hope they need?
With the “JIT” shipping of many of these places (and most larger ones are ISO rated) it is a hard gamble to make…one Typhoon or roughe wave, one lost container and a whole cycling industry is directly effected…that is life.
I agree and have no problem with that. I understand that is life. I’m just thinking that there must be a lot of lost profits in this industry. How many people are underserved with this inefficiency. Seems like a lot of people have to settle for bikes they did not realy want in the first place. In this day and age you should not have to settle. I just think that if some of the issues could be fixed the bike companies could be making a lot more money.
and on and on and on…in these instances Gerard is just the General contractor who does his best to provide what the sub contractors claim they will provide…that is busines folks…plain and simple supply chain issues that EVERY market segment has.
Your best bet is to order a bike in the fall, Sept., Oct. Nov. Now realize, this means that you may be buying a bike on spec. that is, you may never see one before you get yours. You will have to rely on what the manufacturer and your retailer says. This also means that just because FSA or Profile announced a new fangled aero bar at Interbike and says that it will be available next year, that you may be waiting on it, indefinitely, or you will have to compromise and get a different bar.
I don’t have to complain to them, their supply chain issues ultimately will hurt them more than me (or cunsumers). Anytime there is an issue getting your product to market, it simply means lost profits and dissatisfied customers. Eventually customer will chose to take their business elsewhere.
plain and simple supply chain issues that EVERY market segment has.
That’s such a load of crap. (I’m not singling Gerard out, btw- I think the entire bike industry/supply chain suffers from this kind of incompetence, and what’s worse, they don’t care. “Oh, that’s just the way it is.”)
That’s business? Bullshit…In today’s arena those who don’t service their customers in a timely manner will eventually fold. I dare say that in meetings at the companies you listed as they talk about their backlog none of them are giving the answer “that’s business” and leaving it at that…
For a small amount of energy you could find everything you need by shopping on the internet. Online commerce will replace the LBS industry simply because manufacturers and LBSs can’t figure out the supply chain issues you’re describing. It should be easy for me to spend my money, but the business model embraced by the bicycle industry makes it difficult.
So you think you could get a P3C frame, a fork, headset, most but not all of a Dura-Ace gruppo, some FSA cranks and aero bars, Zipps, tires tubes, etc, CHEAPER than as a whole bike from a LBS?
I think October-November-ish is the best time to buy. Why can’t companies simply start making more when they run out? Because they’re manufacturing and working the glitches out of next year’s stuff.
And this crap about large companies not having supply issues? Ha! Talk to any midwest Trek dealer this year and just watch how hard they laugh at you. Typically big companies guess right regarding demand… they have the resources to do so.
Not to mention that the tri market is uber-nichey and no one knows what is going to be THE product that every rider wants because even though they may have an awesome product, someone else may have the same thing except 5g lighter or slightly more adjustable. That can make the difference right there.
After all that, then you can blame shimano and the like.
as does the computer industry, the home entertainment industry, fresh fruits, and oil…huh…a trend? Supply and demand? Share holders wanting to see a profit? Sales high, inventory low? Hmmmmmm
Did I say anything about cheaper? But yeah, I’ll bet I could. I pay, on average, 30% less online for components (not frames) than I would if I purchased the same parts through my LBS.
The reality is planned lack of supply is one of the reasons that prices stay high. If all the companies delivered all the frames and components everyone wanted, competition would increase and next thing you know price becomes a bigger factor in the purchasing decision. LBS would have to discount to empty inventory and next thing you know prices fall like rocks. There are “planned shortages” in most consumer products that are non-necessities. It’s not just the consumer products area either, check out the prices on building supplies…