You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Took a mate to Leisure Lakes Daventry on the weekend as he wants to get into cycling. Blimey that was depressing - the shop was pretty much empty, only a few bikes left and pretty much no customers. To make it worse it looked like a bomb had hit the place and the coffee machine was not working.
Anyone know where my mate can get himself a touring / gravel type road bike in a XL / 58-60 size. He is very tall, and online I cant see anything. LBS seem to have sold out of everything. Anyone got anything they want to sell, or advice ?
Planet x seem to have stock! Or at least I get an email every day to tell me they do!
Welcome to the Covid summer.
My mate had a very similar thing and struggled to find anything. In the end he got a Spec Diverge from Sigma Sports, it's a 2021 model due in next week.
How about this from CRC, https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitus-substance-srs-2-adventure-road-bike-2020/rp-prod185482
This from LL, https://www.leisurelakesbikes.com/352460/products/cube-attain-sl-road-bike-2021-greyblack.aspx
Or indeed this from Merlin, https://www.merlincycles.com/merlin-malt-g2x-grx-gravel-bike-2021-197443.html
This is very nice for the money:
https://www.paulscycles.co.uk/5778/products/ns-rag-2-gravel-adventure-bike-2021-navy.aspx
Spa Cycles Elan.
Have all sizes including 60 cm. He could try before he buys too.
It's got a nice Reynolds 725 frame, carbon fork and discs. Full rack mounts. Customisable including a dynamo hub at little expense.
https://spacycles.co.uk/m1b0s223p3552/SPA-CYCLES-Elan-725-%28105-10spd-cable-disc%29
Why has there been such a shortage? Do bike manufacturers make all 2020 models before the start of the year and then move onto 2021 models. Meaning there just aren't any more 2020 models around?
Maybe something to do with a global pandemic and transport shutting down??
Maybe something to do with a global pandemic and transport shutting down??
Yes I get there has been a surge in demand, and lockdowns etc earlier in the year, but why has the stock not been replenished? Large parts of the world are back to normal working, no?
I put a post on here about a month into lockdown, asking for my mate who wanted to spend about a grand on a decent Hybrid. Of the top ten recommendations, there wasn't a single one in stock in his frame size in the entire country. No-one was expecting any stock in before the end of August at the earliest.
Its going to be great in a couple of months when they're all on ebay, having been used twice 😀
I would try another dealer but maybe start online first it is certainly not as bad as a few months ago.
All 2020 bikes have been made (last year) and sold. The bike industry releases the next product year, in this case 2021, in August or September this year. It's been that way for as long as I can remember.
I called in at my LBS this week for a chat. Products that should be being released now are delayed, due to covid, with some of it not expected until next March at the earliest. It's really not a good time for many LBS, they have a client base wanting to buy new bikes, new parts, new kit, but they can't get it from distributors.
It's also very patchy availability of some things. Complete groupsets for instance are missing certain components, but not the same components across the range. With Shimano also making mix and match virtually impossible across the groupsets, in particular road sets, each series having to match all of it's components, it's tough for a LBS to service customers.
@trailwagger
Containers and container shipping is a slow process
Also the switch over to 2021 bikes and production hiatus early in 2020 is the most probable reason for no bikes. Lots of countries turned to ventilator production and medical supplies even in specialist factories. Essentially bikes are not priority for many
The supply chain has got leaner in the last decade, no-one wants to end up with a load of stock at the end of the year or get shafted by currency rates like in 2008/9 (remember when Shimano stuff went up 30% overnight?). They tend to do a few shipments through the year so they can adjust numbers if needed but when a mate bought a Trek last year the next batch in his size was sold out, he had to wait for the one after.
Cycling here was having a bit of a slump before Covid, the boom years after the Olympics/TdF successes over so I don’t think the brands were expecting big demand.
Covid hits, the Taiwan factories shut down right when they’re making the bulk of 2020 season stock, shipping is slowed to a crawl, and everyone wants a bike right now. Shops sell out of all they’ve got and they’re stuck till more shipments come in.
Partly it's a result of the government stating that you could cycle during the lockdown so most of the lower end stuff got snapped up by people "taking up cycling". But also the number of bikes being imported into the UK has dropped by about a million over the previous couple of years. About this time last year I was talking to the manager of one of the LBSs around here and he related a tale of a customer wanting a particular bike in a particular size (and wanting a discount). His response was that according to the B2B site not even the distributor had one left or in fact any of that particular model.
So we imported fewer, more people went out and bought what was imported, big disruption to both manufacturing and supply chain, other countries would also be trying to snap up what has been produced.
As binners says: as soon as people need to pay for their hangover in Ibiza there'll be lots on ebay, etc.
I was looking for a new bike for my daughter and was told that the next batch of Cujo 24s was due May 2023!
Its going to be great in a couple of months when they’re all on ebay, having been used twice 😀
You can see it starting already...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cube-Gravel-Bike/124309528447?hash=item1cf16cdf7f:g:afYAAOSwJF1fQpd4
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cube-Gravel-Bike/124309528447?hash=item1cf16cdf7f:g:afYAAOSwJF1fQpd4/blockquote >That BIN pricing seems somewhat optimistic for a £1300 bike...
Covid hits, the Taiwan factories shut down right when they’re making the bulk of 2020 season stock, shipping is slowed to a crawl, and everyone wants a bike right now. Shops sell out of all they’ve got and they’re stuck till more shipments come in.
They didn't shut down at all. Infact they were asking for work. What happened was some bike co's panicked and cancelled everything. Then furloughed everyone, then tried to reorder 3 months down the line and were told the lead time has tripled (Yes lead times are 3+ x longer than normal in some cases).
Edit: and shipping is generally still fine, give or take a week, which in global shipping terms is still fine. On the other hand if you want budget shimano coming out of Malaysia... That did shut down and is all messed up still. So it depends where your stuff is made, but expect that high end should have minimal disruption if the manufacturer didn't panic, but the cheaper stuff will be pretty patchy. If you want a kids bike for christmas I would start looking now.
LLBs - not the treasure trove it once was bitd
depressing place at best of times pmsl
That BIN pricing seems somewhat optimistic for a £1300 bike…
Haha, aye he's probably thinking "I'm including pedals, locks, a bike cover and free some Tredz tools"... whilst neglecting the fact it's now a 2nd hand bike.