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I could see a massive market for this, get a top of the range AXS megatower with carbon everything, for £1000 down and £200 a month for 2 years, then at the end, give it back and get a brand new one
Same as how many people buy cars.
Maybe not immediately, but I reckon wheel sizes will come full circle. Give it 5 years:
"The New 559 wheel size is stronger, stiffer, lighter and more manoeuvrable than 29er making for a more engaging, exciting ride. Better spoke triangulation and reduced mass makes improves the mobility if the ride, giving more pop and less drop".
All hail the return of 26"!!!
I should work in marketing...
I’m sure it could work: “Shop” buys bike at trade price, leases it to you for 2 years and covers the trade price so making an absolute loss is unlikely. Chuck’s a new set of bearings in it, chain and cassette etc and sells it on again. Probably recoups half the new price as profit?
could work for sure, but I do wonder about the costs/viability of it.
, but the level of depreciation and damage means what is the value of the bike after 2-3 years? I dont see it being hugely profitable.
"new set of bearings in it, chain and cassette etc" is actually:
New drivetrain
Suspension service icl. new bearings
Wheel trueing
Brake bleed + new pads
New contact points if they are a bit ratty
New tyres if they look worn - half gone maybe?
Thats say 2-300 pounds at least in parts even at dealer cost* for a fox and eagle'd Santa Cruz, plus multiple hours of labour, to sell a £1500-£2000 bike. Plus they need to store, display and advertise all of these bikes.
*PLus they are potentially losing the revenue of the private second hand buyer coming in to buy parts and servicing at RRP.
The customer of the second hand bike needs to be considered - they are getting a fully assembled and serviced, but 2 year out of date high end bike, at likeley a price higher than if they did it themselves. And going against everything they've read on Pinkbike about the new version being faster and stiffer.
Cheap ebikes. They seem for the sum of the cost of the parts to be very expensive but maybe they break more often so they need more of an overhead.
The customer of the second hand bike needs to be considered – they are getting a fully assembled and serviced, but 2 year out of date high end bike, at likeley a price higher than if they did it themselves. And going against everything they’ve read on Pinkbike about the new version being faster and stiffer.
True, but most models are on a ~4 year cycle, so most of the time it will still be the current model, but half-ish price.
Mostly 2nd hand bikes are ~ 50% of the new value. I don't think shops would struggle to sell them on for a little more given they would be in generally better condition than a private sale.
It depends a little on whether you view it as taking sales away from lower end bikes or not. Both the 1st and 2nd owner are probably in the market for a ~£2.5k bike and actually buying a £5k bike, just one is more comfortable with the finance model and the other still like to pay with their own cash. But do they then sell more bikes because you bring in more people because they're getting much better bikes for £2.5k.
There's also a very good argument that once you get through the marketing bull**** bikes have't really changed in 10+ years.
Medium specialized Enduro SL (2010ish) had 446mm reach, 66deg head angle, etc.
Medium Specialized Stumpjumper 2020, has 435mm reach, 65.5deg head angle
Incoming: chainrings with a freehub that prevent pedal kickback.
Already starting to appear…
I saw those, seems arse about face, effectively a damper that absorbs the high frequency stuff and transmits the low frequency pedaling. Would something like a free coasting freehub not work better, rather than rotating on one direction like a pawl freehub they only work when torque is applied in one direction, so you could pedal, but if the back wheel was spun backwards it wouldn't engage? Only problem would be that any drag would tend to throw the chain off the cassette unless you had really stiff derailleur springs to maintain tension.
Suppose it could work with some combination of high/forward pivot, low chainline gearbox, so pedaling pulls the suspension down but you wouldn't get the kickback.
“Shop” buys bike at trade price, leases it to you for 2 years and covers the trade price so making an absolute loss is unlikely. Chuck’s a new set of bearings in it, chain and cassette etc and sells it on again. Probably recoups half the new price as profit?
Having to provide a warranty on a half knackered bike would make it not worthwhile. If the bearings, chain, and cassette are worn out, then the dropper post, forks, shock, brakes, etc will probably need work or else the customer will be back every week demanding free repairs.
I can see leasing on a road bike by not a mountain bike. A mountain bike operates in a harsh enviroment. As above just to much can wear out
A posh carbon road bike with a say drive train swap really could be good for 3 more years