[Closed] down turn in bikes sales and spares

We are down to 2-3 bikes per day down from 5-15 per day during the TDF. Same goes for repairs. I am told that once the October pay hits peoples bank accounts then kids bikes will be flying off the shelf. I've not seen a "proper" MTB leave the shop doors for ages, loads of commuters and road bikes though.

I'm still riding all my old bikes because of wheel size bullshit, that's lost someone a couple of sales I reckon. And mostly keeping them going with other people's discards.

Hopefully people are realising that they don't need to keep buying the crap that bike companies are ramming down their throats to make them believe they'll ride better. It's all bollox. You'll have just as much fun on that 5 year old 26" bike. The only ones who benefit are the ****ing shareholders.

Northwind - Member

I'm still riding all my old bikes because of wheel size bullshit, that's lost someone a couple of sales I reckon

+ lots
All my mountain bikes + spare wheels & tyres are 26" another wheel size would just expand the already embarrassing collection of stuff.

You'll have just as much fun on that 5 year old 26" bike.

Had a day up LLandegla last Sunday on my 2004 enduro. Made me grin like a little kid. When it snaps I will get a new toy but until that day my faithful old spesh will do for me.

I'm surprised its taken this long but it was bound to happen. At best stable but often declining incomes, increased costs of living, x**s on the way, a wet and nasty winter forecast... Add to this the ridiculous prices of bikes with their associated components and clothing, the extremely short obsolescence cycles, plus the constantly changing wheel size and component standards and it its an inevitability.

Cycling has disappeared up its own chuff.

Funny what Northwind et al say, I think part of the reason I haven't replaced a MTB in years is the shifting standards.

(Spent the last week rebuilding my 1991 Clockwork. Cycles lovely).

I agree. I woudn't buy a modern bike; I'm quite happy with what I have.

+1 for all the marketing BS stopping people buying bikes. Have been looking for a new bike for my 40th and all the wheel size choices, drive chain choice, all the niche disciplines, 'standards' changes etc have just made it too difficult to pin the right bike down. Therefore I still go out on my 'old' bikes and have a great time.

Had a clear board in the workshop today by 1pm (this happens about twice a year).No outstanding repairs,no bikes to build for customers and no bikes to build for the shop floor.
Bliss 😀

+1 for being put off with all the new standards - esp wheelsize so am sticking with my 26 Soul for as long as I can keep it running.

On a macro level tho, people are skint - wages not rising and mortgage costs due to go up I suspect there's a lot of people pulling back on non-essential purchases. if Tesco and Sainsbury are having a hard time making a profit then clearly there;s not a lot of ££ in people's pockets

there's a lot of people pulling back on non-essential purchases

Hold on a minuite tiger... since when did a bike become "non-essential purchase"...!!!

I own 4 working bikes :-
10yr old Marin Mount Vision original QUAD link design.
5yr old Marin Wolf Ridge, QUAD II design
Boardman Hybrid commuter
Dolan L'Etape carbon road bike.

Also have a Mekk Potenza frame that is damaged & its going to be repaired & turned into my winter road bike.

Ive hardly ridden my MTB's this year, in fact its over a year since ive ridden the Mount Vision. The constant redefining of standards & the massive escalation in prices has left me feeling isolated from the MTB scene, I can't even be bothered to read my latest copy of Singletrack.

The accessories for MTB'ing leave me cold,the clothes are ridiculous colours and spares / upgrades are bonkers prices - even if they will fit on my bikes.
I last rode my Wolf Ridge at Cardinham Woods in Cornwall, had a great time & realised I don't need or want some big-wheeeled new bike to ride stuff - I already have far more bike than I can handle.

Hold on a minuite tiger... since when did a bike become "non-essential purchase"...!!!

I'll be keeping my current bikes until I can no longer cobble one good one together. Only then will I migrate to a 30" wheel.

Since the invention of the car?

I could just about live without a car. It would make things bloody difficult but it could be done. I couldn't and wouldn't live without a bike.

just built up a lovely 29er, rigid forks, stumpjumper frame of ebay, wheels off here and bits and bobs from my spares box and some new low end 9 speed stuff from CRC (chain and cassette) Chrimbo present for klunk junior. Rides lovely if it is a bit of a barge 🙂

[img] [/img]

I don't see the point of always buying new when you a cobble together some like this for just over £450

I wasnt really looking for people to slate the current vogues in mountain bike technology!!
As was really after comments from other folks that were in the trade ,a comparison of whos busy etc.

Thats a nice looking bike Klunk.

Does help those in the trade understand why sales are dropping though.

I wasnt really looking for people to slate the current vogues in mountain bike technology!!
As was really after comments from other folks that were in the trade ,a comparison of whos busy etc.

This is STW and any question will end up in folks slating new fangled wheel sizes.

Thats a nice looking bike Klunk.

thanks unfortunately it's to big for me 🙁

Does help those in the trade understand why sales are dropping though.

After reading on here about how one should support their LBS, I thought I would give it a go.

Turns out, my LBS must be doing just fine. As they were supposed to ring me yesterday, with dates/prices, and I never got a call.

Rang today just to chase up, and apparently they're shut on Thursdays.

[img] [/img]

29ers look like clown bikes unless they're XL, tapered headsets ain't much better. Why do I need to go to 1x10 and 27.5 wheels it's daft. If the standards hadn't changed I'd have probably changed my long travel 2008 steel hardtail by now so the manufacturers have shot themselves in the foot imo.

The uncertainty about about which wheel size will last is holding back my purchase and has been for a couple of years. 27.5 is the obvious choice for me but is it here to stay? And will the price of tyres etc. become more reasonable? In the mean time I'm wearing out my stock of everything 26" and selling the surplus silly cheap (as are many others) which must be taking some trade from shops.

My LBS (Cycle Addicts) is great, good servicing and tech support, shop rides etc. Unfortunately there isn't much I need nowadays.
Bikes will always go to him for servicing/repairs though.

Its not just the latest generation of bikes that arent selling though i.e 29ers or 650b.
im a secondhand dealer with lots of stuff in stock -just seems theres a downturn in trade and interest.

Echoing comments already posted, I've been waiting to replace my stolen FS for most of the year but have decided to play the 'wait and see' game instead.

I've dipped my toe in the water with a 650b hardtail but won't be spending serious money until next year really when things settle down... I want to see 11sp trickle down to SLX level stuff, I don't want to see 650b disappear as soon as it arrived if I spend money on one etc etc....

If Shimano can deliver 11sp 105 road groupsets for less than £300 where is the MTB equivalent?
I do think MTB-ers are seen as monied up cash cows by the industry at the moment and that puts me off spending serious money currently, nobody likes to feel they're having the p##s taken out of them but it kind of feels that way currently.

The brief cycling boom is over..
Saturation point has been reached

All the golfing types now have a mtb and road bike, all the hipster boys and girls have finished uni and accepted the gift of a car from mummy and daddy, and the povvo's who need to get to work cheaply have all bought a commuting bike..
The tour success picked up any stragglers..

Everyone who wants a bike now has one, and as cyclists, they are aware that buying the latest thing is a bent endeavour more suited to golfers and hipsters

Part of it is the constant special offers/discounts/clearances/10%-extra discount-because-the-day-has-a-Y-in-it that fill up my inbox daily. I simply won't buy anything new, hardware related, unless it's very,very, heavily discounted.

I keep a close eye on the classifieds and ebay - I picked up most of a barely used high end road groupset for about 40% less than the best online prices.

Clothing is slightly different, and I'm more likely to buy that from a bricks & mortar shop.

I've bought one complete, new, ready to ride bike in the last 20 years. The rest have all been custom builds I've done myself or frame swaps. Possibly not the greatest role model in that respect!

Bar wheel size, my bikes are all pretty much up to date - most of the new stuff *is* better than the old, but I'm just careful about how and where I spend my pennies.

It is also cold and wet.

Like I said above we shift a steady stream of road and commuters.
I think the thing about mountain bikes, for me anyway, is that there is no performance gained when spending the extra on a top end build. I could go faster on something expensive but I don't want to. My old enduro is more bike than I will ever need and is plenty quick enough for me. My road bike on the other hand is a different kettle of fish. The difference between a mid priced one and top end one is mahoosive when it comes to performance.

I not buying the wheel size standards debate entirely. I agree it puts some people off but not sure it skews the whole market. IT and home electronics have constantly changing standards and if anything it drives sales.

I reckon people are skint tbh. Be interested to hear from more in the trade though. Is the bike to work scheme still bringing in customers.

I also think people are sick of getting bikes nicked. A lot who bought in the Olympics boom will have experienced that joy, the shrug from the coppers and thought better of investing again.

For the first time in my life I don't have an N+1 bike. I have a full-susser, a summer roady, an in-betweener and a hack bike all of which I'm happy with. I sometimes look at SS or fatbikes but I'm a zillion miles away from getting the credit card out.

To the OP, it sounds like the market has gone through a period of considerable growth while the UK catches up with the rest of western Europe, but has now matured pure and simple.

We've been pretty dead for the last week or so, the month is looking OK though as the few bikes we have sold have contained a few spendy custom MTB builds and a posh road bike or two.

Most of our spend this year has been on upgrading Abigales ride replacing two accident damaged frames from our Alps trip, big up to Specialized for their advice and crash damaged frame help. Even with this, bits from the old build dont fit the new frames and so bits have had to be bought but overall we are happy with the outcome. Still sticking with the 26 inch wheels though as it makes sense to keep our bikes as much standardised as possible.

I read a few and lost interest so this may have been said but the weather's turned to sh*t and it's nearly Christmas. If people were going to buy a new bike they're probably going to wait until the new year as the old one won't even be getting a huge amount of use right now. Just be thankful for what I assume has been a great year so far.

I am not a big spender on bikes n bits anyway, but prices if bikes and lots of outdoor gear is frankly silly.

For £300 I can buy a BSO with cheap gears, barely damped forks and 13kg in weight, new from shop.
Or I can buy an 18 month old XT/SLX equipped ht with Rockshox fork second hand, that has brand new drive train and just serviced forks....

We are buying 90% of our gear second hand for this reason.

Is it not a case that people over the last few years have bought their "final bike", I'm still waiting to buy mine 18 months after I started looking. I'm now down to about 5 fully usable gears on by spesh fs (which is 5 years old) as the chain is so short. If I buy a new chain everything else will probably need replacing so I just keep cobbling it back together.

It did seem to slow up almost instantly mid September but seems to have lifted a little this last few weeks back to what we'd Normaly do this time of year. But I don't work in a high end shop relying on big ticket items.
As for shiny mtb often that's January February for us

do you think the lack of sales might have anything to do with your location in a small town in the staffs moorlands at all?

I've bought a 650b and 29er in the last 12 months !

I suspect flat sales have much more to do with a stagnating economy, stagnating wage packets and inflation and falling levels of private savings

The wheel size thing has put me off the idea of buying bikes or looking at reviews.

The industry gets what it deserves. Sorry.

Family and partner, 6 bikes between us, plus 3 sets of mud wheels. Can't get the tyres I want. Everything new and sexy has wheels just 6% or 12% bigger.

Bad enough frigging around with BBS and headsets, but three wheel diameter standards?

Northwind - Member
I'm still riding all my old bikes because of wheel size bullshit, that's lost someone a couple of sales I reckon

At work the wheel size issue is not a problem it's all about the road and hybrid bikes
And a lot of new People getting into the pastime just buy what ever is current and in front of them

It's stocking tyres that annoys me with having three sizes

Just received my new bike (well, frame, wheels, etc)

It's got bit wheels too.

I think the market has shifted and there is a slow down in the mtb market.
We have totally changed our shop and dropped a stack of mainstream brands (Kona/Lapierre/Bianchi)
but now moved towards more niche more accessories and a social aspect to he shop (coffee and cake on the way)
Our servicing side is down on summer but still strong and still bookings about three weeks in advance.
We would have had some strong sales in the past few weeks but we are waiting for stock (i hate the industry for doing this every year)

I think if more shops drop a lot of mainstream brands then these brands may wake up and treat the industry better. wont happen though

The bit i dont really get is why retailers arent feeding back to the manufacturers "its killing us having to stock all this different stuff, you're just promoting online sales"..... or is it just falling on deaf ears?

falling on deaf ears.

However i see a big shift happening soon

the retailers doing well have control over their own brands.

We are now getting our first own brand frames arriving this week so going to move in this direction.

One thing though
if the bike to work stops then Halfords, Evans, Wheelies, EB co op are all fek'd

DT78 - Member

It is also cold and wet.

Not here it's just wet, but was great fun last night doing 2 wheel drifts while pedaling up hill 😀

Do you record your week on week sales and workshop activity ?

In West Yorkshire sales appear to have been booming with 2 retailers opening new stores. Chevin Cycles now have 3 stores, All Terrain now have 2 and JD Cycles moved to bigger more expensive premises. So they obviously all still think the market is growing. You would hope they were not all short sited and expand just because of the TdF?

I've not seen a "proper" MTB leave the shop doors for ages

Does that just mean that MTB buyers are getting pissed off with all the changes forced on them ? Plus you can buy a nice road bike in the sales for £700. Nice full sussers are silly silly money

Reasons why I haven't bought a new MTB since 2005.

The prices are barmy. My bike cost £1300 back in '05. It would be double that now.

My wages haven't kept track with inflation, so blowing £2.5 on a "toy" isn't going to happen any time soon.

The wheel size thing shows that we are being scammed for every penny the bike companies can get... so sod them.

Must mean it's time to bring in disc brakes, thru axles and a new steerer standard on road bikes.

Well over 2 weeks to get my full susser booked in for bearings service so as usual in Surrey we live in another dimension of personnel financial standings. My LBS is as busy as ever.

I'm not sure it's just the bike industry if I'm honest.

I fit Kitchens and Bathrooms for a living as well as tiling. Whilst I'm OK for work, this time of year usually see's a mad rush of people wanting stuff done for Xmas, that's not really happened this year. The shop I sub for occasionally is high end and quiet as a mouse for new leads. The only market really moving is new build.

My guess is people are holding onto the cash a bit more a the minute, so I'm doing the same, in case of interest rate rises or whatever, which means I'm not buying shiny bike stuff. I've also noticed 2nd hand stuff is not selling as quick as it used to despite good pricing.

OP I am not in the trade however it seems possible that in mtb you maybe finding more and more people are buying direct - YT, canyon, commencal, on one etc. They have been getting their bikes in the mags and getting decent reviews and come out a lot cheaper relatively for spec.

The UK is in the recessionz.

Plus the Luddite public who don't want the biggars wheels init.

'I like .... big WHEELS but I can not buy'...

Can hardly shift my second hand stuff these days, been trying to pare down the mounting collection and claw back a few bob but it's a squeeze letting stuff go at way way below what you paid into it.

In West Yorkshire sales appear to have been booming with 2 retailers opening new stores. Chevin Cycles now have 3 stores, All Terrain now have 2 and JD Cycles moved to bigger more expensive premises. So they obviously all still think the market is growing. You would hope they were not all short sited and expand just because of the TdF?

I certainly hope not, although I can't say I've ever seen the new Chevin Cycles in Skipton with many people in it. It's not aimed at the likes of me, certainly. The new Ilkley shop seems to have much more of a buzz about it when I pop in, and I know which one I would expect to do better location-wise.

sprocker - Member
OP I am not in the trade however it seems possible that in mtb you maybe finding more and more people are buying direct - YT, canyon, commencal, on one etc. They have been getting their bikes in the mags and getting decent reviews and come out a lot cheaper relatively for spec.

Yes the German manufacturers direct sales model is proving very attractive, there are a couple of Canyons in my neck of the woods, fairly priced and good after sales service.

Out of my group of regular riders 50% of us have bought new bikes in the last 12 months. This is generally because we ride every week rain or shine in the Lakes and bikes wear out and break after a couple of years. You get maybe three or four years before the bike needs replacing but they go through spares and tyres pretty quick.

We have noticed that there are less people riding MTBs in our club and more have gone over to the dark side, I guess road bikes last longer than MTB's and require less maintenance. I am forever stripping my bike down and servicing it and its only 6 months old, just worn out a 1x11 speed drive train after 600 miles!!!

It's always quiet this time of year in a bike shop. The summer peak is over and Christmas is not for another two months. Come mid-November and sales of BSO will take off again. Same with accessories. I can still remember the sales graphs on the staff room wall at halfords. Always a big dip at this time of year.

MTB sales at the low end are down because of road bikes and ladies traditional bikes are in fashion right now. Just look at how many girls are out on bikes with massive baskets on the front!

OP I am not in the trade however it seems possible that in mtb you maybe finding more and more people are buying direct - YT, canyon, commencal, on one etc. They have been getting their bikes in the mags and getting decent reviews and come out a lot cheaper relatively for spec

I'd agree with this.
£5000+ for a top end Santa Cruz, Trek, Specialised etc or half that for a better spec'd bike with better reviews from YT or Canyon.
It's a no brainer.

Does help those in the trade understand why sales are dropping though.

Someone in the trade would be foolish to think that STW is representative of the bike buying public.

Of my riding group we swing from "spend 5k on a full sus" to "v-brakes are good, yeah?" And I'd wager none of them even know 650b is a thing, let alone think it would cause an issue if they bought one. Most people buy bikes and then ride them If they break they take them to the shop to get fixed. When I tell them I built my MTB from second hand parts bought online they think I'm some sort of bike maintenance guru. I am not.

Sales are slow because the weather is shit and it's not quite Xmas yet.

Why did I read this when I have my mouse pointer hovering over a 650b sized checkout button... 😥

When I can go out and buy a Heckler in great condition for £700 its hard to justify handing over the same money to a bike shop for a hardtail with a new wheel size, tektro brakes and a suntour fork.

Although Singletrack is not really representative of the wider market. Probably 2% of people that want a bike are comfortable buying S/H and working on their own bikes

So I don't think the STW massive's reluctance to buy new bikes is having a huge effect in distorting the market.

There's a lot of twaddle in this thread; bike sales are seasonal and we are now at the time of year when it's getting dark and wet. The economy is not stagnating; unemployment is down below 2 million (supposedly) and casual observation tells me the traffic is up to pre-crisis levels as it's taking me longer and longer to get to work and back. I know three blokes in their forties and fifties who are actively looking right now to buy their first road bikes after years of mountain biking and at least one of them plans to sell the mountain bike to help finance the new roadie. Two LBSs have told me that mountain bike sales have flatlined this summer while road bike sales have gone through the roof. I suspect that if you asked road specialists like Ribble, Harry Hall and Paul Hewitt you would find that they are doing okay. Meanwhile golf club memberships are falling (down 20% in Scotland) and formerly wealthy clubs like Ilkley are closing due to falling membership against rising costs.

Meanwhile golf club memberships are falling (down 20% in Scotland) and formerly wealthy clubs like Ilkley are closing due to falling membership against rising costs.

So cycling really is the new golf

globalti - Member

The economy is not stagnating; unemployment is down below 2 million (supposedly) and casual observation tells me the traffic is up to pre-crisis levels as it's taking me longer and longer to get to work and back.

Yeah, but pay fell in real terms and isn't recovering at all, underemployment's still massive, generally speaking there are less pounds in pockets.

Flared head-tubes are putting me off spending too.

All my bikes/forks are 1 1/8th - eventually I'll have to change, but for now I'll keep my old bikes trundling along.

I don't know about the wheel size thing, I think this place is a bit of an echo chamber with stuff like that. When most customers walk into Evans etc. there's 29 and 650b to choose from and, well, that's it really. The fact that a few years ago it would've just been 26 is irrelevant.

I'm not in the industry but I suspect it's just a combination of general belt-tightening and inevitable ups and downs in popularity of every sport.

FWIW, I'm holding off on a new road bike until there's good supply of & user feedback on the Shimano hydraulic road disks (?R875), then it's a toss up between getting a good price on a Specialized at the lbs or a canyon/rose/cube direct supply.

I agree with a lot of what has been written above about people generally having less money spare, being a little less frivolous and also concerns about which wheels size with stay.

But also, is there a bit of "marginal gains" at play here? There hasn't been a real game changing upgrade recently to force peoples wallets. Suspension design has settled, 11 speed isn't here, shock technology is slowly improving but not hugely, electronic shifting is talking about but not arrived yet. So it feels like a new bike won't bring anything new to the party, certainly not enough to justify a couple of £K.

I must admit the change in wheel sizes really ****ed me off. XC is big in the US and products are driven state-side so anything 'big'/new seems to happen there first then the Journo's over here seem to buy into and tell us consumers to buy. I wonder (in part) if consumers are holding off/disullussioned but also there was a surge to buy 29'er products so people aren't looking for new kit yet?

[b]More likely- not enough people who can buy 5k builds 0% or not. Prices seem to be creeping up generally. Decent frames now are routinely £1700+ aren't they? Who can afford to buy and change bikes every year? [/b]

Kryton57 - Member

Why did I read this when I have my mouse pointer hovering over a 650b sized checkout button...

I thought you had made a decision?

Kryton57 - Member
Why did I read this when I have my mouse pointer hovering over a 650b sized checkout button...

You posted a subject on it- obviously unsure and wondering opinion. I'll tell you this- god its ugly. It aint boutique in the slightest either. Its mainstream. It might ride good but it just looks like a mainstream bit of kit like a spesh.

I'd being looking at way more bikes IMO.

Mister P - Member
Kryton57 - Member
Why did I read this when I have my mouse pointer hovering over a 650b sized checkout button...
I thought you had made a decision?

I have. I messed up the checkout procedure on Wednesday, and literally was about to do it this morning, until I read this. I'm worried now about the 650b fad issue. Sigh... Maybe I should wait 'til next year.

hora - Member
Kryton57 - Member
Why did I read this when I have my mouse pointer hovering over a 650b sized checkout button...
You posted a subject on it- obviously unsure and wondering opinion. I'll tell you this- god its ugly. It aint boutique in the slightest either. Its mainstream. It might ride good but it just looks like a mainstream bit of kit like a spesh.

I'd being looking at way more bikes IMO.

Thats the most bullshit argument for not qualifying a bike as "good". Do you want to tell Kittell, Cav, Abslaon, Shurter etc their mainstream brands are shit?

I didn't want something "special" that looks good or with a name on it, I wanted something to meet a brief, which it does. When I've decided that brief is over I reserve the right to change my bike.

I'd say you'd be more the fool for glamorising your bike purchase and throwing your money away over a much more mediocre set of requirements tbh.