• This topic has 31 replies, 27 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by Leku.
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  • Buying a bike is difficult these days. A Rant.
  • Superficial
    Free Member

    What happened to just buying a bike? I mean paying your money and either taking it home from the shop or waiting a few days for delivery. Over the past few weeks I’ve come round to the idea that I need a new mountain bike – I’ve even worked out basically what I want. The only problem is that I don’t seem to be able to get a bike on a reasonable timescale.

    YT Capra – order now, get it in December. Three months.
    Canyon Strive – the one I (and presumably everyone else) would like isn’t available until April 2015! If I compromise on spec I can have one as early as January.
    Spectral – might be available in November but not if you want the carbon one
    Giant Trance SX – may be available from November although the LBS apparently can’t give me a solid date.
    Spesh Stumpy FSR Evo – all pre-ordered and maybe not available at all for 2015.

    It’s driving me nuts. We’re conditioned to getting everything immediately these days yet the bike industry seems to have gone back to 1974. This is mainly a rant, and I will appreciate any helpful soothing comments. What’s a MTBer to do?

    CaptainFlashheart
    Free Member

    Giant Trance SX – may be available from November although the LBS apparently can’t give me a solid date.

    Available from Giant stock, and in store in many places already. Looks a cracker, and am pondering getting one on demo soon. I think your LBS may just have not ordered any, which makes them fools!*

    *They may have just decided it wasn’t a bike they wanted to stock, though!

    Also, “spec” isn’t everything. Far from it.

    funkmasterp
    Full Member

    Go niche? Get something in steel with 26″ wheels. The trails will feel like inanimate corpses, but at least you’ll have a bike quickly.

    Clink
    Full Member

    You are lucky. All the bikes I’m interested (like 2015 Trek Superfly ss) are not even available in the UK at all. 🙁

    northernmatt
    Full Member

    I want a dark side Giant Defy 0. Got to wait until January at the earliest.

    Sancho
    Free Member

    you should try selling them

    We are reducing drastically the bikes we stock in the shop and going more servicing, accessories, spares, kit and coffee and cake a more social spot.

    wiggles
    Free Member

    They are 2015 bikes so…

    tomhoward
    Full Member

    I walked into a specialized concept store on Saturday, looked at a 2015 fatboy pro, chatted to the assistant manager, discussed a deal. Went away, had a think about it. Went back on Sunday, paid for it, it was pdi’d while I waited, then I rode it home, a happy chap.

    As others have said, September is the model year transition period, bikes are announced, but not released/shipped, shops start to sell off last ‘years’ stock so there’s not too much about. Give till after Xmas and you should have much more choice.

    *the above said, the 2 bikes before that, one was ordered in February, delivered at the end of March. Next one, ordered April, arrived end of May….

    Superficial
    Free Member

    In my day, the next year’s bikes would be out and available in the shops from around early Sept.

    Spec isn’t everything of course. But the Capra and recent Canyons are getting great reviews – the frame detail and construction now seem to be on a par with anything else including the ’boutique’ brands. Also I don’t really want to go backwards and get a bike that’s heavier than what I’ve got. If I took £3.5k to a local bike shop (and they actually had a bike they could sell me!) I’d come out with something heavy ish with depressingly mid-range spec. Want XTR? That’ll be £6000, sir.

    I want a dark side Giant Defy 0. Got to wait until January at the earliest.

    As it happens I have a Defy 0. It’s great and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it – at the time (2013), I plumped for the zero because I liked the colour better than that year’s Defy 1. On a purely VFM viewpoint there’s not much point waiting for the zero IMO though.

    francob80
    Free Member

    Have had to wait 3 weeks from point of order for my Mondraker, arrives tomorrow. Happy days 😀

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    My last frame arrived within the week and was built within 3 days-santa cruz and Australia though

    6079smithw
    Free Member

    Buy a Rose then, they’re in stock, 2014 models on sale

    hora
    Free Member

    Wow. Theres me happily riding along on a 2010 Santa Cruz. Want! Want! Want! 😉

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    You could always get a Cotic Rocket…

    chakaping
    Free Member

    It’s driving me nuts.

    I hope this is the biggest of your worries in life.

    Just choose the bike you want, order, wait and then enjoy.

    Three months is not at all unreasonable for a bike as well specced and popular as the YT, for example.

    muddy9mtb
    Full Member

    end of season stock clearances? bargains galore
    unless your after a size thats very popular or obscure
    http://www.rutlandcycling.com/165936/products/lapierre-zesty-am-427-2014-mountain-bike.aspx

    Del
    Full Member

    My last frame arrived within the week and was built within 3 days-santa cruz and Australia though

    my last frame, also a SC, took two and a half months. 😉

    ndthornton
    Free Member

    Build your own from Ebay and CRC

    Much more exciting (lots of parcels arriving instead of just one)
    get exactly what you want and not have to start changing stuff straight away
    Can be cheaper if you buy none consumables second hand
    …and quicker from what you’re saying

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    Perhaps the issue is that your looking at either European VFM Mail order outfits like YT and Canyon (who are probably getting log jammed with orders ahead of christmas now?) or the higher price point models from the major Marques (Giant, Specialized, etc)…

    You can have a bike tomorrow but really you have to be either buying “Old” overstocked 2014 models, or go to the cheaper end of the market where it’s a bit more “stack em high sell em cheap” of course that’s not what you’re after is it OP…

    Build your own from Ebay and CRC

    Much more exciting (lots of parcels arriving instead of just one)
    get exactly what you want and not have to start changing stuff straight away
    Can be cheaper if you buy none consumables second hand
    …and quicker from what you’re saying

    ^^This^^

    rocketman
    Free Member

    What’s a MTBer to do?

    Get something that’s actually in stock?

    It’s just a bicycle and in 12-18 months you’ll have coated it in superglue and ridden it through Chain Reaction and it’ll have cost you £1000s and be worth a few £100

    stilltortoise
    Free Member

    What’s a MTBer to do?

    You could try buying a bike that is in stock and that you could ride home tomorrow, rather than ordering one with a long lead time then moaning because you want it NOW.

    Happy to help 😀

    [EDIT – beaten to it by Rocketman]

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Build your own from Ebay and CRC

    I have to agree with this too, built my latest bike – a well specced long travel 29er – for about half what you’re looking at spending.

    If you’re after 650b, I saw new Saracen Ariel frames at £800 on eBay recently.

    And I’d get a Pike from Alltricks.

    bruk
    Full Member

    Just bought a bike for the wife. Low end hardtail but it was hard finding bike shops with suitable sizes to try. At 5′ 2 she looked so funny on the 29er Specialised she did try.

    Have bought a Whyte Compact 604. Had it in stock in warehouse so few days to get it delivered to shop and pdi done. Hopefully pick up tomorrow. If not had it in stock next shipment was November however and we would have gone elsewhere.

    Not best time of year to find a new bike I think

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    I’m in a tricky situation with the bikes I’m after- a hardtail and a cross bike. Neither are in stock, and won’t be until mid october.But the shop are saying that they have loads of pre orders and if I don’t pre order I might not get one. But I don’t want to order til I’ve seen them. But I can’t see them if I don’t pre order.

    Gah.

    tomhoward
    Full Member

    My last frame arrived within the week and was built within 3 days-santa cruz and Australia though

    my last frame, also a SC, took two and a half months.

    The 2 bikes I’m refering to are both SC’s…

    cubist
    Free Member

    Build your own from Ebay and CRC

    Much more exciting (lots of parcels arriving instead of just one)

    With added excitement when you take into account whether what you ordered is actually what you needed, whether the courier delivers it to your house when you are in or whether the Ebay sellers description of ‘perfect condition’ actually means slightly buckled and useless.

    AlexSimon
    Full Member

    I agree that it’s become a pain.
    The main problem is getting to ride something and then being able to buy it.
    Many companies start selling way before the bikes exist which means you’ve got to buy on faith.

    By the time you get to ride, they are out of stock for 3+ months!

    ultimateweevil
    Free Member

    3 months is nothing to wait for a bike if it’s the one you really want. At the end of the day you’ll be happier if you wait rather than settle for something as a compromise as you’ll end up spending more money longer term.

    Just ride your current bike while you wait 🙂

    Superficial
    Free Member

    Just ride your current bike while you wait

    Which one? 🙄

    Yeah, I know. First world problems. It just seems that the industry has changed a lot (and not for the better) since the last time I bought a new bike.

    ultimateweevil
    Free Member

    Well you are looking at the most popular flavour of the month bikes and they can only make so many at a time and the UK isn’t their main market.

    AdeC
    Free Member

    Ordered a Canyon Strive on 2nd July…and it wont be delivered until mid-November. But that’s fine, it took me 3 months to decide what pedals i need for it.

    Leku
    Free Member

    It could be worst – you could be after a Cotic Rocket..

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