edit: double posted. oops.

Trek do still sell frames in the US, there's just not the market in the UK.

They do the Elite 9.9SSL and the Fuel Ex 9.9, just not the Top Fuel 9.9. I'd have thought there was more call for the race bike as a frame than the trail bike personally. But there we go!

Specialized stopped doing frames last year, but have reintroduced some for 2010. I think generally now complete bikes are such good value and so many bikes have proprietary forks/chainsets/shocks etc it's a lot harder to justify selling frames only.

just my two pence worth…

as a consumer, buying mail order leaves you completely high and dry should you have any warranty problems. Far better to support your local bike shop, safe in the knowledge that IF something goes wrong you've not got to worry about getting the bike back to where you bought the bike from. For me, that's worth paying RRP for.

as a bike shop, the benefits are massive. A more loyal customerbase less driven by price. Their margins are no longer threatened by constantly striving to price-match the mail-order big boys with big buying power; thus ensuring they're still in business years down the line when you want to nip down you lbs to grab some tubes, or just mooch about and look at shiney things while the missus is looking at shoes

yes, but rutland is a bike shop (several actualy), you can walk in and buy stuff at web prices, and the workshop is top notch too, even if there is a week long waiting list for them to fix punctures and fix bike shaped objects form ASDA.

Whether we like it or not, the internet has revolutionised the way we shop. The free market to which we abide encourages entrepreneurship(sp?!) and rightly so. If a bike shop needs the custom enough to cut his margins, then he should be free to. Alternatively, he may wish to operate the quantity of sales opposed to the quality (profit). LBS will always do business for repairs, spares etc. I work hard for my money and want to keep as much for me as I can. Theres no chance in hell I would buy a trek at full RRP when I could get a Specialized at a discount online getting more for my money. That would be daft.

I havn't read the whole thread so please excuse me if this has already been said.

I have maintained for many years that there is blantant price fixing in the UK on the sale of big brand bikes. I was almost told as much when I asked a large bike shop in Edinburgh (have a guess) if £1500 was the most competitive price they could do on my Stumpy, I was told that the distibutor will 'go mad' if they sell it for any less. A quick google at the time showed prices across the UK varied by about £1.

I don't fully understand Treks rationale behind their collection only policy, but I'm sure it has more to do with uniform pricing than anything else. I can't see for a second how it benefits the consumer.

I don't believe anyone actually buys the health & safety tosh as a reason for not supplying them mail order – not without crossing their fingers behind their back anyway

wrote a rather lengthy reply but basically you lot have price blinkers on

I used to work outwith a trek stocking bike shop and recieved alot of bikes with warrenty issues supplied mailorder from the likes of scott scales supplied mail order( the customer openly admits this) and things have broken both through them and through genuine warrenty issues) So being a scott dealer i was obliged to sort these problems – one of the reasons i stopped dealing with scott – i recieved no back up for this work at all and it wasnt chargeable to the customer.

I now work for a trek dealer and surprise surprise i dont have to deal with shite assembled by hamfisted monkeys who strip nuts , put forks on backwards , have there brakes set up badly and whos stop screws are all to pot then use the excuse …"all i had to do accordign to the website was turn the bars and put the front wheel and pedals on". VERY FEW if not none of the companys ive ever had the pleasure of assembling mail order bikes from – including amongst others pauls , all terrain , crc and evans come in boxes that have been opened since they left the supplier and no bike comes ready to ride from the supplier with just the bars to turn and the wheel and pedals to fit ….

Good move from trek – and i have no money invested in any bike shop and i have no commission to be gained from selling any brand at all. Other than merida cause they are great and ensured my own personal race bike was tip top 😉

as for having killed the end of season sale – load of tosh . I currently have and have had alot of stock on end of season clearance – with hefty discounts. All it does is stops price shagging , i realise your all out to get deals but if the shops making no money cause you are screwing them to the ground then they wont be there for long and any warrenty you want dealing with by a REAL person wont be availible.

Be careful what you wish for thats all im saying

Although i agree trade prices are very high compared to other industries …. outdoor clothing for example – too many middle men. Cut the uk distributor and just have one central europe hub for europe – the states manage to mostly have just 1 !

….I've decided to go to scotland to collect it – interesting conversation though..

What Terry said, he's spot on. Too many people out there whinging because Trek have done something to protect their dealers. Smart move I reckon.

"Other than merida cause they are great and ensured my own personal race bike was tip top "

Wasn't it bent?

😉

1 central hub for all european sales…. like cannondale…. you sure that is a good idea?

What Terry said, he's spot on. Too many people out there whinging because Trek have done something to protect their dealers. Smart move I reckon.

That's fine as far as I'm concerned but why don't Trek come out & say that instead of wrapping it up in all that "it's for your own good" " we're saving you from yourself" health & safety BS?

It OK to buy a chainsaw mail order but according to Trek a push bike is a step too far

njee20 – Member
Wiggle don't do any of the mainstream bike brands, sell their equipment, but not the bikes.

They sell Kona, Rocky mountain, Gt and thats just on Hard tails or are they not mianstream brands any more?

VERY FEW if not none of the companys ive ever had the pleasure of assembling mail order bikes from – including amongst others pauls , all terrain , crc and evans come in boxes that have been opened since they left the supplier and no bike comes ready to ride from the supplier with just the bars to turn and the wheel and pedals to fit ….

I can confirm that bikes from wiggle have been assembled and out of the original box.

It OK to buy a chainsaw mail order but according to Trek a push bike is a step too far

last time i looked chainsaws didn't come as a kit of parts.

last time i looked chainsaws didn't come as a kit of parts.

No & the last Trek I got didn't either
Front wheel on, handle bars on & that was me riding a death trap 😉

Anyway, Trek have banned the dealer from sending them in any state via a courier [even built up] the big dealers have simply started using their own vans so the smaller ones are even less likely to be able to compete now

As I say, they can do what they want – but it would be nice if they were publicly honest about their motives.

i have no money invested in any bike shop and i have no commission to be gained from selling any brand at all

I currently have and have had alot of stock on end of season clearance

Have I missed something? Do you have a bike shop or not?
This warranty/H&S angle is total total crap. It's price fixing.
Trek are protecting their dealers profits. Nothing wrong with that, but be honest about it. The only loser in this will be the consumer. Does anyone disagree with that?
Good job you edited that lengthy reply, eh Trail rat? 😀

I work hard for my money and want to keep as much for me as I can.

Nice… I am glad not everyone thinks like you…

Juan, why???? What is your problem?
When entering into a commercial agreement with another party who is attempting to make as much profit as possible, I will endeavor to get the best deal. What could possibly be wrong with that?

To be honest, it doesn't really matter, because (speaking as a trek dealer) they're ludicrously overpriced compared to a lot of their competition next year anyway.

What could possibly be wrong with that?

End of LBS… SO when only CRC and Wiggle will sell bike stuff and will decide to double their profit what are you going to do?

More generaly your attitude is pure capitalism. And I just despise that. Next time you are sick go to a private institute rather than the NHS and check how much is going to cost you. Now if everyone do like you 'my money is mine and only mine and I refuse to pay taxes for the NHS/school/firebrigade etc etc with it' do you really think you are going to be better off…

Juan, yesterday

😉

Bit early to be drinking, isn't it Juan? 😆
WTF has this got to do with buying commercial products? Do you think that LBS' are charities? Your political opinions are yours but we are not socialists and we are capitalists. That is life I'm afraid, however there are still some demi-socialist countries around which you are welcome to inhabit. Edit; may I recommend North Korea?

There's no official mention of price barriers so it sounds just like a move to protect dealers to me, and I'm all for it.

There doesn't seem to be any reason why 2 dealers can't compete on price, does there? Of course, they might have to be located near each other to make that viable.

Have I missed something? Do you have a bike shop or not?
This warranty/H&S angle is total total crap. It's price fixing.

Actually it's not, if I say, for example, I correctly assemble a mail order bike and it has a problem, say a part failure, I can be held responsible for it, even for the cost of replacing parts I did not supply. That is FACT as they say.

I now point blank refuse to work on new mail order bikes, the vast majority I see are BSO's anyhow. I'm not sure I agree with the policy of collection only though, if you wish to buy a bike mail order you should be free to do so. Some people are more than capable of assembling their own bike so should be given the choice of how they want to buy.

I see your point ziggy, but I know that some shops will look at a bike that they've supplied gone wrong and say "you've messed with this mate, it didn't leave here like that".
What would people think if nothing was available to buy on tinterwebnet, no flights, no clothes, no cars, no bikes or parts etc. We would all be paying full RRP for the same items and be slaves to our LBS' again. Would this be welcomed? I suppose it depends how good/fair your LBS is.

It's a thinly disguised price fixing/market manipulation policy conveniently justified as a health & safety measure

Bollocks. What trail_rat says.

Some people are more than capable of assembling their own bike so should be given the choice of how they want to buy.

But generaly speaking most are not backhander. Do not work in a shop but do some cycle skills training and some of the mail order stuff I see is just frightening