Brexit isn’t even registering, yet. The biggest factors (imo) are the second hand market, which is massive and direct sales.

It blatantly is. The reduction in GBP value has increased the cost of and/or reduced the specs on new bikes.

The reduction in GBP value has increased the cost of and/or reduced the specs on new bikes.

Or people are getting cheesed off with all the different standards and the fact that a good bike now costs many £1,000’s. Yes the pound has made things more expensive but bikes have inflated way more than effects of the pound

Has anyone got figures for bike sales up to and since 2012? I suspect that sales boomed then and have been steadily dropping since.

If someone gets bored they could look at the CONEBI stats, but from this article:

2005: 3.9m
2010: 3.6m
2013: 3.4m
2014: 3.6m
2016: 3.5m
2017: 2.5m

That big a change, in one year?

The stats show that the average price of a bicycle in the UK is just €345, or £253.42. Last year that was £233 and in 2011 was £242.

The biggest factors (imo) are the second hand market,

Yet in every thread asking for second hand valuations loads of people pipe up with 0% finance has killed the second hand market. Can’t be both.

As for Brexit…. I bought a new HT and FS in the last 18 months as I noticed prices were creeping up on the 2017 model year bikes and guessed it would only get worse (It has!). Both end of season discounted, both significantly cheaper than the current version and I intend to keep them both for a fair few years so Brexit has defo taken me out of the new bike market. Imagine they’ll be plenty of others like me.

You’re confusing this forum, the 0.1% of cyclists with the general population

2005: 3.9m
2010: 3.6m
2013: 3.4m
2014: 3.6m
2016: 3.5m
2017: 2.5m

That big a change, in one year?

Thanks Ben. I’m happy to admit I’m wrong. 🙂

I honestly think that there are two separate but clearly related issues here: the cost of bikes and the changes to how we buy them.

I don’t think anyone would argue that bikes and bike parts have not noticeably increased in price over the last 12 months and, undoubtedly this has had an affect on sales, but I would argue that the biggest impact this has had is to force users, perhaps for the first time, to start buying full bikes rather than just components online, rather than in the LBS.

Yes, I know that people here will say that they’ve been buying bikes online for years (my first was from Merlin back in the early 90s, mail order and I drove to Ormskirk to pick it up!) but the big change is that it has become mainstream. Factor in direct sales, where the smaller manufacturers have decided to preserve their margins by cutting out that of the middleman and, once again, the LBS is squeezed. And they can forget about any component sales as there’s no way they’d be able to compete with the big boys here.

What does this leave? Clothes? Well, yes perhaps, but personally I find that with only a few exceptions, most shops simply don’t stock enough – either in range or sizes – and personally, I find it easier to order a range of sizes and try them on at home, rather than go through the “I’m sorry, we don’t have that size in stock” routine.

Personally, I think that the current LBS model is screwed and, much as I’d love to run my own shop, you’d need to be certified insane to actually do it!

Or people are getting cheesed off with all the different standards and the fact that a good bike now costs many £1,000’s. Yes the pound has made things more expensive but bikes have inflated way more than effects of the pound

Very much this as well!

Did I mention I haven’t had a pay rise in 7 years? That’s why I can’t afford a new bike!

No direct proof, but I think the price of bikes has jumped up massively compared to stagnated wages. This is probably true of other goods as well. I bought a top of the range santa cruz in 2009 xtr and everything for £3.7k. Sine 2009 my wages have hardly risen but now an equivalent bike is around £6.5k which is hard to justify.

2017: 2.5m

Pretty sure 2017 isn’t over yet though

Pretty sure 2017 isn’t over yet though

That’s what I thought, but assumed there was something glaringly obvious that would make me look a fool of I pointed the obvious out. Erm…and the point that the last month is when every other kid in the country gets a new bike.

I think Ben linked the wrong page possibly, the 2017 figure is a prediction.

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/uk-cycle-industry-predicted-to-sell-1-million-fewer-bikes-this-year/022040#after-ad

Brexit may have had an impact, maybe not. Anyone care to fanny around & see how many German/French/Spanish/Italian…etc etc etc bike shops have closed down in the last say, 3-5 years.

The internet is killing off a lot of business, of that there’s no doubt. Even I’m a bit guilty, but if I want something that may require a return to the supplier then I travel 40 odd miles to my preferred LBS.

Brexit probably had nothing to do with the closure of the shop in Ilkley or Steel’s in Gosforth.

I think Ben linked the wrong page possibly, the 2017 figure is a prediction.

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/uk-cycle-industry-predicted-to-sell-1-million-fewer-bikes-this-year/022040#after-ad

I linked the page which has the stats for earlier years. But yes, that’s the page for this year, predicted figures of course.

Brexit probably had nothing to do with the closure of the shop in Ilkley or Steel’s in Gosforth

In the same way that climate change didn’t cause Hurricane Ophelia in particular, but it makes such hurricanes more likely. Is there anything else which happened in 2016/17 which would explain such a big drop in sales?

In the same way that climate change didn’t cause Hurricane Ophelia in particular,

No, that’ll be Brexit as well I expect.

and the point that the last month is when every other kid in the country gets a new bike.

More likely they get a Playstation or a telly.

Joe the mechanic reached into a cupboard, took out a spoke, fixed my wheel in 5 minutes flat and reluctantly took a fiver off me for it.

A heart warming tale, but perhaps a contributing factor in the demise. Under valuing the service being provided.

Pretty sure 2017 isn’t over yet though

Is that part of the problem, do a lot of people wait until this time of the year to buy bikes in the year end sale? It’s happens at the same time every year with easily attainable 30% discounts? Why would you pay full price if you were buying a big brand bike? At sale prices the shops make no profit.

This is what I have just done anyway.

No, that’ll be Brexit as well I expect.

Is this what it’s like being a Brexiteer? You show someone a large economic impact which hasn’t happened in more than 10 years, and they still try to deny that Brexit had anything to do with it?

Is that part of the problem, do a lot of people wait until this time of the year to buy bikes in the year end sale? It’s happens at the same time every year with easily attainable 30% discounts? Why would you pay full price if you were buying a big brand bike? At sale prices the shops make no profit.

Well, let’s be honest – if you wait until spring or early summer to get one, you’ll find nowhere has any stock because of the manufacturers’ daft systems of annually refreshing models and forcing retailers to not hold stock, in case they get stuck holding (gasp!) some of last year’s models.

There is much blame to go around here, I’m afraid.

Is this what it’s like being a Brexiteer? You show someone a large economic impact which hasn’t happened in more than 10 years, and they still try to deny that Brexit had anything to do with it?

As I mentioned above, personally I feel that while the higher prices have contributed, it’s a much more complicated situation than “brexit screwed the bike shops”. They were struggling against the online suppliers long, long before the brexit vote last year…

Joe the mechanic reached into a cupboard, took out a spoke, fixed my wheel in 5 minutes flat and reluctantly took a fiver off me for it.

There are definitely shops like this and really helpful mechanics that will try to build strong relationships with customers, who will hopefully continue to support them for years – the long term view here is important. And then there is a shop not so far from me, that told a relative that they needed a new fork because they were having problems with it sticking down. In the end, they bought a replacement (used) bike and sold the faulty one (Giant Anthem) to me, in the hope that I could do something with it.

There was no air in the fork. I changed the valve core and put some in. That was 18 months ago and my wife has used it ever since without a problem. I don’t think it’s lost any air since then.

It’s one thing building a long term relationship, but if you try to rip off your customers, they won’t come back. My relative now shops elsewhere.

Is this what it’s like being a Brexiteer?

Don’t make assumptions.

New owner on the horizon apparently ! good news for Ilkley

Think it is common knowledge now the new owners are Wheelbase 😀

Indeed.

https://www.facebook.com/WheelbaseUK/posts/10154880694006572?pnref=story 😀