Is the inflated Bike market finally crashing?

Cassinonorth said:
Used market is absolutely slowing to a crawl. It's getting saturated, maybe not every bike that was sold in 2020 showing up yet but enough where you can pick and choose. I sold a carbon bike that was $1k under new with all new takeoffs as parts and barely got a single bite.

The people left in the sport don't want the entry level bikes so you can probably get a 2020 Stumpjumper allow or comparable for $2000 at this point. Most likely less if you let the bike sit a week or two. That $2,000 price point appears to be the floor though...any less and you're looking at less modern geometry or well used bikes.
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Yes, I agree with you there, the prices are coming down but there seems to be a floor, I might have to wait until the spring when I come into more money...although others might have more money as well around that time...perhaps January will be the time to strike since it is right before tax time, after Christmas but winter when very few people are thinking about bikes....and peeps who maxed out their credit cards want to sell their expensive bike sitting in the garage doing nothing....lol have to be extremely strategic about this to catch my unicorn lol
 
Fire Lord Jim said:
The Bike Exchange sells only used bikes. We have sold nearly 1,400 used bikes so far this year. That is down from over 1,700 for the same period in 2021, and even more from the crazy 2020 year. That is a pretty good reflection of the demand curve, which means more supply, which should lead to lower prices. However...

...much of that demand was inflated, too. People could not go to gyms, Peloton classes, and needed an actual moving bicycle to feed their routine. Now those gyms are open, and people don't need the bicycle. So why aren't the selling their no longer needed bikes? Here's one for the bike shop guys: When COVID hit and customers could no longer buy new bikes, they brought their old bikes in for repair. So much of this happened that the parts supply market became scarce. Were they bringing in five-year old bikes? No. Thirty-year old bikes with cracked tires. For some reason, people hold onto used bikes for a long time before admitting that they won't ride it again. Maybe people with multiple bikes thin the herd, but people with one bike seem to hang on too long before selling. This may explain why all those COVID bike sales are not re-appearing in the used market.
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That's interesting about the Bike Exchange which leads me to believe the prices can come down some more on used bike prices, its all about supply and demand :)

Yes I agree, I think most people think their kids will inherit the bike at some point or perhaps another family member, but if its an expensive bike they think they'll make the time some day...five years later they have a bike they are trying to sell for what they bought it for lol.
 
Fake News! :D Just got this in my inbox:

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I see myself as more of a recreational rider these days rather than an enthusiast. Years back I would have no issue spending big money on the high end drive trains and other wearables, but $500 + on a cassette makes my head blow.

I hung on to a few older bikes I was going to sell as they ride fine and are far cheaper to repair. I do not see myself buying a “new” bike for some time.

Seeing non-US made bikes grab over $10k (no motor) is still crazy to me having started riding in the early 90’s where everything was handmade in the US and was marketed as a “lifetime bike”. Seems now it is more - buy this for $13k, it will be completely obsolete in 18 months - you will then need to spend $15k to be in the game - better pre-order.

I get it - there is a market for everything and I am sure it is the same with other hobbies.

To be safe - no more test rides or demo days for me.
 
Bike N Gear said:
And for me to sell at the sale prices I get to sell my inventory below my cost. Maybe they shouldn't of hoarded all the bikes for themselves during the season, then they wouldn't have "too many."
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You obviously haven't been using the Owned Retail Stores for Inventory like everyone else. Anything we have can go to a Dealer whenever they need something.
 
jimvreeland said:
You obviously haven't been using the Owned Retail Stores for Inventory like everyone else. Anything we have can go to a Dealer whenever they need something.
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My sales rep NEVER mentioned anything about that. Just pushes me to get the customer to buy it online and ship to my store for my 10%.
 
Bike N Gear said:
My sales rep NEVER mentioned anything about that. Just pushes me to get the customer to buy it online and ship to my store for my 10%.
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Shit. I'd bang some heads around. Dealers can buy bikes from us for their Level Pricing. We delivered a bike to Sourlands a couple weeks ago so they knew about it. Was it in a Zoom meeting maybe?
 
I will say during the frenzy I did sell 4 bikes in 2020 and 2 in 2021 while acquiring 4 along the way and all of those bike sold very quickly with minimal hassles. One of the bikes I sold the guy drove down from Rockland County, NY. Three seconds after seeing the bike he bounced the fork a couple of times then handed me a stack of Benjamins. He didn't even want to haggle. The entire transaction took 10 minutes because we chatted for 9 minutes after the deal was done. I also did a "budget" build.
 
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I've built three, top shelf BMX bikes in the past couple years. These are surprisingly not-cheap to build, but I had the luxury of selling off my vintage BMX parts stash to fund them. There is still limited availablilty, but there is a tremendous reward for the descerning builder.

For my mileage bikes, I'm into Fat, and have leveled-off at 11spd GX for parts compatibility and spares. There is absolutely nothing in the current Fat Bike market that even catches my attention. So I may pull a page out of @Johnny Utah 's post, and get a custom 'lifetime' Fat frame built (I know what I like and what I want). Overall, I'm not happy with the direction the bike industry is pushing consumers - including the product offering, the pricing and the varied delivery paths.
 
one piece crank said:
Overall, I'm not happy with the direction the bike industry is pushing consumers - including the product offering, the pricing and the varied delivery paths.
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Has anyone started a leasing program yet? Different monthly payments based on spec level, new bike every three years or so.
 
Mahnken said:
Has anyone started a leasing program yet? Different monthly payments based on spec level, new bike every three years or so.
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Not horrible idea.....

could you imagine the inspection when it is turned in? :D

wonder if "service included for 3 years" - not parts, and not upgrades, would be a draw?
 
Takedown said:
Ya, that's way beyond my budget, what bike did he end up getting?
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He hasn't bought anything yet. He is famous for procrastinating on getting new bikes. Part of his problem is he buys trail bikes and then rides them like enduro/DH bikes - and then wonders why they break. :shrug: I'm hoping to push him towards more of a full-on enduro bike with at least 170mm travel. He prefers 27.5 bikes which both helps (typically less desirable/pricey) and hinders (fewer brand models available) his options.

My three mtn bikes are from 2019 (2) and 2020 (1) and I'm pretty happy with all of them, so I don't see any reason to upgrade. Jim's comment about used bikes sitting rings true for me, though... I still have a neglected 1998 Yeti Lawwill in my attic as well as my '97 Indy Fab Deluxe frame. I kept my vintage BMX bike from the early 80's for decades before finally parting it out a few years ago. I see a new road bike as a pending upgrade.
 
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Mahnken said:
Has anyone started a leasing program yet? Different monthly payments based on spec level, new bike every three years or so.
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Patrick said:
Not horrible idea.....

could you imagine the inspection when it is turned in? :D

wonder if "service included for 3 years" - not parts, and not upgrades, would be a draw?
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For me personally, a truly horrible idea. I don't lease vehicles or ride stock bikes right off the shelf either.

:rolleyes:
 
The used 'everything outdoor' market is definitely easing up - bikes included. The problem is many people purchased these items new at retail premium. They paid top dollar so they're going to try and sell high to recover some of that. I suggest you wait it out @Takedown, until the new year. As belts tighten and people see their energy bills go up 40-60% this winter (yeah, I'm freaking out :confused: ), I suspect many will look to sell at whatever offer they can get.
 
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