2019 Trek prices raised this past week

[Marc40a]

Result of tariffs.

I contacted them about it today and they confirmed.

Ex. A Domane SL 7 listed for 5499 two weeks ago is now 5779.

[93KgBike]

Don't think tariffs can 'explain' a jump like that - more like excuse it.

Interest rate changes would be a better excuse, but not for existing inventory.

[Big Dan]

It's going to happen.
Go back to the tariff thread.
Even beer prices went up.

[RonW87]

Given that, despite the new tariffs, enforcement at the US border on mail order is unlikely to change, looks like there will be even more incentive for US customers to order from probikekit/merlin etc. (since they will become more attractive as prices rise in domestic US market). Thus, less demand for domestic US cycling products. Thus hurting US retailers.

[texasbbq]

Put a tariff on corporate lying and that Trek would list for $10K.

[gemship]

Put a tariff on corporate lying and that Trek would list for $10K.

LOL but so true. Hey will this help maintain the price/value of our old bikes?

[shortwaveradio]

Don't think tariffs can 'explain' a jump like that - more like excuse it.

Interest rate changes would be a better excuse, but not for existing inventory.

Yeah, no. That's not how it works. Trek doesn't have all of their inventory for the upcoming year already stateside, so it's going to be hit with the tariff when it does eventually end up stateside. They very likely still have 2019 Model Year inventory that isn't even in production yet.

It is literally an added cost of 10% that will become 25% come January.

[Mark McM]

I noticed this this just recently while looking at a particular Trek frameset. A few weeks ago, the 2019 Emonda SLR frameset became shown on Trek's web page. It is essentially the same as the 2018 model, just a different paint job, and was listed at the same price as the 2018 model. But I just checked again, and now the price of the 2019 model has jumped up by 10% ($2,999 to $3,299).

On the topic of the Emonda (one of their top racing bikes): This frame is available in two geometries - their more all-around H2 geometry, and their lower/longer race oriented H1 geometry. There are both rim and disc brake versions offered. But here's the interesting thing: Disc brakes are only offered in the H2 geometry, whereas both geometries are offered for rim brakes. What does that say about Trek's expectations of who would be using which type of brake?

[jemoryl]

Result of tariffs.

I contacted them about it today and they confirmed.

Ex. A Domane SL 7 listed for 5499 two weeks ago is now 5779.

I'm guessing that the high end Treks are mostly made in Taiwan with maybe only a small amount of the parts from PRC? So tariffs don't wash as a convincing explanation. Might be a different story for a low-end hybrid.

[nmrt]

yep, the trek i bought two weeks ago was 3700 until yesterday. today it is 4000!

[ultraman6970]

When you have over 3.7 grands to spend, go to 4k isnt that much IMO.

When you have only 1000 bucks, go to 1500 or 2000 the jump is a lot.

Why of the jump, who knows, they raise prices every year anyways.

[Blown Reek]

I'm glad America is becoming great again.

[Cicli]

Gas was up .02 this morning. Tarrifs?

It is what it is. You are still going to buy a new bike you dont really need. Or get a really nice used one and dont worry about it.

[MikeD]

If you think Trek is price gouging, there's plenty of bike manufacturers out there, including those that don't manufacture in China.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Expedited]

I'd say this looks like a correlation doesn't mean causation kind of thing, but I don't think the tariffs are helping the situation, whatever it may be.

[Mr. Pink]

So, domestic custom frame maker at those prices. Problem solved.

Btw: Winning!

How much did the fees at Mar a Lago go up in '17? Haha.

[bikinchris]

Trek's highest end bikes are made in the USA. That doesn't mean the raw materials are made here. Also, if they use last in first out accounting, then prices instantly go up when the newest inventory goes up in price.

[Marc40a]

Why of the jump, who knows, they raise prices every year anyways.

I’m saying I know. I saw the price bump today, contacted them, and got and answer. 2019 prices were already set until this round of tariffs.

[josephr]

no movement on the women's bikes....domane sl5 disc still $2699 and have been watching it for a few weeks now.

[earlfoss]

Trek wins. The prices are never going to go down, even if the tariffs are rescinded.

[Cicli]

no movement on the women's bikes....domane sl5 disc still $2699 and have been watching it for a few weeks now.

No logic permited. People need to blame natural price increases on something.

[Big Dan]

No logic permited. People need to blame natural price increases on something.

man, go back to ebay and flip some bikes.....

[Cicli]

man, go back to ebay and flip some bikes.....

Huh?
Trigger easily?

[Big Dan]

Huh?

Yeah, pimp them today and sell them tomorrow...!!!!!

[Cicli]

Yeah, pimp them today and sell them tomorrow...!!!!!

Sure.
Have a nice evening.

[jemoryl]

Trek's highest end bikes are made in the USA. That doesn't mean the raw materials are made here. Also, if they use last in first out accounting, then prices instantly go up when the newest inventory goes up in price.

Which ones would that be? I wasn't sure they still made anything here. The very top of the line, perhaps. But most of the various Ultegra level Treks I see around are from Taiwan.

[ColonelJLloyd]

No logic permited. People need to blame natural price increases on something.

Committing to this theory, eh?

[Cicli]

Committing to this theory, eh?

For now.
I am in the “not outraged at everything” camp.
I get that I am in the minority but.........
I sell equipment and everyone talks about how bad things are. Well, not everywhere. Our production is sold out untill 2/2020. I cant complain.

[texasbbq]

Trek wins. The prices are never going to go down, even if the tariffs are rescinded.

Exactly.

[bikinchris]

Which ones would that be? I wasn't sure they still made anything here. The very top of the line, perhaps. But most of the various Ultegra level Treks I see around are from Taiwan.

Trek knows that if they want their process to stay proprietary, having something made overseas is a very bad idea.

[CiclistiCliff]

Yeah, no. That's not how it works. Trek doesn't have all of their inventory for the upcoming year already stateside, so it's going to be hit with the tariff when it does eventually end up stateside. They very likely still have 2019 Model Year inventory that isn't even in production yet.

It is literally an added cost of 10% that will become 25% come January.


8-10% on bikes now. 10-15% on parts and accessories.

Upwards of 25% in the near future, and this is industry wide.E bikes are getting screwed.

There has been a mad rush to produce and ship bikes in the last few months because of the tariffs, and the limiting factor has been a combination of ports being overwhelmed with additional shipments and production delays.

[54ny77]

It's kinda funny to hear bitching and moaning about a couple hundred dollar increase on a $5-6k bike. A bike. That thing with a couple traingles, parts, and 2 wheels.:bike:

[Marc40a]

No logic permited. People need to blame natural price increases on something.

What part about my original post are people not comprehending?

I contacted Trek essentially saying, “hey, wasn’t this price lower a couple weeks ago, or am I mistaken?” Their answer: “yes the price went up due to the tariffs”

Let’s cut the speculation bs.

[Marc40a]

It's kinda funny to hear bitching and moaning about a couple hundred dollar increase on a $5-6k bike. A bike. That thing with a couple traingles, parts, and 2 wheels.:bike:

It’s not bitching, chief. Just a concrete example.

[Jaybee]

What part about my original post are people not comprehending?

I contacted Trek essentially saying, “hey, wasn’t this price lower a couple weeks ago, or am I mistaken?” Their answer: “yes the price went up due to the tariffs”

Let’s cut the speculation bs.

Amazing to me that we have firsthand information here and people are just talking around it because it doesn’t fit their preconceived narratives.

Well, not that amazing I guess...

[oldpotatoe]

It's going to happen.
Go back to the tariff thread.
Even beer prices went up.

Now THAT'S out of line!! Prices are going up everywhere..called an overheated economy, inflation due to YUGE tax cuts and giganto, unpaid for, spending bill and YUGE expansion of the government..FED just raised interest rates .25 of 1%, 3-4 more next year and I'm sure we'll read about how 'bad' that is on on twitter...

[Cicli]

What part about my original post are people not comprehending?

I contacted Trek essentially saying, “hey, wasn’t this price lower a couple weeks ago, or am I mistaken?” Their answer: “yes the price went up due to the tariffs”

Let’s cut the speculation bs.

So, Trek as in whoever runs their financials said it or some bike shop employee?

I run a Kenworth dealership. To my customers I am Kenworth even though I just represent the brand as a franchise. Our prices went up this year as well. Trucks cost more. Our price for labor in the shop went up 15% and that has nothing to do with tariffs or china. Our parts price increases are planned well in advance of any trade disputes. Times are good and we are in business to make money. So is Trek. Blame it on what you want, if prices went up because of china they also went up to increase profits, not offset tariffs. If it costs me more to buy a part I plan on reselling I am going to make a bigger margin. Business as usual.

[bigbill]

So, Trek as in whoever runs their financials said it or some bike shop employee?

I run a Kenworth dealership. To my customers I am Kenworth even though I just represent the brand as a franchise. Our prices went up this year as well. Trucks cost more. Our price for labor in the shop went up 15% and that has nothing to do with tariffs or china. Our parts price increases are planned well in advance of any trade disputes. Times are good and we are in business to make money. So is Trek. Blame it on what you want, if prices went up because of china they also went up to increase profits, not offset tariffs. If it costs me more to buy a part I plan on reselling I am going to make a bigger margin. Business as usual.

I work in manufacturing as an Engineering Manager. Our trucking costs have gone up. The economy is doing well and we're experiencing a trucking industry that is lagging behind the expanding economy which results in higher costs, supply and demand. We work hard to keep prices competitive but our profit margin is slim and it's inevitable that prices will rise to make margin.

It doesn't matter where something is made and to a great extent, the tariffs don't make much impact, the impact is getting products to market. Fuel costs, expanding trucking fleets, expanding US markets, they all add costs. I'll take the expanding economy.

[Big Dan]

Inflation was creeping up with out tariffs.
Low unemployment is part of it. Tariffs don't help.
If I was a bicycle company I would raise prices too.
Said it before, price are going up.

[Marc40a]

So, Trek as in whoever runs their financials said it or some bike shop employee?

I run a Kenworth dealership. To my customers I am Kenworth even though I just represent the brand as a franchise. Our prices went up this year as well. Trucks cost more. Our price for labor in the shop went up 15% and that has nothing to do with tariffs or china. Our parts price increases are planned well in advance of any trade disputes. Times are good and we are in business to make money. So is Trek. Blame it on what you want, if prices went up because of china they also went up to increase profits, not offset tariffs. If it costs me more to buy a part I plan on reselling I am going to make a bigger margin. Business as usual.

Great story, Cicli.

2019 prices were already set, had been since they were released maybe 2-3 months ago. Yes, they were higher than previous year. That's not what we're talking about here.

Prices hiked within the past week, I don't know which specific day as I was travelling. I contacted Trek a couple days ago to inquire, not a guy I know who has a Trek, not a bike shop, not Lance Armstrong. I was told it was indeed raised and it was due to the tariffs.

[chiasticon]

Which ones would that be? I wasn't sure they still made anything here. The very top of the line, perhaps. But most of the various Ultegra level Treks I see around are from Taiwan.it doesn't matter where they're made. costs are going up. when the steel tariffs first went into effect a local steel supplier flat out stated: "we're raising prices even though we're unaffected by tariffs. you're going to pay more either way, so we might as well make more."

either something/many things in Trek's supply chain went up, or they're straight up raising prices because you're going to pay more for competitors' bikes anyway. either way, the explanation of blaming the tariffs is still accurate.

[AngryScientist]

See Tom Kelloggs Comment on all this here:

https://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f2/china-tariffs-bike-industry-50653-3.html#post926949

[Mark McM]

Trek knows that if they want their process to stay proprietary, having something made overseas is a very bad idea.

Since Trek currently makes 99% of its bikes overseas (https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2014/jul/28/scott-walker/scott-walker-says-trek-makes-99-its-bicycles-overs/), does that mean that Trek only feels that 1% of their bikes have proprietary processes? Even Trek's much vaunted OCLV carbon manufacturing process has now been transferred to overseas factories.

[likebikes]

See Tom Kelloggs Comment on all this here:

https://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f2/china-tariffs-bike-industry-50653-3.html#post926949

so kellogg uses imported ti? interesting..

[Mark McM]

so kellogg uses imported ti? interesting..

The Kellogg posting didn't actually say that, although it did say that raw material for Ti tubing was also subject to the new tariffs. Since the US has little raw titanium ore, most US titanium mills are dependent on importing raw materials.

[Mikej]

so kellogg uses imported ti? interesting..

Well, SEVEN makes the Ti bikes.

[Clean39T]

Well, my local Trek dealer (which is a great shop run by great people) just put this out..

https://scontent-sea1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/42673235_10155513283316607_7935046194978357248_o.j pg?_nc_cat=103&oh=1162f3395bce8be6d3d44c09f7b660d6&oe=5C21504F

[MikeD]

The Kellogg posting didn't actually say that, although it did say that raw material for Ti tubing was also subject to the new tariffs. Since the US has little raw titanium ore, most US titanium mills are dependent on importing raw materials.


How much is the material cost of Ti in a frame that costs thousands anyway?

[Davist]

Just buy the '19s in the fall, like we always do.. '18 Madone rim brakes are ~30% off right now in common sizes around here, maybe this is a "marketing" exercise for "price quality" with a convenient lever?!

[Walter]

Lots of good comment here.

Pricing rises are due to many things. As some have observed, an overheated economy (whether real or short term artificially induced for political purposes with long term adverse consequences) puts more money in the flow and makes sellers of anything want more of the action by raising prices.

Tariffs do several things. They can raise the cost of completed goods or raw materials that in turn makes folks raise retail pricing to maintain margin.

They also are a protectionist tool to allow solely domestic sellers who are immune to tariff impact to jack up pricing due to the relative increases in other sellers' costs due to tariffs hitting them and causing price increases. The consumer just pays more and the corporations make more.

The real hit from runaway tariffs is the adverse impact on US sellers of goods overseas when retaliatory tariffs are imposed by overseas governments.

I do not see any real positive from them here...