“Bicycle Shortage” in U.S?

[Lewdvig]

Bought a bike for my son and we went to every shop in Calgary (we have lots) and bought the first one that fit. I've never seen bike shops so empty of inventory!

I buy a lot of bikes and know my local shops. It's great to see them doing so well.

A few told me they are worried fo next year, not sure that I understand that. Surely there will be lots of service and upgrades for all these bikes going out the door.

[batman1425]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

No repairs for 4 weeks?..they need to look at their biz plan again..far better margin on repairs than new bikes..IMHO, do both and make a better margin..repair and taking a bike outtabox.

Part of the problem for many shops is space and techs. Only so many hooks in the attic for repair bikes and only so many mechanics even working round the clock.

Lots of shops around here are just out of resources to (physical and personnel) to work any faster.

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by batman1425

Part of the problem for many shops is space and techs. Only so many hooks in the attic for repair bikes and only so many mechanics even working round the clock.

Lots of shops around here are just out of resources to (physical and personnel) to work any faster.

We are 3 weeks out on scheduled repairs but are in reality working a few days ahead because our shop has borrowed mechanics from others in the chain. We seem busier because we're between two bedroom communities and garages are being emptied of old bikes in record numbers.

We had 78 repair bikes in the store as of close today. And we're a smallish shop.

[peanutgallery]

Exactly, you can only fix so many bikes that have been in the chicken coop for 30 years. Cheapo bike repair parts are now getting scarce. It is weird

Originally Posted by batman1425

Part of the problem for many shops is space and techs. Only so many hooks in the attic for repair bikes and only so many mechanics even working round the clock.

Lots of shops around here are just out of resources to (physical and personnel) to work any faster.

[oliver1850]

I talked to 10 or 12 bike shops in IL/IA on Friday. Several mentioned that they were down to 10 bikes or so after having 300 in stock a couple of months back. I talked to a guy at a shop in Rockford IL who told me that they have been getting calls from folks from all around the midwest and have had people drive from the Twin Cities (330 miles) to buy bikes.

[thirdgenbird]

I’m still trying to sort out driving across the state to pick that thing up. Thanks again.

[oliver1850]

Sounds like a rainy week ahead. If it's still around on a day when I can't do anything else I might be able to fetch it home.

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by oliver1850

Sounds like a rainy week ahead. If it's still around on a day when I can't do anything else I might be able to fetch it home.

I will let you know.

[Elefantino]

We will start the day today nothing cheap to sell: four $3k-$4k full suspensions, a $3.6k road bike, two $1.6k gravel bikes and a $900 hybrid.

And that's it.

We finally had to rope off the sold bikes and service bikes with crime scene tape because people were handling them and asking to buy them. Had a customer with a language barrier grab two sold kids bikes for his twin daughters and asked what we'd take to sell them to him!

[peanutgallery]

Put a baby seat on those things and get them out of there

Similar boat

Originally Posted by Elefantino

We will start the day today nothing cheap to sell: four $3k-$4k full suspensions, a $3.6k road bike, two $1.6k gravel bikes and a $900 hybrid.

And that's it.

We finally had to rope off the sold bikes and service bikes with crime scene tape because people were handling them and asking to buy them. Had a customer with a language barrier grab two sold kids bikes for his twin daughters and asked what we'd take to sell them to him!

[weisan]

Originally Posted by weisan

SOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSO LDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLD SOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSO LDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLD SOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSO LDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLD SOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSO LDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLD SOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSO LDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLDSOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE BIKES HAVE BEEN SOLD!

One guy even convinced me to sell my Giant XTC mtb that I wasn't planning on selling in the first place. I was hoping to keep one around just in case...but I guess it's been sitting in the garage for the last 2 years is enough proof that I won't be doing any mountain biking anytime soon.

Made two people very happy yesterday and today.

[vqdriver]

my kids had outgrown their 24s and altho i was planning on replacing them anyway, there was no sense in waiting for summer. lbs all over town are plumb out of anything between 20" wheels and $2000 bikes. kids bikes, it seems, were the first to go. choices were slim back at the end of march, and evaporated thru april. forget about may....
i really like buying from the lbs because i feel good inside and because i build anything for myself, i rarely get the chance to buy an actual complete bike unless it's for my kids.
i was on multiple waiting lists with trek, spec'd, c'dale, etc dealers and ultimately ended up ordering from chainreaction. between the time they sent me the 'back in stock' email and when i read it this morning, they were already down to the last one. no choice but to pull the trigger

kinda curious to see how this goes...

[old fat man]

I went to LBS to get mtb gloves for my 10 yr old today. Looked like tornado had come through. Maybe 5 bikes left for sale, gloves ended up being women's model, and the showroom was littered with outdated customer bikes in for tune up or repair. Fellow cyclists who are furloughed are helping part time to keep up with demand for service.

Hope every LBS in the world has a banner year!

[JAGI410]

Originally Posted by old fat man

Hope every LBS in the world has a banner year!

It'll likely be normal, because there won't be stuff to sell from June to September, so those lost months will balance things out.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by weisan

Made two people very happy yesterday and today.