nate6158

Hey guys, I don't know if this has been answered, but I have a question regarding new bikes of past years. With clearances on '05 models beginning and 06 models on the way, I'm curious what bike shops do with whatever inventory they do not sell. In my mind, such bikes would be new and just as good as when they were originally advertised when they were the hot new rides, so where are they?

On a side note, the reason i'm bargain hunting is two months ago I was hit on my Scattante R650, and my bent frame and chewed up shifters and pedals means my bike is totalled. Unfortunately the whole deal's turning into a mess with insurance, and I'm on a tight budget while i'm away at school. I want something comparable to what I was riding, and I thought if I could find some place that has these bikes life would be good, and I could get my butt back into shape


thanks guys!
Nate

1955

Many shops have older new models still in the inventory, the popular ones go fast, though you might still find a deal. I bought mine at 75% of the original floor cost in August of '04' just as the '05's were coming out. You have to hunt for the deals.

mscycler

Some shops try to pawn them off on you.

My wife and I bought "new" Trek 1000s in June. After a little more research, we realized that she was sold an 04 model (advertised as an 05) for full price. Went back to the LBS, and they said that it was in fact an 05 model. The only thing I know to do is email trek and have them look up the serial number and verify what year it is.

mscycler

nitropowered

The bikes just sit there.

My shop has a 2002 Litespeed Sienna still on the floor. Original price $2775, marked down to $1750

SDRider

My lbs has a Look 585 originally marked at $6000 on sale for $4600. This bike weighs 15.2lbs and has Ksyrium wheels...very nice bike! I drool over it everytime I go in there.

rickkko

And what shop might that be?

..rickko..

SoulBlade

That's how I got my Merlin Extralight.... a new '03 model bought in '05 for about half price. Great components and great bikes are still great a couple years later!

chroot

I recently bough a new old-stock '04 Trek 2300 for $1450 -- much cheaper than the '05 or '06 models, with better wheels and components, too.

- Warren

55/Rad

My LBS has an '04 Seven Elium ti - original price of $10,600 - still sitting on the shelf. It's been there for over 15 months and is now marked down to $10,600.

55/Rad

a77impala

I bought a close out Trek 6000 several years ago and to my chagrin was never happy with it because the frame was a little to big. The price was right but the size wasn't. Usually the bikes they have left are the odd sizes nobody wanted, be careful you don't do what I did and regret it later.

cjbruin

Try JAX on Culver & Walnut in Irvine. They seem to like to discount their older stuff to make room for the new stuff. In fact...they are advertising a Bike Clearance on their website https://jaxbicycles.com/site/intro.cfm "Visit one of our 5 locations today to see our collection of bicycle blowouts!"

I bought my '03 Specialized there for $1,800 in April '04 (retail price $2,900) and got my wife an '04 Trek 1500 for $799 in October '04 (retail $1,099).

Supergo off Alicia in Mission Viejo seems to have a lot of clearance sales. Not sure what your budget is but they have this one on their website...https://www.supergo.com/profile.cfm?L...604&referpage= You may be able to get an even better deal in the store.

The best bike shop in the area is Edge Cycle Sports but I doubt they deal much. Still, you could go in there and tell them what your price range is and ask what they would put you on. They are on Moulton and Ridge Route in Laguna Woods.

Good luck.

SDRider

Bicycle Warehouse in Vista. I think it's a Look 585 anyway. It was marked down from $6k I know that and it looks like that's the same frame as the one on their website, carbon lugged. It's got Dura Ace everything and I'm pretty sure they were Ksyrium wheels (assuming top end Ksyrium anyway).

If I only had and extra $4600 lying around...

Why? You gonna buy it? I'm itching to test ride it personally. I practically live at that store...I'm sure they'd let me.

SDRider

Wow, that's some sweet deal there! I'm surprised nobody has snapped that baby up yet!

roadwarrior

We have a sale...Labor Day weekend. We put a bunch of bikes on "make us a deal" and sold over 400 bikes the three days (all types, not just road). That leaves us with, I think in road bikes, two or three older models other than our Serotta demos...but we totally sold out of Treks and virtually all Cannondale's except for two as of yesterday...

RockyMtnMerlin

Thats exactly what I did. And I really love the Extralight, coupled with my Topolino wheels, the ride is incredible .

nate6158

alright, so it seems like i'm going to have to browse some bike shops and ask around with the salespeople. I just wanted to see if there was some liquidation warehouse somewhere or if the manufacturers had warehouse sales to clear inventory. Thanks for the help guys! I look forward to doing some investigative research in the next few weeks!

thanks,
Nate

polynikes

Hi
Look out for the change in sponsorship deals in the pro tour.
Many bikes are produced with the logo or paint job to match the sponsor and that makes them harder to shift if things change.
Giant are a good example when they went over to T-Mobile from Once!
You need to get in quick!

Cheers
Poly

chipcom 

I had that happen when I looked at a Giant OCR earlier this year, the LBS told me it was an 05, till I asked 'Hmm, I thought the 05's only came in red and blue, they only show this color in the 04 model'. He said he had to check, came back a few minutes later and admitted he'd made a mistake....then dropped the price by $100. Pays to do your homework before shopping.