rumrunn6

I know I should ask them. but maybe other shop workers/owners are aware of something going on? they all seemed to be used bikes
did a lot of the ppl who bought bikes during covid, w/ grand plans to ride, realize they weren't using them, so are selling them?
is it an over supply of new bikes that were back ordered & now can't get rid of?
is it a bunch of bikes from ppl who rode all summer & need a tweak before storing for the winter?

Chuck Naill

The pandemic was difficult at best and probably caused all sorts of behavior. I read that cheap furniture purchased during the pandemic is now showing up in the trash.

The last bike I purchased was for my grandson. The dealer had several colors in the same size in April '22.

veganbikes

Well it could be a bit of all of that. We hit a bit of a rough patch financially as a country and people aren't buying bikes as they used to. Plus a lot of people have been scared "you don't have bikes I read a thing somewhere nobody has bikes" when we actually do have bikes and have been getting bikes but it is still tough. A lot of manufacturers pushed for a big pre-order so that also caused more bikes to be in shops. I know we had to do a big one for one of the brands we sell and hooooooooweeeeeeeeee it was big and bigger than in previous years. The craze of the endemic turned a lot of the industry in a weird position and nobody really knew what was going to happen and so production ramped up and some of it went to far in one direction to over correct and it is hard to swing it all back.

Over the years I have seen more service in winter, I know I tell my customers come in when it is slow and you aren't riding as much get the bike tuned and ready so when that nice day comes you are riding while everyone else is in line at the shop. It has been paying off I think as more people are starting to realize how smart that is. I always laugh a little when those nice days hit and people are like "HOW LONG???" "WHAT DO YOU MEAN A WEEK???" as if nobody else had the idea to go riding that day because the weather was nice. People sometimes have such a disconnect to the world. We are humans we sadly think a lot a like sometimes so when the weather is nice and we are like why are so many people outside doing stuff or getting ready to go outside and do stuff, we should just realize, we are doing it so others will as well. "Wait you like chocolate too?"

Iride01 

So we are supposed to guess about the inventory of a bike shop most of us will never see much less be near?

Please go ask the people at the bike shop.

rumrunn6

well I know there are other bike shop owners, here, so I thought I'd ask

nomadmax 

People found out that the majority of bicycles have to be pedaled, and that can lead to exertion.

SoSmellyAir

Au contraire, all these e-bikes I have seen near local parks and schools that look like Mad Max props clearly signal to potential purchasers that they do not really have to be pedaled.

RB1-luvr

I was surprised to see local shops having inventory reduction sales. In a relatively short period of time we went from empty bike shops to sales. Weird.

Rolla

Your "pissy gatekeeper" schtick is already getting old.

Iride01 

So isn't that what you are doing?

But I guess you have to fight fire with fire!

Hondo6

"E-bikes"? Don't you mean electric mopeds?

Chuck Naill

It was old a long time ago.

Rolla

No, but I'm not surprised in the least that you can't see the difference.

Iride01 

I'm not surprised you don't see it as doing the same. Well actually I am surprised you don't see it as the same.

You've contributed nothing to the question of the OP. And you have only started a tit for tat response between us that is of no use for the thread and only detracts from it. And you did the same in another thread I was in.

Besides rumrunn6 already dealt with my pissyness in a very well handled way if you cared to notice. So piling on is really just you acting worse than my original transgression here.

veganbikes

An electric moped would be one of those throttled jobs however many of the bikes out there are actual e-bikes that require pedaling to move forward.

Unfortunately there are a lot of brands who use throttles but market their products as E-bikes because they put some bike parts on it and many of us who are into cycling eat it up and believe it.

rumrunn6

hope it happens to cars, our family needs (2)

Hondo6

Based on what I've seen in my area, not sure I agree with "many". Can't tell you how many times I've seen a bike in this area "coasting" at a constant speed of 10-15MPH - on level ground. (There aren't exactly a whole lot of hills around here.)

oldbobcat

It's been about a year since I worked in a shop, but I can tell you that the bikes arriving in the fall were ordered the previous winter or early spring.

Rolla

Oh, like your "contribution" that he ask the bike shop after he already said "I know I should ask the bike shop"?

You're a real "asset" to the forum lol.

RCMoeur

Speaking as someone neck-deep in "previously-loved" bicycles, there are a lot of used bikes available right now. In mid-2020, it was the opposite, with almost no retail product and used bikes (and parts/consumables) going for very high prices. Now with new bikes coming in and people going back to what passes for "normal", many used bikes are flooding the pipeline.

In August, one of the nonprofits I work with (Recycle Your Bicycle) publicized a big regionwide bicycle donation drive. We hoped for hundreds, and got thousands. Everything from rustbuckets to very high-end road bikes. In fact, we're in the wonderful but challenging situation of having more bikes than current foster kids needing one at the moment, or more importantly volunteers to fix them. We've passed some of the bikes on to other nonprofits such as Rusty Spoke and El Grupo Youth, but we're hearing that nearly every bike nonprofit in the area (Bike Saviours, Grey Matter, Bicycle Cellar) is also in the same wonderful yet challenging state of swimming in inventory. My own church informed me their bicycle drive might not need all the ones I've saved for them (and there goes my plan for reclaiming my back patio...) I even took some good older fixed-up bicycles to the big bike swap in Tucson last Sunday, and they didn't move at all, even at modest prices.

We're still figuring out how to get all these generously-donated bikes to nonprofits who might need them. Suggestions are welcome.

Rogerogeroge

Why the hell is this posted in the Bicycle Mechanics forum? Asking for a subforum-banned friend.

Inusuit

Because mechanics work in bike shops? That's all I got.

greatbasin

I was going to say it's because they traded them in for e-bikes, but someone beat me to that.
So it must be because they're handing out free puppies to anyone who uses the MUP.

veganbikes

I feel like that sometimes on my bike where it looks like I am going at a good steady pace but not pedaling but no throttle. It could be where you are you do have a lot of electric mopeds. I know they are getting quite popular but we are selling a ton of actual bikes as well.

tcs

My LBS owner-buddy told me that he sold ~90% of his bikes in a three-month window in the spring and the month before Christmas.

It's about five weeks until Christmas.