Umm, how many people don't understand how to tighten a quick release properly? (Despite numerous 'tube videos by people who stayed at a holiday inn express last night.)

Correlation isn't causation.

... and installing the front rotor, pedals, stem, and bar, none of which typically arrive fully assembled. Then they'll take it to the shop when they discover they need to true/tension the wheels, dial in the disc brake calipers, add or subtract spacers, cut the steering tube, adjust the derailleurs, or convert it to tubeless.

Less if she sold them for what you told her they cost, amirite?

No, quite the opposite! She knows what they all cost, since she handles our day-to-day finances. And she always encourages me to spend more on bikes and related gear. I'm the one who has trouble pulling the trigger.

Ignoring that most of this will not actually be needed on a ship-to-home bike, I'm still not sure what the concern is, at least from the perspective of the shop. They don't have to do any of this stuff for free on a bike they didn't sell.

There is some truth to the notion that new bikes are a break-even for most shops. Storing the bike and assembling it, and then paying overhead, wages, taxes, utility bills, and insurance, all eat up that margin.

Most of the revenue at a bike shop comes from parts/accessories and repair, where the margins are much higher. Your LBS is counting on those two revenue streams when someone purchases a new bike in person, because they're not getting much if anything from the bike sale itself.

When Specialized takes inventory from the dealer chain and slots it for D2C sales only, they are effectively saying to the dealers, we don't need you. We prefer to sell our product ourselves, but we realize that not everyone will want to buy direct from us, so for the meantime, we're stuck with you. But we're certainly not going to make life easy for you, so we're squeezing you on margins.

I predict that this strategy will backfire, and that Specialized will have two problems - disgruntled dealers who don't want to sign up for squeezed margins, and potential public backlash if the experience without the dealer in the chain doesn't go exactly right.

Installing a front rotor is a new one on me. Never had to do that on a new bike.

Shops will be around to do routine servicing as and when required. They don't necessarily need to be selling new bikes. There are at least half a dozen local shops where I could get my bike serviced that don't even sell mainstream brand bikes.

You are right about the correlation not being causation. I'm just pointing out the reality of what I see with shops that focus more on selling new mainstream bikes, particularly the larger high street shops. There just seems to be a culture of employing cheap labour, giving poor sales advice and crap service. So I'm not very sympathetic if manufacturers decide to just cut them out and sell direct. It's no big loss to me. I can fit my own pedals and tubeless tyres anyway. I can even cut a steerer tube and tune gears, lol.

Well that's like buying a pair of shoes and taking them to the shoe shop every time you want to tie the laces.

You are correct. Prices in the US typically are pre-tax.

Reason is likely because sales tax rates are set at the state and county level, with some cities also adding a portion. Thus the rate is extremely variable, ranging from 0% to over 10%.

What have "home builds" got to do with direct bike sales? I don't get this, they are completely different things. It's one thing ordering a frame, groupset, wheels and components online and home building and an entirely different thing buying a bike direct from Canyon or Specialized or whatever direct to door channel.

That's how I understand it too. But since I was comparing apples with apples on pricing i.e. Canyon vs Specialized it doesn't really matter as long as we are consistent. i.e. US vs US or UK vs UK pricing. Tax rates only come into it when comparing prices across different regions/countries.

Yep. I was just putting out why I think there's the difference.

I'd also say that there's likely many other factors in pricing between different markets than just sales tax / VAT. Particularly when talking about differentiated non-commodity goods -- while costs/overhead/corporate-taxes are a factor, the advertised price is usually more about what the manuf thinks people are willing to pay rather than being a strict function of costs.

I've had a bike shipped D2C, and it needed almost all of it. Maybe Specialized preps theirs differently.

No concern at all. My point was that the shop will be able to charge for these services, mitigating some of the margin they lose from not selling the bike in store.

Yep it can be done, it's not an inherent problem with the D2C business model. Canyon have been doing it successfully for years now. Same with YT, Rose etc.

Many new bikes that we receive at my shop only have the rear rotor installed; I assume it's to prevent damage in shipping.

Agreed.

Might be unique to your location, or maybe we just have an abundance of good salespeople and mechanics around here.

Again, ask Rolla as he is who I was responding to and initially mentioned home builds(bikes delivered to the house and assembled by the owner at home) being taken into the shop to be properly built.

I've had 5 bikes shipped directly to home in the last couple of years and all of them had front rotors fitted. Maybe they do things differently when shipping to a shop vs customer?

True I can only speak for local bike shops, but I live in the middle of the UK where cycling is pretty popular with plenty of shops around. Of the ones retailing Specialized, there is only one half-decent shop I can think of. The rest I wouldn't go anywhere near for bike servicing or advice.

Was already discussed a couple of pages back.

Rolla replied with that point towards the end of page 3. It's currently page 4.
Why are you getting all up about this with me? If you disagree, go reply to Rolla.

Timely YouTube vids posted by Specialized University…



Edited to add: Think about the problems too many people have assembling simple Ikea furniture. There’s a big part of me that can’t help but think this is gonna be disastrous for both Specialized and their dealers. As someone who’s built numerous bikes from the frame up, I cringe at the thought of those poor folks tasked with providing support. This is gonna be an interesting economic experiment.

(Only watched road bike video)
Pretty much the same as Canyon for build. Maybe the people who believe the average cyclist could never assemble a ship direct bike should watch. Hardest part is installing the wheel wheel and getting the chain on. If you can change a flat you can build this bike.

Maybe so, maybe not. We shall see, I have my doubts this will actually be the case because other ship to home bikes typically don't have that and I don't have much faith in Specialized these days but hopefully I will be proven wrong on that front at least for their customers safety.

I guess you didn’t watch the video from specialized just linked?

The video is a video, it does not represent the actual real life bikes coming in to peoples homes. Like I said maybe so maybe not, we shall see.

History is littered with businesses and jobs that become obsolete as methods, tech and practicalities change in line with greater profit margins - businesses like Specialized are not charities. They aren't bound to altruistic endeavours but more beholden to their Shareholders. If their research indicates more profit from direct sales then they need to explore that.

LBS's - how many High Street businesses have gone under due to less foot traffic thanks to Amazon and stores going online? This is the Age we live in.

Still, the best LBS's will survive where they have built up a solid community and reputation. Building and servicing a bicycle is literally child's play, very, very easy to do. I was stripping my bikes down completely to service and clean them as a 12 year old. I support my local LBS's not because I absolutely need them but because I want to - because I ride with them, I race with them, I socialise with them and so I recommend them. I support them knowing I can get stuff cheaper online. This is part of what nearly every small LBS has to deal with nowadays, garnering this type of support but to get that means that they have to be really good at what they do.

In places like Denmark, Holland and Belgium, there are many LBS's but then bicycle commuting is a huge part of their lives and big brands going online for direct sales won't affect them in the slightest. My local LBS in Amsterdam when I lived there had none of the big brand bikes, it hardly had any new bikes at all, it focussed, as many do, purely upon service and spares. But this is to be expected in places where cycling is major. In places where cycling is less part of one's everyday lifestyle, the LBS accepts they service a smaller market and are more prone to losing business to the larger online companies.

Where I live hardly anyone own's a Specialized bike. Rare. Here it is KTM, Orbea, BH, Trek and Scott mainly. Portugal is actually Europe's largest manufacturer of bikes but commuter brands mostly - although SRAM makes its chains here, Time pedals and Zipp wheels for Europe. Anyway, Specialized going Direct Sales is most likely a USA specific issue for LBS's but I can see how it might attract buyers from other parts of the World and so a potentially advantageous move for them.