Savvy buyers will wait til the summer to buy a new bike since the previous year's models will be discounted to make way for the new year's models.

People who don't want to pay retail will wait til the bike company has to clear out existing inventory.

I have to laugh while reading this. I don't know why this has not happened years ago. People purchase everything online now, why should bikes be any different. The SCUBA industry went through this a few years ago and now you can purchase any SCUBA product you want online. The last hold outs were ScubaPro and Aqualung both companies would even say that your life would be in jeopardy if you purchased gear off the internet. I myself have no use for a local bike shop "well atleast the ones around here". Just the other day I called three shops local to my area looking for tires for my sons bike. I was looking for some 24" tires with a non aggressive tread design. None of the stores had what I was looking for and they all stated that they could order them and it would take about two weeks to receive them and one even wanted me to pay shipping on top of full retail. I then typed what I wanted into Amazon and two days later they arrived at my door for about half the price and saved about an hour of my time. This is not a one time incident, needed a headset and they had to order it same with a rear derailleur, pedals, bearing cones, trunk bag just to name a few items I would have had to order through my local shop. I don't mind paying full retail for an item that I can see and touch but if they have to order the product I can usually order it online for less money and receive it faster. We just purchased a Giant XTC JR for our youngest son. This bike had to be ordered from the shop and took exactly two weeks to come in. When we picked up the bike it was a mess! The rear bearing cones were so tight you could hear the bearings screaming, The front cones were so loose the front wheel had over an 1/8" of play at the top of the tire, the brake levers would touch the grips before you could stop the bike, the head set was loose, the rear derailleur would over shift into the rear wheel. I pointed all this out to the store manager and all he said was leave it for a day and they will take care of it. Really? I was beside myself, I told him there was no way I was going to let them touch anything of mine. So yes I am all for online sales. It is only a matter of time until bike shops will be selling name brand bikes online for discounted prices.

I wouldn't buy a brand that won't sell direct to a consumer.

I just hope your not a government worker AquaAndy? That would be a little rich.

No just a working class stiff who needs the get the most out of his dollar. I just don't see the need to pay extra for unneeded services especially if they are substandard.

What kind of discounts are people getting from Fender on direct sales?
Musicians Friend and Guitar Center up until recently kicked out some deals on guitars with discounts in the 20-30% range. Will Fender do the same?

Fender is now selling all of their bodies, necks, hardware and parts directly to allow people to build their own instruments with legitimate Fender materials, the cost of doing which is cheaper than buying a whole instrument. Anybody who needs or wants a new neck for their Fender guitar can now go right to the source and buy factory made hardware. I don't know about discounts, but it's a big move.

Will Trek be selling parts and accessories direct? If so that could be a huge boost. Myself I almost never buy Trek accessories because they really aren't available online. Same for most of Specialized stuff except for some stuff you can buy at full MSRP from the Specialized website.
If you could buy bottle cages, lights, wheels , the whole Bontrager line online then I think they could really move some more product.

You can do that already. Trek Store - Bontrager & Trek bike accessories, helmets, shoes, clothing, tires, computers and lights.

I have to buy parts to customize a bike for me because the stock build simply don't work for me.

And if Trek sold parts for a discount, it could offset the full retail price of the bike.

That's something they need to do as well to attract buyers.

I did not expect so much passion in this thread. I believe that offering consumers direct sales is a good thing. However, I would hate to see smaller shops go the wayside. Looks like Trek is making a huge investment in this...hopefully they looked at every angle.

Someone mentioned Schwinn got out of the shops. Not completely true...better quality Schwinn products are still sold through LBS's.

Schwinn sells Signature Series bikes to LBS dealers.

The dealer Schwinns are excellent quality bikes for the money. You can't go wrong with them.

Actually, I said the Schwinn name went in the crapper due to bad choices, and Trek can go the same way if not careful. Not saying they will, just that they are not immune.

Is their name in the crapper??? I think Schwinn's are great. Their Walmart models are the best money can buy for under $200. Also their Signature Series compete very well at higher prices. I am sure they sell more bikes now than ever before.

Thanks,
Yan

So who else amongst the big name bike manufacturers are selling direct to the public?

Unfortunately at full MSRP prices. I was hoping that they'd let their dealers sell on-line at discount.

Not quite direct to the public but you can buy several brands online shipped to your choice of location at the Performance Bike site. Fuji is the hybrid line they sell the most of. They also sell bikes from Kestrel, Diamondback, GT . etc
amo

Aluminum frames are made in Taiwan and shipped to the USA where the Trek Plant in Waterloo, WI assembles all of the components onto the frame.

Carbon frames from Trek...some are made overseas and some at the WI plant. Depends on bike model.

I think what Trek is doing is a dumb idea. If you have to go to the LBS to pick up the bike you ordered online then you might as well have just gone to the bike shop and ordered the bike in the first place.

For me, I can't see buying a bike online without trying it out first to make sure the geometry and ergonomics fit me.

The only way I would consider ordering a bike online is if the bike was sold at a deeply discounted price from what you see sold at the LBS.

With Trek's new plan...I see a lot of bikes being returned or not selling at all once it arrives at the bike shop due to fit issues.

American Bicycle Company is a mail order bike firm in New York that sells bikes direct to the public. And you can have the option to ship your new bike to your bike shop. That's what I arranged with my GT and the shipping is free.

I would say if you know the size of the bike and you know what you want, return is seldom an issue.

I've bought all my current bikes off the Internet and I'm happy with them.

Don't count on it , you are depending on the Dealer having the resources to have bought a Lot of bikes ,

So it is not Dependent on the warehouse inventory.

popular bikes sell out by late summer, then the dealer gets a zero count when asking the distribution warehouse.

then you have to wait for the 2016 batch to come off the boat.

There is more to a bike than Small, Medium, Large.

Stack Height, Reach, Stem Length, Stem Angle, Handlebar width and Handlebar rise all contribute to the fit and comfort of riding a bike.

For example...I'm 5'8" and my hybrid bike is a large. The medium hybrid bike of same model was too small for me.

My mountain bike (and every other mountain bike I have tried out) is always a medium. But not every mountain bike I have tried out is comfortable to ride due to the factors above in combination with head tube angle and seat tube angle.

In my area the local shops will discount year end close out bikes that are both in their store and give the same discount for the same bikes in warehouse inventory at the manufacturer.

but.. that won't include 100% of the product-model run , Some get shipped out and are sold and gone half way thru the summer.

Benefit is to a wealthier businesses that can afford to attend the Vegas Trade Show, make a large pre season order , in Person, there,

and thus influence the production run size for the following year ..