Is the best time of year to get a bike now?
 

Seems like this would be a good time to take advantage of sales and low bike interest.
What do you think?

In my book, there's never a bad time to buy a bike. ;)

N+1 is not a disease, it's a rite of passage.

It was three weeks ago. Now you have to wait a year.

For next year's models, not so sure. It might be better to wait until a few weeks after the xmas surge, but just shop for a good deal. You'll figure out if the price is right.

It should be a very good time to negotiate on last year's leftovers, since the LBS want to get them off the floor to make room for this years models.

This.

If you're interested in buying something from Performance Bicycle, the best time of the year is the last weekend in June, when they have a tremendous annual clearance sale, all kinds of specials, and give up to triple bonus points. However, that isn't probably an option for many.

I know at my LBS it's really dead for them in January, it might be a good time to "make your own sale" by asking the manager or owner at your LBS if they have anything they would give you a great deal on just to move it.

Bicycles are fashion items, "old" 2015 models are dead inventory.
Retailers needs to sell old stock to pay for the fabulous '16 inventory and make the year end sales numbers.

Negotiate away if you can stand the shame of being seen on such pathetic obsolete hardware. ;)

-Bandera

Interest? Don't get in debt for a bike.

The best time was about three weeks ago during the Black Friday sales. You're late to the game.

I believe he means "interest" as in "demand."

Yes, I think you're right. :D

Uhh. Depends. If you want New Old Stock - last years model or earlier but not previously used - then I would imagine just before you want to ride it. Purely financial, when no one is buying is the bet time to buy. But I live in Maine and we have an unridable winter to someone as squishy as me. I would bet that the 3-5% saved by buying now would be negligible vs a sale when the new models are in stock at the beginning of the season. Plus, "money now is better than money later."

I would buy once I could ride. If that's now then I amend the above heuristic to "Biking now is better than biking later." The difference in sale price at an LBS would be negligible.

If you are in the market than it is always a good time to buy a bike. If you can find last years model in your size than you may get a pretty good deal. Thankfully, I live in Florida so I do not have to buy a bike and not use if for multiple months. Thus, for me, the demand is always there.

Actually the leftovers are sold at lower prices on the dealer website for whatever brand your LBS carries, and that savings is passed on to the customer. Most of those "clearance" bikes were probably ordered with the next year's pre-season because the person in charge of ordering at the shop figured they would sell well. The best time, then, is late July or August when the model year changes, but there are still a lot of previous year bikes in warehousing to choose from. Tell your LBS what you're looking for and they may be able to get you one at a big discount. By September all the good bikes in useful sizes and colors you can live with have been acquired by shops, so you're probably going to be back on current model year unless they happened to buy what you wanted in your size on closeout a few months earlier.

A true clearance bike will be sold for a song any time of year, but those are usually extreme outliers in size or application.