Zaskar

I so rarely buy new, complete bikes. My bikes typically morph - new groupset, new wheels, new frames set. But, the transition to disc and di2 seems to warrant buying a complete bike (and yeah, not necessarily new). Inventory is better. It's not great. But better. Would I be better off waiting a few more months? Will three or six months make a difference? I'm not in a huge hurry. My current bike is fine... just old.

Mojo31

Winter is buying season. Spring and summer are riding season. When demand spikes, the deals go down.

biker128pedal

I hope it’s the time for me.

Iride01 

Use to be that March was the better time to buy. New stock being moved in and old stock needing to go. So there were deals to be had. But maybe I got in on the last of those back in 2020.

I think you still have time to look and assess what it is you really want. But if you wait for the latest and greatest thing to emerge, then you'll never have that new bike.

bampilot06

I’m always down for a new bike.

Caliwild

There are definitely deals to be had right now... Got a brand new BMC and the dealer knocked 10% off. Not huge, but better than no deals last year....

WT21

I'm shopping now. I don't see a lot of last season new stock around. Might be better in another year if you can wait till next spring. Haven't decided myself yet. Then again, inflation could just keep going up, or war breaks out near Taiwan or whatever. Seize the day?

Jughed

Was just at my LBS - very few road bikes in stock, and they claim some bikes are expected to be delivered in ‘25.

They were overstocked on cruisers, hybrids…

veganbikes

Correct the industry went into hyperdrive for that stuff during the earlier parts endemic and weren't able to switch gears for road and gravel with any sort of speed so yeah it could take some time and more time if you aren't pre-ordering stuff so you are guaranteed to get it. Most places have tons of bikes they no longer need in that quantity while the stuff people are asking for is taking a while.

My guess is 2025 or 2026 or later for the industry to get back to a new normal. It could be faster if we get rid of the endemic but unfortunately we failed miserably at that so it is going to be tough.

Baron Blubba

I own a large shop. Road bike inventory is going to be significantly, *significantly* better this year, to the point where special orders will become feasible again, rather than being stuck with what's already on the sales floor.

I always tell our community: Spring, summer fall are the best times to ride a bike; winter is the best time to buy a bike.

SoSmellyAir

I was recently in a similar situation. I had been looking for a third bike throughout the pandemic and broadened my horizons in late 2022 to include gravel bikes. At some point in 2022, Santa Cruz had raised the MSRP on its Stigmata (GRX) to $5,149, but in December two chains (Mike's Bikes in northern Cal. and Conte Bikes on the east coast) had this bike at 25% off, and it was out of stock everywhere else. I dithered for a little while, and it sold out at Mike's Bikes, and I finally pulled the trigger on 12/10/2022 and bought what turned out to be the very last one (in any size) at Conte Bikes. Now, a month later, this bike is in stock at a few places again, in the same colors as those available last year, but only at the new MSRP. So, at least in my case, it turned out to have been the right time.

eduskator

It depends on the supply & demand... Bike manufacturers have been struggling to keep up with the demand ever since the 1st summer of the pandemic - things are slowing down now and it's a good thing for us.

3-6 months may or may not give you a small rebate. Leftovers are usually put on sale during winter and early spring. You may get lucky. Be patient, shop around!

Zaskar

Okay, because you guys told me to, I bought a bike. ;-)

Today is new bike day - picking it up in a little while. I'm in my 50s, have been riding for almost 50 years and I still feel like a little kid waiting run downstairs and see what Santa brought.

datlas 

pics??

eduskator

Zaskar

The requisite garage door pic:

My road bikes have been black on black on black for the past 14 years. It was time for a change.
To do:
- Swap 42mm bar for 44mm
- Cut steer tube, remove two spacers
- Swap non-tubeless to tubeless
- Cages and computer mount.
^that^ will happen at the shop when the bar comes in. But there was no reason to leave the bike there waiting for parts!

Chandne

Inventory is starting to get much better. Deals are back too, in several areas. I just picked up a Moots RCS.

eduskator

Sweet bike! My new bike has 44mm bars and I remember how I found them wide as hell when I first rode it. I'd go back to 42mm anytime!

Zaskar

Ha! It's definitely what you're used to. I've been riding 44s for years - the 42s felt cramped. Like 2cm should make a big difference. The fitter put a tape on my shoulders and said "Yeah, you definitely need the 44s. Even that didn't seem terribly precise. But, I was going 44 either way.

Reflector Guy

My LBS is a Trek store, and their online inventory shows 17 road bikes in stock today.... That's more than I've seen there in a few years (last time I looked it was something like 3 in stock, and 3-6 have been the norm since 2020). But I admit I never looked at that number prior to the pandemic, so who knows, maybe it was 30 in 2019?

Zaskar

yeah, it almost seemed normal at my LBS. The racks were full and range seemed normal, e.g., mid-level to crazy high-end. They even had a few other 58s in the same price range as the Scott I bought.

BrazAd

My Specialized/Trek LBS shop owner told me a week or so ago that there should be some better deals to be had in a few months. He said Specialized has dropped pricing 3 times in the last 3 months "and that's never happened before."

We'll see!

Gary

Lombard

Wait. The bike is a 58 and came with 42mm handlebars??

Zaskar

Yeah. I thought that was strange. But, I haven't bought a bike from a shop in a loooong time.

It comes with sweet tubeless-ready carbon wheels and Schwalbe One tires... that are tube-only.

eduskator

That's weird indeed. 58cms usually come with 44mms and 54-56 with 42mms.

What bike manufacturers wouldn't do to shave a few $ out of the bike's production cost... That is one of the reason why I like Giant.

Schwalbe One are great tires by the way. If you ever upgrade for tubeless, try the Pro Ones TLE. I've been using them for 3 seasons in a row now, and I have no complaint whatsoever. They do wear fast though.