I have been asked probably 20 times in the past week if I think that someone should buy a bike they saw at the bike shop now or wait for prices to fall. To me the answer to this question is very simple: If you want a bike in 2021, and you don’t want to pay almost retail for a bike someone else has already thrashed loved, buy that new bike now.
In case you’ve not been following along at home, the bike market is crazy right now. Low inventories in 2020 caused by increased demand and factory shutdowns have lead to a bike shortage (Yes parts and components too, but that’s a subject for another post). In talking with a lot of people in the industry and a few brand reps, 2021 is going to look much the same. The demand is still very high, and supply is promising to be low through at least mid-summer.
In a normal year, the new bicycle novelties for the coming season would start to be presented by the brands in spring until the end of summer, when the stores start to receive the first units of the new season. So for all those who were looking for the best price it was a good idea to wait until the beginning of September when prices in the shops were lowering in the medium-high range models in order to take out stock, get liquidity and be able to give entry to the new ones. In this case, it could always happen that it was too late and you couldn’t choose the exact set-up or color you wanted. But this is not a normal year.
In conclusion – BUY THAT BIKE NOW! and don’t say I didn’t warn you if you decide otherwise.
Fort Mill SC - Bike Repair 