What do we think will happen to the bike market post lockdown?

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DSK

Senior Member
With the fitness and cycle shops having a sudden burst of demand, do we think there will be bargains to be had when they re-open?

I have just sold one of my road bikes, a Trek only as it was a touch small frame size wise. I'm in the market to find another road bike to replace it (no rush) but, generally the used bikes in the usual portals seem to have people generally taking the biscuit with pricing.
 
Location
Cheshire
Tough one to answer. Reduction in manufacturing in Taiwan etc could push prices up? Just hope the LBS's make it through ^_^
 

DCLane

Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
My LBS can't source enough £350-500 hybrid bikes and has a waiting list for repairs.

A small number will keep going, but sadly many won't be used beyond this is my view. Spin classes have gone online for those that have kit, others have bought bikes. Football/rugby/cricket/etc.'s stopped and there's families out, when cinema/shopping/sports begin my guess is many will go back.

Remember that a small increase results in quite a big increase in what is a minority activity in the UK.

A couple of years from now and there'll be more budget bikes for sale is my guess.
 
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CanucksTraveller

Macho Business Donkey Wrestler
Location
Hertfordshire
Lots of the newly bought bikes will see some summer use but be garage/ shed queens by autumn, though I can't see the used market being flooded for a while yet... maybe in a year, two years when the realisation dawns that there's a bike in there that's gathering dust? I'd expect used prices in 2 years to be much lower than they are right this minute but it won't be immediate I shouldn't have thought.
 

NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
While I've seen a fair few new people on new bikes in the area, they've almost all been on supermarket BSOs (you know - full suspension, 20+ gears and all for under £99) which are being ridden round with rattling gears and squealing brakes after "limited home assembly".
While it would be great to imagine these will be a stepping stone to better things and it is good to see people on bikes, the reality is that they'll soon be left rusting in sheds and gardens in need of maintenance and eventually end up in a skip somewhere so I doubt they'll have any effect on future residual values.
 
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SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
CanucksTraveller said:
Lots of the newly bought bikes will see some summer use but be garage/ shed queens by autumn, though I can't see the used market being flooded for a while yet... maybe in a year, two years when the realisation dawns that there's a bike in there that's gathering dust? I'd expect used prices in 2 years to be much lower than they are right this minute but it won't be immediate I shouldn't have thought.

Cycling is one of those activities taken up for virtuous reasons, like losing weight and drinking less, that frequently doesn't last very long - as the majority of participants soon revert to their normal behaviour patterns.
I can see elevated cycling levels all through summer, until the weather starts to turn in the autumn. Then the new lockdown cyclists will mostly shove their bikes in the shed and leave them there even when the weather improves next spring. I can see quite a lot of secondhand stuff appearing over the next year or two - but it will be mostly BSO's and the cheaper type of hybrid. I don't think the market will be flooded with more high end road bikes - because that's not what i see most of the lockdown riders riding. When you are out on the road a lot, you can easily recognise the dedicated roadies from the commuters, and the seasoned riders from the lockdown newbies. The lack of road sense with the latter is often the giveway.
 

Brooks

Senior Member
Location
S.E. London
This time of year our local easy paced cycle group always have newbies turning up with bikes pulled out of the shed covered in cobwebs with a rusty chain and hardly any air in the tyres. I just think the current situation has brought more of these people out due to the extra time on their hands. When the lockdown ends those bikes will be back in the shed.😀
Hopefully a good few will rediscover why they bought that bike in the first place and continue cycling.
 
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