When's the best time to buy a new or nearly new bike?

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screenman

Legendary Member
Two things in life guaranteed to make you happy....
1) A new bike^_^
2) Ignoring the News & Current affairs section of CC:okay:

Very good, but I can think of many more, maybe that would make a good topic.
 
I would assume by Jan-Feb that quite a few of the bikes that were bought in LD1 will be up for sale, hardly used and highly specced, a bit of snow, some wind and rain will put people off, just like any Summer in the UK really:laugh:
 
I would assume by Jan-Feb that quite a few of the bikes that were bought in LD1 will be up for sale, hardly used and highly specced, a bit of snow, some wind and rain will put people off, just like any Summer in the UK really:laugh:
Many expected that to happen after LD1, then to happen now in Winter. But neither has. Once the Brompton bike builder goes back online again for example will the ridiculous eBay prices have to drop down ? Cannot ask 2.5k for a 3 year old 2000 mile Brompton if the same bike new is £1800.....
 
I think once people have spent all their hard earned cash and see that 2k bike gathering dust in a cold February after Xmas bills hit home things will move, could be wrong.
 

yo vanilla

Senior Member
Location
WI, USA
I fall in between both camps here; search for a great deal but don't hold off too long in the end if you just haven't found that. I'm a future planner; if I expect I need a replacement something next season I'll start looking now and buy ahead if I find a good sale.

That said, as mentioned, autumn brings new models and clearances sales for last year's. And THAT said, it's possible last year's are all sold out and you've missed the boat. So to state my case, I would have been watching in spring/summer; if stock is plentiful I might hold out for a sale. On the flip side, I might decide the new model is worth the money over the old anyway (then hold off for the spring sale :biggrin: )
 

PaulSB

Legendary Member
Two things in life guaranteed to make you happy....
1) A new bike^_^
2) Ignoring the News & Current affairs section of CC:okay:
😄😄😄
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
you would think they would learn and make a couple less XS and XLs and a couple more mediums?

Keeps demand high I suppose

I doubt the demand for different sizes is exactly the same year to year. It will depend which customers are buying in a given year, and what they are buying. Some years there are bound to be more small or large riders who take it upon themselves to buy a new bike than others. In the case of carbon frames the situation is a bit more complicated. Because they are made in moulds, to make the most efficient use of them they have to fully utilise them. Let's say you've got 20 moulds. The minimum percentage of any one size you can build is 5%, and your capacity changes in 5% increments.
At the extremes of sizing, you might have an 8% demand for XS, and a 9% demand for XL, but the most efficient quantity to build is 10% of each. In the middle of the size range, natural demand for Medium might be 41% but the most efficient number for you to build is 40%, using 8 moulds. Therefore the Medium will always sell out with actual demand slightly exceeding capacity, but some sizes capacity will slightly exceed demand. When the most popular sizes are fully sold, the manufacturer has to entice riders who couldn't get their exact size to buy one of the overstocked sizes and the usual way is to discount. The reason it hasn't happened much this year is the supply was low even in the less popular sizes so everything will have sold, and a greater proportion of riders will have had to settle for a sub-optimal size in order to get anything at all.
 

Colin Grigson

Bass guitarist - Bad News
Location
Slovakia
I’d buy in plenty of time so that any teething problems can be ironed out before the best cycling weather arrives - looking out of the window on a sunny day with your bike in for repair / adjustment must be very frustrating ....
 
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