How Much Damage Does Canyon Do To LBS's?
 

Hey, guys. So, I have noted with some personal alarm the increasing adoration bestowed upon Canyon by many prospective and actual buyers. I will admit that I have purchased one bike online (from Competitive Cyclist, maybe 10 years ago). It went fine, I like the company, but I did not like taking a bike nobody knew about for service. Just a personal dislike of mine. And the fact that I made it fit was really just kind of dumb luck, in my opinion.

Anyhoo, was just wondering, given this seemingly completely over-the-top and endless fandom for Canyon sweeping the globe like COVID, exactly how much harm are they doing to local bike shops around the world? And other, traditional mfrs? I am not a bike shop expert, just a guy who rides a lot and buys bikes regularly. And buys gear and service, most often, locally. And spends time in local shops. More than one. What exactly is going on here?

Very little harm.

I don't own a Canyon but all the Canyon owners I know still take their bikes to the LBS for chain cleanings & derailleur adjustments.

People who buy Ferrari's still have someone else change their oil.

My point is: The service department will always have customers.

As the owner of some pretty fancy bikes, I welcome Canyon's downward pressure on the ridiculous sale price carbon commands. Look at the discount section. I'm also not worried about shops potentially losing a one time high ticket sale. The margin on that really isn't what keeps shops open in the first place.

It may sound weird, but selling bikes isn't the business bike shops are in. They happen to sell bikes so they can sell bike service, bike accessories & bike related paraphanelia.

Aaron (Who is sitting outside Universal Cycles in Portland, Oregon as he type this.)

The bike shops I do business with are local somewhere in the world.

I wouldn't take this as a given. BF does not reflect real life and Canyon is still a relatively small company. Also, there are a myriad of challenges being faced by bike shops - pegging a certain percentage of that change on Canyon would be impossible speculation without lots of numbers (that we're not privy to).

I see Canyon doing more damage to bike manufacturers than shops.

You can get a high-end Canyon for 3-5 thousand dollars less than the equivalent Specialized or Trek. If I was shopping for a bike, that price discrepancy is hard to ignore.

The internet is killing LBS's more than any one company is.

In the last 30 days I have bought two bikes from Canyon. The nearest Trek dealer couldn’t touch what we wanted price-wise, so I had to spend my money where it got me what I wanted. I *REALLY* wanted a 2020 carbon Domane, but the Trek pricing is just silly when you compare equivalent bikes. Trek priced themselves out of two sales. We were looking at a Checkpoint for my wife. The Canyon Inflite blows it away at the same price point. The local shop still gets my money for certain things, like sale jerseys and lube, chains, occasional new gels to try out, etc. My “local” is 35 miles from home. :)

LBS's here seem to be doing just fine. I was afraid that the virus would hurt their business, but at least the one that I frequent has been pretty busy with people buying and servicing bikes so they can go ride during the shutdown.

Canyons don't seem to be very popular here, and there is a very large cycling community. I don't think I've seen 10 in this area.

I think Canyon and it’s web sales model is going to hurt both the LBS as well as the other manufacturers. I have had my Aeroad for a few months now and I have found mine to be a solid product and a great value. Truth be told I think my 8.0 is just outstanding. I wouldn’t hesitate in getting another Canyon bike.

I’m guessing I’m not alone in this assessment, which is hurt the LBS and other makers.

Why are those particular bikes marked up so much, in your opinion? Wouldn't they sell a bunch more of them if they are 5500 bucks instead of $12K? I am never going to spend 10 grand on a bicycle. Never. And I could. But I won't. I don't think I am alone in this view...

Canyon convinced me, indirectly, that the LBS that has Trek, Specialized or Giant really has some major advantages.

What I can say that is positive is that they stood behind their warranty, three times.

I don't think they will inflict a huge amount of damage. More competition is almost always better. Some bikes are getting stupidly expensive.

You're supposed to say, "Millennials are killing..."

Ok boomer. ;)

Cutting edge designs, plus excessive corporate staffing bloat, global/multinational business model, Pro Tour teams, advertising, and lots of mouths to feed? And people will often pay dearly for the big name.

Never heard of Canyon Bikes until this thread. Must be behind the curve. Or maybe Canyon is really a tiny part of the bike world.

Time to adapt! LBS must offer online shopping & competitive prices. There is one thing internet can't offer to customers though; in person service. R&D, marketing, administrative expenses, sponsorship.

My issue with at least some LBS is that they are staked to a single flagship brand. Recently I popped into my more regular one only to find out they switched flagships and no longer carried my favorite tires. That combined with not being enamored with the styling of the big 3 brands means there is more variety to my liking on Craigslist. I would think Craigslist competes with local stores as much as anything. It often seems that many Craigslist postings are from the same handful of 'independent dealers'.

I would guess that Amazon is probably a much greater threat to the average LBS than Canyon. Sales of parts, accessories, clothing, etc. is typically very good margin and much of that has vanished due to online sales.

Is is small but growing in the US. It is a rather large player in Europe.

I see Velofix and its competitors as much bigger risks to the LBS.

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a Canyon out on the road. And I know a guy that works for 'em.

Never heard of them before today. Their bikes look nice.

My only knowledge of Canyon bikes is from Juliana Buhring riding hers during the movie, "Inspired to Ride," and she kept having problems with her bike. My LBS is a Trek dealer, so that would be the direction I'd go in for a new bike. The lure to purchase a bike at a significantly lower rate is large, but I'd be concerned with the company's customer service. I don't know anything about Canyon's customer service, but I know Trek customer service is excellent. For me, it would be like purchasing insurance.

Shimano is still Shimano, and SRAM is SRAM, regardless of who manufactures the bicycle. Maintenance doesn’t change, at all. For example, I repair my Cannondale with the same tools and methods that I use on my Fuji.

Now to address the rest of your post, I don’t understand why you are so loyal to your LBS. Since when did it become the job of the consumer to keep businesses profitable? That entire premise is absurd. If you want my business, you must earn it. I’m not going to spend significantly more of my hard earned money to “help out” a business. Now don’t get me wrong, I have bought PLENTY of items from my local bike shops. Some were a little more expensive, but not egregiously so, and it feels good to support the local economy. However, if one chooses to purchase online, they have EVERY right to, and you have absolutely zero business trying to convince them otherwise.