Why does every bike shop sell the same two bikes?
 

I visited a new-to-me shop today, hoping to see some cool bikes or gear. But, that didn't happen. They were stocked with the same 100 iterations of the drop bar road bike that every shop seems to carry. The same inflexible fleet of impractical bikes. Boring. Useless.

Is it even possible to find a shop with a selection of utility bikes? Fixies? Touring bikes? Even a single touring bike??? Because I have never, EVER managed to walk into a shop with a single, solitary touring bike on hand. They're mythical bikes that exist only if you believe in them enough, apparently.

It dawned on me just now that visiting a bike shop is no different for me than visiting a guitar shop. I'm looking for a lefty and staring at a wall full of useless righties. Where is my southpaw bicycle shop?

Nothing boring about my drop bar road bike.

A guy I know used to stock plenty of LHTs in his shop along with Cross Checks and Stragglers. I bought 3 LHTs over several years, including 2 off the floor. One to replace the original after it was stolen and one for my then GF. I also ordered a Bike Friday from his shop after taking a test ride.

Unfortunately, his business mostly succumbed to the pandemic, but I believe he continues to sell Bromptons.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...90410600a.jpeg

Test riding a LHT....that's the dream right there. If any of the Surly "dealers" I've visited actually...you know...stocked Surlys. 😑

Not saying there's anything inherently wring with them. I just don't care about them, yet they're clogging up every shop in sight. Meanwhile, they rarely seem to carry a single bike I would be interested in riding or buying. But...drop bars and derailleurs cause me to dismiss a bike on site. Same story as when I'm scanning guitars:

"Righty, righty, righty, righty, righty..."

"Drop bars, drop bars, drop bars, drop bars...."

At least guitar shops will actually carry at least one or two lefties.

lol. I wanted that store to be a real thing so bad when I saw that episode as a kid. At least I do have Southpaw Guitars. It's only hundreds and hundreds of miles away in freaking Houston. 🙂

Your dream is to test ride a 3x10 drivetrain drop bar Surly touring bike, yet you say drop bars and derailleur a cause you to dismiss a bike on site.

You seem to not really know what you want a shop to carry. But I doubt shops are missing out on much business from you not buying so it's likely more your loss than theirs.

I am shocked that nobody is carrying the fixed-gear touring bike that you want.

If one wants useful info, listing one’s city often gets specific answers.

Certain gravel bikes have attachment points for touring type gear and long wheelbases and slack headtube angle. Touring rig by another name.


Every road touring bike I have ever seen had drop bars. Going back decades.

Once you start looking at guitar shapes in the store and imagining them upside down and how cool some of them would be (new nut + intonation), a whole new world opens up!

Is touring even a thing anymore?
Trek dropped it, cannondale dropped them.
Giant has them in UK ,The US, not so much.


Want a tour bike, your options are limited.

Everything went gravel and bikpacking, but guess what. Racks are making a comeback.

I am tired of manufactures pushing the narrative, instead of listening to the consumers.

Bring it up to them. And they say electric bikes are the thing now..... well duh, thats what they are pushing.

I loved gravel bikes though, they were the utilitarian wider tire drop bar bike that wasn't exactly entry level crap. Although many companies pushed crappy gravel bikes as entry level bikes. Salsa journeyman, trek crossrip, etc... And now the journeyman has been neutered. *eyeroll*.

Now that people are voicing they want flat bar gravel bikes, we get entry level versions.

Welcome to 2023! Things are definitely not better!

The simple answer - not enough demand. But, as said above, post your general location and someone may be able to point you in the right direction.

In almost every industry, stores stock the items that they believe that will sell. Niche products are usually special ordered by the customer and not stocked. Most Chevrolet dealerships don't have Z06 Corvettes on the lot. You want one you have to order it.

Evidently, bike shops in your area don't believe that the bike that you desire is a bike that will sell enough units to make economic sense for them to stock.

Have you considered that maybe they are listening to consumers and making what they will buy? CB400Bill and BBoy314 may have it right. It has been a while, but I remember being in a shop that had a nice touring bike sitting on the showroom floor. The shop owner said he hadn't been able to move it and it had sat for years.

It all depends on what sells in the market in your area; if customers are not coming in and asking for a touring bike on a regular basis, nor buying them, the shop won't invest the $$$ to have them on the display floor. I live between the beach and inland areas of the Los Angeles basin. If I go to a bike shop near the beach I can find any type of beach cruiser bike I'd want -single speed w/ coaster brake to a 1 x 9 to a bike with 29r tires/wheels. If I go inland I'll find bike shops loaded with road bikes of all kinds (endurance, TT, racing, etc). If I go up in the local mountains the bike shops will have a sales floor full of mountain bikes.

Suggestion: If you want to order a touring bike then find something that has a similar geometry and try giving it a test ride. IF if it works you're probably pretty close to what you need and any adjustments to stem length/seat type, handlebar width, etc can be taken care of by the LBS to give you a close-to-perfect fit.

If it was 100% demand, they wouldn't need advertisment or sponsored racers pushing trends.
I will agree that location determines what shops carry.

Why do bike shops only stock bikes that sell?

Quite the puzzler. We may never know the answer.

Rohloff.

I'm in the DC area, if anyone knows a shop carrying something other than Trek and Specialized.

How can you expect a LBS to carry all ranges of racing/touring/gravel/hybrid/track and TT bikes in every color and configuration? And size?

Go into your trusted shop, tell them your budget and time frame and they'll build it for you.

People are going to willfully and intentionally gloss over your point. It is 2023, cognitivedissonance is king.

Having worked in a bike shop for decades I believe I understand your complaint. Typically each year we heard this complaint 2 maybe 3 times, "How is it none of the shops around here stock the bike I want?" Be it an internal hub, belt drive, etc. To stock a size run of a specialty bike makes little economic sense in a tight margin biz. They sit for years as there is low interest in them in the market place. For a shop to sit on 5-10 grand in product cost for 3 or 4 years is counter productive to the bottom line. Add to that the other "dead" inventory items that hold a small niche position the cost to carry that inventory can be destructive. Keep in mind that when these items finally sell there is no profit left in them and they typically sell at cost.
Comes down to it, only a certain number of outlets can exist together in a niche product category, not every shop on every corner can afford to do it.

What? Advertisements and sponsored racers are ways of creating demand for their products and brand.

The Daily Rider | Bicycles - Brands - The Daily Rider (thedailyriderdc.com)

Touring — DC's Favorite Bike Shop - BicycleSPACE (bicyclespacedc.com)

If every bike has drop bars and derailleurs, maaaybe it's a sign that these things work well.

I know, it's attractive to think the mainstream is wrong, but it rarely is. Once you give up these preconcieved notions, you end up enjoying cycling without worrying about what the others are riding nor shooting yourself in the foot just to be different.

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