gios

if you had to wait months for your last bike purchase, would you change your mind?

One of my hobby strategies - when I want something, is to impose a one month wait period / cooling off. After that, if I still want it, I can purchase it . Many times I change my mind by then lol.

Nowadays, with c o vid nine teen, you have to pay now and get your bike months later. I wrestle sometimes with

why did I just buy that?

rsbob 

I waited 3 months for mine. Ordered in March arrived end of June. Was it worth it? Yes, but I have always played the long game.
Ordered a custom build wheelset and they arrived a month and a half later. Very worth the wait.

rivers

I waited about a month for my TT bike to arrive. But it was too good of a deal to pass up. It was new old stock and I saved just over £1k off the original price.

noodle soup

Waiting a couple of months wouldn't change a thing for me.

ericcox

I tend to do a fair amount of research before big purchases. Though I do sometimes wonder if I made the right choice after buying something really expensive, unless a great deal came along, I would think I'd be fine with something I ordered. That said, I had recently planned to order a Scott Foil but was told by a few shops that they wouldn't take an order because they had no timeline for when the bike would be in. So I bought a Pinarello that was in stock. I'm glad I did. I love it.

colnago62

Project One bikes were a month or more pre COVID

Badger6

It didn't for me...

TakingMyTime

When I was a teenager and wanted something really bad my Mom would tell me to sleep on it and if I still wanted it the next day she would drive me to the store. This has basically been my philosophy since I was young. It's too easy for me to work myself into a frenzy about wanting either this or that, so I always try to give myself a little time for reflection before jumping in. In the case of bikes and bike accessories, I may still buy a set of wheels, but I'll talk myself down from the $1200 set to the $600 ones. I have never been an impulse buyer.

bruce19

My last bike was a CAAD 12. One of the best bikes I've ever owned. So, no.

Russ Roth

Rock Lobster has a 9 month to 1 year wait time which you're told going in. Put my deposit down in Sept and waited a year to the week for the bike but it is something I really wanted and sometimes you have to wait, yes I'd do it again. I'd like to pick up a couple of touring frames for my wife and I with couplers in them and unless Surly or Soma come out with something new will have to wait since I don't care for the Ritchey's that are available.

mgopack42 

I started looking for my new bike some time around May 5th. took me about a month to decide on what I was going to get. placed the order right after Memorial day. picked up the bike on July 25. Big purchases always take a lot of thought, and buying a bike sight unseen, and researching the frame geometry etc. is nerve racking to say the least. well over 1000 mile on the bike, now and except for the saddle (which I waffle about), I love it! So start to finish, 10 weeks or so, and I did start to have second thoughts when I saw bikes that would be 95% as nice for me at 60% of the price... but the piper had been paid, and there was no going back.

Argon 18 Krypton Pro. Not the most graceful or beautiful bike to my eye, but still a great bike!

Bah Humbug

Some of us already are, so why would that change it?

Psimet2001 

Doesn't change a thing for me.

BTW - the wait times ae going to get a whole lot longer this next year.

robbyville

I guess with lead times on new bikes being so long custom is no longer a hard thing to stomach!

I put in my deposit for my Custom Speedvagen in November 2017, flew in for my fitting and received the frame/fork/bars/seat post topper in early Feb 2018 for my one of a kind bike I guess that’s pretty good compared to a similar (current) wait for a stock bike lol. Jesting of course but perhaps given the cost for a top end trek/pinarello/etc isn’t far from a full custom from many companies maybe now the wait is a non issue.

I hate waiting for things but for a top end bike at these prices I’m absolutely good with the sleeping on it mentality!

GlennR

I waited 3 months before ordering my current bike. I have a home based business and decided I would set aside the proceeds from it until I saved enough for the purchase. Then since it was a special order I waited another 6 week before it arrived. I finally took delivery in January, so i waited a few more months till I could ride it.

rubiksoval

Yeah, maybe? If it were multiple months?

But then again, I don't know, maybe not.

I bought wheels at the beginning of November and they just shipped yesterday, so a good month and a half from purchase to receipt, and I don't regret that, so maybe I wouldn't a bike...as long as there isn't a big sale in the meantime or a brand new product which I'd much prefer to the thing I purchased.

noisebeam

When I needed a new bike I needed it now. My choices were limited by what was in the local shops. Got a SuperSix EVO. w/105.

ericcox

Just curious why you think this is? I trust your opinion... And as noted above, I made a purchase sooner than planned in part because I was advised that the bike I wanted was not going to be available for the foreseeable future.

veganbikes

Not at all, I usually obsess over purchases anyway so waiting isn't a big deal. My last one was a titanium mountain bike frame from Habanero Cycles and he made my decision super easy, he was a kindred spirit in terms of liking vintage stuff and was super nice and really shined up the frame. I happened to ask for a dusty crusty frame in the corner of the shop because who is still doing a 26" Canti MTB frame?

If I am going to buy something I don't want doubts on it so if it ain't right I just won't bite.

jaxgtr

I had ordered a Domane SL7 and was told the wait would be 70 +/- 10 days, well when it got up 150 days....I cancelled the order and went with a Project One Domane SLR 7 and was riding the bike in 10 days. So......yea it was worth it.

WhyFi

Long wait times certainly impact my buying decisions. If it's a product class where I think that there's a lot of parity, and some of the competitors to my desired product are immediately available, it may be enough for me to rearrange my preference and make a purchase.

If it's a product with a limited/seasonal window, a month of two of delays can be enough for me to put it off for another year. This year, I've been interested in a budget fat bike, but they're scarce. I have no interest in getting on a wait list to take delivery on one in Feb.

Psimet2001 

Custom lead times will and are most likely already up as well. Even more than before. Everyone can't find parts.

Hypno Toad

This is a smart strategy. We typically have a policy that adding new things to the house means something old needs to leave (we are empty-nesters in the 3 year of our downsize).

To your question, my latest bike purchase - I ordered it in October and don't expect to have it until March and not ride it until April (it's a road bike and Minnesota roads are not typically clear of snow/ice until April). And no, I'm not getting rid of any bikes ... so I'm breaking policy*

* actually, bikes have a separate policy, if it's not rideable or getting used, it's outta here. In our downsize, we sold/donated 3 bikes. We're town to 11 bikes (soon to be 12)

Psimet2001 

Oh...where to start.
All production capacity for all of the major brands has been sold through 2021 and is into 2022 booking. Many times shops have already sold what they are buying.

Shimano has sold through their capacity for 2021 and a lot of 2022 already. This capacity goes mainly to OEMs. Bike brands are sucking up all the parts. I had a guy come in 2 months ago to build up a new SL6 frame he bought. He's a friend so he "wanted to give me the business". I looked hard and wasn't able to find a single part with any delivery dates before the end of the year and most dates were March April and that was only if I put it on backorder then. Reminder that was 2 months ago.

There are still large online retailers that have inventory that were able to buy it up when it was showing up this year. They have no doubt also bought up what they can for next year as well. If you've been looking you might have noticed that Shimano parts that used to be available for retail at almost the exact same cost as my wholesale prices have all gone back up to MSRP levels. This won't change back. In fact you will probably start seeing parts going for more than MSRP more often as scarcity starts to impact everything.

Price are headed up by a lot in some cases. Orders that Specialized already had from dealers - they came back and told the dealers that prices increased as much as 40% in some cases. These were purchases that had already been agreed upon and put in and in some cases the dealers had already taken payment. They had to eat it or go back to the customer for more money or simply refund the customer and start over. All of the OEMs have been expediting and air freighting stuff all year. I am already getting price increase acknowledgements from the smaller ones. They all start the same, "due to the overly high costs we were forced to take on this year due to supply issues caused by..."

So - demand is projected to remain the same. Lead times will get longer in general. Much of what is being made has already been sold. Stock up on your consumable parts when you see them in stock somewhere.

ericcox

Thank you for the detailed explanation. This makes me feel much better about buying the bike that was available in my size when I saw it after confronting an inability to order the bike I wanted and seeing no stock on several other, similar bikes from large and small manufacturers.

At some point, I may have to talk to you about wheels, though... I like the fulcrum 5's on my bike, but they aren't exactly light or aero. While changes to me will make more difference, I like pretty wheels that also add function :-)