KiwiDallas

I know that bike stores and the manufacturers are all out of bikes this Covid year. Intense demand, global supply chain disruptions. Since I began working from home, no kidding, I'm part of the problem. I'm riding a lot more often, so much so that I started shopping this summer to replace my 15-year-old road bike.

I placed an order with my LBS in early September 2020 for a Specialized Roubaix Sport, the 2021 model. The Specialized factory website told the LBS delivery would be late November maybe. Okay, I could wait.

Update from yesterday: the Specialized website told my LBS maybe it will be delivered in January 2021.

This is the new normal, right? Oh well, just venting a little. First World problems.

=K

Reflector Guy

I think they're trickling back into stock, slowly perhaps, but it probably varies by make and model based on shops in a few different states I've been communicating with.

I was at my LBS last night and was surprised to see how many bikes they had in stock and available for purchase; by far the most I'd seen there since March. Adult-sized bikes, not just the tiny kiddie bikes which were pretty much all they had most of the summer.

jaxgtr

I ordered a Domane SL7 in Aug with a "Dec" Delivery date, then it got pushed to Jan, Feb, Mar, and when it got to April, I cancelled it and ordered a Domane Project 1 and was riding it in 10 days. The delay was due to a lack of tires. Seems more and more bikes are coming with 32mm tires and Trek supply was\is lacking.

UmneyDurak

That seems like a silly reason to delay entire bike order.

August West

I ordered with a FS MTB the end of July. Suppose to be here Jan 2021. We'll see. Talked to the LBS mgr last week and he said bikes are only tricking in and they haven't seen any increase in the last few months.

jaxgtr

Agreed, but it was the reason. When I changed the tires to the 35mm gravel tires, it dropped it to 3 days. I went on Trek site and saw they had the 32mm R3 TLR in brown wall, I picked them up. I also wanted an 11-30 cassette, but they were out of stock, so I went back to the stock 11-34.

August West

I wish you hadn't posted that

Now you got me thinking about doing the same. Although I really didn't want to spend that much money I could get it to go along with them P1 Domane SLR 7 I picked up in Feb.

jaxgtr

Yea I didn't either, but I also did not want to wait until .....insert month here....., but in the long run, the price difference was not that much, as I was changing out the stock handlebars, seatpost and saddle anyway, so by the time I did all of that, the P1 was only a couple of hundred dollars more and I got exactly what I wanted, and the SLR frame.

tomato coupe

Yes, but it's not just bikes. We can't deliver our products (scientific instruments) because a particular electrical connector is back ordered for 57 weeks. So, a $100 connector holds up a $50k instrument, that is part of a $500k instrument.

noodle soup

It's not the new normal, but it will be like this for the next 10-12 months.

If all goes well, 2022 models will be available around the start of 2022.

August West

I'm going to check with my LBS tomorrow and see what the P1 Mtb lead times are.

mstateglfr 

no.

znomit

Plus all those 2021 bike that have only been ridden three time will be on craigslist.

Koyote

I guess it worked out fine for Trek. They ended up selling a more expensive bike.

I understand why these delays are happening...But it makes me chuckle. In 2019 I got antsy when my new custom-built bike was delayed -- it was supposed to take eight weeks, and it ended up taking about 11 weeks.

dmanders

Back in April i ordered an F12 from my local dealer. Haven't heard from him since I last checked in July. I am a bit annoyed but he isn't holding any of my money so I wait and see. Maybe Di2 12 speed will become available.

Reflector Guy

I need to stop back in there this weekend.... Will be interesting to see if all those bikes are gone or not!

Bah Humbug

A total of nearly two years is long enough to be "the new normal".

robbyville

I work in the foodservice industry and Nitrile Gloves are the challenge for us. A case of 1000 gloves which used to cost roughly $55 are now up to $160. Today we heard that there is a shortage of rubber and soon car tires would be going up... Go stock up on your bike tires everyone!

jaxgtr

LOL...yep, they did.

Thomas15

On paper it looks like we are in the midst of a 1960s style bike boom. Far from it. The truth of the matter is western populations are overfed and addicted to passive entertainment in all of it's many forms. What we are seeing is a brief intermission but soon the curtain will rise again and the show will resume.


Given the fact that the bicycle industry is consumer driven and thus fickle and demanding, not to mention over engineered and overpriced, I see a few dark storm clouds on the horizon. And that is if the world economy doesn't tank.

aplcr0331

I ordered a 2021 Emonda ALR for my wife from my LBS. It'll get here in April.

pullings

I was in market for a new bike back in May and could not find a thing, and backorders were stacking up also.
I went ahead and rebuilt my old bike instead!
For the rebuild I kept frame/crankset/fork/seat/bars/clips. Everything else was replaced.
Summary: I upgraded to a 1X drive-train, aero carbon wheelset, new Ultegra components, and all new cabling.

I sold my old groupset and decent aluminum wheels on Craigslist for great money (bike shops were stripped bare....so my old components sold quickly) which helped pay for upgrades.

KiwiDallas

OP here, checking back in.

That January 2021 delivery date did not happen. Here it is March 2021, and Specialized is still not even giving my dealer any estimates of deliveries for bikes ordered back in 2020.

My LBS is wondering if Specialized will simply give up on 2021 models and start over with 2022 models sometime this year. In which case I get to go back, pick a color, pay more, and re-order.

I notice the prices on the Specialized website have already gone up for my model since I ordered, six months ago.

=K

Rides4Beer

I ordered a new gravel bike last summer, and feel that I was extremely lucky to get it in three weeks. When I started looking at a new road bike, talked to my LBS (I've bought three bikes from them and get outstanding service there), and they were completely up front with me that they could put an order in the system, but there was absolutely no way to be able to say when/if it would show up, probably six months at the earliest, but still no guarantees. Hated to spend the money somewhere else, but found one at an out of state shop and had it shipped to me. So it's either wait indefinitely, or search/call and find someone who has it in stock and will ship it to you. Same on prices, they're all going up, the price on my SuperSix went up the day after I bought it.

ARider2

It looks like it will be very difficult to find new bikes in 2021. Hopefully new bikes will be more widely available in 2022. Since last September manufacturers keep pushing back delivery dates citing problems getting components in the supply chain plus difficulty getting freight shipped on time all the while implementing one price increase after another.