Tire and Tube Availability and Pricing
#26
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I got a 4 pack of Conti tubes last week in the low $20s, figured it was worth grabbing them at that price considering it's rare that I see individual tubes for less than $7 these days. I remember when I could load up on mountain bike tubes in the early 2000s for $1.50 each at Jenson...
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You folks that are talking about being able to easily source parts on Amazon and internet searches should realize that most of those parts on Amazon and the internet are coming from local bike shops that sell there. The reason they are relatively easy to find is because you are casting a wider net. Unfortunately, those sources are drying up now too. Those shops don't have some kind of magical backdoor to QBP (where a large portion of bike shops get stock). I work at a pretty large shop and we can't get most Shimano parts right now. SRAM availability is getting pretty bad too. Tires are getting harder and harder to find everyday. Once our back stock dries up, we won't be able to fix bikes requiring those parts. Most industry sources say that this will probably go on into early 2023. I hope they are wrong...
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#31
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I'm trying to get new tires for my 1928 Model A. They are out of stock everywhere and the ones that are in stock are now $250-$300 each when I was originally looking in the $99/ea range.
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Have no idea if this is real, but, ..
#1 learn to patch a tube and you likely be golden with what you have on the shelve and in the wheels for years.
#2 Be less picky. You may not be able to get your favourite tube or tyre on sale, TODAY!, but Its not like the world ran out of bike tyres (or tube patches, or tubes).
Carry on! :-)
EDIT: Come to think of it. I just waited 3 months for a pair of Shimano hydro brifters .. Supply chain is definitely affected, but not to the point you cant ride.
#1 learn to patch a tube and you likely be golden with what you have on the shelve and in the wheels for years.
#2 Be less picky. You may not be able to get your favourite tube or tyre on sale, TODAY!, but Its not like the world ran out of bike tyres (or tube patches, or tubes).
Carry on! :-)
EDIT: Come to think of it. I just waited 3 months for a pair of Shimano hydro brifters .. Supply chain is definitely affected, but not to the point you cant ride.
As for not being to the point you can't ride - Every shop I know is currently buying parts off of Amazon just to fill customer orders. We all laugh about it. Walk into a busy Trek store lately? They're desolate.
A big shop I sell to in Florida (cream) - has tons of bikes in the showroom. Ask them and you'll quickly find out they're actually bikes in for service that are waiting on parts. Makes the showroom look great though.
A bike OEM I work with just told me they finally found a container for a shipment of bikes. "We normally pay $2k-$3k for a container. This one was $22k. We didn't get a choice - that's what we're paying. Every part in our operation is now going up $1 as a result. Chain? +$1. Bar tape? +$1."
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This is a local Trek Shop.
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Yeah it's been affected for over a year now. Shimano has had its Malaysian plant shut down for over a month now because of the government and covid. This is also what's hitting the rubber market.
As for not being to the point you can't ride - Every shop I know is currently buying parts off of Amazon just to fill customer orders. We all laugh about it. Walk into a busy Trek store lately? They're desolate.
A big shop I sell to in Florida (cream) - has tons of bikes in the showroom. Ask them and you'll quickly find out they're actually bikes in for service that are waiting on parts. Makes the showroom look great though.
A bike OEM I work with just told me they finally found a container for a shipment of bikes. "We normally pay $2k-$3k for a container. This one was $22k. We didn't get a choice - that's what we're paying. Every part in our operation is now going up $1 as a result. Chain? +$1. Bar tape? +$1."
As for not being to the point you can't ride - Every shop I know is currently buying parts off of Amazon just to fill customer orders. We all laugh about it. Walk into a busy Trek store lately? They're desolate.
A big shop I sell to in Florida (cream) - has tons of bikes in the showroom. Ask them and you'll quickly find out they're actually bikes in for service that are waiting on parts. Makes the showroom look great though.
A bike OEM I work with just told me they finally found a container for a shipment of bikes. "We normally pay $2k-$3k for a container. This one was $22k. We didn't get a choice - that's what we're paying. Every part in our operation is now going up $1 as a result. Chain? +$1. Bar tape? +$1."
Last edited by seypat; 07-14-21 at 12:11 PM.
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Passing thought as I was riding this morning.
It isn't clear from the OP whether natural rubber or synthetic (butyl) rubber will potentially be short in supply. A quick search suggests natural rubber is the issue(disease & lack of planting new trees due to low prices..there's a 7 year delay between planting and harvesting latex). I can imagine scenarios where either one could experience issues in meeting demand. Natural rubber and butyl rubber, while very similar, do have different properties (advantages and disadvantages). If one is in short supply, tire compounders may well adjust their formulas as needed with an alternate rubber or filler. This, in turn, would impact performance. Currently their formulas(low, medium, & higher end tires) are some optimum of lowest cost vs required performance. If shortages force a change in their formulas they'll net out at a different (best they can do) optimum...and/or cost reductions/substitutions will be made in other tire components.
The short story.. a shortage of rubber will not result in simply raising prices it will also force mfgs to adapt in order to continue selling product(volume). It's likely those changes will not improve their tire performance. We may well be buying higher priced tires that have poorer performance. We could also see a surge in "super premium tires" that would be the same good tires we purchase today and an appreciably higher price point.
(I'm a retired polymer chemist...tires were not my gig. I wouldn't say the above is guaranteed to happen, however when industries like this are hit with longer term raw material supply issues...this is what happens & how it works..been there)
It isn't clear from the OP whether natural rubber or synthetic (butyl) rubber will potentially be short in supply. A quick search suggests natural rubber is the issue(disease & lack of planting new trees due to low prices..there's a 7 year delay between planting and harvesting latex). I can imagine scenarios where either one could experience issues in meeting demand. Natural rubber and butyl rubber, while very similar, do have different properties (advantages and disadvantages). If one is in short supply, tire compounders may well adjust their formulas as needed with an alternate rubber or filler. This, in turn, would impact performance. Currently their formulas(low, medium, & higher end tires) are some optimum of lowest cost vs required performance. If shortages force a change in their formulas they'll net out at a different (best they can do) optimum...and/or cost reductions/substitutions will be made in other tire components.
The short story.. a shortage of rubber will not result in simply raising prices it will also force mfgs to adapt in order to continue selling product(volume). It's likely those changes will not improve their tire performance. We may well be buying higher priced tires that have poorer performance. We could also see a surge in "super premium tires" that would be the same good tires we purchase today and an appreciably higher price point.
(I'm a retired polymer chemist...tires were not my gig. I wouldn't say the above is guaranteed to happen, however when industries like this are hit with longer term raw material supply issues...this is what happens & how it works..been there)
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The rep from on of the company examples I listed in a post above shared an email he got from his higher ups. They reserved 6 containers. The additional freight per container was an extra 10k. The product they were shipping on that container probably cost them 43-45K not including the freight. That's a huge increase just for the additional freight.
,,,,but yeah you can still get tubes right now.
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The funniest/most offensive customer moment happened to me last week. I had a customer request a volume discount if he bought by the pallet! I told him, "I'd be happy to, but the item you're wanting has been on backorder since 3/10. I have the next size up or a different brand. They both cost more. The rest of the items you buy are on allocation based on past usage. If you want a skid or 2, I can sell you 5 boxes each. I can also only quote you a price on what I have in stock. That's it."
The worst are the "patriots" that ask "why don't you have some product made in the good ol USA?"
"I do have some or can get it. It'll cost you about 20% more. You want some?"
"Heck no, that stuff's too expensive!"
The worst are the "patriots" that ask "why don't you have some product made in the good ol USA?"
"I do have some or can get it. It'll cost you about 20% more. You want some?"
"Heck no, that stuff's too expensive!"
Last edited by seypat; 07-14-21 at 12:02 PM.
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#38
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The funniest/most offensive customer moment happened to me last week. I had a customer request a volume discount if he bought by the pallet! I told him, "I'd be happy to, but the item you're wanting has been on backorder since 3/10. I have the next size up or a different brand. They both cost more. The rest of the items you buy are on allocation based on past usage. If you want a skid or 2, I can sell you 5 boxes each. I can also only quote you a price on what I have in stock. That's it."
English version: "we produce over a million parts a day and that's not even enough. Your 11k parts every 6 months isn't worth the hassle. Sorry."
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GP 5000s still seem pretty cheap on probikekit.
My DI2 seems to be on the fritz. The battery won't charge. Well, the battery isn't totally run down, but when I plug it in, the charger light just stays on for a littlle and then goes off, and the battery does not charge. I have to take it in the the LBS and I'm hoping that the problem does not require a new part. I could be without a bike for a very long time.
My DI2 seems to be on the fritz. The battery won't charge. Well, the battery isn't totally run down, but when I plug it in, the charger light just stays on for a littlle and then goes off, and the battery does not charge. I have to take it in the the LBS and I'm hoping that the problem does not require a new part. I could be without a bike for a very long time.
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Looks like my local trek shop. I was riding the other day, stopped in to shoot the crap while I was waiting for the rain to stop. I just put it in one of the empty racks to keep it out of the way. Had 3 different people pull it out of the rack to see if they could take it for a test ride. Each time, they pointed them to me saying it was my bike, I shook my head no and they looked dejected.
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Looks like my local trek shop. I was riding the other day, stopped in to shoot the crap while I was waiting for the rain to stop. I just put it in one of the empty racks to keep it out of the way. Had 3 different people pull it out of the rack to see if they could take it for a test ride. Each time, they pointed them to me saying it was my bike, I shook my head no and they looked dejected.
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#46
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AH - there's a difference here. What is available at retail to the public is different than what is available in wholesale channels. Our distributors have had little to nothing in the way of tubes and tires for over almost 2 years. That said they do occasionally have batches that come in and are sold out in seconds as the people you guys are buying from at retail are buying up everything they can get their hands on.
At this distributor (wholesale) end the pricing doubled overnight. Another double is coming. They also warned that there will be a shortage of raw material. On top of that most of the plants that process these parts are located in Malaysia. That country has been hit super hard by covid at the moment and has their government has shut down most factories.
To make it all worse - there are no containers to get anything over here even if they are able to make tubes and tires at a higher price.
I know it's seemingly hard for most here to think there is anything to a supply chain other than looking at their favorite retail chain online...what I am saying is upstream is getting hit with large price increases and being told of shortages. In addition to what we have been dealing with for the last year and a half. At some point this will hit the retail end.
I get that no one will believe it until it finally hits them on the retail side so... that's why I started this. Just to watch everyone convince themselves it's a non-issue because right now they can buy what they want online at retail. Then when issues start arising it could be a decent place for people to come look for places that still have inventory or intermittent stock.
So...not a hard concept. There are tubes available in retail right now no doubt. Every single one of my distributors is completely out of tubes and has been for the last year and a half.
At this distributor (wholesale) end the pricing doubled overnight. Another double is coming. They also warned that there will be a shortage of raw material. On top of that most of the plants that process these parts are located in Malaysia. That country has been hit super hard by covid at the moment and has their government has shut down most factories.
To make it all worse - there are no containers to get anything over here even if they are able to make tubes and tires at a higher price.
I know it's seemingly hard for most here to think there is anything to a supply chain other than looking at their favorite retail chain online...what I am saying is upstream is getting hit with large price increases and being told of shortages. In addition to what we have been dealing with for the last year and a half. At some point this will hit the retail end.
I get that no one will believe it until it finally hits them on the retail side so... that's why I started this. Just to watch everyone convince themselves it's a non-issue because right now they can buy what they want online at retail. Then when issues start arising it could be a decent place for people to come look for places that still have inventory or intermittent stock.
So...not a hard concept. There are tubes available in retail right now no doubt. Every single one of my distributors is completely out of tubes and has been for the last year and a half.
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#47
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I literally just went out and checked the largest distributor in the country for presta tubes. They have a handful of 1 size - 700x30-43 in a 48mm valve. I'd post a video of all of the "0"'s but I don't want to lose my account.
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Looks like my local trek shop. I was riding the other day, stopped in to shoot the crap while I was waiting for the rain to stop. I just put it in one of the empty racks to keep it out of the way. Had 3 different people pull it out of the rack to see if they could take it for a test ride. Each time, they pointed them to me saying it was my bike, I shook my head no and they looked dejected.
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AH - there's a difference here. What is available at retail to the public is different than what is available in wholesale channels. Our distributors have had little to nothing in the way of tubes and tires for over almost 2 years. That said they do occasionally have batches that come in and are sold out in seconds as the people you guys are buying from at retail are buying up everything they can get their hands on.
At this distributor (wholesale) end the pricing doubled overnight. Another double is coming. They also warned that there will be a shortage of raw material. On top of that most of the plants that process these parts are located in Malaysia. That country has been hit super hard by covid at the moment and has their government has shut down most factories.
To make it all worse - there are no containers to get anything over here even if they are able to make tubes and tires at a higher price.
I know it's seemingly hard for most here to think there is anything to a supply chain other than looking at their favorite retail chain online...what I am saying is upstream is getting hit with large price increases and being told of shortages. In addition to what we have been dealing with for the last year and a half. At some point this will hit the retail end.
I get that no one will believe it until it finally hits them on the retail side so... that's why I started this. Just to watch everyone convince themselves it's a non-issue because right now they can buy what they want online at retail. Then when issues start arising it could be a decent place for people to come look for places that still have inventory or intermittent stock.
So...not a hard concept. There are tubes available in retail right now no doubt. Every single one of my distributors is completely out of tubes and has been for the last year and a half.
At this distributor (wholesale) end the pricing doubled overnight. Another double is coming. They also warned that there will be a shortage of raw material. On top of that most of the plants that process these parts are located in Malaysia. That country has been hit super hard by covid at the moment and has their government has shut down most factories.
To make it all worse - there are no containers to get anything over here even if they are able to make tubes and tires at a higher price.
I know it's seemingly hard for most here to think there is anything to a supply chain other than looking at their favorite retail chain online...what I am saying is upstream is getting hit with large price increases and being told of shortages. In addition to what we have been dealing with for the last year and a half. At some point this will hit the retail end.
I get that no one will believe it until it finally hits them on the retail side so... that's why I started this. Just to watch everyone convince themselves it's a non-issue because right now they can buy what they want online at retail. Then when issues start arising it could be a decent place for people to come look for places that still have inventory or intermittent stock.
So...not a hard concept. There are tubes available in retail right now no doubt. Every single one of my distributors is completely out of tubes and has been for the last year and a half.
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edit.. found this chart below. So, for argument's sake, raw rubber is up 80%. Sounds impressive, but that's just an increase of $1/kg. The rubber content in a bike tire has grown in value by about $.30
Last edited by Sy Reene; 07-14-21 at 05:54 PM.