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We hope that this finds you and yours well and that you are finding time to ride!
We are receiving a good number of inquiries about new bikes right now, which is great. We love to see more people getting out to ride and we also think it is great that some folks who have been riding older equipment are going to have the pleasure of experiencing just how far bikes have progressed in recent years. However, the supply chain for bikes and equipment is strained and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. A combination of a pandemic shutting down factories for 2-3 months and 50-100% more demand than an average year are the culprits.
With this in mind, we want to provide some guidance to help you get what you want as soon as possible in this new era where delayed gratification could be the norm for some time. If you want to skip the read, the summary is that we highly recommend planning (and ordering) as far in advance as possible. People who wait until spring 2021, are likely to find their options limited. People who order this fall, should be in good shape come spring.
Mass Production Bikes:
If you are interested in a Cervelo, Specialized, Trek, Felt, QR, Parlee, Niner or other production bike that is currently not available, your quickest avenue to getting one is pre-ordering. Why?
- While we periodically find a bike in-stock now, it is the exception, not the rule.
- Pre-ordering guarantees that your name is on a unit and that you are "in queue". If it isn't on order in your name, that means it can just as easily be ordered in someone else's name...
- Bike inventory is going to be tight for awhile, potentially a year or more. Why? It is hard to grow factory capacity during a pandemic. Even in ideal times, factory lead times are many months, not weeks.
- It is the only way to guarantee that you'll be on the bike you want when spring weather comes in 2021. Many bikes slated to ship in fall/winter this year will very likely sell out before they even arrive in warehouses. That means it could be June before more arrive and those could sell out before they come in. When does this sequence stop? When supply builds to the point where it exceeds demand. When does that happen, we have no idea.
- You only have to put down a deposit now to get a bike rolling; you don't need to pay the balance until you pick-up the bike.
- People who plan ahead for 2021 will get rewarded. Those who do not, may be frustrated.
Specialty Bikes:
Our specialty bike builders, which include Moots, Parlee and Waterford, are working as hard as they can to keep bikes moving. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, they are not able to produce bikes as quickly as they were a year ago and they have deeper than average order queues right now. This being said, if you order soon, there is a good chance you will have your new ride before the end of January. Why order your specialty bike now?
- Lead times are likely to get longer before they get shorter.
- If you order in March, it will likely be July or August before you get your bike.
- Most bikes that are going into production now are 2021 models.
- You only have to put down a deposit now to get a bike rolling; you don't need to pay the balance until you pick-up the bike.
- Ordering now gives you a better chance of getting all the parts you want/need well before you actually want to use the bike.
- Planning and thinking ahead is never a bad approach to things like this and that is more important than ever now.
Remember, bikes are a sum of about 26 parts that may come from a dozen or more manufacturers. All it takes is one important part to not be available and a bike is not rideable. We are doing everything we can to track down parts and get bikes on the road ASAP, but neither us or our bike manufacturers can resolve out of stock issues from companies like Shimano. Only Shimano can do that. If you focus on making sure you are on a great bike for 2021 now, you will be rewarded with exactly what you want and not run nearly the chance of being disappointed with current inventory levels come spring.
Contact us to talk bikes.
Trainers
Trainer season will be here sooner than most of us want. Please note that it will not be a surprise if the trainer industry has trouble keeping up with demand again this year. As with bikes, we highly recommend pre-ordering a trainer this year. While we know that you can buy almost anything on-line, our price will be the same as if you buy direct from the manufacturer and we really appreciate the business. We are happy to have items drop-shipped if you prefer to not come into the shop and we also are happy to compare options with you. Contact us to talk trainers and get your order in for a TACX, Wahoo, Kurt Kinetic, CycleOps, or other trainer.
Finally, a big "thank you" to those people who have ordered bikes and equipment from us during one of the more unusual years in memory. What was looking like a very slow sales year for the bike industry in March turned into one of the most brisk for general cycling retailers. For specialty retailers like us, things are looking a lot better now than they did in the early spring. As we've noted before, you are the "lifeblood" for our company (and our families) during this time and we appreciate your faith in what we do. We always hope that working with us helps you ride better!
Marty, Dean, Stephen, Mike, Joe, Brad, Bruce, Jeff, Jaz, Ian & Coby
Fit Werx
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