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Time to Order Your Fat Bike! (Yes, really.)

The bike industry has become one of the "poster children" of pandemic related supply and demand issues for components, equipment and bikes in general. While there are some bikes ordered today that will be able to be delivered in June/July, planning as far in advance is by far the best suggestion we can give right now.

Fat bikes are an excellent way to stay active through the winter and the category definitely grew in popularity this past winter. With very few exceptions, fat bikes sold out in late November for us and our brands in 2020. The way things are looking, much of what will be coming in this fall will sell out well before it actually hits warehouses.

We represent top fat bike brands, like Fatback. If you are thinking that this is the year to get on a new fat bike, please contact us now to get things rolling. Those that don't have a bike under deposit well in advance of the fall may not get a fat bike this year.

Lauf Grit Fork Review

From bikes like Niner’s MCR and Moots Routt YBB to Lauf’s Grit forks, suspension is an emerging trend in gravel road bikes. Gravel roads can often be rough on their own and going off-road on your adventure bike means encountering even more jostling. Suspension on a gravel bike makes sense for many riders. One of the more unconventional suspension offerings is the Lauf Grit fork. Conceived about ten years ago, the Grit is a monocoque carbon fiber design that promises the benefits of adequate travel and strong compliance in a lightweight and laterally stiff package. How does it deliver? Read on…

2021 Bike & Equipment Supply Update - Late Spring Edition

We apologize for not being able to help everyone this year in as timely a manner as we would hope. There just isn't much that can be done to change some situations.

The pandemic supply related challenges for many bikes, components and accessories have become more defined over time. This is good in some ways, but remains frustrating in others. The increased definition is good in that we feel like we have a better grasp on how each company we work with is handling and weathering things than we did even six months ago. However, it remains frustrating in that the fundamental issues causing the challenges aren't relenting. Supply will remain challenging for the foreseeable future.

With this in mind, here are our observations for different aspects of buying and servicing bikes right now:

New Bikes:

The best suggestions we can give are to plan ahead and be flexible where you can.

Shimano and SRAM are integral to the vast majority of bikes being purchased. If a manufacturer is missing a part or two, the whole bike won't roll. Shimano and SRAM are on different delivery timeframes for some competing products right now. SRAM seems to be gone for a few months while Shimano ships, only to be followed by the opposite - SRAM shipping and Shimano not. If you are flexible on your component group/brand, you will get a bike sooner.

So, when are bikes actually shipping? Some manufacturers, including Niner and Parlee, will be shipping some allocated model orders in the next 1-3 months. This means that if you were to place an order today, you would likely get it between June and August. Models that do not fall under this, will likely be later in the year or early 2022.

We have other brands, like Cervelo, that many orders taken today will likely ship late fall 2021 to early spring 2022. If you miss these allocations, don't expect to find many Cervelo models hanging around shops that you can easily grab. You want to order your Cervelo as soon as possible.

If you want a bike from some of the biggest bike brands, like Trek or Specialized, you literally can't plan too far ahead. Many models are 6-18 months out. This being said, there are exceptions. For example, we have received a number of Specialized's impressive Creo SL dropbar ebike models that were ordered in just the past couple weeks.

When it comes to a handbuilt brand, like Moots or Waterford, timeframes can vary markedly. Moots is delivering in the fourth quarter while a Waterford ordered today should ship middle to end of summer.

Wheels:

Brands like Zipp can be many months out on many models and require a pre-order. The same is true with many handbuilt wheels built with a Chris King hubs. Enve wheels are a few months out in many cases. Rolf, being a wheel only company, has been one of the best when it comes to lead times for their wheels. While some ship in 4-6 weeks, we've seen many ship in just a week or two.

Service Parts:

Many service parts are proving very hit and miss this year. For example, we receive boxes of one SKU of brake pads one week, only to see gaping holes in the model that sits right next to it that remain unfulfilled. Disc brake rotors, shifter components and cassettes are all in a similar situation. 11 speed chains are proving particularly challenging at the moment. While we normally recommend replacing your chain at regular service intervals as needed/measured, this year is different. You may want to ride your 11 speed chain as long as possible as there simply aren't many available and resupply is months out in many cases.

As you can imagine, scarcity of some service parts is making it pretty difficult to keep some bikes on the road this year, but we'll continue to do our best.

Service Capacity:

The demand we are currently experiencing has meant that we can't service all bikes any longer and we aren't always turning things around as quickly as we would hope. This being said, each location is in a different situation, so don't hesitate to reach out if you need service and we can tell you where things are at.

Yes, We Offer Trade-Ins & Same as Cash Financing!

If you are not excited about navigating eBay or posting a bunch of old gear to club list serves, we may have an easy way to help you move your old gear along to someone else.

If you are buying a new pair of wheels or a new bike from us, we can get you quotes on the trade value of your old equipment and take care of the entire transaction for you. This usually requires that we see the product or you send us some information and a picture or two of the items. If the amount offered in trade works for you, you just leave the product with us and we apply the credit towards your purchase!

In addition to trade-ins, we offer 9 month same as cash financing options. For more information on how to use a trade-in and/or financing to help you get your new bike, contact us!

Do you Search fitwerx.com?

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Whether you are interested in learning about solutions to saddle discomfort, exploring how to turn your power meter into a wind tunnel, reading about our impressions of a Cervelo, or just about anything else, just type your interest in the box in the upper right corner of fitwerx.com and see what comes up.

Of course, never hesitate to just contact us and ask a question. We're here to help you ride better and find solutions!