How many bike shops near you remain out of stock on bikes or ebikes ?

[Deleted member 4210]

Just curious. Also a Trek store near me, sent out an email to all customers, that no new service appointments are being accepted 'until further notice.' Allegedly this is due now to a severe parts shortage, in addition to overwhelming demand for repairs. Last I saw they had a 2 month wait list for service.

Bikes, parts, many accessories are not easy to get these days. Not surprisingly, bike thefts are way up around here too.

 

[Marci jo]

My local Trek dealer has roughly 30% empty bike racks. They’re normally open 6-7 hours each day but occasionally close all day just to catch up on repairs and service.

 

[Taylor57]

My local bike shop, Palm Springs Cyclery quoted 2 or 3 days to fix a flat. As far as inventory, I asked the manager about Ebike availability and he said the only Ebikes he had for sale at the current time were 7-9k in price. Not sure of the brands. Only 1 customer is allowed in the shop at a time and at 10am when the store opens, the line of customers is 10 deep....

 

[ez3putt]

Took my grandson's acoustic bike in to a shop in Carrollton, GA for service. Owner and two tech's were working six days a week trying to keep wait time down to one week. He had zero new bikes of any kind in inventory and did not know when the next shipment would be. LBS in Winter Haven FL has a six week wait time for service.

 

[Saratoga Dave]

I’m trying to find a bike for my grandson who has grown completely out of his last one at 14. A kid has to have a bike! I’ve looked in shops around here in three states, nothing. My kingdom for a medium Giant Roam 4!

 

[BigNerd]

In SoCal, bikes below $1k are rare... any kind. Over $2k you can find both types... I guess people like me find it hard to part with over $2k for a bike... electric or not.

 

[CdnShaun]

All 3 LBS I keep in touch with are barely keeping 25-50% of their shop space with bikes and one was down to less than 10 bikes while waiting for shipments. All of them have more and more 'just the most expensive models' in shop as customers wait for the lower cost bikes (below $5k for ebikes, below $3k for non-e bikes) to come in.

(I'm outside the Toronto area for reference).

Even big box stores like Walmart and Canadian Tire in my area are mostly sold out all the time. Saw one store putting the bikes still in their 'to be assembled' boxes on the floor for customers to consider where normally big box stores only sell assembled bikes as we know.

Crazy year for ebikes and non-ebikes for sure.

 

[Jimbo08]

Cannot get bikes or parts right now. Every bike that has been hanging on the back wall of the garage for the past 20 years...now the owner thinks he needs it fixed up and cannot believe it is going to take a few weeks. No 'reasonably priced (ie. cheap) 26" tires or tubes to be found at any of our 5 suppliers, and those are still much the bread & butter of the work orders we will complete this year.
A few Specialized and Norco ebikes still on our floor, but they are going fast too. Strange year, and a strange way to run a store that is used to 5 online orders a week, not 25 a day. Most other bike shops in our town are down to bare minimums in parts, and no bikes to be found, even the really expensive ones. And most, not all, customers get it. Unfortunately its the difficult ones you remember.
Looking forward to normal hours and not combing suppliers websites hoping to find parts we desperately need to keep people riding. And a few customers have gone out of their way to say a very genuine thanks, even if we haven't been able to help. Appreciate that!!

 

[QuantumTwitch]

SummitBicycles which is a Trek exclusive bike shop with several locations in my area has a recorded message playing each time you call them that says due to increased demand there's little to no inventory of bikes under $2000.

 

[Art Deco]

I have been in only 2 lbs in the last few weeks, and both looked empty. My Specialized dealer has 1 vado, 1como, and 1 Cannondale total in ebikes and probably a third of the mech. bikes that he had a few months ago. Trek shop has a few more bikes now than last month, but still a half empty showroom and very picked over wall racks. Both out of stock in tubes for common sizes including my bike.

 

[ruffruff]

I called a LBS earlier in the week for an inner tube. They said they couldn't sell me one. They are so backlogged on service they can't spare one!

 

[Over50]

The LBS employee where I picked up my Specialized said its the first time he can remember not being able to get basic parts. He also mentioned that incoming shipments from Asia are being held up at ports so tariffs can be calculated. Shipments are trickling through and every container is opened. I do not know this for fact. Just what I was told.

 

[Gordon71]

There's only one shop near (40 miles) me. They sell Pedicos and are open according to their website. Never been there as their least expensive bike is $500 more than the Rad Rover I decided on and didn't seem to be as nice a bike.

 

[Gordon71]

For regular bikes I was at my local Walmart a few days ago and went past the area that has bikes. I was surprised to see only 3 bikes all for young children. The last time I looked in that area was back in May when I was looking at a possible new saddle and it was full of bikes.

 

[Nova Haibike]

As many of you know, I run a co-op in the D.C metro area. I have cheap bikes...hundreds! And people donate bikes every day; sometimes really nice ones. My problem is I have almost no time to refurbish bikes to sell. So they just pile up in the warehouse. Of course a large percentage of donations are kids bikes, and another large chunk are bikes that are beyond fixing. I have lots of used parts and that helps with repairs, since it has become an issue getting new replacement parts. Supply is so bad that I buy tubes from Walmart when I see them.

My turn around on repairs is quick. I can do flats and other minor work while people wait, and tune-ups are usually not more than a few days. But I do have to turn down work, because I just do not have the space or time to accommodate everyone.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

We took my wife's Pedego in to the shop for some repair work. The owner told us he can't keep bikes in stock. They're already sold before the shipment arrives. 400% higher sales compared to the same time last year.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

For regular bikes I was at my local Walmart a few days ago and went past the area that has bikes. I was surprised to see only 3 bikes all for young children. The last time I looked in that area was back in May when I was looking at a possible new saddle and it was full of bikes.

Walmart and Target both, by us in a suburb of Chicago, were completely devoid of all bikes by late April. Hasn't changed since. EMPTEE.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

I called a LBS earlier in the week for an inner tube. They said they couldn't sell me one. They are so backlogged on service they can't spare one!

Get so many calls every day people looking for tubes, and other basic bike parts, simply can't answer the phone anymore. Have to let it go into VM or let them disconnect.

 

[Art Deco]

So the big question. Since demand exists, are people in the US going to be able to get eBikes for Christmas sales and keep the eBike momentum going? crystal ball?

 

[FlatSix911]

The LBS here in town has a decent of inventory of both regular and EBikes... they don't sell anything below $2K so that may be a factor.