new bike delivery wait?

scienceproject said:

Do you have to wait for a new road bike to be delivered?
or can you get it immediately from the shop floor?

Do you really have to wait 3 months?

sorry if this is a stoopid question

It depends. If the bike shop has the bike in stock, then they will give it to you straight away. However if you are buying a model which is not available at the moment, then yes you will have to wait.

SomeGuy said:

It depends. If the bike shop has the bike in stock, then they will give it to you straight away. However if you are buying a model which is not available at the moment, then yes you will have to wait.

yet another way that bikes are just like cars!

scienceproject said:

Do you have to wait for a new road bike to be delivered?
or can you get it immediately from the shop floor?

Do you really have to wait 3 months?

sorry if this is a stoopid question

It depends. If you're getting a common bike, that the
shop, or the Aust distributor has in stock, then usually
you'd get it in a day or so - usually a LBS will want to
prep it for you before you take it - set up the seat & stem,
check all the gears etc and make sure it's safe and set up properly.

If you're ordering exotica, it can take months to arrive from O/S,
especially if it's some special order that has to be made for you.

Bleve said:

If you're ordering exotica, it can take months to arrive from O/S,
especially if it's some special order that has to be made for you.

I was after a Cannondale Touring bike (T2000). The 2005 models had run out so I would have to wait for the 2006 model to come from the states.

At present there is a big demand for quality touring bikes throughout the world. People at one stage would use mountain bikes and hybrids for touring but they are moving away from these bikes into dedicated touring bikes.

Because people were using the above bikes the manufacturers stopped making touring bikes and reduced production. So now it's wait in a queue and hope you get one, otherwise have a custom one made up.

scienceproject said:

Do you have to wait for a new road bike to be delivered?
or can you get it immediately from the shop floor?

Do you really have to wait 3 months?

sorry if this is a stoopid question

Like you really believe that is a stoopid question {:-).
As others have said, it is a bit like how long is a piece of string.

<rant>
If anyone wonders why we have to wait for anything to be delivered and
wants a good laugh, call into your LBS and ask if you can read Page 35
(2nd last)"Caught in the Web" article in the Sept 2005 issue of
Bicycling Trade.

Last paragraph "there are now about 300 bicycle related wholesalers in
Australia, with about 1100 bike shops", which means there is too much
stuff for a bicycle shop to carry everything, so they don't and so
unless it is there on the shelf you are going to wait.

And wait and wait and wait, because nor are the wholesalers carrying
enough of their stock. And they wonder why people are embracing online
ordering as fast as possible.

</rant>

Quoted message said:

Terry Collins said:

<rant>
If anyone wonders why we have to wait for anything to be delivered and
wants a good laugh, call into your LBS and ask if you can read Page 35
(2nd last)"Caught in the Web" article in the Sept 2005 issue of
Bicycling Trade.

Last paragraph "there are now about 300 bicycle related wholesalers in
Australia, with about 1100 bike shops", which means there is too much
stuff for a bicycle shop to carry everything, so they don't and so
unless it is there on the shelf you are going to wait.

And wait and wait and wait, because nor are the wholesalers carrying
enough of their stock. And they wonder why people are embracing online
ordering as fast as possible.

</rant>

Quoted message said:

you forgot the bit about this nutty cycle (pun intended) of having to participate in this yearly 'review' of a range. IE 05 v 06 (why CAN i buy an 06 bike in 05???). Great for bargain hunters. the only ones winning are the courier Co's who get to deliver all the new boxes.

In my wanderings looking for another bike ( a roadie) I found some pretty intresting floor stock in some LBSs.
Wouldn't it be great if all the LBS had a on line inventory that other LBS can access so if they get a custoner after something different, the LBS can search the floor stock across the nation & get in other LBS floor stock. This would help out other LBS in moving the odd-ball left overs that no one seems to be buying in the local area.

I would like to think that the local retail bicycle industry is capable of this co-operation for mutual benifit.

Marx SS said:

In my wanderings looking for another bike ( a roadie) I found some
pretty intresting floor stock in some LBSs.
Wouldn't it be great if all the LBS had a on line inventory that other
LBS can access so if they get a custoner after something different, the
LBS can search the floor stock across the nation & get in other LBS
floor stock. This would help out other LBS in moving the odd-ball left
overs that no one seems to be buying in the local area.

I would like to think that the local retail bicycle industry is capable
of this co-operation for mutual benifit.

A lot of them do co-operate in that regard, in my experience.

Terry Collins said:

scienceproject said:

Do you have to wait for a new road bike to be delivered?
or can you get it immediately from the shop floor?

Do you really have to wait 3 months?

sorry if this is a stoopid question

Like you really believe that is a stoopid question {:-).
As others have said, it is a bit like how long is a piece of string.

<rant>
If anyone wonders why we have to wait for anything to be delivered and
wants a good laugh, call into your LBS and ask if you can read Page 35
(2nd last)"Caught in the Web" article in the Sept 2005 issue of
Bicycling Trade.

Last paragraph "there are now about 300 bicycle related wholesalers in
Australia, with about 1100 bike shops", which means there is too much
stuff for a bicycle shop to carry everything, so they don't and so
unless it is there on the shelf you are going to wait.

This has always been the case, and that sounds like a whinge! Far
beit for an industry journal to whinge ... 🙂 Half the shops these
days have a wall of anonymous-BBB gear anyway.

Quoted message said:

And wait and wait and wait, because nor are the wholesalers carrying
enough of their stock. And they wonder why people are embracing online
ordering as fast as possible.

</rant>

The issue with online ordering from O/S is more of a long-term problem.
If we all go to buying things online from <generic overseas discounter>
then sooner or later, the LBS's will disapear.

There's 2 core reasons for this. Firstly, an LBS is not a
licence to print money. A good LBS has to carry a lot of
expensive stock, some of which sits on the shelves for years. The
markup on some items is pretty big, but that covers a lot of other
costs that most punters don't really think about. My LBS is a
good small business, but Peter's not off on holidays every year, his
margins are tight and he works 6-7 days a week to keep it going. Most
of the suburban LBS's are in the same boat. They're not complaining
about it, but we, if we want their sort of service, have to expect to
pay for it. If one or two shops do a little parallel importing, it
won't have a significant effect, but if that expands too much, the
local distributors die, and then we have no spares or expertise except
from the really big shops, as they end up being all that's left.

Secondly, Australia is a small marketplace. There's not really
much room for multiple distributors/wholesalers. Sure, Shimano have a
dodgey arrangement, and it's perfectly legal to parallel-import,
but remember that this, if carried to its ultimate conclusion, will
send the local wholesalers broke and/or kill off the LBS's. Guess who
has the
spare parts? Guess who processes the warranty claims? With the
incredible
proliferation of boutique brands (esp roadbikes) it's getting harder &
harder to find who does distribute things already. If the LBS can't
get the bits from somewhere, the LBS loses customers. We'll end up
with being able to
order anything over the wire, but woe betide the cyclist who doesn't
have their own BB tool or truing stand, because sure as [censored], Anaconda
aren't going to have anyone clueful enough to actually fix anything,
especially if it's not their house brand.

So, think before you buy, about what it is you're paying for and why,
and if you're happy with the long-term consequences of same.

flyingdutch said:

you forgot the bit about this nutty cycle (pun intended) of having to
participate in this yearly 'review' of a range. IE 05 v 06 (why CAN i
buy an 06 bike in 05???). Great for bargain hunters. the only ones
winning are the courier Co's who get to deliver all the new boxes.

Well, yes. AFAIUI the nutty part is that bike shops seem to have to
decided 12 months ahead what bikes they want and stump up the cash then,
then they wait and wait and wait.

Obviously, there is a very good opportunity for someone to enter the
global bicycle frame production market in China.

I was previously commenting more about the parts situation.

I keep wondering how much it parallels the computer market.

Marx SS said:

I would like to think that the local retail bicycle industry is capable
of this co-operation for mutual benifit.

My 2c on this is that it would make a lot of sense for the
wholesaler/importer to actually "sell" the bike online, but refer the
buyer to a LBS fo final fitout and collection.

Bleve said:

This has always been the case, and that sounds like a whinge! Far
beit for an industry journal to whinge ... 🙂

They didn't, I just posted their figures , interpreteted their stats and
combined it with my decades of experiences with various LBSs.

Quoted message said:

The issue with online ordering from O/S is more of a long-term problem.
If we all go to buying things online from <generic overseas discounter>
then sooner or later, the LBS's will disapear.

Nope, look at books, elctronics and computers. Both can be purchased OS
and people have done so for years.

.....snippped preaching to the choir stuff ....

Quoted message said:

If one or two shops do a little parallel importing, it
won't have a significant effect, but if that expands too much, the
local distributors die, and then we have no spares or expertise except
from the really big shops, as they end up being all that's left.

That is the trade off isnt. Frankly, they are not going to be any worse
off from what I can see. My 2c was that LBS do not get the backup they
need from the wholesaler.

Quoted message said:

Secondly, Australia is a small marketplace. There's not really
much room for multiple distributors/wholesalers.

Agreed, but that isn't the argument, but more of what I was pointing
out; there are too many distributor.

Quoted message said:

Sure, Shimano have a dodgey arrangement,

Mr Shimano "We do not sell our products to on-line dealers..." {:-) that
answered the question as to why I don't see much Shimano gear around.

Quoted message said:

and it's perfectly legal to parallel-import, but remember that this,
if carried to its ultimate conclusion, will
send the local wholesalers broke and/or kill off the LBS's.

Sorry, you loose that argument. We had this argument a decade or two ago
about books.

My own bicycle books business died back then because it was illegal to
parallel import and I could not get the books because the wholesaler
would not bring in the titles that were selling. I was actually selling
these books back into the USA againts Amazon, etc at a premium because
we averaged 1 week turnaround.

What killed the local book shop was GST. Despite all the government
retoric, prices jumped 10%+ overnight.

Quoted message said:

So, think before you buy, about what it is you're paying for and why,
and if you're happy with the long-term consequences of same.

I buy #1 at my LBS, but if they don't have it, then tough. I'll buy it
anywhere I can get it now. They have had 30+ years to get their act
together, so I tend to duck's back your argument.

I'm tired of making do with the [censored] on the wall and I'm not going to
wait months (normal case) for someone (wholesaler) to decide it is worth
their effort to get it in.

Terry Collins said:

Bleve said:

This has always been the case, and that sounds like a whinge! Far
beit for an industry journal to whinge ... 🙂

They didn't, I just posted their figures , interpreteted their stats and
combined it with my decades of experiences with various LBSs.

Quoted message said:

The issue with online ordering from O/S is more of a long-term problem.
If we all go to buying things online from <generic overseas discounter>
then sooner or later, the LBS's will disapear.

Nope, look at books, elctronics and computers. Both can be purchased OS
and people have done so for years.

Books, electronics and computers (retail anyway) are not bikes. When
was the last time you needed to get a creeky book spine fixed? Or
needed a toaster's brakes adjusted? If your DVD player dies, you get
another one. If something goes wrong with
a computer, you're rooted unless you know how to reinstall
everything, or are lucky enough to have a local yumcha that
knows more than just "plug in disk, turn on".

Quoted message said:

....snippped preaching to the choir stuff ....

Quoted message said:

If one or two shops do a little parallel importing, it
won't have a significant effect, but if that expands too much, the
local distributors die, and then we have no spares or expertise except
from the really big shops, as they end up being all that's left.

That is the trade off isnt. Frankly, they are not going to be any worse
off from what I can see. My 2c was that LBS do not get the backup they
need from the wholesaler.

That depends on the wholesaler. My LBS gets good backup from
Cracknfail and Truk. I'm still trying to parse "That is the trade off
isnt.",
can you explain?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Secondly, Australia is a small marketplace. There's not really
much room for multiple distributors/wholesalers.

Agreed, but that isn't the argument, but more of what I was pointing
out; there are too many distributor.

True, and they'll sort themselves out soon enough, I suspect.
What doesn't make sense is to lose a local distributor (assuming
that the dist is actually providing value, which in some cases
is quite an assumption).

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sure, Shimano have a dodgey arrangement,

Mr Shimano "We do not sell our products to on-line dealers..." {:-) that
answered the question as to why I don't see much Shimano gear around.

Where don't you see much Shimano? K-mart? Or on-line? Cecil Walker
sells Shimano online, so do a number of LBS's that have webpages and
that do on-line sales.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and it's perfectly legal to parallel-import, but remember that this,
if carried to its ultimate conclusion, will
send the local wholesalers broke and/or kill off the LBS's.

Sorry, you loose that argument. We had this argument a decade or two ago
about books.

Books are not specialised pieces of mechanical equipment that
require aftersales service. Books make perfect sense to sell
over the 'net. I have no interest in propping up a book wholesaler
that provides zero value and can't provide any value.
I don't need a spare page 65 and page
79 isn't grinding when I flick the page over. If page 108 should
happen
to develop a funny noise and shimmy in its bindings, I don't need a
replacement by next week to go racing with it.

Bikes are *different*. They're personal and need care & attention.

This is why, despite a pretty decent effort by some big chains,
LBS's still exist. The only real threat to them is if they
kill off the wholesalers and then have to carry their own
inventory of spares for everything they stock. This would
send most LBS's broke in a flash, and mean that the big chains
win. And we know where that ends up. Annaconnedya, Rays'
[censored], k-mart, and one or two dying repair specialists,
just like the electronics industry once VCRs got cheaper to replace
than to repair.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So, think before you buy, about what it is you're paying for and why,
and if you're happy with the long-term consequences of same.

I buy #1 at my LBS, but if they don't have it, then tough. I'll buy it
anywhere I can get it now. They have had 30+ years to get their act
together, so I tend to duck's back your argument.

*shrug*

Bleve said:

Quoted message said:

Nope, look at books, elctronics and computers. Both can be purchased OS
and people have done so for years.

Books, electronics and computers (retail anyway) are not bikes.

They are three, of many sectors that have survived the "on-line
competition" bogey.

Quoted message said:

When
was the last time you needed to get a creeky book spine fixed? Or
needed a toaster's brakes adjusted? If your DVD player dies, you get
another one. If something goes wrong with
a computer, you're rooted unless you know how to reinstall
everything, or are lucky enough to have a local yumcha that
knows more than just "plug in disk, turn on".

So what is different for most people with bikes?
I guess it would be kinda arsey to say I can fix both bikes and
computers and theorectically can fix booksen (no recent experience)
OTOH, I'm definitely in the "its broke" class when it comes to motor
vehicles {:-). It is all relevant.

Quoted message said:

That depends on the wholesaler. My LBS gets good backup from
Cracknfail and Truk. I'm still trying to parse "That is the trade off
isnt.",
can you explain?

.....It.

2 down, 298 to go.

Quoted message said:

Where don't you see much Shimano?

Street salvage, neighbourhood bikes, LBSs.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

and it's perfectly legal to parallel-import, but remember that this,
if carried to its ultimate conclusion, will
send the local wholesalers broke and/or kill off the LBS's.

Sorry, you loose that argument. We had this argument a decade or two ago
about books.

Books are not specialised pieces of mechanical equipment that
require aftersales service.

ROFL, sorry, that isn't a good argument. Cars, computers, consumer
elctronics and more require varying skills that can be learnt.

Yes, for some people, they are going to always need the garage, computer
store, LBS, etc, but all are areas that the individual can acquire skill
in. All areas provide on-line sales, all areas have local outlets.

I do not see any argument that says LBSs should be protected in any way.

Quoted message said:

Books make perfect sense to sell
over the 'net. I have no interest in propping up a book wholesaler
that provides zero value and can't provide any value.

Aagh, same applies to a LBS.

Comments on traditional books snipped whilst thinking of Sutherlands
Bicycle Manual

Quoted message said:

Bikes are *different*. They're personal and need care & attention.

Bikes are no different to many other areas; motor vehicles, fscky mongel
computers ()yes it has been that sort of week), etc.

Quoted message said:

This is why, despite a pretty decent effort by some big chains,
LBS's still exist.

Pardon? I suspect that many LBS exist soley because of the many big chains.

1) These big chains get bums on seats.
2) the unwashed need the LBS to make repairs.
3) the unwashed find out that there exists a quality bike that makes
bicycling fun.

The only real threat to them is if they

Quoted message said:

kill off the wholesalers and then have to carry their own
inventory of spares for everything they stock. This would
send most LBS's broke in a flash, and mean that the big chains
win. And we know where that ends up. Annaconnedya, Rays'
[censored], k-mart, and one or two dying repair specialists,
just like the electronics industry once VCRs got cheaper to replace
than to repair.

Low end bicycles are already consumer disposable items. I guess most
people can not see the reverse and admit that they buy the low end
[censored] consumer electronics. {:-).

Quoted message said:

My appologies for taking so long to get back to you on this,
I've been pretty busy!

Terry Collins said:

Bleve said:

Quoted message said:

Nope, look at books, elctronics and computers. Both can be purchased OS
and people have done so for years.

Books, electronics and computers (retail anyway) are not bikes.

They are three, of many sectors that have survived the "on-line
competition" bogey.

Quoted message said:

When
was the last time you needed to get a creeky book spine fixed? Or
needed a toaster's brakes adjusted? If your DVD player dies, you get
another one. If something goes wrong with
a computer, you're rooted unless you know how to reinstall
everything, or are lucky enough to have a local yumcha that
knows more than just "plug in disk, turn on".

So what is different for most people with bikes?
I guess it would be kinda arsey to say I can fix both bikes and
computers and theorectically can fix booksen (no recent experience)
OTOH, I'm definitely in the "its broke" class when it comes to motor
vehicles {:-). It is all relevant.

Or relative, perhaps. Bikes are probably more like cars than
anything else I can think of in this context. They're personal,
they need regular maintenance, and so far, there's a diversity
of small dealers and choices.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Where don't you see much Shimano?

Street salvage, neighbourhood bikes, LBSs.

Find me an LBS that *isn't* full of Shimano bits?!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>and it's perfectly legal to parallel-import, but remember that this,
>if carried to its ultimate conclusion, will
>send the local wholesalers broke and/or kill off the LBS's.

Sorry, you loose that argument. We had this argument a decade or two ago
about books.

Books are not specialised pieces of mechanical equipment that
require aftersales service.

ROFL, sorry, that isn't a good argument. Cars, computers, consumer
elctronics and more require varying skills that can be learnt.

Sure, and you can learn to true a wheel, adjust gears etc ... but
that takes time, tools and commitment. the only real parellel is
cars and PCs, in this context. The others are completely different. I
make a living fixing computers, so have some experience in this
field 🙂

Quoted message said:

Yes, for some people, they are going to always need the garage, computer
store, LBS, etc, but all are areas that the individual can acquire skill
in. All areas provide on-line sales, all areas have local outlets.

It's pretty hard to testdrive a car, or testride a bike, online.

Quoted message said:

I do not see any argument that says LBSs should be protected in any way.

I'm not talking about protection, I'm talking about making choices and
being aware of the consequences of those choices. Just going to
the cheapest source for bits isn't necessarily the wisest course
in the long run. That's the point I'm trying to make.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Books make perfect sense to sell
over the 'net. I have no interest in propping up a book wholesaler
that provides zero value and can't provide any value.

Aagh, same applies to a LBS.

I don't agree.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Bikes are *different*. They're personal and need care & attention.

Bikes are no different to many other areas; motor vehicles, fscky mongel
computers ()yes it has been that sort of week), etc.

Quoted message said:

This is why, despite a pretty decent effort by some big chains,
LBS's still exist.

Pardon? I suspect that many LBS exist soley because of the many big chains.

1) These big chains get bums on seats.
2) the unwashed need the LBS to make repairs.
3) the unwashed find out that there exists a quality bike that makes
bicycling fun.

There may be something to that.

Quoted message said:

Low end bicycles are already consumer disposable items. I guess most
people can not see the reverse and admit that they buy the low end
[censored] consumer electronics. {:-).

heh!