183cm or 6ft
Not looked at Ash Cycles. Will check them out!
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Apologies, I haven’t read all the posts, but to chip in. I agree with this post, and that 15% off isn’t that much.
Giant have been offering 30-35% off some of the top end mountain bikes recently. I think now is typically not a great time in the cycle as 2023 models are either just in store or imminent.
It’s definitely turning so that you now have more power to wait. Wait for the right deal.
If 15% off is enough and you want to get riding. Do it 
.
Also, I haven’t ridden a modern TCR. Mine’s a 2004, but Giant in general make excellent bikes.
It’s a great time to buy used. Bikes are literally sitting still for sale since the late summer from sellers hoping to cash in on the pandemic pricing.
I don’t believe we will see MSRP from most manufactures dropping much. I know Marin had dropped MSRP on some models due supply chain issues/cargo pricing.
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I’ve had my eye out for a Tarmac SL6 or SL7 and I’ve just started seeing good prices on ebay. There are still a lot of people with 1 year ago prices and bikes not selling. Once all those sellers capitulate and realize that nobody is going to buy their bike at last years price, we’ll see tons of good used deals.
Well, the bike my new one replaces will be for sale if the OP wanted something cheaper & second hand while he waits a few years. 56cm, carbon, Venn 50’s on hope hubs & 105 with Ritchey bits 
DM me.
Here’s another perspective:
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I can’t afford new bikes that are even equal to my 7-10 year old mid range models.
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My Specialized Tarmac SL6 Pro was 7K€ in 2020 but the SL 7 Pro - besides the frame no changes - is now 9k€. Taxes have not changed. 28% in 2 years is just ridiculous…
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Specialized pushed the pandemic cost increases more than anyone. I was comparing the Emonda SL with 12 speed Ultegra Di2 and carbon wheels to the non S-Works Tarmac with the same group and carbon Roval wheels. The Emonda is $6.2k and the Tarmac $7.8k.
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Nice. I had an unbranded Ican bike. Lasted for years. Got a lot of comments from the roadie snobs!
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If you are the type of rider who can happily ride the same bike for 3/4/5 years and retain most of the original components, the initial outlay isn’t so difficult to swallow. My Propel is currently running at around £1.6k per year. When I consider the time, fun, memories and experiences I’ve had on this bike, that to me, is money well spent.
Once you start owning and maintaining 2+ bikes, it can get expensive really quickly.
I do believe that the western cycling brands will eat themselves. Cycling enthusiasts are more savvy than we used to be and we take the marketing with a bigger pinch of salt.
There are some seemingly reputable disrupters entering the space and brands who we have come to know and love will need to acknowledge these eastern brands at the very least.
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Looks like they had some cash for this…
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Stages and wahoo have been competing to see who could go belly up first! Looks like the bail out has begun! Haha
Giant is usually a safe bet. They’re (one of) the biggest bike manufacturers in the world. Kinda funny because their branded bikes with the same carbon and layup often cost a bunch less than another companies frame, that they also make! That said, if giant is having financial issues, it’s probably safe to bet everyone is. I would expect to see more sales in the coming months. It’s all stock market speculation… everyone seems to have an opinion (myself included) but no one is putting their life savings into that one stock they’re so sure of…
Used market it great right now. I was waiting to sell my old mtb until spring thinking I could get a better price, probably kicking myself over that mistake!
Unless you’re talking about the sale going on now, “specialized” and “value” are typically not used in the same sentence. They’re always more expensive compared to a comparable big market brand.
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Here in the UK price reductions have already kicked in and that’s prior to Spring starting.
The price gouging from certain manufacturers during the pandemic will come back to do immense damage to brands. Any doubt look regarding this then take Tesla as an example and the existing customers response to the recent price reduction. Arguably Tesla are moving away from a premium brand to a mass manufacturer anyway but it’s still a hard pill to swallow if you have a Tesla on your drive.
IMHO Prices are only going to drop, the alternative is losing market share to competitors and reduced marketing/sponsorship/ R&D budgets.
The big S kicked in an increase for a tarmac pro from £7800 to £8400 at the start of last winter. No spec change to the bike, still no tubeless set up, not even graphic/ colour changes. Best discounted price now is £6700……
2nd hand prices will realign and that’s already starting on eBay.
Personally 2nd hand is the wise choice here but the allure of a new bike never diminishes. The smart money suggests wait as there is further headroom for prices to drop.
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My worry with getting a used bike is it seems like with most brands the warranty doesn’t transfer. Had a cracked frame in 2016 and don’t want to deal with that again. The prices aren’t that good for a used bike that the risk seems worth it. Plus if the rest of the parts are in good shape it’s hard to tell (internal damage to carbon, components having issues, …). Am I overestimating the risk?
This is a tough question…but in your shoes, given you’ve had to deal with a broken frame, I think it’s fair to stick with new bikes for the warranty.
I’d bet there’s a 99.9% chance you’d be fine buying a used bike, but if it were me I’d still have that bit of concern.
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Yes. I’ve bought 8 used carbon bikes over the years without a problem.
Pre-pandemic I was paying 25-50% of list. I’d always buy like-new bikes that mostly sat in the garage.
I don’t worry about hidden damage. Remember that carbon is easily repaired.
So this is one of those things where we need to differentiate between “margin” and “dollars”.
Lower end bikes can have decent margins, and those margins are often higher than the margins on high-end bikes. But the problem is that margin is only a percentage, not dollars. For easy math, let’s assume a 50% margin. Low end bike costs $200, so the retailer sells it for $400, netting $200 in top line profit and a 50% margin.
For a high end bike, the numbers are are very different. If a bike costs $2k, retailer sells it for $4k and nets $2k in top line profit. Same 50% margin, but vastly different contributions to the shop’s financials.
Hence the reason higher end bikes are often sold at lower margins, because even with a lower margin, they still contribute much more in actual dollars.
So this is hat caught my eye for that article…
Giant has manufactured some of Stages smart and commercial indoor bikes for several years, and Giant also distributes some Giant-branded Stages GPS computers to its dealers globally
I wonder if / how much of this deal was ownership in lieu of payment for previous production.
100% speculation on my part, but given the current trends of inventory for companies like Wahoo, Saris and Stages, it wouldn’t surprise me.
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I’m comfy, uninjured and fairly aero on a 56 frame with a short head tube, 130 -10 stem, 36-38 bars, and 165 cranks. So, I’ve never purchased a box bike because I’d have to change all of that given what comes on a standard 56 box bike.
I buy the frameset, move over some parts and buy some new parts. I get a custom build for about the same price as a box bike (less money to build but also less money from selling parts) and each iteration gets better and better.
Buying and riding a bike as-is sounds nice though. If you’re OK with standard component sizing, go for it.