Went to my team shop. To see about buying new MTB. I knew inventory was low! But it sounds nothing my even be available this year. Has anyone heard differently? Looking for an XL Specialized or Trek. Thanks!
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My understanding is that a lot of (especially lower-end) models are already spoken for for the 2021 model year. Used might be your best bet, or finding alternative brands online. You may see better luck if you’re looking at something higher end, e.g. Yeti seems to have a fair number of bikes out there to buy.
Doug, it’s very frustrating.
- Where are you located?
- Saw an interview with CEO of Santa Cruz and he said they have a 12 month backlog. Santa Cruz small company hit harder and they have less money than Trek and Specialized.
- Today at the LBS Specilized picking up new MTB that was supposed to be delivered in November . LBS said backlog is early summer depending, He said Specialized and Trek are buying up lots of parts and components in order to minimize the pain. Specialized factory for Spain is in Tawain and they are having problems with China as Beijing considers Tawain China… So it could be affecting shipping lanes…LBS said that not one container had arrived at our local port from Tawain OCT thru beginning of February.
Pete from TR said he bought the Epic Evo cause he couldn’t find an Epic. Alex Wild from TR also said he waited a long time for his Epic Evo and that it was the best bike he has ridden.
Good luck.
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US is my location. LBS said they ordered 100 bikes from Trek and only got six. I’m not looking at low end bikes. Top fuel 9.8 and epic expert. I could understand a month or two.
In a normal year, sure.
In this current climate… not very likely unless you get lucky with a dealer that planned WAY ahead and/or got lucky to get the model, color, size you want. The scale of this problem is far bigger than most people realize.
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Yep it’s pretty much the same everywhere. I’ve had a Giant Revolt on order since August. 
, with a forecast of a week 12 arrival, but I’m not holding my breath.
Best bet is going to be scouring many different bikes shops, brands, online sales or used. it sucks!
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What chad said…and it is likely even worse for you since msot companies don’t bring in many XL bikes in the first place. So with general demand as high as it is, those few bikes get snapped up quickly.
Check with smaller brands…you may get lucky there. But the big brands are going to be a real challenge for you, I think.
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Ugh used market is not great either. High dollar for used bikes. Also another interesting thing I found is other shops will not transfer to other shops. 
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- Supply & demand is a pain when you are on the wrong side of it
- Yep, most years shops will work out swaps. Now, dealers are happy to have any inventory they can, so trading is super unlikely.
Crap timing and situation to be a buyer right now, unfortunately.
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Agree! Crazy times!
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Yeah, after I hit “reply” on my last post I almost went back and added something along the lines “and good luck contacting a dealer in another area. They won’t likely ship something when they can easily garner the goodwill in their own community”.
On the upside of things, the Used Market is helping me…I have a 2009 Cervelo S2 w/ 10 spd and old school Zipp 404 Tubulars (non-Firecrest and non-dimpled) up on eBay and have already gotten some bids on it…before now, I would have thought it would be close to unsellable. So yay me, I guess!!
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I think that if you want an exact model you’re going to have to be assertive and be willing to call dealers out of your area and be willing to travel. I plan on trying if a new model comes out that I “must have” other wise I’m planning on waiting until 22. I got lucky and got a new bike last season right before the inventory situation was out of hand, even then it was a long lead time.
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It’s definitely brand and model dependent.
I was scoping out bikes about a month ago and a couple stores told me zero joy until late summer at the earliest. Ended up buying used. Strolled into a Trek store this past weekend for some parts for what I bought and they actually had a… not terrible… selection, especially of more enduro-focused bikes. A kid was excitedly wheeling out a new Fuel EX 8 as I walked in! I actually remarked to them about the inventories, and he said that Trek has been doing not terrible vs some of the other brands, and that they’ve had bikes coming in.
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Great time to be a seller.
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Low? I’d say really, really low?
I ordered a new bike in January. It’ll be delivered in mid-to-late March from the looks of things. But it only went this quick, because my LBS secured a RTP frame and I am willing to pay extra for painting. Originally I wanted to update my crank from Force eTap to Red eTap. They told me I’d have to wait until June for the Red crank. Instead, they secured the only 165 mm Force eTap crank in all of Japan for me.
I feel you.
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I moved up my bike purchase and I’m very glad I did.
Earliest next shipment I’ve heard for many brands is October and some are already sold through on 2022 models.
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Just ordered a BMC Twostroke in an XL. Looks like it will be delivered in Q2 of this year according to the bike shop—hopefully. I really hope it works out.
The used market is so gouged right now and XL bikes in general are difficult to come by. I feel your pain.
It does seem like higher end bikes are still in stock, but your size is the issue.
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Lots of interesting stuff happening in the cycling world right now. I had a long chat with one of the managers at a local Trek store this past week. He said Supercalibers generally have been available but the Top Fuels much harder to come by. Trek corporate has indicated to them that they are anticipating more inventory in the April/May time frame for a lot of items.
Trek has been buying up private shops around the country. They recently bought a number of shops in Austin and Portland, amongst other places. Seems a lot of smaller shop owners are looking to sell now as well.
I took the opportunity to clear out some old bikes from my basement. I sold a 2012 Niner Jet 9 RDO and 2013 Rip 9 RDO on Ebay. The bikes were loaded and in great shape, but obviously somewhat dated. They both got a lot of bids and sold for more than 50% of what I had originally paid new. Don’t think that would have happened in a “normal” year. A first generation Kickr sold for 75% of what I paid new many years ago - that was even more surprising.
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I ordered a L Twostroke (AL2) back in September. The wait went from “4 weeks” to “4 more weeks” to “before the riding season”… About 2 weeks ago I got the word not to expect it at all this year… funny thing is they’ve had a Medium on the rack since October.
However, I found a Trek Procaliber at another shop the very same day.
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