Pandemic is over, when will the prices go back down?

zest28

So bike shops were making excuses that due to the pandemic, the prices have increased to absurd heights.

Now that the pandemic is over, when do we see price drops on bikes?

oxoman

I suspect that prices will never return to pre covid levels. Not just on bikes but everything in general.

focuszing723

I agree, now companies know what they can get away with. What will change it is competition or people simply being not prepared to spend at that level.

Look at clothes and electronics with massive competition and supply, generally haven't changed much.

vincesummerskRoxcBTr

Our LBS has been selling quite a few bikes at decent discounted prices now that the supply chain seems to be functioning again.

redvision

There's been a lot on the press recently detailing the current crisis in the bike industry of too much stock! A consequence of trying to meet the demand which appeared during lockdown, but not knowing when the boom would turn to bust.

There is a great video on YouTube by GCPerformance explaining the situation. He shows how and why the industry found itself in this position.

There are loads of sales on at the moment to clear the surplus. Unfortunately, these tend to be low to mid range, not higher range bikes. Going forward, I can see a return to the usual cycle of discounts when new models are released, but I think pretty much every product will never return to the pre covid rrp.

veronese68

Not cycling related, but costs on other things are still going up faster than before the pandemic. Energy prices are pushing things up, transport is still way more expensive than before and raw materials prices are higher. Add to that inflation is pushing wages up, which has a knock on effect on prices. And round it goes again...

johngti

Prices and wages are sticky so neither will go down. It’s more likely that inflation will fall and over the course of a few years wages will rise more quickly than prices so it’ll start to feel more affordable again.

DeVlaeminck

I've found I don't even look at bikes now - I couldn't tell you what the latest models are or what they cost.

pblakeney

Inflation dropping ≠ prices dropping. That would be deflation which would be bad for the economy. You might get sale prices again but higher MRP's are baked in.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

DeVlaeminck said:

I've found I don't even look at bikes now - I couldn't tell you what the latest models are or what they cost.

There are a few EOL deals to be had out there at the mo and the Halfords Easter sale has me considering a folding bike, an adventure bike and a semi-aero road bike.

Also looking at gaming laptops as our Surface Pro 4 is dying, would give us something portable that could play Zwift nice and also play our Steam library collection wherever... Although it might be cheaper to buy an Apple TV 4k (£170), a replacement lounge 4k tv (~£300) and a Steam Deck (~£500?)!

trevor.hall12

Prices are going down already ,the will drop 20% due to overstock by oretty much all the big players having lots of already built bikes

MidlandsGrimpeur2

As above, prices are not going to return to pre pandemic levels and bike manufacturers seem set on continuing to price gouge.

The sense, having read various pieces on the state of the industry, is that mid range bikes are the most overstocked and more liable to price drops.

As with any goods, if you are in the market, the best thing is always to find what you want, go into a shop and see if you can negotiate a price.

I honestly don't recall paying full price for a bike. I have always gone in, told them what I after, given a budget and asked if they could do it for that price. I have never had a refusal. You have to remember, a lot of 'buyers' have little intention of buying. When a bike shop (or most smaller/independent retailers) can see you are a genuine buyer there is usually a bit of wiggle room on price.

mudsucker

Is the pandemic over? A few weeks ago 9 people in my office out of about 20 had covid!

pangolin

Prices will come down right around the time call centres stop kicking off calls with a recorded message about experiencing higher than normal volumes.

trevor.hall12

mudsucker said:

Is the pandemic over? A few weeks ago 9 people in my office out of about 20 had covid!

Bet there all glad they got vaccinated to stop the spread

N0bodyOfTheGoat

trevor.hall12 said:

Bet there all glad they got vaccinated to stop the spread

Vaccination was all about reducing your own personal risk to serious Covid disease and death.

Vaccination was not about reducing transmission.

DeVlaeminck

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

trevor.hall12 said:

Bet there all glad they got vaccinated to stop the spread

Vaccination was all about reducing your own personal risk to serious Covid disease and death.

Vaccination was not about reducing transmission.

Though if we are all getting Covid every year anyway is there a need for vaccination ? I admit I didn't bother with my last vax as I'd not long had the virus so I figured I'd have some natural immunity.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

DeVlaeminck said:

Though if we are all getting Covid every year anyway is there a need for vaccination ? I admit I didn't bother with my last vax as I'd not long had the virus so I figured I'd have some natural immunity.

Well this is what long Covid has done to me from just a cycling perspective...



I've only knowingly had Covid twice, previous time was mid March '20, wasn't great (post-infection crippling fatigue for ~6 weeks) but not as bad as last ~5 months. Body didn't take too well to my three vaccine jabs, but my last one was the Dec '21 booster. Not offered vaccine since because I'm not 50 until next year and I'm not classed as medically vulnerable.

I believe that if I'd been offered a seasonal vaccine in '22 no later than around the first week of September, I would not be sitting here with long Covid. And I would happily have taken another vaccine jab, despite the side effects I had in '21, because the side effects were for a far shorter duration.

Hindsight is 20/20, but maybe I should have not been so cautious about getting Covid after the first time, especially after the vaccines. Maybe I should have gone out of my way to get it around Feb '22, while my booster was still quite strong. Problem was, I was being so cautious because my better half already had long Covid and we had no idea what a re-infection would do to her.

kingstongraham

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

trevor.hall12 said:

Bet there all glad they got vaccinated to stop the spread

Vaccination was all about reducing your own personal risk to serious Covid disease and death.

Vaccination was not about reducing transmission.

Well, it was until we realised it didn't stop the transmission. It's a new vaccine, we didn't know what it would achieve.

trevor.hall12

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

trevor.hall12 said:

Bet there all glad they got vaccinated to stop the spread

Vaccination was all about reducing your own personal risk to serious Covid disease and death.

Vaccination was not about reducing transmission.

Natural immunity is now proven to be more effective .And they 100% pushed tge " don't kill granny " narrative .

Mad_Malx

trevor.hall12 said:

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

trevor.hall12 said:

Bet there all glad they got vaccinated to stop the spread

Vaccination was all about reducing your own personal risk to serious Covid disease and death.

Vaccination was not about reducing transmission.

Natural immunity is now proven to be more effective .And they 100% pushed tge " don't kill granny " narrative .

Natural infection is proven to be more hazardous than vaccination

pblakeney

Please don't. Just don't.
There is another more suitable thread for Covid vaccines.

JimD666

N0bodyOfTheGoat said:

DeVlaeminck said:

I've found I don't even look at bikes now - I couldn't tell you what the latest models are or what they cost.

There are a few EOL deals to be had out there at the mo and the Halfords Easter sale has me considering a folding bike, an adventure bike and a semi-aero road bike.

Also looking at gaming laptops as our Surface Pro 4 is dying, would give us something portable that could play Zwift nice and also play our Steam library collection wherever... Although it might be cheaper to buy an Apple TV 4k (£170), a replacement lounge 4k tv (~£300) and a Steam Deck (~£500?)!

If your still think of a Deck, they're on a 10% sale for the first time.

dannyconn19

MidlandsGrimpeur2 said:

As above, prices are not going to return to pre pandemic levels and bike manufacturers seem set on continuing to price gouge.

The sense, having read various pieces on the state of the industry, is that mid range bikes are the most overstocked and more liable to price drops.

As with any goods, if you are in the market, the best thing is always to find what you want, go into a shop and see if you can negotiate a price.

I honestly don't recall paying full price for a bike. I have always gone in, told them what I after, given a budget and asked if they could do it for that price. I have never had a refusal. You have to remember, a lot of 'buyers' have little intention of buying. When a bike shop (or most smaller/independent retailers) can see you are a genuine buyer there is usually a bit of wiggle room on price.

Yep, same story. But even then, market level prices affect small stores too, they can only discount you that much sadly. Still in the end, I've noticed that I've been spending a tad bit more on average compared to pre-2020 on parts.