05 Orders
I don't wanna be the 'sales' guy but I really feel I need to say this.
If you are interested in a model of 05 bike. TELL YOUR DEALER. They are placing orders for the comming year NOW. If they do not know you want a bike or style of bike they are unlikely to order it. That means if you want one in March next year, it's highly likely that they will all be gone. This is where you need to start your relationship with a shop. Walk in off the street wanting a bike and you get what you expect. Start working WITH your dealer and you get looked after.
If you want a high end bike, in limited supply (yes, we ordered lots more but as people are saying it's going to be a BIG year) get your shop to place an order.
Right now I have NO idea what will sell out early but rest assured if your dealer wants to get a bike in December that's all sold. That's it. Then you have to start doing the ring around, the travelling, the stuff that sucks. Right now we have EVERY 05 bike available for orders, wait 3 months and there is a good chance popular and/or limited number models will be gone.
We tell our dealers this every year, but without the confidence that people want to buy a certain bike, the chances are the dealer won't stock them. Due to the fact that 'new skool' style bikes are harder for more traditional shops to understand you need to explain it to them sometimes. Tell them why you want a DH/NS Hardtail. Tell them why a SuperX Spec/Geometry bike is better than a Do-It-All Hardcore DH/Freeride/Jump bike. Tell them why you want a freeride bike and not a DH race bike (or the other way around). Explain to them why an alloy XC frame is no good for Trials in the long term. Let them know what you dig about the bike you want and why you want one.
Tell them what you want. Make a friend.
Cheers to all,
Derek @ Norco.Au