The QUICK question thread.....

[born-again-biker]

If you pre-order a new bike for the next model years' incoming stock, are you more-or-less locking in full retail price?

Is it better to wait until the stock has hit the floor and then negotiate a better price / shop around ??

 

[pink poodle]

If you pre-order a new bike for the next model years' incoming stock, are you more-or-less locking in full retail price?

Is it better to wait until the stock has hit the floor and then negotiate a better price / shop around ??

I have always felt that retailer a should reward your early commitment with a hefty discount. You are essentially guaranteeing a sale or at least their profit margin via a non-refundable deposit. But...not many seem to see it this way. Instead you are locked in for whatever price you guys agree on.

Buy at the end of the season...or even better years after the season ends and when standards and trends have move on by a huge mmargin.That is the best way to get a good price.

 

[Ultra Lord]

I’d like to think they’d be sorting you out with a discount, but unless you regularly get looked after at this shop I doubt they’d give you one.

 

[Cardy George]

What's the current best practice, should I be jamming some Slick Honey down my fork seals or will that just gather dirt and grit?

 

[Ultra Lord]

Nope. Regular servicing, and wipe the stanchions down every now and again to stop dirt building up is how I’ve always done it.

My seals are always in good nick come service time doing this, and I generally go alot loger between intervals than the manual suggests

 

[pink poodle]

Yep - just keep them clean and fresh. Any grease will lead to blahhhhhhhh. I throw a little silicon on the stanchions every now and then. Not sure if it helps of not...probably just a superstition now days.

 

[Oddjob]

What's the current best practice, should I be jamming some Slick Honey down my fork seals or will that just gather dirt and grit?

Nope. Wipe down stanchions and then spray inox or silicon spray onto seal lip and compress suspension a few times. Wipe up residue and any muck that was caught on seal lip.

Anything that gets past the seals should get caught by the foam wipers but they need to replaced at the regular service.

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[Flow-Rider]

Clean the stanchion down first of all the dirt and dust then spray on the lube, cycle the fork a few times then wipe all traces of the excess lube off. I find Nulon Ezi-Glide Silicone Spray to work pretty well.

 

[Zaf]

I'm with @Ultra Lord on this. Don't use anything that isn't part of the lowers service and keep your maintenance intervals regular. Unless the fork has service ports, in which case you should still be using whatever is recommended as part of the lowers bath to slick up the oil rings a little.

 

[Minlak]

If you pre-order a new bike for the next model years' incoming stock, are you more-or-less locking in full retail price?

Is it better to wait until the stock has hit the floor and then negotiate a better price / shop around ??

Honestly if you are looking for the "Bargain" it comes from buying last years or the years before stock not the new stuff. In my shop if you are wanting the latest you have to pay a premium to get it as I have to pay a premium to get it as the demand will normally outstrip initial supply on anyhting people will actually want. In my case its technology and in Australia its called the "Early Adopters Fee".

 

[born-again-biker]

Honestly if you are looking for the "Bargain" it comes from buying last years or the years before stock not the new stuff. In my shop if you are wanting the latest you have to pay a premium to get it as I have to pay a premium to get it as the demand will normally outstrip initial supply on anyhting people will actually want. In my case its technology and in Australia its called the "Early Adopters Fee".

Yeah I figured pre-orders were prolly not likely to be a screaming deal....but wasn't sure.
I'm happy to buy last year's model but when you need an XL frame size it can go either way - never any stock around.... Or it might be the only size left.
I like Poodles' logic about being rewarded for a guaranteed sale, but not the case in reality I guess.

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[beeb]

...but when you need an XL frame size it can go either way - never any stock around...

I have bought two expensive framesets - I bought a Santa Cruz, and ordered an Ibis Ripmo, both dropped about $300-400 off retail just by asking if they could do any better (from two different stores as well). I am not a great negotiator and suspect I was just getting the standard drop-down, you could probably knock them down a bit (lot) more if you had the patience...

The Ibis I ordered early May and was "due in" in the next few days - but now the "definitely around mid-June" is turning into "we're trying to find out how long it will be", etc... It will be interesting to see what it turns into, but the point is if you have to order and you're leaving a deposit - you're "guaranteed" business and all they have to do is call you when the bike/frameset arrives. I would expect a discount as the timeline is not definite, they don't have what you want in stock anyway, and you could go and buy something else instead if they don't look after you at least a little.

 

[pink poodle]

It should be...the retailer (and often the wholesaler) is taking no risk to secure the sale, they are not locking down capital, are sacrificing no display space, and do not need an allocation of sales staff time. All they are doing is facilitating the sale...now I agree they should be entitled a cut for their role, but I don't feel a premium price is correct. Some retailers occasionally offer a small discount. If you are just rocking up on launch day and hoping for the best, similar to an appletard, then yeah full price makes sense.

 

[Oddjob]

Yeah I figured pre-orders were prolly not likely to be a screaming deal....but wasn't sure.
I'm happy to buy last year's model but when you need an XL frame size it can go either way - never any stock around.... Or it might be the only size left.
I like Poodles' logic about being rewarded for a guaranteed sale, but not the case in reality I guess.

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The other option is to check out Competitive Cyclist from Sept when they start running out older models. Even with $400 shipping and gst it's often 40% cheaper than buying locally.

Eg. https://www.competitivecyclist.com/...haW4gQmlrZXMgJiBGcmFtZXM6MToxOmNjQ2F0MTAwMTYw

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[pink poodle]

Iam not a great negotiator and suspectI was just getting the standard drop-down, you could probably knock them down a bit (lot) more if you had the patience...

Or not...towards the tail end of the season or when there is plenty of stock not moving it can work out. But just as often you get the "but that's the price" mentality. I love a good bit of hustling and when I find retailers of the same mind set they often get a good bit of repeat business. To me a quick sale in slow times is a good sale.

 

[Zaf]

The other option is to check out Competitive Cyclist from Sept when they start running out older models. Even with $400 shipping and gst it's often 40% cheaper than buying locally.

Eg. https://www.competitivecyclist.com/...haW4gQmlrZXMgJiBGcmFtZXM6MToxOmNjQ2F0MTAwMTYw

Just a second for this, both my Yeti's were purchased from Competitive Cyclist and they have been fantastic. Well worth grabbing one on sale when they closeout frames.

 

[Dales Cannon]

Honestly if you are looking for the "Bargain" it comes from buying last years or the years before stock not the new stuff. In my shop if you are wanting the latest you have to pay a premium to get it as I have to pay a premium to get it as the demand will normally outstrip initial supply on anyhting people will actually want. In my case its technology and in Australia its called the "Early Adopters Fee".

Not to mention the @Minlak bow and arrow tax.

 

[born-again-biker]

The other option is to check out Competitive Cyclist.....

Just a second for this, both my Yeti's were....

Looks like good deals there for sure.
Shame there's no Konas


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[Zaf]

Looks like good deals there for sure.
Shame there's no Konas


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JensonUSA for Konas, just missed 20% off from their Memorial day sales as well.

 

[born-again-biker]

Not to mention the @Minlak bow and arrow tax.

Haha... maybe Minlak's prices would make me shit myself?

(Sorry, that was a lame, cheap, childish remark with almost no comedic value... I just couldn't help it...)

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