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Shortage on Push Bikes


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Just a heads up for anyone looking at getting their kid a new push bike for Chrissy. Start looking now.

Between Covid Supply disruptions out of China, distribution disruptions out of Melbourne, ships offloading containers into the ocean off the coast in Newcastle, people in Covid lockdown going stir crazy, and Job Keeper/Seeker payouts, there's been a supply shortage for a few months now. After looking for a bike for my daughters birthday this month, we finally got lucky on the weekend after looking for over 2 months. We've had our name down on waiting lists with over 6 bikes shops across Sydney. Everyone was saying the same thing. Don't know what we're getting or when. Expect it will get worse as we approach Christmas given people may not be aware of the supply issue until they start looking.

Hope this helps someone.

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Seriously. WTF is that?

Talk about a throw away society.

I know trying to find your kid a bike is a first world problem, but try explaining that to your 10yr old daughter who's always getting hand me downs from her 12yr old sister.

Personally I'd love a new Specialized bike one day. In the mean time I'll keep riding my 20yr old Jamis Mountain Bike. If anyone can recommend a good bike rack for an SUV with a tow bar that can fit 4 bikes I'd appreciate it.

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If you have the time and know what your looking for, try hunting on Ebay and gumtree ,,you would be surprised at the number of good bikes that have been used once or twice and the seller just wants it gone ,,just an example I have picked a number of High end Mountain Bikes up over the years less than 12 months old with no use for a fraction of the Bike shop asking price ..

Always worth a look ....:Beer:

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3 hours ago, Nikos said:

Just a heads up for anyone looking at getting their kid a new push bike for Chrissy. Start looking now.

Just before/during Covid madness, our daughter had outgrown her bike, and we have been on the hunt for a replacement.  Almost every decent bike in every store is out of stock..!

7 minutes ago, Raven said:

If you have the time and know what your looking for, try hunting on Ebay and gumtree

What makes it crazy, is that we have found one or two around, but in Vic, Dan won't let us go see them, or travel to buy them  :Sweating:  Can't easily explain Covid reasons to a child.

Still looking. 

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3 hours ago, Nikos said:

Just a heads up for anyone looking at getting their kid a new push bike for Chrissy. Start looking now.

Between Covid Supply disruptions out of China, distribution disruptions out of Melbourne, ships offloading containers into the ocean off the coast in Newcastle, people in Covid lockdown going stir crazy, and Job Keeper/Seeker payouts, there's been a supply shortage for a few months now. After looking for a bike for my daughters birthday this month, we finally got lucky on the weekend after looking for over 2 months. We've had our name down on waiting lists with over 6 bikes shops across Sydney. Everyone was saying the same thing. Don't know what we're getting or when. Expect it will get worse as we approach Christmas given people may not be aware of the supply issue until they start looking.

Hope this helps someone.

This will start to ease as the 2021 range is starting to arrive in to shops now.  I know that Scott and Merida adult bikes are arriving as we speak and a few shops are buying direct out of Italy and via the grey market to help with stock.  

Look further afield from your local area is another way to see if you can find something to suit.

Also as Raven has suggested, scour the second hand market depending on the sort of bike you're looking for.  Stand over height is the most critical measurement for a child so measure the inner leg and take off 25mm and compare this to the top of the top tube height off the ground mid way from seat to handlebars (a lot of bikes have sloping top tubes these days)

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I'm currently riding (and working with) a company called Patrol. Patrol have their 2021 bikes ready but they are all fitted with Shimano components (like a billion other manufacturers). Shimano haven't been able to provide a timeframe for when they will be able to get components out and its creating a downstream effect, they are only one supplier, you still have the suspension (Fox), brakes (Magura) etc. etc. It's all up in the air for a few manufacturers/suppliers as a result. 

Demand is definitely outstripping supply at this stage, coming into summer/holiday season it will most likely only get worse. 

Stupid Rona. 

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2 hours ago, Nikos said:

Seriously. WTF is that?

Talk about a throw away society.

I know trying to find your kid a bike is a first world problem, but try explaining that to your 10yr old daughter who's always getting hand me downs from her 12yr old sister.

Personally I'd love a new Specialized bike one day. In the mean time I'll keep riding my 20yr old Jamis Mountain Bike. If anyone can recommend a good bike rack for an SUV with a tow bar that can fit 4 bikes I'd appreciate it.

I think it might be time to hang the Jamis on the permanently retired rack Nikos, go and get that Specialized mate you won't regret it but don't expect a discount, they are hard to get on that brand.

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Slightly off topic, but my local hobby shop is unable to order anything at the moment.  His major supplier is out of plastic model kits, RC is the same.  No luck with other wholesalers so the owner has had to buy stock from other shops at near retail prices just to have certain products on the shelf. 

Strange times.

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On 31/08/2020 at 14:08, Nikos said:

Just a heads up for anyone looking at getting their kid a new push bike for Chrissy. Start looking now.

Between Covid Supply disruptions out of China, distribution disruptions out of Melbourne, ships offloading containers into the ocean off the coast in Newcastle, people in Covid lockdown going stir crazy, and Job Keeper/Seeker payouts, there's been a supply shortage for a few months now. After looking for a bike for my daughters birthday this month, we finally got lucky on the weekend after looking for over 2 months. We've had our name down on waiting lists with over 6 bikes shops across Sydney. Everyone was saying the same thing. Don't know what we're getting or when. Expect it will get worse as we approach Christmas given people may not be aware of the supply issue until they start looking.

Hope this helps someone.

@dragon02, what's been your experience?

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I sold an ancient bike for $40 on fb marketplace.  I bought it two years back with a rack included for $40 and left it in the sun.  It was a ‘visitor’ bike.  I only put the price there as a starting point - I never put free because people never show up for free stuff.  But the person who bought it couldn’t come around quick enough

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My middle step son came home with lots of bikes every time there was a council clean up campaign. We cleaned and repaired a couple for use. The others sat around under the house for a while until he sold his and needed another one. So we set him up and he sold it. Cool, do another one up. Sells it shortly after too. Then the clean up campaign kicked in again. Holy crap he dragged all and sundry home. Look dad, heaps of money 😂 bless him.

Gave us plenty of time to bond and tear a little. He's quite the business man today.

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On 03/09/2020 at 09:35, TwoHeadsTas said:

@dragon02, what's been your experience?

As an owner of two bicycle stores in Tasmania, I can wholeheartedly say the Pandemic has been wonderfully epic for our business (in fact, we have just recorded our biggest turnover month in 43 years, in winter of all seasons, yep bigger than our Decembers).  Our biggest issue, as many have alluded to, is securing stock....and we sell the brands of two of the world's biggest manufacturers ie. Taiwanese goliaths Giant and Merida!!!  This situation will not improve anytime soon. Sadly, there are a lot of others hurting so now is not the time to gloat or boast but I can share this with you.....

Have you been into your local bike store in recent times and wondered why there's no stock?
There's a perfect storm of reasons why. No one wants to get on a bus or subway these days. With gyms and sports off limits, anyone looking to get a dose of cardio needs a socially distant way to get their fix. Parents, meanwhile, are eager to push their kids off their screens and out of the house. And then there’s the fact that riding a bike is just fun and nostalgic — the pandemic forcing us to rediscover ways to stay sane. Bicycling is the perfect sport for Covid!
Complicating matters is the fact that accelerating production of bikes is a lot trickier in the wake of the lockdown. Bicycle manufacturers operates an insanely complex supply chain, with a single bicycle composed of parts — wheels, handlebars, shifters, brakes, grips, pedals, cables, housings, drive-trains, and more — from as many as 50 different suppliers. Those components are sent to assembly plants, then boxed up and shipped to company warehouses around the world, and finally onto retailers. Transportation and delivery of these shipments have been made more challenging with border closures and lockdown restrictions. The entire process can take as long as 120 days.
And this will be the new normal. The Covid crisis is a watershed event, similar in scope to 9/11, that has fundamentally changed the way we think about work, health, and recreation. Even when things do return to normal (and who knows when that will be, even if a vaccine emerges?) more people will continue to work from home, remain wary of air travel and public transportation, and be more conscious of conditions like diabetes and obesity that put them at risk of contagion.
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