With immediate effect, the Californian bike manufacturer Specialized is significantly reducing the prices of individual models. For example, an S-Works Stumpjumper LTD no longer costs 12,000 francs, but now costs a little less than half that, namely 5,500 francs. The discount is part of a campaign with which Specialized is helping its specialist dealers to reduce stocks. However, the Californians are not alone when it comes to generous discounts, as the entire bike industry is largely affected by high stock levels.

Buyers benefit from this: a bike that was previously far outside the budget suddenly becomes affordable. Or the second bike you've been eyeing for a long time is now rolling into the garage. The attraction for customers is the suffering of the sales staff. After the supply bottlenecks during the coronavirus phase, stocks are now overflowing and demand is low. This is why manufacturers are (involuntarily) resorting to campaigns such as the one Specialized is now prominently launching.

Pounce now, the turnaround is already visible

The considerable discounts could give buyers the impression that the margins in the bike business are very high if you can engage in such price wars. However, if an average bike store sells bikes at half the recommended retail price, it quickly finds itself in the red. On the other hand, there are enormous costs and, above all, capital tied up in high stock levels. Many manufacturers and specialist retailers in the bicycle industry find themselves in this predicament. And it is against this background that such campaigns must be assessed. For bargain hunters, now is a good time to get in on the action. After all, the next supply bottlenecks are already appearing in the economic forecasts of numerous experts.

Discount campaign from Specialized: specialized.com/c/sale

Note: In the current print edition of Ride, you can read a detailed background report on the current situation in the bike industry: ride-mtb.com/download