The state of the bike industry with Jill Hamilton from Haro Bikes
April 18th, 2008 by Tim Grahl“If you’re going to buy a bike, do it now”
I did a quick interview with Jill Hamilton of Haro Bikes talking about what’s going on in the industry and how prices are on their way up across the board.
It’s got a lot of good information that’s relevant to you.
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Hmmmm…..I think what they are saying is something like this “If you don’t buy a bike now, we may not be in business for you to buy a bike later” Paraphrasing of course.
If you noticed, she said EVERY bike company is going to be dealing with this and that is the truth. Jill isn’t the first person I’ve heard it from and everyone in the industry is feeling the squeeze.
Sure, some companies will have to push up the prices sooner than others, but by the end of this year there will be an overall 15% to 25% increase in prices across the board.
Buy a bike now or get a better job.
Her counterpart at Masi wrote something similar too.
A corollary to “Buy a bike now or get a better job” might be “Buy a bike now while you still have job” given what’s happening to the economy now.
I wasn’t picking on Haro, I think that’s the state of the industry. They are saying buy a bike now before prices go up, but let’s face it. If prices go up too much, the average Joe won’t be able to buy a bike unless he sells his car (probably not a bad idea) Fewer people buying bikes=fewer bike companies.
It is unsurprising that the cost of cycling equipment is rising, however we need to view it in the context that the cost of everything is rising, quickly and dramatically. So whilst cycling equipment will be dearer it will still be relatively cheaper to everything else.
Maybe I am an idealist, but a lot of the reason costs are increasing is the cost of fuel, people have to decide do they still want to burn a valuable commodity in their car or have affordable consumable products.
And as fuel rises I think more people will be leaving the car and riding. More bikes, less cars can only be a good thing, less traffic, noise, tax, pollution etc more health, communtity, fun and a healthy cycling industry. People complain but it is only their individual choices that can collective make a difference. Change your world.
The reason that bike prices are going up is the same as the reason gas has been going up. Demand.
Because gas is so high, more and more people are biking to work and other places. That creates demand for bikes. The demand for bikes makes them move out of bike shops faster. That means that prices don’t have to be cut so low to sell them.
Bike manufacturers would find a way to keep prices down if they had to in order to sell them.
If you can’t afford a new bike, buy a used one that is like new. There are plenty of them around.