[digitalayon]

Trek's prices have chased me away....I am going with Fazzari. I can at least afford that.

 

[TheDwayyo]

Mainstream vehicles are what you see on the road right now: 4 door sedans, p/u trucks, CUVs/SUVs. There will never be as many Supras on the road as their is Camrys.

Does that (arbitrary) distinction matter at all here?

Look at Apple - they're considered the gold standard for product releases. Can you walk into Verizon and buy a new iPhone the day they're released? (Not an iPhone guy so I honestly don't know.)

 

[Victorj]

Hey Matt,

Sorry to hear you're upset about the delivery time. Unfortunately with new bikes, they are not always readily available to ship so we give all Trek dealers the ability to see when they will have those bikes in. Your dealer should have told you the date of arrival, but keep in mind it is an ETA. As orders come in, the available stock for that shipment of bikes gets lower, so as more of the same bike is ordered, the further the date can be if that first batch shipment is fulfilled. Totally understand the frustration, but this is why I always suggest to order it early but to keep an eye on the ETA.

If you have an order number (ask your shop if you don't) or you can PM me the size, color, model and shop name. I can verify the ETA for your specific bike as it may be different from what everyone else is seeing.

Hi there. I ordered an Emonda SL6 Pro from bikes4you in San Juan, PR back on oct 21. They can't get me exact info as to when it will be received but was told that April is the target date. What is the status of the production of those models if you can tell me?

 

[[email protected]]

Hi there. I ordered an Emonda SL6 Pro from bikes4you in San Juan, PR back on oct 21. They can't get me exact info as to when it will be received but was told that April is the target date. What is the status of the production of those models if you can tell me?

April sounds like an accurate ETA. Your dealer would have the ETA listed on their order through our dealer portal though so they can follow it along. Production is ongoing, but there are other orders ahead and parts we have to wait on from third party manufacturers.

Also, weird to have posted this here vs sending me a direct message. This thread is over a year old... #threadnecro

 

[Picard]

I am interested in the slash.
When will Trek make Slash available to LBS?

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[driver bob]

I am interested in the slash.
When will Trek make Slash available to LBS?

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Which model and size?

 

[Picard]

Which model and size?

Medium size

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[Champion_Monster]

I called my local dealer about Fuel EX 8's and he said maybe 2022, don't bother with a deposit we won't take it under these circumstances. He did have a Trance Advanced coming in with a neato combination of Carbon Frame and full SRAM SX Drivetrain.

If I were Trek I'd light some fires and fast.

 

[dave_rh]

That is pretty bad. Sounds like the bike shop owner is in the dark and a bit frustrated.

A bit of transparency would probably go a long way to helping their image. Are Giants frame factories at capacity right now? Maybe Trek frames are ready but its one component holding things up?

Trek could put something up on their website and be honest. Say that they can't source component X but you understand that people want your bikes so you will be substituting component Y for the short term. Show love for the customer etc.

Now would be a good time to work with distributors and ensure better supply lines

 

[[email protected]]

@Champion_Monster @dave_rh

This is pretty much the case of the entire industry right now and it is even worse for smaller brands that have no inventory left - we at Trek and other brands stayed ahead of the game to ensure we had inventory when the bike boom first started - but the bike boom is still ongoing... The lead times are from third-parties who as also backlogged out the ass for inventory. Most dealers have a limit to how much they can backorder from each brand as well, so once they hit the limit, then they can't let any other backorders be placed by new customers. 2020/2021 is a tough time to get a bike, but these orders are still funding bike shops and the industry while everyone plays catch-up. Supply chains are already being modified to better suit the future of cycling, but the industry has to get over this large speed bump first.

Anyways, this is a pretty common topic nowadays, check out some of the articles and other discussions online or shoot me a direct message if you have Qs about the inner workings of this industry.

 

[dave_rh]

@Champion_Monster @dave_rh

This is pretty much the case of the entire industry right now and it is even worse for smaller brands that have no inventory left - we at Trek and other brands stayed ahead of the game to ensure we had inventory when the bike boom first started - but the bike boom is still ongoing... The lead times are from third-parties who as also backlogged out the ass for inventory. Most dealers have a limit to how much they can backorder from each brand as well, so once they hit the limit, then they can't let any other backorders be placed by new customers. 2020/2021 is a tough time to get a bike, but these orders are still funding bike shops and the industry while everyone plays catch-up. Supply chains are already being modified to better suit the future of cycling, but the industry has to get over this large speed bump first.

Anyways, this is a pretty common topic nowadays, check out some of the articles and other discussions online or shoot me a direct message if you have Qs about the inner workings of this industry.

Appreciate your feedback Mitch. As you say, its very much the case across the industry.

So that's that then I guess? No extra effort or improvements needed? A customer is just told to come back at some unknown point in the future and try to order again? No need to update anyone for over a year? It's totally ok annoying potential customers by justifying Treks behaviour "but everyone else is the same"?

I believe an actual leader in the industry would do better. Apple or Tesla would find a way to improve the customer service experience. If they could not improve the supply line, they might provide some sort of rolling update on their website, e.g. the Trek covid availability blog . Some good news stories on what HAS been delivered. Maybe a dashboard for each region with supply status per model broken down by frame, drivetrain, wheels, other. Each one coloured red/amber/green and what Trek is doing about it? Maybe even set the expectation that if a customer makes the effort to go to a lbs what they can expect if they try to back-order a bike.

Or, I guess, you can just keep doing the same thing. After all, its the same poor customer experience across the whole industry.

 

[Champion_Monster]

One thing that would help is if, instead of saying "call your dealer" which is clearly not helpful, Trek had a better inventory system on the website where you could find a bike and frame size near you, even if it's 10 hours away it would at least give some options. Maybe I'm missing something, their website seems unhelpful compared to some. There is NO reason to call dealers that don't have a prayer of a stock item, but if someone could point to a better availability system, even nationwide, I'd give it a look on the Trek site.

 

[[email protected]]

Appreciate your feedback Mitch. As you say, its very much the case across the industry.

So that's that then I guess? No extra effort or improvements needed? A customer is just told to come back at some unknown point in the future and try to order again? No need to update anyone for over a year? It's totally ok annoying potential customers by justifying Treks behaviour "but everyone else is the same"?

I believe an actual leader in the industry would do better. Apple or Tesla would find a way to improve the customer service experience. If they could not improve the supply line, they might provide some sort of rolling update on their website, e.g. the Trek covid availability blog . Some good news stories on what HAS been delivered. Maybe a dashboard for each region with supply status per model broken down by frame, drivetrain, wheels, other. Each one coloured red/amber/green and what Trek is doing about it? Maybe even set the expectation that if a customer makes the effort to go to a lbs what they can expect if they try to back-order a bike.

Or, I guess, you can just keep doing the same thing. After all, its the same poor customer experience across the whole industry.

I was just highlighting some points in the conversation and not justifying any behavior - but since you brought these other points up, there are lots of improvements to be made and I like some of the ideas you are proposing. Sharing inventory reports is spotty since inventory is being allocated to dealers and the order we see from that dealer doesn't dictate if it is for their floor or a customer. But when dealers submit an inventory report to us, you can actually see it on our website which we are constantly updating as new reports come through - just select the model, color, and size to see stores near your area with it in stock!

Our customer service teams are killing it though, they have had the toughest year yet, but if you ever call in, they can also help with locating a bike if that region permits it (USA, Canada, and the UK support this the best). We're always here to help just like I am here to help! I'm sorry to hear you maybe had a customer service experience that left you doubting.

One thing that would help is if, instead of saying "call your dealer" which is clearly not helpful, Trek had a better inventory system on the website where you could find a bike and frame size near you, even if it's 10 hours away it would at least give some options. Maybe I'm missing something, their website seems unhelpful compared to some. There is NO reason to call dealers that don't have a prayer of a stock item, but if someone could point to a better availability system, even nationwide, I'd give it a look on the Trek site.

We do have this feature available! If you go to a model page on www.trekbikes.com and select the model, color, and size, it would show you a list of dealers in your area where that item is in stock. If the item is not in stock or the store near you doesn't share inventory reports (not all do), then they will have a listing suggesting to call and confirm. Inventory changes pretty fast, but once we get a report, we update it to our website instantly.

 

[Picard]

I like the orange color frame. Is it available for sale by Trek?

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[3WB]

interestingly enough, i am having a similar situation here in third world land, with the authorized country-wide Trek dealer and the lowly 2021 Blue-Silver Marlin 6. I was told by the dealer they were going to get inventory half-way through Feb 2021, but now i was told, they don't even have an estimated date.
What is sad,is that this shortage has driven the prices of older, used Marlins on Ebay, to the point where they are selling for a higher price than a brand new 2021 model.

 

[smartyiak]

I'd cut Trek (and all the mfg's a break here). I would like a bike too, but what if Trek (or insert your mfg here) has a bike waiting, but can't get tires...or brakes...or tubes.

I mean, sure, it's easy enough for me to go down to the store and begrudgingly pay $10 for a tube. But I can imagine a tube mfg not wanting to sell Trek 10,000 tubes at $3.00/pc when they're already backlogged or selling as many as they can for $6 (which becomes $10 at the LBS).

I saw something about Fabric (which makes lots of saddles) having a 400day backlog. As much as I wish Trek ( and everyone else) sold bikes without a seat, that's not happening anytime soon.

 

[iliveonnitro]

I mean, sure, it's easy enough for me to go down to the store and begrudgingly pay $10 for a tube. But I can imagine a tube mfg not wanting to sell Trek 10,000 tubes at $3.00/pc when they're already backlogged or selling as many as they can for $6 (which becomes $10 at the LBS).

Supply chain doesn't quite work like that. Suppliers setup contracts by which they have to abide. The big manufacturers get more say in their business operation. For this theoretical exercise, those 10k tubes @ $3ea = $30k. Those $6 tubes to a LBS may only sell 20 of them = $120. Let's say that company has a ton of overhead to support the demand of 500k tubes/yr and they need to pay the bills. The guaranteed yearly revenue of $30k per OEM is far more important to them than a LBS spending $120 here and there, even if it's more profitable.

In reality, QBP owns most of the market for components (like tubes), while some bike OEMs do in-house stuff in smaller volumes. That often means QBP can throw its weight around at a supplier that makes dropper posts/stems/tires/brakes/whatever even more than Trek can. So, often times, a LBS will have access to those parts before some bike manufacturers.

But don't discount the fact that Trek/all OEMs buy from QBP-esque wholesalers. If Shimano is making 100k brake sets and Trek can only get a hold of 2k of the 5k they need to sell their current bikes, they will absolutely buy from QBP at a slight premium, and lose out on some profitability, just to sell the entire bike. It's cheaper than sitting on 3k bikes of inventory that are depreciating in your warehouse.

 

[smartyiak]

That’s not what I’m saying...I was a bit inarticulate.

what I’m saying is: Trek needs a shitton of stuff bc they’re not making “a bike”...they’re making a bunch of bikes.

I can go down to my LBS and buy an over priced tube. Bc, pre pandemic, no one (with any sense) was buying their overpriced tube. So they still have some in stock. (Once they run out...they won’t get them either).

whereas QBP might not have any inbulk...bc Conti, Kenda, and everyone else is sold out...bc all the butyl is used up anyways...
so even if there is a contract, the mfgs can’t fill it: bc you can’t supply what you don’t have.

There’s no where for Trek to buy them...bc everyone: from the chemical plant, to the mfg,to QBP are all backordersd.

 

[iliveonnitro]

That’s not what I’m saying...I was a bit inarticulate.

what I’m saying is: Trek needs a shitton of stuff bc they’re not making “a bike”...they’re making a bunch of bikes.

I can go down to my LBS and buy an over priced tube. Bc, pre pandemic, no one (with any sense) was buying their overpriced tube. So they still have some in stock. (Once they run out...they won’t get them either).

whereas QBP might not have any inbulk...bc Conti, Kenda, and everyone else is sold out...bc all the butyl is used up anyways...
so even if there is a contract, the mfgs can’t fill it: bc you can’t supply what you don’t have.

There’s no where for Trek to buy them...bc everyone: from the chemical plant, to the mfg,to QBP are all backordersd.

Yes. This

 

[3WB]

But don't discount the fact that Trek/all OEMs buy from QBP-esque wholesalers.

I doubt Trek buys much from wholesalers.. they are one of the biggest bicycle companies in the planet and have already made their business vertical, by purchasing other companies like Bontrager; so they pretty much manufacture most of their bicycle components themselves.. including their own tires, rims, stems, seatposts, helmets, saddles, handlebars, etc. The only components i see Trek depending on other companies for, are groupsets / drivetrain, hubs, headset components.. so they are in a much better position than other companies who have to depend totally on wholesalers and other vendors / middlemen to put their bicycles together.