Discount battle: Industry in crisis - how can customers benefit now?

The mood of crisis in the bike industry will continue in 2024. Contrary to the opinion of many industry insiders, the reluctance to buy will continue and manufacturers will be stuck with their goods. The consequences are already being felt. Savings are being made mercilessly in personnel, marketing departments, racing teams and athletes. Information available to BIKE shows that even team riders with existing contracts have to fear for their jobs.

Where has the money from the high-turnover coronavirus period gone? You might think that the bike boom of 2020 and 2021 has made manufacturers a fortune. "That's a fallacy," says Flo Konietzko from Rocky Mountain and explains: "Margins were limited in the boom years due to increased transport and raw material costs, etc." In addition, many manufacturers invested the profits in staff, expanding production facilities and ordering new goods.

5 million bikes were sold in Germany in 2020, according to a study by Statista. The 5 million mark was last broken in 2000.

"This gold-rush mood blinded many people. The manufacturers thought that demand would remain at this high level," says one big name in the scene behind closed doors. The goods are now waiting to finally be sold off. "Now is a good time to buy a bike," says economics expert Jo Beckendorff. He assumes that the discount battle is just reaching its peak. Many brands are already offering 30 to 40 per cent discounts on complete bikes. "Good for the customer, bad for the manufacturers - especially for those who are already on a tight budget," says Robert Krauss from Propain Bikes. Particularly high discounts can be expected on last year's models that will be reissued in 2024. If you ask around in the industry, you can expect the situation to ease in the second half of the year. However, many experts also expected this last year - and were wrong.

Bicycle prices rose by 6.8% in 2022 compared to the previous year (source: Federal Statistical Office)4

Briefly explained: How the crisis came about

The problem is quickly explained: during the (coronavirus) boom phase (2020/21), bike suppliers and dealers ordered many times more goods than they had previously received due to supply bottlenecks. They wanted to avoid the bottlenecks experienced during the boom. The increased orders led to increased production at manufacturers in Asia. When the delayed and, shortly afterwards, the current manufacturer's goods rolled into the sales markets, they met with demand that had already cooled off. As a result, supplier and dealer warehouses are overflowing. This is where the money is now stuck. This is called a liquidity problem. And it has already driven one or two suppliers into insolvency. - Jo Beckendorff, Wirtschaftsexerte

My bargain tips

Scene insiders currently suspect the discount peak. BIKE test manager Peter Nilges has picked out three exciting models.

Radon Slide Trail 9.0

The Bonn-based mail order company is currently offering a whopping 1100 euros discount on the carbon bike with Fox Performance suspension and Magura MT5 brakes in its own online shop. All sizes were available at the time of going to press.

Manufacturer information:

• Price: RRP 3699 Euro
• Suspension travel: 150/140 mm
• Weight: from 14.8 kg

Specialised Epic Expert

The US label raised its prices right at the start of the boom years, but then quickly began to offer discounts again. The Epic Expert is currently available on the internet at comparatively favourable prices (from 5520 euros). At the time of going to press, all sizes were available.

Manufacturer information:

• Price: RRP 6900 Euro
• Suspension travel: 110/120 mm
• Weight: 11 kilos (manufacturer's specification)

Santa Cruz Hightower S-Kit C

Expensive bikes also offer a lot of discount potential. The Hightower from the high-end brand Santa Cruz is currently being offered in online mail order, in some cases at heavily discounted prices. In our research, the sizes SM and LG were available from 4799 euros, for example. available at Fahrrad XXL.

Manufacturer information:

• Price: RRP 6399 Euro
• Suspension travel: 150/145 mm
• Weight: 14.3 kg