Which bikes are popular right now?

Question

I'm going to be opening up a bike store and would like to know which bikes you would buy. Which bikes do you currently own? I heard Trek and Haro are good (one is high end and one is low end). Also, should I stock both mountain bikes AND race/road bikes?

Thank you!

Answer 1

I just checked out one of the Trek bikes here: http://willybikes.com/itemdetails.cfm?id... $6,600 for a bicycle is too much! Way too much! I'd rather buy a Kawasaki Ninja 250R motorcycle, they cost $3,500 and are very fuel efficient, like 70 mpg. Get the cheap bikes instead. I have two Magnas and they both ride pretty well.

Answer 2

bianchi and lemond.

fixed gear bikes are really in right now too...so make sure you have a lot of parts for that.

Answer 3

motorcyle

Answer 4

It's weird that you want to open up a store and don't know much about bikes and ask such a question. o.O

Yes, check out your market.

You'd typically need a few brands to represent, you can't sell every brand there is unless you open a mega-bike-store.

Like, not every Trek is high-end, they manufacture LOADS of cheap bikes. so pick a few brands you like and can get good contacts with the manufacturers and get going!

Like Merida. they manufacture top-notch XC mtb's and at the same time cruisers and ladies bikes etc etc.... the same about Giant and any other brand. Even Specialized.

good luck anyway.

(note: yes, my bike is over 5000 dollars also and I'm nowhere near the only one around here, plus that's not the only bike I have and no, I wouldn't buy a motorfkingcycle. I have worked in a bike shop and see how it goes. even the most expensive bikes can be bought out all in one day. you need to have various stuff but a few brands.)

Answer 5

the kind u ride i like chopperz !!!

Answer 6

There is something about your question that leads me to believe you are yanking our chain.  Still, I am going to treat this as a serious question...

First of all, I suggest you not be overly concerned with what people on Yahoo Answers are buying.  You need to be concerned with what people in your town need.

Next, can you answer what the other bike shops in your area are selling.

Does this leave a particular niche that the other bicycle shops in your area do not serve?  For example, no one sells mountain bikes.  Or no one sells BMX bikes.  Or no one caters to the college student crowd wanting cheap, reliable, used bikes.  Or there is a great bicycling attraction in your area and no local store rents bikes?

If you can't see an unexploited  market niche to serve, how do you plan to compete with the established stores in your area?  For example, does the Trek store have a poor shop or could you pick off your town's most beloved bike mechanic?

I hope you see what I am getting at: owning a store of any sort is less about the products you can stock and more about the market you can serve.  I think when you answer the questions above you'll have a much clearer idea of how to proceed.

A few other things you might want to consider...  My bicycle mechanic recently moved to a new store selling used bikes.  When I asked him about the future he waxed long and hard about the difficulties of selling bikes.  First, it is a very competitive business and buyers will not hesitate to travel to get a $50.00 discount.  Secondly, big manufacturers like Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale are exceedingly demanding.  You must carry dozens of models in each size in a variety of colors.  This accounts for a tremendous amount of money tied up in stock.  The big guys also put limits on your ability to sell other brands.  Thus, in our town, the two biggest shops are owned by the same person.  One sells Trek and Specialized.  The other sells Cannondale, Electra and a bunch of specialty brands.  Smaller manufacturers, of course, are not as demanding, but also have limited power to draw customers.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Because you are opening a bike shop, I assume that you either have a reasonable amount of knowledge about bikes or are hiring someone who does and are just asking to sort of poll people on what is popular...?  I've worked in the bike industry for eight years and the main thing that you need to know is your market.  Where do you live?  If it's near a University, you want cruisers, which are typically inexpensive and comfortable to ride short distances on.  If you are in a "mountain bike mecca" then you need to carry mountain bikes.  Get to know your market.  As far as lines to carry, stick with reputable ones not already represented in your market (Fisher, Trek, Rocky Mountain, Giant, Cannondale, Kona, Yeti, Intense, Pivot, Specialized, for example).  Some are going to be higher-end than others (Intense, Yeti, Pivot) for even the low-end of the spectrum.  As far as road bikes go, some reputable, well-known companies are Bianchi, Orbea, Trek, Cervelo, LeMond (though I am not sure if they are still going to be producing bikes), Specialized, just to name a few.  Do your homework, though...get to know your market.  Have I said that already???  Sorry - I can't stress it enough.  You want to know what level bikes to carry (inexpensive, mid-range, or expensive) and which lines to carry.  And good luck!

Answer 8

beach cruisers!

Answer 9

GT Bike performer (2008) its about £149 on the Internet. Very good bike

Answer 10

fixed gears

Answer 11

Sad but true, this is just about the only site you will ever need to know anything about BMX.

1) What kind of money do you have and who do you know

if you live in an aria with a lot of cool riders chances are they could help you out deciding what your into and getting you on some spare parts that they have laying around for free or for very little. The best BMX bike to start off on is a free BMX bike especially if your poor don’t have a job, or your parents don’t want to spoil you.

2) Where do you live?

What’s the scene like in your town? Do you have open fields or forests to build trails in? Do you live in and urban or town aria with a bunch of ledges rails or schools that could be ridden? Location is key but the trend in BMX these days is ultra light bikes with minimal difference between street and dirt gear. Still knowing if you want some heavy treed tires for dirt or low profile for street and park is a good thing to know. Brakes or no brakes, if you ride a bike you'll develop preferences.

3) Where are you getting the bike from?

If you’re real interested in getting some top quality stuff I suggest riding for 2 or 3 years before you dive into the $1500 23lb shredding machines. Start off with something respectable, friends’ spare parts or a cheepy compleato from a shop or mail order.

Hears a list of mail order:

Answer 12

trick bikes. mongoose, jeep, stuff like that. even for girls.

Answer 13

just got a trek comfort bike, that way i don't have to lean cuz it hurts my back. i love it! been riding daily.....but you'd have to supply the race/road bikes, too.

Answer 14

trek,gaint and james just to name a few me i would buy trek they are so good that lance and other rider use trek in the le tour de france every year  and yes stock both not all people road ride me i road and mountain ride  see my point  and stock cheap bikes i would say about $750 because not everyone can afford high dollar bikes so i hope this helps

Answer 15

I'm in agreement with sfr1224. You are opening a shop and you are asking simplistic questions in a way that belays you're an extreme novice to cycling.

Any info gleaned from Y/A is meaningless. You have no idea who is answering, meaning you don't know your sample group. Also, you have know idea were these people live. An answer from India means less than nothing if your opening a shop in Montana.

Making a reasonable living running a bike shop is VERY difficult for someone who knows the business. 9 of 10 small businesses don't make it 3 years. With no knowledge of your business or market you are doomed.

I'm taking a wild guess that you haven't developed your business plan yet.

Answer 16

Huffy, Mongoose those are two brands i like and and yes i would have BMX mountain and racing bikes but would depending on where you are get more of watever one is preffered like suburbs you would want BMX

Answer 17

Bianchi