BICYCLE GEAR NEWS THAT COULD BE TRUE BUT PROBABLY ISN’T – or… actually, IS?!
We’re having a Michael Burry moment here at Bicycle Enquirer. Yes, maybe we were also a bit early with our dire predictions, and yes, maybe it’s just that a broken clock is right twice a day. But, it’s also possible that some of our Bicycle Gear News That Could Be True But Probably Isn’t, well, actually is!
We’re not certain whether to start selling our predictive services, sue Specialized for stealing our idea without attribution, or to write a personal apology to every Specialized Bikes dealer in North America (or all three), but all the ways that we look at it BICYCLE ENQUIRER #4 hit the nail on the head when we reported: “Specialized Eliminates Dealer Margins.”
As of February 1st you can order your new mountain bicycle straight from Specialized.com with not one of your hard-earned cents going to support a local bicycle business. But it gets better! This isn’t your average direct-to-consumer bike brand with a customer service entity a million miles away, where you’re going to be (fairly) on the hook for any service work that you can’t do yourself. Have a warranty issue? Just roll into your local dealer who will help you out with a perfect smile just for the privilege of staying on the S-brands dealer list and making some shit money selling table scraps that don’t get quick-flipped online.
We have half a mind to reach out to “Timothy in shipping – winner of this month’s Mike-Sinyard-Look-A-Like competition” but holy f***ing Stumphoppers what if he’s actually a real person too?!? So we’ll just rerun this little beauty from our piece September 21st, 2020:
And how will dealers keep the lights on? Timothy notes that Specialized sells a wide range of parts and accessories and that dealers which buy into their full program can make money selling these items to customers purchasing their bikes:
“As long as every customer buys a Specialized helmet, Specialized gloves, Specialized shoes, Specialized tool, Specialized pump, Specialized shorts, Specialized jersey, Specialized socks, Specialized jacket, Specialized tube, Specialized bottle cage, Specialized water bottle, and a back up Specialized saddle, tires, and a pair of grips, we feel that bike shops will generate enough margin to hold out until we can get our branded store program fully up and running.”
It turns out that sometimes the truth is as strange as totally exaggerated satirical fiction. Here’s a Pinkbike link to what’s actually (actually) happening.
