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I saw a 2025 Slash+ being discounted already. At this point there's no way any manufacturer will be able to sell their 2025 bikes at full MSRP in any kind of significant amount and I can easily see the situation being the same for 2026. There's too many factors that will continue to do significant damage to the industry for quite a while.

Specialized is having select models of stumpy15 and levo sl on dae atm. Pretty good discounts. Hopefully it’s a sign to reset prices going forward. It could also be clearing house of overstock to make way for upcoming releases of models with shimano specs?

Saw a brand new Stumpy 15 Ohlins edition with a sale tag hanging from the handlebar in the window of my local Specialized dealer this week 😬

With all the above mentioned, Specialized launched it the stumpy 15 at the end of the season, and the alloy basically in the winter. Trek launched the Slash+ in the fall. They haven't even had a selling season to gain traction with customers. It says a lot that two big brands don't have confidence in the market that they won't even let bikes they've just launched get an actual riding season under their belts.

Going off some reviews, it was questioned if the shock was a good enough reason to upgrade to the new bike.. The previous Stumpy Evo was considered to be a pretty good bike by most accounts.. If it was my money, a heavily discounted previous gen bike sounds pretty good to me if you have the 2 bikes side by side..

5-10 years down the line and I think a lot of IBD's are going to be happy to not sell (as many) bikes anymore. It'll be a challenge to get used to having less revenue to start but in the end I think they'll be more profitable with less risk this way. The honest to god truth of it is that bike shops are generally bad at forecasting their long term inventory needs. Get rid of the inventory and a shop's biggest liability is also their greatest profit generator: skilled labor. Imagine a shop with just mechanics, fitters/advisers, and some...

The more you cut out bike shops, you more you remove yourself from the equation. Douche move even if you're trying to compete with Specialized & Trek who bought out all the independent dealers. Establish a better dealer network & work harder to keep dealers in business. Every time you make up the excuse that buying direct doesn't affect a dealer, you're literally feeding the monster that will devour you. The fewer humans involved with your bike company, the further removed you are from justifying the purchase to the consumer. Selling direct turns you into a commodity like corn. You...