A bike tip from your old uncle Matt and demo pics

If you have it in mind to buy a bike this summer, you may want to do so sooner rather than later. Many manufacturers run on a September to August production schedule where you would see 2009 models begin to arrive at summer's end, so in terms of bike retail season, we are already nearing the end of 2008 even though summer is just starting. With the new model year, comes new pricing and we are already seeing 2008 bikes becoming unavailable.

I got a peek at some of the 2009 pricing and costs are going up. Quite a bit in some cases. So, if you are interested in a sub $500 bike you may want to buy very soon before the new pricing comes into effect. This is almost in direct contradiction to my usual "buy late season closeout or right after the first of the year" philosophy (which I think still holds true for high end bikes), but I am seeing such a shortage of bikes for that budget minded, recreational rider that I think you're better off buying now if you can afford to.

Doomsdaying aside, I was finally able to get a few pics from the demo that I was able to do a few weeks ago in Huron with the Trek Demo Fleet.


Me setting a couple of guys up for test rides on a Trek Remedy 9 and Trek Fuel EX9. The trailer had about 35-40 bikes in it retailing from about $1700 to $5400. We set up probably two dozen of the bikes for demos while I was there.




Me riding a Trek 69'er single speed. This was one of my favorite bikes of the day primarily because I ride a lot of single speed at home with my Gary Fisher Rig. The nice thing with a single speed is that it's all about picking the best lines, measuring your effort and doing whatever it takes to cover the obstacles in front of you. If you aren't successful, it's your fault for not riding smart.








Me riding a Trek 69'er 3x9 geared hardtail. You can tell that they gave us the absolute best location on the entire fairgrounds with all of the garbage and heavy machinery.