Dieter ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Posted May 30, 2018 Share Dirt Merchant are also very accommodating if you are looking for something different! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppi Posted May 30, 2018 Share You guys make me laugh.........how many of you have actually owned anything close to your own business and felt what it’s like! These freebies are not simple or cost effective to get past as a supplier/ agent and as a shop you get caught in a huge battle, but then again you always get the know it alls do nothings..............!!!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk forgotten1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 30, 2018 Share Down here in the Cape some of the Spez outlets also have demo bikes. Friend had one last weekend, think he got it from Spez in Durbanroad, might have been from Stellenbosch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisF Posted May 30, 2018 Share You guys make me laugh.........how many of you have actually owned anything close to your own business and felt what it’s like! These freebies are not simple or cost effective to get past as a supplier/ agent and as a shop you get caught in a huge battle, but then again you always get the know it alls do nothings..............!!!!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk hey, get with the program boet. Armchair CEO's knows it ALL ! coppi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malpiet Posted May 30, 2018 Share what Is the availability of test bikes like in SA, in particular Specialized? Being in the market for a new mtb I approached 2 brands requesting a test bike to help me decide the right size and make a final choice. The LBS who sells Specz tried to get me a test bike but was told by Specz Europe that there are no test bikes and that the bike shops should buy bikes to be used for test bikes.... The other LBS who sells Santa Cruz managed to arrange a test bike no problems for next weekend... Being a Specz fan I’m feeling a bit miffed and let down by the big S....Why buy a spez, cant go wrong with your 1st choice "santa cruz" ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissVan Posted May 31, 2018 Share You guys make me laugh.........how many of you have actually owned anything close to your own business and felt what it’s like! These freebies are not simple or cost effective to get past as a supplier/ agent and as a shop you get caught in a huge battle, but then again you always get the know it alls do nothings..............!!!!!!Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkFreebies....? Santa Cruz charge CHF 90 ( R 1100) per day for demo bikes, which I’m willing to pay for the privelage, all I ask is that this option is available. I’d rather think of it as a long term strategy for the dealers and LBS. People will continue to spend money on a brand and with a LBS who not only provide good after sales service but also good pre sale service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissVan Posted May 31, 2018 Share Why buy a spez, cant go wrong with your 1st choice "santa cruz" ExactlyWaiting for my Blur test bike next weekend Maybe I will go and check the BMC LBS this weekend.... Sorry Specz are making me widen my search (open my eyes....?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ouzo Posted May 31, 2018 Share check out the link in my signature. granted it will only be once a year, but there will be a number of demo bikes from different manufacturers to try out. On the keeping of demo etc. its the same in the motor industry, the ideal would be to have a demo available of every engine and gearbox combination of every vehicle for sale. The costs of that though are just astronomical. So most of the time dealers will only keep the most popular models. With cars though its probably a bit easier than a LBS that has to stock multiple different brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accelerate Posted May 31, 2018 Share Some of these bikes cost the same as a very small car - those I can test drive. Bike geometry differ a lot and I feel that before I fork out that amount of money I want to at least know what I am buying and if it suits me. My experience is that most bike shops will sell you what they stock not always what is best for you but best for their own pockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forgotten1 Posted May 31, 2018 Share So I loan out my own personal bike should a customer want to test or if they have a repair thats needed and preventing them from riding.However...never again will I be caught buying demo bikes. Demo bikes are like rental cars...if its not yours, you dont care. And boy does it cost to buy them. Yes you get longer terms and a better price, but you still need to pay for them. And you need a size curve and alloy and carbon variety. So it hurts.Owning your own business where you have to pay for these bikes hurts.America has it figured out, the big brands have their test fleets and can accomodate lots of guys on a test day. We are a few years behind here in SA.I take my hat off to the Complete Cyclist guys. Kudo's. SwissVan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badiejb Posted May 31, 2018 Share what Is the availability of test bikes like in SA, in particular Specialized? Being in the market for a new mtb I approached 2 brands requesting a test bike to help me decide the right size and make a final choice. The LBS who sells Specz tried to get me a test bike but was told by Specz Europe that there are no test bikes and that the bike shops should buy bikes to be used for test bikes.... The other LBS who sells Santa Cruz managed to arrange a test bike no problems for next weekend... Being a Specz fan I’m feeling a bit miffed and let down by the big S....Interesting to hear that there are no bikes to test on the planet you live in as described in your bio...Jokes aside. Id be interested to find out where you live, which bike it is you would like to test and see how we can accommodate you. Specialized actually have a pretty big test fleet and I am know for a fact that XL bikes are in that fleet. Feel free to contact me on there or email me johan.badenhorst@specialized.com and I will be happy to assist or point you in the direction Ciao SwissVan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wet Ears Posted May 31, 2018 Share You guys make me laugh.........how many of you have actually owned anything close to your own business and felt what it’s like! These freebies are not simple or cost effective to get past as a supplier/ agent and as a shop you get caught in a huge battle, but then again you always get the know it alls do nothings..............!!!!!! Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkBud happy for you owning your own business and we are not telling you how to run it, we are simply giving you the view of the prospective purchaser/client who you should try and keep happy if you want your business to stay afloat. All that us "armchair CEO's" are saying is that 50k-100k is a lot of money to drop on something without going for a test ride and as such you run the risk of foregoing a sale to someone who does offer a test bike. Can you imagine going to a car dealer to buy a car and they won't let you take a demo model out for a test ride!! Edited May 31, 2018 by Wet Ears SwissVan and Malpiet 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissVan Posted May 31, 2018 Share So I loan out my own personal bike should a customer want to test or if they have a repair thats needed and preventing them from riding.However...never again will I be caught buying demo bikes. Demo bikes are like rental cars...if its not yours, you dont care. And boy does it cost to buy them. Yes you get longer terms and a better price, but you still need to pay for them. And you need a size curve and alloy and carbon variety. So it hurts.Owning your own business where you have to pay for these bikes hurts.America has it figured out, the big brands have their test fleets and can accomodate lots of guys on a test day. We are a few years behind here in SA.I take my hat off to the Complete Cyclist guys. Kudo's.I agree, it’s the OEM’s who should provide the demo bikes. Expecting each bike shop to first buy the demo bikes is ridiculous. There are at least 7 Specialized bike shops within a 25 km radius of my house, all of which according to Specz website offer “Test the Best” facilities Malpiet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wet Ears Posted May 31, 2018 Share So did you do the right thing and buy the Tallboy? I can't change the font on my phone....I did! That said,and as alluded to above, the service I received from Concept Cyclery at Cedar almost swung it for and I was just fortunate that a mate loaned me his Tallboy for a weekend. Had that not happened I would have gone with Spez. I was open and honest with them about going with the Tallboy and they were very cool.Use them still for a lot of other cycle related purchases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissVan Posted May 31, 2018 Share Interesting to hear that there are no bikes to test on the planet you live in as described in your bio... Jokes aside. Id be interested to find out where you live, which bike it is you would like to test and see how we can accommodate you. Specialized actually have a pretty big test fleet and I am know for a fact that XL bikes are in that fleet. Feel free to contact me on there or email me johan.badenhorst@specialized.com and I will be happy to assist or point you in the direction CiaoThanks badiejb I’m a bit far from SA, so probably not realistic to expect you can helpPlanet Zughttps://www.specialized.com/ch/en/store-finder/position https://www.google.com/maps/place/Canton+of+Zug/@47.1497017,8.5477715,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x479aaa593b391d81:0xf58bcc7f43cdf8a2?sa=X&gl=ch Edited May 31, 2018 by SwissVan badiejb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinnyone Posted May 31, 2018 Share So I loan out my own personal bike should a customer want to test or if they have a repair thats needed and preventing them from riding.However...never again will I be caught buying demo bikes. Demo bikes are like rental cars...if its not yours, you dont care. And boy does it cost to buy them. Yes you get longer terms and a better price, but you still need to pay for them. And you need a size curve and alloy and carbon variety. So it hurts.Owning your own business where you have to pay for these bikes hurts.America has it figured out, the big brands have their test fleets and can accomodate lots of guys on a test day. We are a few years behind here in SA.I take my hat off to the Complete Cyclist guys. Kudo's.Agreed, however demos (be it cars or bikes) whilst essential still cost a packet to implement and have available again be it through the LBS or Distributor... I know that to have a demo fleet - a distributor would need a van as well as a trailer to carry all the bikes - R500k for those two (more or less) then a reasonable spread of bikes to test - R500k (again roughly) and then branding - gazebos, flags etc, not to mention staff to run the demo days and maintenance on the fleet over the 8-12 months of the year that the fleet is valid for... Not a cheap exercise by any standard... forgotten1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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