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I have been looking around bikes for a while tried about 10 bikes already and rode about 10 miles on each of them and I think I have come to a conclusion about which one to buy (or did I?) But the question is when is the best time to buy a new bike. I assumed that Winter is the best time because most of the people are not riding and companies are trying to sell the old stock off to restock.

So I had made up my mind to buy a certain bike but then heard from the LSB fall is the best time because this is the last price they would reduce on their bikes. So are they right? Should I get my bike now or should I wait till winter to see the prices going down further? I live in Chicago

Any comments and suggestions are appreciated

Thanks in advance

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    Waiting till "the new year's bikes" models come available means that "last year's models" become a bit cheaper, but they can also be sold out. You might wait for a sale, but what you want may not be available or included. Remember: the sooner you buy it the sooner you can get out and ride. – Criggie♦ Oct 22 '15 at 18:57
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    Best value is used. I have found some nice bikes in great shape for 30% of retail. – paparazzo Oct 22 '15 at 20:35
  • It varies with the shop and the bike. Some time between now and about the end of January, probably, for the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Shops that do a big ski business, eg, will want to clear out bikes ASAP and it may already be too late. – Daniel R Hicks Oct 22 '15 at 22:22
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The best time to get a new bike will vary somewhat due to your region's climate and population density. Bike shops in warmer areas and very large cities are going to sell bikes for sticker price pretty much year round. In regions with a cooler off-season, there will likely be bike shops selling bikes at a discounted price, since they don't move as much stock when riding conditions aren't as nice.

But a pretty universal trend is for bike shops to mark down old model year bikes to help get rid of them and make room for new bikes. New models typically come out between September and November, but some will debut as early as late July, depending on the company.

The best time to look into getting a new bike, then, is usually at the end of the cycling season (mid autumn). You might not want to wait until winter because that's when a lot of shops are looking to keep their stock limited to their best-selling, general-purpose and/or entry-level bikes, since most people don't want to buy anything especially exotic right as snow and ice start becoming a factor (they'd have few opportunities to ride).

If you were to expand your search to used bikes, you would be able to find a whole slew of them in springtime when a lot of people are switching up to new bikes to get ready for a new season.

You may occasionally find two or three model year old bikes sitting in the corners of shops marked down to dealer cost just because it was an odd size or unpopular color, but usually shops aren't going to go super deep on their bike discounts since bike profit margins are typically only between 30% and 45%, and they can't burn up too much of their profits trying to move units.

Your LBS informed you correctly -- Fall is the best time to look for a new bike if you're on the hunt for a new deal and not concerned about the newest and coolest tech.

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    Thanks James. Appreciate that. I live in Chicago and winter is crazy here I'm keeping the question open to see wat others think as well – MMG Oct 22 '15 at 19:57
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    No sweat. Getting a second or third opinion in the bike world is usually a good idea, since, as with any kind of shopping, your mileage may vary. My realm of experience is in the much warmer and moderately-populated Fredericksburg, Virginia, but I've visited some shops in other places and they're all very different. – James Murphy Oct 22 '15 at 19:59

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