Really Want Surly Straggler but...

[VeganBikeChick]

It's too expensive for my budget right now. Are bike shop owners ever willing to sell at a discount? If not, when do LBS usually have sales? Certain time of year? Or hit and miss?

[ny biker]

Best time for discounts on bikes is in the fall when the new model year bikes come in. That's when they try to unload last year's inventory.

My LBS is having a holiday sale right now, and I imagine others are, too.

I think sale prices are usually for in-store bikes, not special orders, if that matters.

[DebSP]

We just bought two Surly Pugs. We got a small discount on them. But the sales guy was telling us that the margins on Surlys are not that great so they can't move much on the prices. If we had bought his other line (KHS) he has much more room to give deals. Not sure how true this is but he really had no reason to make it up since we were buying the bikes regardless of if he gave us a deal or not. I did notice that he doesn't stock a lot of Surlys and only when they are last years models he marks them down a bit.

[Sky King]

As a Surly dealer I can attest to the non-markup on Surly's. Bikes in general do not have a big markup. We will often work with a customer purchasing a bike by building "bundles" So bike and racks, pedals, new saddle, etc. That gives us more flexibility. We also are not allowed to advertise any type of bike sale unless it involves a demo bike. Surly is kinda funny with launching new models and color changes, kinda goes throughout the fall and we have yet to see them "discount to us" last years models as they sell pretty quickly. However, we did do a sale last summer on our floor model 2011 LHT's as the component change was enough that we felt we should clear out and bring in the 2013's.

Surly does not allow on line sales of complete bikes and beginning in 2014 will not allow on line sales of frames either. We personally meet with each potential Surly owner to fit them to the bike and adjust for their needs.

The Straggler is a very fine bike. We currently have the demo they were showing at InterBike in our shop and the DH is plotting on how to keep it for himself. Of course, he also wants an ECR and has a Big Dummy frame in the storage room waiting for the new Rabbit Hole Rims to be in stock...

It is always worth your while to visit your LBS to discuss options.

[Blueberry]

I would also add that I understand the straggler has fairly high demand, so there may be less room than average to negotiate (in addition to the already low Surly margins). I doubt there will be many hanging around in 6 months.

I'm drooling at a frame - I would want to change enough that I don't think the stock build would make sense for me. But that would be more than I want to spend on a bike.

Maybe look at some of the other disc cross bikes? Some of the Konas are quite a bit less expensive (but not steel).

[zoom-zoom]

I would also add that I understand the straggler has fairly high demand, so there may be less room than average to negotiate (in addition to the already low Surly margins). I doubt there will be many hanging around in 6 months.

I'm drooling at a frame - I would want to change enough that I don't think the stock build would make sense for me. But that would be more than I want to spend on a bike.

Maybe look at some of the other disc cross bikes? Some of the Konas are quite a bit less expensive (but not steel).

Yeah, Surlys and Salsas both generally sell out fast. It's sometimes easier to find a gently used one than a new one unless you order as soon as they come out and are willing to pay full retail.

Redline has a disc version of their Conquest that is really nice. I have an older Conquest and love it. I'd kill for a Carbon Pro Disc, but they don't carry the smallest size (44) in that model, which irritates the heck out of me. I'd buy one today if it existed in my size.

[tulip]

Jamis has some nice cross bikes--steel. I'm a big Jamis fan, partly because they are rather under the radar and very high quality bikes. Surly just screams too-cool-for-school to me.