Right, there has always been something amiss about the LBS sales model. Besides franchise restrictions, nearly every bike I've purchased has needed to be ordered. And its not a week long turnaround, i've had to wait months for them.

Frequently by midyear, its more like, hey all the bikes of that model are sold out, you have to wait until next year to order whatever they happen to produce.

Its the manufactures which have really turned me off recently. I DO NOT WANT a 27.5" through axle bike for my middle school kid. Yet, outside of maybe a single XXS bike, not a single manufacture makes 26" bikes anymore. So you have the choice, of the sporting goods store bike, or some 27.5" where the geometry is wrong for someone who is 5.5' or so (besides now having to carry a 3rd tire size when we go on family outings, me with my 29" and my other kid with a 26" from a couple years back).

So, having customers walking around with $$$ in their pockets and not having a product to sell is a problem. Particularly, when the answer is "come back in 4 months" so we can check inventory again. In four months, I've probably managed to find another source.

I got a 26" bike for my son a few months ago [1]. It was the last one in the area so I had to pay full retail, which certainly was a disappointment, but it's got a great frame and we can upgrade components as he wears them out

[1] https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/kids-bikes/kids-hyb...

I miss a good bike sale. Since the pandemic and subsequent lockdown none of the LBS' in my area are doing sales. they move as fast as they can get them (except the carbon racers)

Get your kid a BMX or a 26" dirt jumper. No gears = not much to break. Or a 4x 26" bike with gears if you want them. You can also install gears on most DJ frames with an additional mech hanger. Sadly the only options for 26" are dirt jumpers, some 4x bikes, 26" BMX and some specialized 26" tourers. I remember the 80s when every kid in US movies rode a BMX. Fun times. We rode Soviet or domestic 20" foldables in Eastern Europe.

Try finding a ten year old rockhopper comp, those were mostly still 26" with QR and seem like a great budget friendly choice for a middle schooler.

Kids are not a very lucrative market for the manufacturers or for the bike shops. Hardly any parents are willing to shell out four figures for a bike the kid will outgrow in nine months.

Yah, I've been trying, the used bike market seems even crazier at the moment than the retail bike market. I've yet to find anything that is both the right size, and not either a complete POS, or multiple thousands of $.

Try buying a 300-500 kids bike right now I dare you. Everything is sold out. Totally worth it btw with all playgrounds shutdown nothing for the kids to do of all ages 3-16

I needed a pair of Maxxis High Roller and had to call around a lot until I found a shop that had a pair.

As annoying as that was, as a biker I'm really happy that more people people take the pandemic as an opportunity to discover biking.