Bike frame/parts drought 2021

Posted by: rnayel

Posted by: Bondseye

Not sure it’s as bad as everyone feared. Sram stuff recently hit shelves, and I hear Shimano will be back in stock come July, but now There’s talk of looming North American gas shortages this summer. Wish I could store a bunch of unleaded.

You don't have to worry about gas shortages, gas is commodity surge priced, as long as someone is willing to pay an extra $1/Liter, it will always be available.

No this is more supply chain oriented. There’s plenty of gas, not enough tanker drivers to deliver it.  

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1265673

Posted by: skooks

My list is similar. I have been panic buying consumables like crazy lately. One thing I don't see on your list is brake pads. I have a bunch of those. I have standardized all of our bikes to use the same drivetrains and brakes, which makes things easier.

I forgot to mention brake pads. I've been stocking those for years though. It's a pain to be visiting some small town with amazing trails and then find out that your pads were further along in their lives than you had thought. Small town LBS's rarely have the pads I need that day - Murphy's law I suppose. I just keep a set of everything I use in my mobile tool kit and a few more at home in my garage. I haven't streamlined everything though. Different standards all around. The nukeproof pads from crc seem to be decent quality/performance/value. Makes it easy to throw a few sets in on an order so you never run out....

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: skooks

My list is similar. I have been panic buying consumables like crazy lately. One thing I don't see on your list is brake pads. I have a bunch of those. I have standardized all of our bikes to use the same drivetrains and brakes, which makes things easier.

I forgot to mention brake pads. I've been stocking those for years though. It's a pain to be visiting some small town with amazing trails and then find out that your pads were further along in their lives than you had thought. Small town LBS's rarely have the pads I need that day - Murphy's law I suppose. I just keep a set of everything I use in my mobile tool kit and a few more at home in my garage. I haven't streamlined everything though. Different standards all around. The nukeproof pads from crc seem to be decent quality/performance/value. Makes it easy to throw a few sets in on an order so you never run out....

Ya I am the same. Had all the bikes  in the family standardised on shimano so a few sets of pads and I’m good. Then I went magura on the new ride so had to pick some backups. I got some Miles Racing pads to try  

Good to know about the CRC pads. Good way to get the free shipping on a small order.

I’ve been checking for 10-50 eagle cassettes. They seem to be out of stock everywhere I check other than order now for June. Chains too. On the other hand NSB has chainrings in stock. Cable and housing is available too. One shop in Whistler had a sign saying no parts available unless the bike is in for a repair. My bikes are working well enough at the moment and I should be able to nurse that one drivetrain along until parts are available. I hope. Why have bikes suddenly become more popular? Is it because people aren’t spending on travel due to Covid so they’re buying bikes? Or because they aren’t spending on travel and going out that they’re getting that new bike instead?

well as you can see from the thread, its cuz they have been hoarding parts and Charmin

Posted by: XXX_er

well as you can see from the thread, its cuz they have been hoarding parts and Charmin

I feel a little bit bad about my plenty of parts, but to be fair, half of it I've had pre-covid and most of it is 11 speed.

In terms of biking popularity, I bet a lot of it is what you suggest, not spending $ on other things due to covid. Also, no one can go to the gym and we live in Vancouver....what other excuse do you need to drop 5k on a bicycle?

I'm joking dude,

i'm the first one to suggest to my buddy's this is not the last piece of gear you will ever buy so get some spares

only 5K?

Posted by: RAHrider

In terms of biking popularity, I bet a lot of it is what you suggest, not spending $ on other things due to covid. Also, no one can go to the gym and we live in Vancouver....what other excuse do you need to drop 5k on a bicycle?

A bunch of the SPORTS bros at work have all gotten into Mtn biking in the past year or two now.

I just had a discussion about this with an industry insider, and it sounds way worse than I thought it was. If you can find consumable parts now, buy them. Good luck finding a 12 speed SRAM chain.

Posted by: skooks

I just had a discussion about this with an industry insider, and it sounds way worse than I thought it was. If you can find consumable parts now, buy them. Good luck finding a 12 speed SRAM chain.

Good call. Bought the last 12 speed chain they had at my LBS. I can't even imagine not being able to ride because my chain is worn out and I can't get another.

Posted by: RAHrider

I can't even imagine not being able to ride because my chain is worn out and I can't get another.

KMC single speed chains are still readily available in like 34 different colours, there is no shortage of metric bolts, and single speed cogs and spacer kits are readily available.

Just space your derailleur cage wider for the wider chain, set those limits (may need longer high and low limit screws), and install a cog.

Back riding under $100 with a budget cog.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Posted by: RAHrider

I can't even imagine not being able to ride because my chain is worn out and I can't get another.

KMC single speed chains are still readily available in like 34 different colours, there is no shortage of metric bolts, and single speed cogs and spacer kits are readily available.

Just space your derailleur cage wider for the wider chain, set those limits (may need longer high and low limit screws), and install a cog.

Back riding under $100 with a budget cog.

I hadn't thought of that solution. If they have a pink chain, I might be able to convince my wife one gear is a reasonable solution.

I wonder if we will see a researgence of single speed riders next year when no one can find a drivetrain

I ended up buying spares for a little more than what I'd usually replace every year (tires, brake pads, chain, fork seals and oil) plus a few hard to get parts that I'll eventually use (bar, stem, derailleur, shifter) or install on a second bike, but nothing too much in excess of what I'd usually have. Except maybe a second fork but it was an awesome deal that I couldn't pass haha! I didn't want to spend the year checking stores and websites to see when parts would get back in stock. I've done it this winter and it was enough to get me buy more parts right away.

Many hours were spent cleaning, inspecting, regreasing and rebuiding by bike from A to Z this spring though. This is probably the best thing to plan what's going to need replacement and when.

Thanks to the parts drought, I was able to sell pretty much all my old stock parts and last year's parts that I didn't like and replace those with new ones. With a bit of planning and effort it seems like the best time ever to clean up and refresh our "parts bins".

Well enough note of this in the news and this thread pushed me to make some preemptive purchases last night. All good on rubber along with 12 speed kmc chain and even a spare SLX derailleur at a decent price. Already have lots of pads. 

I made a goal of 2021 to be a big biking year for me and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a supply chain issue screw up some of my ride plans!