I wouldnt mind paying a fee if that amount was taken off the bike if I decided to purchase.
how much does your LBS charge to demo?
$70 is probably not enough in the long run to sustain their current business model.
Steed charge $90
BSP charge $50
Corsa charge $80
John Henry $70 (IIRC)
Transition $40 USD
Needless to say, I've spent a fair bit of money on demos recently...
I think my LBS charges $60 and applies it to your purchase. They’re flexible though...
Not sure why they call them demos when they’re actually rentals.
Id call it a demo if the price you are charged can be put towards the purchase of the bike if you decide to do so, otherwise Id call it a rental.
Well they charge you to demo skis & Kayaks so why not bikes if its gona be more than a ride around the block? Demo days are good, the local Kona dealer & Kona set up a demo tent at the bluff and did a demo day donating 25 $ to SMBA for every bike demoed which I thot was pretty cool, the Toyota dealer did the same thing.
The Kona factory guy didn't wana give me a bike cuz I didnt have my drivers license on me so he looked over at the shop kid who gave me the thumbs up which must mean I have arrived, so as an infamous local (everyone is an infamous local) with disposable income in small town BC I could probably get a free demo but in NV ... so who the fuck am I ??
Last edited by: XXX_er on Jan. 2, 2018, 11:59 a.m., edited 1 time in total.
Posted by: shoreboy
Id call it a demo if the price you are charged can be put towards the purchase of the bike if you decide to do so, otherwise Id call it a rental.
I realize you can't really have it all. But with each store catering to one or two core brands, the thought of demoing say 2 bikes in each of 3 to 4 stores wouldn't be unreasonable. So you get $100-150 credited off a likely $4000-10,000 bike, but you've also spent another $300 or so at other stores that you won't recover.
Not too significant when we look at the overall cost to make sure you are making the right decision, but when you're shopping and you've just dropped $500 demoing various bikes with no guarantee you've found the one...
Brands running demo days are a great way to get around the demo/rental fee.
It would be amazing if several local shops could create one networked program together, share capital costs, and when I choose the right bike for me I get all my demo fees back from the various stores. I imagine the only this can work is with heavy manufacturer support. But I don't imagine a manufacturer running a demo day fleet of 10-15 bikes all around the province is cheap either
Demo days are nice, but at least with the $50-80 all day rental you can really get familiar with a bike. Demo day you can try a few from one brand for free but really only one or two trails. I rented a brand new Slayer from Corsa last spring and put 25km on it at Alice Lake, was worth the $$ for the experience IMO.
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