2016 bikes. Already?

[yellowjack]

Just noticed this, looking for the specs of my new bike on the website of the shop I bought it from.

My bike (well, the bike in my colour) no longer listed. But the 2016 model is already on there...


http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/trek-emonda-sl-6...

...strewth! It's not yet halfway through August! £200 cheaper than the outgoing model, too

This means that reductions are already being offered too, on this year's bikes...

http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/trek-emonda-sl-6... - 2015 Emonda SL 6 in stealthy black/black with Ultegra at £2100 (-8%)
http://www.pedalon.co.uk/acatalog/trek-emonda-sl-5... - 2015 Emonda SL 5 in green/black with 105 at £1520 (-20%)

It leaves a bit of a sour taste for me, having bought early this year at full price, but an opportunity for other PHers who might be looking to save a few pennies before season's end. Both me (SL 6) and Banana Boy (SL 5) have bought Emondas, and I've certainly been VERY happy with mine. I've ridden over 2,300 supremely comfortable, trouble-free miles on mine since March this year.


Anyone seen any more 2016 bikes appearing yet?

[SixPotBelly]

The 2016 'dales were out about a week ago too.

Guess it's the same as cars: Shut factory mid July -> Change tooling -> Re-open producing next year's model mid August.

[JEA1K]

SixPotBelly said:

Guess it's the same as cars: Shut factory mid July -> Change tooling -> Re-open producing next year's model mid August.

Not quite ... Shut factory mid July -> Change paint colours, order new decals -> Re-open producing next year's model mid August;)

I like the look of the new Emonda ... local Trek dealer owner has just bought the 8 SLR which looks superb. Going to get the Mrs the yellow SL6 pictured above or the SL6 WSD.

[Justin S]

This is the time of year for the new models, weirdly. September is bargain time for old model bikes, although when I was looking for my Cube road bike, a couple of years ago, they all seemed out of stock locally, so had to mail order from Leisure Lakes.

[yellowjack]

JEA1K said:

Not quite ... Shut factory mid July -> Change paint colours, order new decals -> Re-open producing next year's model mid August

I like the look of the new Emonda ... local Trek dealer owner has just bought the 8 SLR which looks superb. Going to get the Mrs the yellow SL6 pictured above or the SL6 WSD.

In this case you appear to be quite correct! The new Emonda SL 6, at least as far as I can tell, is identical to the Red 2015 beastie save for the paint and stickers.

The Emonda really is a fine choice. Whichever fits her best, the WSD or 'normal' bike, I'm sure your Mrs will love it. I can't get enough of mine, mostly on longer rides, including a couple of centuries so far. Already this month I've knocked out a 60 mile, a 70 mile, and a 110+ mile ride on it, with more than 12,000ft of climbing on just those three runs. It's utterly brilliant.

[SixPotBelly]

JEA1K said:

Not quite ... Shut factory mid July -> Change paint colours, order new decals -> Re-open producing next year's model mid August;)

Perhaps, but you send the all workers off for their break at the same time every year regardless of whether their model is getting a new frame or a just a new paint job for the next year. smile

Or at least that's the traditional way. I'm not sure the Taiwanese working man / woman /child ever gets much of a break.

[Equilibrium25]

yellowjack said:

I've ridden over 2,300 supremely comfortable, trouble-free miles on mine since March this year.

This is the key to consoling yourself about missing the discount :-)

I've done both, bought late in the year at a discount (and regretted not having the bike earlier) and bought my new bike relatively early this year. Although I was able to get a very hefty discount, I still expect that I will see my bike listed cheaper soon.

[PorscheGT4]

new bikes like new cars always come out August/sept and last years models always go 20 to 30% off.

It is what it is,

I have been specing up a Madone 9 :-) but my last new bike was a 1999 model.
nothing has been exciting over the last 15 years imo bar carbon wheels.

bikes went stiff, bike went useable again , aero bike were heavy and stiff etc etc

1st time we now have race aero bikes with comfort and light weight. win win, just took 15 years !

Edited by PorscheGT4 on Friday 14th August 11:39

[yellowjack]

Justin S said:

This is the time of year for the new models, weirdly...

Yes. I'm aware of that, but in most previous years, August/September seemed to be announcement and Bike Expo show time. It seems that the new bikes are actually in stock (at importers at least) earlier than usual. For the Emonda in my OP, Pedal On are quoting 3-5 days for in-store delivery, which strongly suggests that those bikes are in Trek Europe's warehouse somewhere, perhaps even physical stock in the UK.

Still. I'd be interested in seeing links to any of the other new models for 2016. Someone had to be the one to start a thread about it,after all...

[TwistingMyMelon]

Plus sometimes the new models are actually worse than the model they replace, I know the specs dropped down on Boardmans afew years back.

Also as said, when the old/current models are reduced sizing and stock options can be limited so they might seem bargains until you read that they only have 62cm in stock!

Nice bike that Trek looks a good deal

[yellowjack]

Equilibrium25 said:

yellowjack said:

I've ridden over 2,300 supremely comfortable, trouble-free miles on mine since March this year.

This is the key to consoling yourself about missing the discount :-)

I've stopped worrying about end-of-season discounting, to be fair. The sour taste comment was true, but only a minor annoyance, not something to eat away at my soul.

Too many times I've missed out on a new bike due to waiting too long, trying to second-guess the discounts and the bike selling out in my size. Or my procrastination has meant I've ended up moving onto a newer model. I've no regrets about buying when I did - I had it in time for the 100 mile Tour de PH stage 3 ride that Gruffy organised earlier this year, and for a 113 mile epic, chasing the tail of (most of) the RideLondon 100 route this month. No. No regrets at all, as if I'd waited for the £200 (less than 10%) discount, I'd no doubt have had a less enjoyable summer's riding, and have missed the boat yet again. I actually needed this bike at the start of the year, due to my last one being damaged in collision with a van. End of season bargains? Brilliant if you're buying around the right time to get a deal, but I'm not going to chase them any more.

[SixPotBelly]

PorscheGT4 said:

new bikes like new cars always come out August/sept and last years models always go 20 to 30% off.

It is what it is,

I have been specing up a Madone 9 :-) but my last new bike was a 1999 model.
nothing has been exciting over the last 15 years imo bar carbon wheels.

bikes went stiff, bike went useable again , aero bike were heavy and stiff etc etc

1st time we now have race aero bikes with comfort and light weight. win win, just took 15 years !

That looks absolutely gorgeous. Sadly, it'd probably lose something set up for me with a stack of spacers under the stem

Edited by SixPotBelly on Friday 14th August 13:23

[yellowjack]

I love the look of that bike. I especially like the little things that make it special, like the 'aero flaps' that cover the upper part of the front brake, and open when you turn the bars. Too expensive for me, though, and a performance potential that'd be totally wasted on the likes of me...

ETA:

Edited by yellowjack on Friday 14th August 13:19

[Justin S]

yellowjack said:

Justin S said:

This is the time of year for the new models, weirdly...

Yes. I'm aware of that, but in most previous years, August/September seemed to be announcement and Bike Expo show time. It seems that the new bikes are actually in stock (at importers at least) earlier than usual. For the Emonda in my OP, Pedal On are quoting 3-5 days for in-store delivery, which strongly suggests that those bikes are in Trek Europe's warehouse somewhere, perhaps even physical stock in the UK.

Still. I'd be interested in seeing links to any of the other new models for 2016. Someone had to be the one to start a thread about it,after all...

Just go and buy Cycling Weekly. Mine was on the door mat at home for lunchtime and has the headline ' New Bikes For 2016' plastered across the front..........

[Dowks]

yellowjack said:

I love the look of that bike. I especially like the little things that make it special, like the 'aero flaps' that cover the upper part of the front brake, and open when you turn the bars. Too expensive for me, though, and a performance potential that'd be totally wasted on the likes of me...

ETA:

Edited by yellowjack on Friday 14th August 13:19

Not sure its an aero thing, just so the wheel can turn at low speed because the caliper and cables are all integrated. Looks cool though doesn't it, really clean with no visible cables

[Otispunkmeyer]

Can I just ask... given that a bike frame is essentially a bunch of triangles joined together, is there really any great difference, or rather is there any great need to be having "this years" model? Is this years really that much better than last years or even the years before that?

What innovations/improvements to something so simple and with such longevity can they bring year on year? I am not being flippant here; I genuinely want to know because I don't know much at all about the bike world.

Its like mobile phones are getting now. They bring new ones out yearly but they don't really seem to offer anything truly new...just more gimmicks.

[anonymous-user]

Otispunkmeyer said:

Can I just ask... given that a bike frame is essentially a bunch of triangles joined together, is there really any great difference, or rather is there any great need to be having "this years" model? Is this years really that much better than last years or even the years before that?

What innovations/improvements to something so simple and with such longevity can they bring year on year? I am not being flippant here; I genuinely want to know because I don't know much at all about the bike world.

Its like mobile phones are getting now. They bring new ones out yearly but they don't really seem to offer anything truly new...just more gimmicks.

to be honest it depends on a few factors... If there is no new frame design, then it could be a case of a new groupset fitted to an existing frame but the industry talks to each other and the likes of Shimano will advise the frame manufacturers when a new groupset is out so they can plan accordingly.

If there is no new frame or new groupset on the new model, it will most likely be a change of colour and some changes to component spec so buying a current model as opposed to the new one is the sensible option.

The ideal time to buy is obviously when a manufacturer brings out a new frame and for the biggest brands, this may coincide with new groupsets.

[yellowjack]

For all intents and purposes, you're right, there's no major difference year-on-year. A few grams lighter, an angle tweek here, an extra gear there, but no, if you look for a new bike from one, two, or even more years ago, from a retailer like 'Pauls Cycles' who specialise in previous years' runout stock, you'll not lose too much in terms of performance or specification over 'new this year' stuff.

But my two bikes were built 18 years apart. They're still a bunch of tubes formed into two connected triangles, but the resemblance firmly ends there. Technology does move on, but you need big jumps to notice it, which is why most riders keep their bikes for a good few years before searching out the latest upgrades

[anonymous-user]

I think thats spot on, if there is a game changer then the technology quickly adopted. Look at the Nokia 5110 compared to what else was on offer at the time, it was smaller, stylish(!) and had far more features than the other mobiles available at the time, compare and contrast to the iphone!

Same for carbon frames, now the manufacturers know how to utilise carbon to create farmes from the same material for very different purposes.

[PorscheGT4]

my bike is a 1999 bike, it's fine, nothing new has been worth buying inc Di2 imo

but the 2016 bikes at last are aero and can be sub 16 lbs, and not stupid stiff to ride not sure why it has taken so long.