Buy your tires sooner than later

Mike Jacoubowsky

If you've got a favorite tire, buy up what you can afford to buy now. For a
variety of reasons, some contrived, some real, tire prices are going through
the roof. I've seen some of my most-popular tires increase in wholesale cost
30% in the last two months.

Everything bike-related seems to be going up (along with just about
everything else in the economy other than computers and houses), but nothing
so much as tires. For 2009 models (which will start to come in late June),
expect to see 8-15% price increases over equivalent 2008 models. Not a
shocker there; most of that relates to exchange rates and price increases
from China and Japan. But it does mean that 2008 bikes won't likely to
closed out cheap.

In any event, tires are one of those disposable things that you'll have to
buy over time, so if the opportunity exists to buy now, I'd do it.

Hope this helps someone-

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

riggodeezil@hotmail.com

On May 30, 4:19*pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <Mi...@ChainReaction.com>
wrote:
> If you've got a favorite tire, buy up what you can afford to buy now. For a
> variety of reasons, some contrived, some real, tire prices are going through
> the roof. I've seen some of my most-popular tires increase in wholesale cost
> 30% in the last two months.
>
> Everything bike-related seems to be going up (along with just about
> everything else in the economy other than computers and houses), but nothing
> so much as tires. For 2009 models (which will start to come in late June),
> expect to see 8-15% price increases over equivalent 2008 models. Not a
> shocker there; most of that relates to exchange rates and price increases
> from China and Japan. But it does mean that 2008 bikes won't likely to
> closed out cheap.
>
> In any event, tires are one of those disposable things that you'll have to
> buy over time, so if the opportunity exists to buy now, I'd do it.
>
> Hope this helps someone-
>
> --Mike Jacoubowsky
> Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReaction.com
> Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

Wow, 30% in two months? You're right...time to stock up.

Aren't bicycle tires a petroleum-based product? Guess that could have
something to do with it.

Mike Jacoubowsky

> Wow, 30% in two months? You're right...time to stock up.

> Aren't bicycle tires a petroleum-based product? Guess that could have
> something to do with it.

There isn't enough petroleum in a bike tire for the raw material cost
increase to be much of a factor. On the other hand, there is apparently a
shortage of the type of butyl rubber that's used in inner tubes, such that
it's tripled in cost over the last year. This shortage has apparently been
caused primarily by emerging markets in China (where have we heard that
before?).

I'm not sure that's going to be a major factor in a bicycle tire though, and
it's primarily the less-expensive tires that have seen the biggest
increases. Some of it could simply be manufacturers seeing an opportunity to
get in price increases at a time when people won't question them so much.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


<riggodeezil@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:8e7574c5-387c-4630-beec-f59e225e43e1@34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
On May 30, 4:19 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky" <Mi...@ChainReaction.com>
wrote:
> If you've got a favorite tire, buy up what you can afford to buy now. For
> a
> variety of reasons, some contrived, some real, tire prices are going
> through
> the roof. I've seen some of my most-popular tires increase in wholesale
> cost
> 30% in the last two months.
>
> Everything bike-related seems to be going up (along with just about
> everything else in the economy other than computers and houses), but
> nothing
> so much as tires. For 2009 models (which will start to come in late June),
> expect to see 8-15% price increases over equivalent 2008 models. Not a
> shocker there; most of that relates to exchange rates and price increases
> from China and Japan. But it does mean that 2008 bikes won't likely to
> closed out cheap.
>
> In any event, tires are one of those disposable things that you'll have to
> buy over time, so if the opportunity exists to buy now, I'd do it.
>
> Hope this helps someone-
>
> --Mike Jacoubowsky
> Chain Reaction Bicycleswww.ChainReaction.com
> Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

Wow, 30% in two months? You're right...time to stock up.

Aren't bicycle tires a petroleum-based product? Guess that could have
something to do with it.

Roger Zoul

"Mike Jacoubowsky" <MikeJ@ChainReaction.com> wrote in message
newse%%j.2446$uE5.2370@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com...
>> Wow, 30% in two months? You're right...time to stock up.
>
>> Aren't bicycle tires a petroleum-based product? Guess that could have
>> something to do with it.
>
> There isn't enough petroleum in a bike tire for the raw material cost
> increase to be much of a factor. On the other hand, there is apparently a
> shortage of the type of butyl rubber that's used in inner tubes, such that
> it's tripled in cost over the last year. This shortage has apparently been
> caused primarily by emerging markets in China (where have we heard that
> before?).
>
> I'm not sure that's going to be a major factor in a bicycle tire though,
> and it's primarily the less-expensive tires that have seen the biggest
> increases. Some of it could simply be manufacturers seeing an opportunity
> to get in price increases at a time when people won't question them so
> much.

Bicycle tires seem WAY overpriced to me. Some of them cost nearly as much as
a car tire but don't last nearly as many miles. Why is this [price]?

riggodeezil@hotmail.com

On May 30, 7:25*pm, "Roger Zoul" <rogerzo...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> "Mike Jacoubowsky" <Mi...@ChainReaction.com> wrote in message
>
> newse%%j.2446$uE5.2370@flpi144.ffdc.sbc.com...
>
>
>
>
>
> >> Wow, 30% in two months? *You're right...time to stock up.
>
> >> Aren't bicycle tires a petroleum-based product? *Guess that could have
> >> something to do with it.
>
> > There isn't enough petroleum in a bike tire for the raw material cost
> > increase to be much of a factor. On the other hand, there is apparently a
> > shortage of the type of butyl rubber that's used in inner tubes, such that
> > it's tripled in cost over the last year. This shortage has apparently been
> > caused primarily by emerging markets in China (where have we heard that
> > before?).
>
> > I'm not sure that's going to be a major factor in a bicycle tire though,
> > and it's primarily the less-expensive tires that have seen the biggest
> > increases. Some of it could simply be manufacturers seeing an opportunity
> > to get in price increases at a time when people won't question them so
> > much.
>
> Bicycle tires seem WAY overpriced to me. Some of them cost nearly as much as
> a car tire but don't last nearly as many miles. *Why is this [price]?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Right, even your basic "non-racing" clinchers are $35-$50 per tire.
There are probably some good bang-for-the-buck clinchers out there,
but all the shops I have ready access to are selling 'em in that
range. I usually ride mine down to thread-bared before replacing.