i want to buy a new marathon bike ie light with lock out front and back for next years racing season. with the us dollar so low at the moment is it cheaper to buy a bike through the interent or is it better to go through a local shop here in zürich region? I heard that it was tough to get a bike this year because of the high demand on popular models. Can anyone give me some advice?
cheers dr d

I thought an mtb was a motor torpedo boat...

motorized boats aren't allowed on the greiffensee. i guess thats where the torpedos come in handy.

I would say that with the inherently low overheads of a good online shop and the recent dive in the US dollar, it would be virtually impossible for your LBS (Local Bike Shop for AbFab's benefit ) to compete with the prices coming out of the US online stores at the moment.

But just keep in mind if you decide to take this path that you are unlikely to get warranty support here in Switzerland, it just doesn't make business sense for the local distributor to spend his time fixing stuff that you bypassed him to get. So if there are any issues you would probably have to ship it back to the States to get it sorted out.

You will also miss out on having that special relationship with your LBS that you only get if you buy the bike from you, they get to know your face and are then willing to spend time with you giving advice, helping you get the most out your bike and just generally shooting the breeze. If you are already pretty clued up on the MTB industry and mechanically adept this is not such a big deal. But if you are new to the sport and don't know one end of a spanner from another then the value of this relationship cannot defined in monetary terms.

Not sure if my bike suits your requirements, but mine is still up for sale.
Brand New Mountain Bike for Sale - Zurich

Cheers!

Damn you, woman! I'd lined a picture of one and everything...

If you want to save a few bucks without the hassles of importing, possible damage and warrenty claims have a look at www.velomarkt.ch with all the new 08 models now out theres plenty off top end 07 models with low Kms bikes to be had,or frames and components.

This topic has been covered extensively in this thread: Bicycle Importing.

Good points, Woodsie. Since this thread has gone this far I'll add that I've found it is still possible to have a "special" relationship with a LBS even if you buy your bike online... That's what I did recently (refer to other thread for details) but only after visiting several local bike shops who didn't have much inventory since it's "end of season". Since they didn't have much for me to choose from, I told them I was "forced" to order online, and they understood and offered to provide any services I need for it and have been really helpful. I do make sure to stop by there every now and then to do that "shooting the breeze" stuff too - Valuable relationship management

thanks for the helpful comments

If someone is interested I am selling my 2 road bikes, I was waiting until the end of the winter to put them for sale but if someone is interested here is the description.

1 Trek 5500 OCLV carbon road bike, 56 cm, full Ultegra, Look jalabert pedals, fizik pavé saddle, Mavic Ksyrium wheels

1 Trek 5200 OCLV carbon road bike 50 cm, full shimano 600, shimano 600 pedals, fizik pavé saddle, Bontrager racing whels

1 Helmet Giro Atmos size 58

1 pair Adidas frosco carbon road shoes size 9

1 pair Adidas Adistar aero road carbon road shoes size 8.5

1 pair Adidas Adistar MTB shoes ( new ) size 9

several overshoes, MTB shorts and trikots, several MTB pedals

if interested, drop me a line

Advertising road bikes on an MTB thread?

Begone with your lycra, aerodynamic helmet and shaved legs before we send a Motor Torpedo Boat after you!

I noticed the thread title has been changed from MTB to "marathon bike"; so, what is a marathon bike? Shouldn't it be "mountain bike"?

Well, the title of the thread is "marathon" bike, so a road bike would be better suitable for that and also triathlon...

I also have the full winter package for cycling, if someone is interested.

The OP is looking for a bike suitable for taking part in marathon MTB races.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_mountain_bike_races

Basically he's looking for a XC mountain bike with lock outs for the suspension for efficient climbing.

Definitely not a road bike.

Marathon generally refers to MTB marathons in my humble experience.

My girlfriend and I just ordered new bikes at a LBS in Zurich on saturday. This guy is offering 15% off bikes ordered before the end of December which is quite a good discount by Swiss standards. He will build you a semi custom bike, pick your frame and he will get a build kit together for you to build the bike you want.

I personally was looking for a bike that I could do marathons on, but could still take to a bike park or do some alpine descents on without shaking my back teeth on, so managed to put together a 12.5kg bike with 140mm of travel (A little heavy for a pure marathon bike, but I just want to participate not win!) Most marathon bikes are hardtail or have only 100mm travel at the back I think he could put something together for you without a problem.

www.mountainthrill.ch is his website, I can highly recommend him. My girlfriend bought her first bike off him, and now we have just ordered two shiny new bikes.