Specialized to ship bikes direct to consumers starting Tuesday

Specialized Bicycle Components will begin direct online sales of bikes to U.S. consumers next week, adding a “Rider Direct” option for the purchase of non-electric bikes from its website.

The company held Zoom calls with retailers on Thursday to go over the details, after sharing the plan with key retailers earlier this week.

Starting next week consumers who want to buy a Specialized bike will have many options:

1. They can walk into a brick-and-mortar Specialized dealer, including independent and company-owned stores.

2. They can find the bike they want on Specialized’s website and then use the site’s dealer locator to find a nearby dealer who has the bike in stock, and then contact that store about a purchase.

3. They can buy directly from the Specialized website and have the bike delivered to a Tier 1 or Tier 2 Specialized dealer closest to them. The dealer will assemble the bike and the customer will come pick it up.

4. They can buy directly from the Specialized website and opt to have the bike delivered to their home in a mostly assembled state, similar to what consumer-direct brands like Canyon offer.

5. They can buy directly from the Specialized website and opt to have an assembled bike delivered to their door by a Specialized dealer.

Read the complete story on BicycleRetailer.com.