The price of stuff.

[Bearbonesnorm]

While it's true that I inhabit my own little world full of clouds and cuckoos, a world which renders me somewhat out of touch with society at large, I've recently noticed the obscene price of certain cycle related objects. As an example, todays Fresh Goods over on STW, featured an average looking bike that costs £3800 and numerous sets of wheels, none of which was below a grand. It's not just today either.

Is this simply proof that I'm not in the ST demographic and these prices are actually normal or is it a case that a certain sector of cycling has more money than sense and a belief that money alone can buy skill / speed / style / fun / I could keep going?

BTW - not grumpy, just asking.

[Cheeky Monkey]

You know the answer

[ianfitz]

Brexit ain't helping prices either!

There are some very shiny high end bike around these days.

I'm going to test ride the new Hope HB160 soon as 18 bikes have a demo one. They look beautiful but I won't be buying one because a) I don't do enough of that sort of riding to justify owning a 160mm travel bike, and b) the list price id £7500!

[pistonbroke]

Try living in Spain, contrary to popular belief some things are crazy expensive. The cycling market is one of them, no discounts on €2k aluminium hardtails, carbon €3k plus etc etc. I realise I was cushioned having worked in the trade for 3 years before moving but when I needed some 100mm forks recently and was quoted €600 for basic Rebas, I got some Fox 32's from CRC for £200, they even matched the lurid green frame colour.

[Bearbonesnorm]

I'm going to test ride the new Hope HB160 soon as 18 bikes have a demo one. They look beautiful but I won't be buying one because a) I don't do enough of that sort of riding to justify owning a 160mm travel bike, and b) the list price id £7500!

I have no idea what type of riding requires a bike costing that much ... is there a double black at Cannock now?

[Mike]

I'd want an engine in it for that price and a top speed of 200mph
But yes everything is bloody expensive. Iv just paid close on 300 for a set of handlebars...wtf they better be worth it!!

[Steezysix]

Try living in Norway! When I bought my Genesis it was cheaper to book a return flight home to the UK and bring it back, than buy it locally or have it shipped over. I now buy mid level stuff that lasts, rather than lusting after the really shiny stuff! Thankfully the scenery is free and the right to roam makes it a great place to be a bikepacker™!

[BigdummySteve]

Jones Plus, the frame is a grand more than my ECR the titanium one FIVE GRAND more much I’d like one five big ones buys one hell of a trip. GDMBR and change is how I’d spend it.

That said I’m deeply in Love with the Ti Speedball even though I have no idea if it would suit my riding, I almost put down a deposit but decided I like living in a house

The bike component which makes me cringe is cassettes, some of the new dinner plates cost over £200, almost justifies a rohloff

[Scattamah]

Move to Australia. Then you can seriously bitch 'n moan about the cost of anything. Europe is very, very cheap by comparison.

Greetz

S.

[GregMay]

Stuff costs as much as people are willing to spend. Sadly, people are willing to spend a lot on things that cost little to manufacture and design. But not a lot on things that cost a lot to create. Amazon and books are my usual example.

I look at something and ask myself "can I justify the cost per kilometer/gram/photograph" before I buy it. I'm happy I broke the chain of want and need apart. There are few things I truly need. But many I want. A £7,500 Endurobro(tm) bike is a want, but not a need. So I don't buy it. Food, fluid, housing, education....I'd happily pay that and more to keep it coming.

Each to their own, but these high prices are what allow us to have nice things two years behind everyone else. I for one enjoy will my 2015 NOS FiveTens when they arrive, but I won't be worrying that they aren't purple/stiff/round enough when they arrive.

And no Stu, you're not being grumpy, just observant to the value of things compared to their perceived worth.

[GregMay]

Move to Australia. Then you can seriously bitch 'n moan about the cost of anything. Europe is very, very cheap by comparison.

Greetz

S.

yeah but they all stole bread to end up there so screw 'em.

[Scattamah]

Bwahahahahahahahah. That's gold. :)

Thanks for making my evening, Greg.

Greetz,

S. (expat Aussie).

[atk]

Move to Australia. Then you can seriously bitch 'n moan about the cost of anything. Europe is very, very cheap by comparison.

Greetz

S.

NZ too! Limited product lines (not just bike sub standard), high prices, small second hand market.

My response has been to buy way less sub standard, get a bit more flexible and mash 180mm cranks into the ground every now and again.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Iv just paid close on 300 for a set of handlebars...wtf they better be worth it!!

£300 What do they do, give you a w@nk?

[Ray Young]

Nothing new in overpriced mtb's, remember Klein's. Flash paint job and stupid price equals "I must be a great mtb'er".

[jay91]

I'm going to test ride the new Hope HB160 soon as 18 bikes have a demo one. They look beautiful but I won't be buying one because a) I don't do enough of that sort of riding to justify owning a 160mm travel bike, and b) the list price id £7500!

I have no idea what type of riding requires a bike costing that much ... is there a double black at Cannock now?

No but it's for the posers out side the shop...

[slarge]

I was in my local bike shop talking to the owner, and asked whether people really pay £6k plus for a bike, he said the record this year was £11.5k reduced to £9.5k (cash maybe!), plus he had just sold a Trek top fuel or something to a regular for £6.5k.

I struggle to justify spending £2k on a bike, but I do like decent bits, so I buy 2nd hand and let someone else take the hit.

But yes, the price of bike stuff is eye watering, especially when you know what things cost to make......

[Mbnut]

I have had a couple of plays on the HB.160, the truth is it rides well but not amazingly well.

But that is not what that particular bike is all about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-WgGxwoP78

That is what the HB.160 is all about and quite frankly the price is pretty damn reasonable in this instance.


In general, I agree, the world seems to be spinning out of control and I for one can't afford or justify the cost of many things, bike related or other.

Nowt wrong with being grumpy about it.

Being grumpy is completely self defeating though, as being grumpy makes me happy. In fact, I even derive a degree of joy from other people being grumpy.

[Alpinum]

Stu, you may have realised I'm your endurobro. Hopefully I can give you some insight into how it is as one of many swiss endurobros.

I think the enduro section is, next to high performance xc and race oriented bikes (of any sorts) stupidly expensive. The pure DH bikes have become more affordable about 15 years ago. I love the rough terrain long travel bikes shine in and during this years evaluation for a new long travel bikes (mind, I don't get a new bike every year) I rode many such bikes and felt, like really felt the difference when charging down or climbing, the difference between low and high cost. Suddenly the bike is precise, easier to ride effortless and fast. For some this directly relates to fun.

I believe I ride at a level on which I feel the difference of light and stiff carbon rims vs. 100 g/rim heavier and softer and more compliant ali rims, a level on which the damping of a RockShox Yari put's me ouf of balance and makes riding on my personal edge not just more difficult but also more dangerous. I want to go faster, feel effortless etc. to make my riding more fun and the much more expensive 2018 Fox 36 HSC/LSC fork helped heaps. Just one of many parts in the equation.

This too goes for my new short travel bike.

As much as a worn, cheapish bike can make me feel happy, I too want pure, hard earned (by working on my riding skills but too by money from work) performance in some cases. For me it's legit as I feel a big difference.

As Greg asks, need? No. Want? Yes.
For myself I have experienced what happens if I ride the cheaper and less suitable bike on the terrain I like. I stuff large amounts of money into the not apt bike to keep it rolling and whilst it's rolling I unfortunately feel how it holds me back. Only to change trashed parts from forks to wheels to headsets and even frames after some hard riding. I guess there is a point where want becomes need. I need biking in my life, this is where it starts.

5000 GBP for a bike is the limit I'm ready to pay, as I can't feel the difference to more expensive bikes any more. And whilst spending that huge amount of money (6-7 bought nepalese citizenships for tibetan refugees for example) the bike industry (manufacturers, lbs, onlineshops) has never dissapointed me and made it possible to get me a bike worth around 7 grand for much less. Still... not a bargain...

Crazy, but I think a well performing wheelset is worth 500 GBP... this give me a wheelset (lightbicycle on DT) many others pay 1000 quid for (Enve etc.). It amazes my how many bikes I see on the train to Switzerlands superstar singletracks with Enve wheels, newest Yeti frames etc. It truly is kind of normal here in Cheesecountry.
Dinner plate cassettes are normal too. But lets not forget it saves you the front mess of 2 by, mostly more expensive then 1 by chainrings, the front mech, the trigger, cable. And 10-50 t dome cassettes are much more expensive to produce. In some cases there is a slight reason to the allegedly higher costs.

I got to know two heads/owners of two small, swiss brands (Bold and Stoll) and rode with a Trek designer and knowing them little, they don't seem to swim in money and just want to go biking as much as we do and make good products. Who does make big money in the bike industry? CEO of Trek? Mike Sinyard? His managers? Greg Minnar? (Most of which just want to ride and have fun and help technology evolve). A chinese head of manufacturing?
Have YT bikes gotten more expensive since Aaron Gwin is riding for them? I do think their prices have gone up a little, but is it really because of the newish WC WH racing team, or expansion to the US after the Horst Link patent went past it's 20th year? Will this expansion then lead to more sold bikes and the larger volume to lower prices? Probably not.

Yeah... my post is leading nowhere and just shows that I'm willing to pay much...

Sincerely, your well earning swiss, spoilt endurobro.

[Alpinum]

I'm going to test ride the new Hope HB160 soon as 18 bikes have a demo one. They look beautiful but I won't be buying one because a) I don't do enough of that sort of riding to justify owning a 160mm travel bike, and b) the list price id £7500!

I have no idea what type of riding requires a bike costing that much ... is there a double black at Cannock now?

No but it's for the posers out side the shop...

Come visit me and I'll show you what type of riding
Well, at least the difference of 2000 vs. 5000 GBP

[Bearbonesnorm]

Sincerely, your well earning swiss, spoilt endurobro.

and a little

[Mbnut]

The thing about the HB.160 isn't about what type of riding requires £7500, it's about owning something special.

My Mum just had some crappy windows fitted for that kind of money. Cheap mass produced plastic put together by kids on minimum wage and thrown in by 'do as little as possible' sub contractors.

I know where I'd rather spend my money.

There are types of riding that do require a certain quality to be guaranteed, I wouldn't want my kit giving up on me high in the mountains with the weather coming in if I was bikepacking a day out from the nearest bail point. The type of riding Alpinum is describing is another, sure it is possible to bump down an Alp on a cheap bike but when you are pinning it, squeezing the absolute last ounce of grip from your £60 front tyre, helped out by your tuned fork and high end frame etc at up to 40mph, you want to know that your kit can be relied on and that costs.

Did Cannock today, broke my heart to listen to all that grit grind away at my blood expensive gear!!

Now I am grumpy.

[Alpinum]

Sincerely, your well earning swiss, spoilt endurobro.

and a little

You got it right. From me too

[firestarter]

I've got a Jones spaceframe and I've got a ramin plus. One expensive (for me a once in a lifetime thing) and one not expensive by modern mtb standards

Both ride lovely, similar and different, is the Jones x times better than the ramin, no. But it's bloody lovely and makes me smile just looking at it :)

[Alpinum]

Did Cannock today, broke my heart to listen to all that grit grind away at my blood expensive gear!!

Now I am grumpy.

I actually found a way to enjoy trashing parts, although it hurts a bit. But yeah, tyre trashing sucks most. I pay 30-35 quid for Schwalbe Magic Mary that will hold up for as little as ten days of Alpine hammering...
Not much difference in other tyre brands.

When I replaced my nearly 5 y old short travel bike I was heavily looking into the shorter travel Bold and Stoll's amazing bikes. But then, after spending a sh!t load of money for my long travel bike from Bold (small brand and what some would call boutique) I didn't feel like spending that amount again. So I got a Kona HeiHei DL 2017 on sale, adjusted a few things and got likely the same amount of performance and most of all fun for 1500 quid less.
Somerimes there is a way around it of sorts.