Just doing a little research on bike accessories and clothing so thought as this forum is so big it would be a good place to start.

Im looking at the cost of bike related clothing and accessories and what people think is a fair price for items.

Im talking in relation to base layers, compression tops, hydration packs etc. I feel that a lot of equipment such as jerseys can be very expensive so what do people think is a fair price to pay and what products would you like to see produced at a high quality but lower price than some of the big brands?

Any information with regard to this is appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

Who are you doing this ‘research’ for and why?

I’d take Decathlon prices to be fair. Everything else is just marked up to pay for brand advertising, lack of scale or large profit margins…

I feel that everything I buy is at a fair price, otherwise I wouldn’t buy it. I know that some cheaper stuff can be less well made, but sometimes I don’t care. On the other hand, some brands have a certain cachet that I don’t buy in to, so the likes of Rapha – where you are paying for the label – don’t interest me.

You can buy cheap usable kit from Aldi, Sports Direct etc or expensive kit from Rapha, Assos etc and pretty much anything in between.
In a world where some people will pay £100+ for a pair of jeans and £30+ for a T shirt, what does overpriced actually mean ????

Im doing this research as I find the cost of a lot of sporting products (not just cycling items) ridiculous and have an interest in what others may think.

Nothing sinister as your comment appears to insinuate…….. apologies if im incorrect

thats what im trying to work out……what do people see as overprice, you are correct everyone’s opinion is going to be different but its nice to see what the overall view is.

Nothing is overpriced. Cheaper alternatives are always available.

Things cost money 😯

Define overpriced? If I can afford something, I buy it. If I can’t I either don’t buy it or find a cheaper one that meets my needs/wants/whim

Never pay RRP for anything.

Brake pads. They’re more expensive than car ones.

Reading glasses. So expensive that glupton can’t afford them.

Druidh – You have just reminded me that I do need to go and get my eyes tested. Thanks.

Helmets

A lot of mountain bike stuff is over-priced, because the name or the brand carries weight. Camelbak stuff is more expensive than Tesco stuff, but it does the same job; cue lots of people sayoing how much better the Camelbak stuff is..

Rapha is a case in point; it’s a veblen goods product.

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

Some other stuff is similar, but has a history or a technological standpoint which goes some way to justifying the cost.

Mountain biking is an aspirational activity, and most things are priced accordingly, but as you do more and get wasted by people on cheap bikes, in cheap kit, you begin to develop a sense of perspective.

🙂

I’ll pay out for decent waterproofs ie jacket, shorts, gloves so that means Gore Bike Wear.

Certainly the price of some ladies shorts has gone through the roof. As regards jerseys – don’t wear them as I prefer tops from outdoor manufacturers.

If you look after clothing and footwear, it can last a long time.

– Waterproof jackets. For £200+ I want an Italian tailor to touch my bollocks and comment on how manly sir is despite it being a little cold in the shop today.
– RRPs for tyres. £50 for a bit of rubber made from recycled condoms?
– Replacement parts for anything broken. £20.99 for a replacement brake lever for an Elixir 7. That’s a fifth of a whole brake plus rotor damn you! In fact, any replacement washer, nut etc. Was looking to buy a circlip to replace one I lost during a fettle. £1.99 from a well known online retailer. £1.99 for 200 of the bleeding things on e-Bay.

Aren’t Rapaha/Assos supposed to do free repairs for the lifetime of the product? Anyone tried testing that on kit they’ve used mountain biking?

I rode for a team last year and got a lot of stuff (not just clothes) at ‘cost’ price. A little eye-opener for me at the margins on these things! No doubt those in the industry won’t be surprised but it shocked me.
Anyway, i never buy expensive clothing*, it doesn’t last any longer because life-span is determined by crashes rather than wear.
.
.
*except shoes and waterproofs as the quality differences can be quite stark.

I’d take Decathlon prices to be fair. Everything else is just marked up to pay for brand advertising, lack of scale or large profit margins…

+1 Decathlon stuff does the job for fair cost…

As a specky four eyes I find the prices for a lot of the cycling specific glasses out there pretty excessive, but there are always alternatives to the premium brands…

I rode for a team last year and got a lot of stuff (not just clothes) at ‘cost’ price. A little eye-opener for me at the margins on these things! No doubt those in the industry won’t be surprised but it shocked me.

Yawn, that margin has to cover rent, staffing costs, and everything else involved in running a business. Nothing is ever RRP online anyway and you do realise that just about every high street retailer is on its knees and actually needs to sell it at RRP just to a) survive and b) have enough money to actually buy some stock the following season.

The markup on cycle kit is no different to just about any other consumer good. 2x markup in retail is pretty much standard.

Never mind the if the cost of clothing is overpriced, what about the bikes. I just do not buy the whole R&D development research costs a fortune story. Essentially you have about 5 or 6 tubes of alloy (usually) welded together by low priced Tiwanese labour a bit of paint, shipping and I expect thats sea freight not air.

What do the bike companys actually develop?

Suspension…..
nope fox, marzocchi, rockshox…. the bike company buys huge volumes at huge discounts

Ok must be sweet shifting transmissions..
no again that will be Shimano or Sram…no R&D there then

Wheels, no bought them in too…

Cranks….no. Brakes… no, so what R&D is getting done??????

So is this ranting unfounded, unreasonable?

Compare the price of a Santacruz Nomad SPX at Stiff cycles £4199

http://www.stif.co.uk/mtb/product/santa-cruz-nomad-spx-am-bike-2012/8672

Or a brand new GASGAS trials bike (yes with an engine and gearbox)
£4399
http://www.gasgasuk.com/

Are we getting value for money? I think not.

NCB – that’s a 7/10 rant that.

You don’t need to buy a Nomad. Other brands are available to suit your budget.

I think a lot of sports products, biking included, at a price the market will bear. Technical clothing particular Gortex has gone through the roof price wise, bike jackets hasn’t hit the highs of sailing or ski wear but is still pretty heady. As per druidh’s rule I don’t own any Gortex bike or ski stuff. Sailing I do as its essential and kit yor wear 24 hours a day for days on end.

Never mind the if the cost of clothing is overpriced, what about the bikes. I just do not buy the whole R&D development research costs a fortune story. Essentially you have about 5 or 6 tubes of alloy (usually) welded together by low priced Tiwanese labour a bit of paint, shipping and I expect thats sea freight not air.

What do the bike companys actually develop?

Suspension…..
nope fox, marzocchi, rockshox…. the bike company buys huge volumes at huge discounts

Ok must be sweet shifting transmissions..
no again that will be Shimano or Sram…no R&D there then

Wheels, no bought them in too…

Cranks….no. Brakes… no, so what R&D is getting done??????

So is this ranting unfounded, unreasonable?

I made a frame out of 6 bits of tube once, the rear end fell off. I found that 9 worked better. That’s R+D that is )

Cheers druidh just used it as an example of something that may be over priced for what it actually is.

For me there has to be value for money for every budget, why pay more?
I hate the “its what the market will bare” answer as the market will pay more than a product is worth if they dont realize that there getting fleeced.

Mostly all good value. Most of my riding kit lasts years, I have Sombreo & RaceFace shorts that are 5 years old. A Camelback that is the same. As a society we are obsessed with cost not value, looking for the cheapest option and assuming anything more expensive is a rip off.

I have had stuff that falls apart or tried cheaper stuff on that doesn’t fit right. So I’m happy to pay more, in the end it lasts long enough to make it super cheap in the end.

Compared to things like Dealer Fit car options and Apples Memory rip off it’s nothing.

Anyway, clothing prices..

£60 for a lycra SS jersey is expensive £-for-materials. But that’s probably the real cost of a small number of units (MOQ per run) paying a creative guy to think up interesting designs, have a website and some kind of living as a side-project. So if you get a rare, interesting top for your £60 and that makes you feel good, it’s good vfm.

Rapha etc.. really good quality kit + brand image that costs some £ to create = high rrp.
Tesco / aldi stuff can do a fair enough job in terms of function for the £.

Different types of vfm I suppose, take your pick. Overpriced will be like aldi kit at rapha prices to some extent and it’ll not be around long.

Aldis stuff is a bit steep, lidl is about right

£55 for an Endura LS260 jersey = bargain, it’s pretty much the only thing I wear between October and April, just add a compression tank top for the cooler days and LS base layer for sub zero outings.

£20 for a decathlon jersey = no so much a bargain, fit seems very odd, does anyone have a chest that wide and shoulders that narrow?

£160 for Northwave SPD winter shoes = bargain, like the Endura top they come out in October and don’t go away untill the ground dries out.

£25 decathlon shorts + liner = not so good, the arse falls down

£45 endura humvees = bargain, fit’s perfect and seem to be lasting.

All clothing made by ‘Altura’.

It falls appart like cheap-crap, ‘cept it’s not so cheap. IME

anything that fits.

i’m an averagely scrawny cyclist, but if i want to buy clothes that doesn’t flap around in the wind like a circus marquee then i’ve got to spend silly money.

there are plenty of decent jackets etc. around £60, but they’re all cut for fatties.

if anything i want LESS material, my jackets should be cheaper, surely?

Have you looked in the kids or women’s section?

the price of baggy shorts galls me. £50-60 for the fashion brands (Fox, Sombrio, Royal, Troy Lee, etc.) and they’re not really made to last the rigours of mountain biking – zips break, pockets get holes in them, bum wears through, stitching unravels. I have a pair of Scott shorts that were £30 that are about 6 years old and worn a lot and they’ve outlasted other shorts which might last a year and have cost £50.

I tend to buy my cycling clothes in the sale because I think RRP is ALWAYS overpriced.

All cycling kit is vastly overpriced, clothes less so than bike parts.

Never pay RRP for anything.

That’s me, that is. Nothing more galling than seeing something half price in the sales a few weeks after you’ve paid full (overpriced) whack for it.

Some clothing companies profit margins must be absolutely mahoooosive!!. Its pretty much all mass-produced in Chinese sweatshops, by bonded serfs, for buttons.

Have you looked in the kids or women’s section?

no, i’m 6’1″ – with long arms.

and i’m going to side with NorthernCountryBoy and his 7/10 rant.

What do the bike companys actually develop?

what have we seen ‘developed’ in the last 10 years?

1 more gear – pointless.

15mm axles – pointless.

a new-looking specialized enduro every 5 minutes – pointless.

tapered head tubes – pointless.

re-styled cranks/brake levers from shimano every 5 minutes – pointless.

post-mount forks/frames – pointless.

but we’re all paying for these ‘developments’ – through higher prices, even on products without the features.

I find fox stuff perfect personally. It’s comfortable, washes well, lasts well and doesn’t cost too much. Dakine stuff has been OK too.
I’ve had kit from Endura, Altura and Royal fall to pieces on me so I won’t be buying any of that again.