I'm amazed at how stable prices for bikes have been since I started riding in 1997; if anything they've increased slightly.

In 1999 I could get a Marin East Peak (then, an entry level full suspension cross country race bike) for £995, and you could get a Marin Alpine Trail (which was acceptable, not great, but not shit) for just under £800. Now, an entry level full suspension race bike (say a Specialized) is £1,200. There are no decent full suspension bikes at the £1,000 mark really, and don't even think about looking at the £800 mark unless you want some Saracen junk.

Of course, the upside of this is that you now get much more bike for your money than in 1997 – your £1,200 bike now has fully adjustable suspension, hydraulic disc brakes, lockout etc. But the thing is I don't give a $hit about adjusting my suspension, or locking it out, or even having disc brakes – Vs and a simple coil shock were fine (and broke less). There's nothing in the market for riders with simpler tastes, and there used to be! It should be possible to get a good full suspension bike for a grand or less, £1,200 as a bottom of range price isn't acceptable.

why are bikes so f**king expensive?

Because they are f**ing great!

HTH.

😉

Adjusting for inflation, £1,000 in 1997 is the same as £1,200 now…..i.e. nothing has changed.

Bit backward to yearn for a bike that is worse than the ones available today.

Trance X4? Fuel EX5? FSR XC?

granted they are in the minority, but you pays yer money and all that. To be fair they seem to have risen in line with inflation.

Er, does your weekly shop still cost the same as in 1997? How about your house, same price? Doubt it so why does it suprise you bikes have also gone up in price over the last 14 years?

Which inflation you're referring to druidh 😉
Real one or government figures one…
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(see what I have done here 😉 )

Duck and cover

Ok, done your shopping for you!

My point is more that even the cheapest mountain bikes have a f**kload of technology on them that I don't want, and don't want to pay for. In any other fast-moving areas, where technology becomes obsolete so quickly (think computers) you can really notice how cheap basic kit has become – but not with bikes. Why is there no bike equivalent of an Ipod Nano?

I hate the technical aspect of riding – dealing with mechanical stuff makes me die a little inside every time – but I notice when it goes wrong…!

From someone whose other 'hobby' is HIFI I consider bikes in generally to be extraordinary value!

The average 2k bike has parts that are developed especially for purpose, taking account of the absolute latest technology in balancing strength, weight, longevity .. that's a lot of engineering. Sealed bearings, Ti bolts, CNCed bits – you would not find attention to detail like that in a car under 50k!

Also.. the manufacturers are constantly pushing to make the bikes, stronger, lighter, faster – always evolving.

If a company makes something that is a bit sh*t and doesn't really work/breaks .. then the market will abandon them straight away!

In HIFI .. £2k buys you a MID-LEVEL amplifier, ditto the speakers, and CD player .. and that's just about £100 quids worth of PCB and capacitors wrapped up in a Big flashy case..

^ So £6K buys you what audiophiles would consider a decent (but nothing special) system. Add to that there's so much 'smoke & mirrors' and snake oil in hifi – it's all over-hyped balls.. Bikes are so much more refreshing and real.

p.s. look up the price of nordost ODIN speaker cables if you are curious.. but swallow your coffee first

http://www.highendcable.co.uk/Nordost%20ODIN%20Speaker%20Cable.htm

thanks for that tip! I love the comments on the reviews on MTBR:

"Weaknesses: not quit inuff suspen but worked really good loved the bike bent crank and sprokits not a pricy fix
…
Bottom Line: bad ass for what you pay ran great held up and never faled and great worenty broke rear arm and one week and it was fixd yea go get one thear great!!!!!"

Um, yee haw.

Seriously, the best way out of this that I've found is to buy second hand – I got VERY lucky on a good deal on a barely ridden 2002 bike years ago, but that thing is now getting pretty beat up and in need of replacement. I don't want to push my luck in buying a second hand bike again but that's what's going to happen…these things are so complex that you just have to accept that you don't know what you're getting and take a punt.

There are shed loads of places selling "out of date" models at reduced prices so what are you worried about? If you don't think that the newest features are of any use to you why worry if you're riding a 2007 bike if it is available for £500 or £600 quid.

Or buy a HT or build a rigid if you really have simple tastes/needs.

jhw – Member
In any other fast-moving areas, where technology becomes obsolete so quickly (think computers) you can really notice how cheap basic kit has become

Not so. "Base" PCs have stabilised in price and just get better each year. CPUs get faster, RAM and HD size increases, USB / WiFi / etc all get added. If this wasn't so, you'd be able to go out and buy a 1990 spec PC for about £2.50.

Nixon: but all the stuff about ti bolts, cnc, sealed bearings etc., isn't much good in the finish (I chose not to use the phrase "emperor's new clothes bollocks") – if you ride over a rock the wrong way one weekend at Coed y Brenin, it's still going to pop up and shear straight through your frame, top of the line or bottom of the line! It's not about riding the most expensive kit I find – like going to a really messy party in your best suit. In fact, more expensive kit is MORE vulnerable to damage I find – e.g., I recently got hit by a car commuting on some fancy Mavic Ksyrium rims which simply shattered – if I'd been using Open Pros, the mechanic thought they would've been OK. But the high tech spoke/rim technology etc. meant they couldn't take the impact.

(thanks for the tips, these are options I hadn't looked at – I'm fool enough just to look at the basic prices on Chain Reaction!)

V brakes are you mad? If you don't like technology get a rigid SS and pray for your knees.