Why are they so damn expensive in the UK and here (Australia).

They are almost half the price in USD than they are in Aus, but you can’t buy them off a US site as they won’t ship abroad, I assume to protect their markup.

I could buy a flight to the US, buy the bike and fly back for less than it would cost me to buy one here!

Really off putting as a brand, can just buy a Spesh/Giant from a LBS for half the amount….

Keeps the riffraff away from the brand.

Why are they so damn expensive in the UK and here (Australia).

I would suggest it’s because people will pay that much
As much as you would like to think that bike companies play fair, they actually only play to maximise profits and you have to presume they’ve done their sums

Buy a used frame from the US?

buy a nicolai from gravity-sports instead.

Like Santa cruz they don’t use a distributor and sell direct to the retailer thus cutting out a whole layer of mark up. They also don’t have to ship internationally which is never cheap.

What about the dealer in Dunedin New Zealand ?

US prices are quoted without sales tax and I suspect shipping to a low volume market like Australia is expensive per unit and will attract some kind of import duty. If you really want a US sourced frame you must be able to find a friend or relative in the US who can buy it then ship it onwards. Or take a holiday there, buy and ride the bike then bring it back.

Think they are comparatively priced with like, such as Intense, Turner, Ibis, Elsworth, Tomac and Santa Cruz,(U.S brands/not so mass produced) In the UK anyway…