[Closed] Have you been priced out of biking?

Just bought what is probably my last brand new bike. The 2nd new bike in 32 years. Loads of 2nd hand affordable quality stuff around.

Not yet. Bit there's always a way.

When I was marginally younger but tremendously poorer I rode mainly single speed on local trails

That is a very cheap way to get a fix.

I understand the sentiment, but if you have a bike you can ride...

I'm lucky enough to have a pretty much 'on trend' bike, but I do also still have bikes from ten and twenty years ago. If I didn't have my modern bike, I could still ride everything I do on it using the older ones, just a bit slower and scarier...

Specialised still do a hardtail for about a grand. Always a good starting point if on a tight budget. That’s about the ticket price for entry these days… if you want something that can be ridden hard with no upgrading or additions.

EDIT: Oh, you already have a bike. Ride that. Everything has gone up in price since you bought it, not just bikes.

That’s the point.
Over (plenty) of years I built up to good spec bikes, love riding them. Call em the XT general spec. Could afford them.
Now I can’t stay at the level I’m accustomed too. I’d have to downgrade to entry level on a new one, which isn’t in stock anyway. Or convince the seller of a used one that my lowball offer is actually mediumball.

One thing the pandemic has proven is that desperate consumers will climb over each other to purchase at any price.

The ****iest ****ers are real!

‘Entry level’ spec stuff now is as good as, if not better than the premium stuff of yesteryear. Maybe not as flashy, but functionally bang on.

I’m lucky to be in a position to be able to get fancy stuff but if all that disappeared, I’d have no issue riding entry level, as it’s all pretty brilliant, especially compared to the stuff I rode when starting out.

Whatever you are riding now is fine,it's the same amount of fun as it always was.
Have I been priced out of biking? Yes and no. I still have a few perfectly good bikes,between six nd fourteen years old but they all work fine, and i will continue to ride them as they are lot of fun. The thing I will probably have to think harder about is travelling to far flung places as often to ride them,that is getting pretty expensive. But stop riding? No. I have a bike and will ride it here.

i have 2 bikes that i love that were not expensive (both titanium a ht and road bike). the ti bike cost me about £2500 in 2018 all in and the road bike cost £1800 that i bought last year. both bikes have good components fitted to them (slx 11 speed,hope enduro wheels 27.5,rockshox yari fork. the road bike full sram force 11 groupset/rim brakes and fulcrum wheels).

i am not rich at all and paid them both off in instalments but i don't plan on changing/px them for any new bike tbh.

the only bike i would like to buy now would be a ss road bike of some sort sometime in the future.

Buying an entire new bike? Yes.*

However, upgrading over time, then getting a new frame and swapping stuff over is much more doable. Obviously there may be compatibility issues but it generally works pretty well unless you want a big change like wheel size or fork travel

*Interest free credit may be an option

There's quite few things going on, I get where the OP is coming from.

- The High end has got higher, broader and more out of reach for average punters.
- Entry level proper bikes have got objectively better in terms of suspension, brakes and handling for sure.

It's quite a well known problem that people often judge how well they're doing relative to others rather than in an objective sense. So the fact that your bike rides better than your 15 year old one - that doesn't help with the feeling you've gone from premium to budget.

This isn't just a bike phenomenon - there has been a great divergence in most consumer goods. Look at anything from flour to coffee to cars. Say premium cars used to 3x budget you now have premium cars which are 150x budget. Previously Nescafe was premium over mellow birds now you have bio single origin kopi kuwak hand roasted for sale in your local Waitrose. Meanwhile, generally the budget options gave got better but now drinking aldi coffee beans makes you practically a neanderthal.

It is a genuine problem as while life may be getting objectively better it doesn't feel that way for a lot of people as the "good stuff" slips out of view.

My last full sus bike was top end with virtually no room for meaningful upgrades. I replaced it with functional spec (was XTR, now Deore. carbon bars to alu) and I can't really tell a big difference. As has been said, value bikes are better than they've ever been.

I would also say that building your own bike up from parts and taking your time to do it will save lot. There are bargains to be had but you need patience, if you want a new bike now then you'll have to pay for it but if you're willing to take a year or so collecting the parts then you will find some great deals.

Nope - just bought a new Ti hardtail with an absolutely top flight spec (XTR, King, etc) for less than £2500.

I hear you OP.
The prices are getting silly, not just new bike but replacement things like tyres, brake pads abd cleaner.
I've a 5 year old hardtail.
I buy a lot of sale items, running kit instead of riding kit, I buy even more second hand. I buy cleaning kit in 5l tubs intended for motorbikes from eBay.
I'm a whizz at maintaining everything I can for ourselves (YouTube vids ftw).
Unfortunately this means my LBS sees less of me than they did.
I've also discovered that road & gravel are way, way cheaper...

Now I can’t stay at the level I’m accustomed too.

That comment makes you sound entitled. Can't get a new XT level bike to replace your current bike so will ride less - seriously?

I have never even owned an XT level bike (as I am a tight arse rather than can't afford one) yet riding is my main activity by far. You will soon get used to it as Deore is plenty good enough.

Not yet, but getting close.

For me, it’s not just the price, it’s the justification for paying that much which is becoming harder and harder.

For several reasons (this being one of them) I’m increasingly finding myself running over riding.

2hand stuff for me!

Of the  bikes in the garage one frame was new, the rest were second hand.

Most recent bike is 5 years old. It was unbelievabley unmarked. There is no way I'd pay for the new version either then or the current version.

What's wrong with your current bike? I rode one hardtail for 15 years and one full suss for 12. Current full suss is 5 years old

I picked a price point I’m comfortable with a long time back and stick to it. I prob get less bike for that now but don’t think it’s lessened my enjoyment. It has contributed to me heading more to gravel riding though to keep cost/complexity lower. And I certainly travel less and do fewer events due to costs in all areas.

However it is prob pricing my wife out. I can justify spending for myself because it gets well used, but she rides infrequently and won’t want to spend the money needed for a reasonable entry level bike now that is still pleasant to ride.

Specialised still do a hardtail for about a grand. Always a good starting point if on a tight budget.

I have a nice hard tail bike now but if I had to start from scratch there’s no way I could afford to buy a £1k bike.

The last full bike I bought was a Specialized Pitch Pro full suss with Pikes and decent kit for £1050. Ok I know that was what, 10 years ago, but a similar bike now would be £2.5 - £3k? You can’t explain that price hike purely with inflation.

Interesting one and in many ways yes, in terms of spending £2-5k on a bike is not family priority so therefore I have a 2013 26” bike with ****ed suspension, obsolete wheels etc etc

That comment makes you sound entitled. Can’t get a new XT level bike to replace your current bike so will ride less – seriously?

Some people can't tell / don't care about nice tools and that's great but for a lot of people nice kit is part of the sport. Not really entitled as such it's just that kit is a huge part of cycling, always has been.

Always has been for me, so I’ve gone second hand and discount/sale parts and managed to build up some great bikes. My latest bike brand new would cost about £11k which I would never pay.

It's a tricky one. I actually don't think that like for like you're getting less bike for your money compared with 10 years ago.

However, that's if you're comparing RRPs.

10 years ago, if I needed a new part I would go to CRC, sort by discount, and find something that was 70% to 80% off RRP.

I don't think the issue is with RRPs. I think the issue is that the discounts people used to rely on aren't there anymore.

people nice kit is part of the spor

It's never been a better time to adapt to the fact that the sport of riding your bike is riding your bike - not standing next to it.

The lower end groupsets have moved on so much the gap between the good (mechanical) stuff and lower end has closed dramatically.

Why does one need a new bike to keep riding?

Edit - already been answered

Why does one need a new bike to keep riding?

Stolen?
Broken?
So many parts worn out/broken it’s not worth replacing them all?
Obsolete standards you can’t get parts for?

Tomd’s post is excellent.

I have a 2016 105 rim brake road bike. I saved hard through the pandemic with the aim of buying a disc brake bike this yeah but guess what, it’s to cost me £3000 for the equivalent bike, so essentially £3k for a set of disc brakes. No thanks.

I’ve no doubt 105 today is better than 2016, but I did feel I wanted to “upgrade” to Ultegra - another £600 on top.

Maybe Tom his point I’m too materialistic, but with my cheap MTB having SLX and the race bike with GX, selling both for a Deore shod Trail FS feels like going backward.

I've pretty much always been priced out of new biking; the only new bike I've bought in the last 8 years was a Ti gravel bike for £1300 4 years ago for my 50th birthday, which has since done nearly £20k kms, so I've had my money's worth.

I've recently put together a lovely steel FS frame with a mix of nearly new, used and transferred parts ... Pikes/Hunt/SLX/XT ... for around £1700, but having sold 2 other bikes, a net cost of £300/400.

My SS 29er HT was also put together around used parts and frame, and was itself the donor of some parts to the FS bike.

Fortunately, there are plenty of people around who are not priced out of the new bike market, that allow people like me to put together some lovely bikes on a much more modest budget.

Priced out of crashing, maybe.

I’ve no doubt 105 today is better than 2016, but I did feel I wanted to “upgrade” to Ultegra – another £600 on top.

Marketers wet dream.

Priced out of everything! Can't quite get my head around energy prices 😐

The prices are getting silly, not just new bike but replacement things like tyres, brake pads abd cleaner.

I bought a BB the other day. £30. The exact same one cost me £15 a couple of years ago. In fact pretty much every BB I've ever bought has been £15 (give or take). That's a doubling in price, in 2 years.

It's not limited to BBs either. Refreshing your drive train feels like buying a new bike, in financial terms.

I don't really get the sentiment of the OP, in that you need good stuff to ride a bike. But I am finding it increasingly difficult to justify replacing stuff on existing bikes, with even the cheapest components.

Buy second hand and don't get upgraditis.  Its a very cheap hobby if you want it to be.  Up until buying my new bike this year I spent l around a hundred or two a year on bikes and bits on average,   Old bikes bought second hand and kept for years kept going with second hand parts and maintained by me.  I don't care that the bikes are old and not on trend - they are still fun to ride

Have to say, I broadly agree with OP.

My ‘new bike’ is 8 years old and has pretty much obsolete standards - as such it has a finite life. [edit it might actually be 10yr or older actually]

Recently my wife an I were away and we hired a pair of Ebikes for the day. Was a great day out and had a lot of fun. When we got back to the cottage, had a google to see how much it would cost to buy a pair - basically no change from £10k. I’ll repeat that - TEN THOUSAND POUNDS!! So the option is either a pair of bicycles for my wife and I or 5+ years worth of holidays & weekends away…

Needless to say I can’t see me replacing my bike when it dies.

Running a 2004 Cotic Soul. Everything obsolete standards, when its been upgraded I've passed parts down to the kids bike.

I don't know what your budget is, but for example you can buy a Whyte T130 for <£1000

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224872055571?hash=item345b6b4313:g:x9sAAOSwjoxh2w6f

Which in terms of bang for buck of a decent FS, well it's far from terrible.

I bought a BB the other day. £30. The exact same one cost me £15 a couple of years ago. In fact pretty much every BB I’ve ever bought has been £15 (give or take). That’s a doubling in price, in 2 years.

i bet the RRP was close to £30 all that time. You just got used to CRC etc selling grey market stock for less than your LBS could buy it trade.

I’ll repeat that – TEN THOUSAND POUNDS!!

Oof. You could, almost, get a nice regular mountain bike for that.

Yes I feel like I'm being made to walk the plank to fall and drown in the BSO sea!

So recently started to learn how to repair my own wheels using DIY stand and dish tool.

Repaired a 135qr for the rigid commuter. Will need to rebuild a 142x12 wheel for my nice 11 speed hardtail.

Gone single speed on the commuter, but might transfer to 1x10 taken from the knackered 2012 full sus. If it isn't too far gone that is.

It's maintain a bike that's eye-wateringly expensive
GX cassette has worn out,.... That'll be £200 please
Maxxis tyres..... £80 an end
Fox 36..... £1000 😳

Bargains can be found, I tend to buy spares when I see them cheap

will the fuel costs going up I feel priced out of getting to places to ride.

I am priced out of buying things I don't actually need.

Well this thread just goes to show that for some people, "biking" means buying a new bike every year or two. Whereas for others, it means riding your bike.

We have bought a lot over the past few years, but prior to that, my wife and I both went more than a decade between purchases. Perhaps coincidentally, that's the decade we did the most actual riding. I'll leave others to debate whether we were doing more "biking" then, or now that we have 5 newish bikes between us with under 1000 miles on each.

In 30 years mountain biking I’ve never bought a new bike. In fact I think I’ve only had 7 bikes in that time.

My last bike (2 years ago) was £1200. Great price from a mate for his sons Whyte T-130.

Things are getting pricier though. I’m ham fisted but can do a lot of repair and maintenance myself which saves money. Dropper/forxk shock services cost a lot of money.

You can spend a fortune on clothing though. I tend to buy from eBay or similar to keep prices down there.

I need new shoes and helmet soon - you’re talking £200 or so for that.

I’m lucky in that I can ride straight from the door. Once a year a few of us head off for biking trip but it’s unusual for me to travel to ride though. Guess that keeps costs down.

You have to take the cost in context.

My context is below inflation pay 'rises' since 2010 (I've moved up scale, but teachers are 20% worse off than if it had tracked cost of living) plus current absurd overall inflation rate.

Bike inflation is running much higher than general inflation.

Prices are rising 10-20% a year. Technology isn't improving 20% a year, so while bike stuff is better than 10-15 years ago, it's much worse value than 3 to 4 years ago.

Not in the market for a new bike, but cost of parts worries me. Getting harder to make smart choices.

I said it earlier - for me it's the maintenance that's getting a bit daft in cost without serious effort to shop second hand and sale bargains.

I don’t care that the bikes are old and not on trend – they are still fun to ride

@tjagain is right. Ride what you have is a great attitude.

Another factor, I think, in the ‘new bikes are silly £££’ is that previously, there was a bit of value in buying a full bike, rather than building from a frame, thanks to the economies of scale/OEM pricing. Now, the further up the ranges you go, the worse value the full bikes, to the point where you are paying a premium for a built bike over a pile of parts bought at RRP. The direct sales brands have helped a bit, but even they are creeping up.

On the “I’m used to XT” point… I used to ride XTR, now ride Deore. Has it impacted my enjoyment of riding even one tiny bit? No.

And as for ebikes being far more expensive than your old mountain bike… well, of course they are.

Affordable bikes are fantastic these days. There are also ways to spend huge amounts of money on a new bike. Huge amounts! You don’t have to.

Everything is more expensive, lots of good points made in this thread as well, like spares shortages driving up prices, i'm the same, used to check CRC and Merlin, then buy, haven't used either in a couple of years as their prices are just as much as normal places.

As for actual bike prices, the thing that's driving up prices are pretty simple, material price increases and cheap access to credit, materials are more expensive as we all know, but credit is everywhere, a decade ago you couldn't get 4 years 0% on almost any bike, now it's everywhere, you have Cycle to Work, which can give you up to 42% discount on the price, and you pay the rest via pretty much interest free credit, so sales are up, and discounts are down.

You just have to get used to the new reality, you have a budget, and you have priorities, i have never bought a new car in my life, i earn a good wage, but i just can't justify paying so much for a vehicle over secondhand, same with wanting a campervan for family holidays, a nice one is just too expensive secondhand, and impossible new, so i just don't buy it. Reality is you just get priced out of everything over time, as your disposable income gets very much used up elsewhere.

I've always ridden XT equipped bikes with Hope brakes and hubs, I'm constantly picking up bargains so very rarely pay rrp, usually buy frames instead of complete bikes, but looking at the prices for bikes with XT its quite alarming, when did £5500-6000 ish become normal.
Pretty sure my current set up hasn't cost me anywhere near that and its all up to date. If it got nicked it's gonna cost a bloody fortune to replace with all my prefered bits.

I'll be running back tyres till there canvas.