Been looking at picking up a new full bouncer for downhill duties, and am genuinely astonished at the RRP's on lots of bikes now.
Seems it's rare to actually pay full RRP on any of them... but be honest... is anyone actually buying these bikes? I avoid trail centres like the plague these days... so don't see much of what others are riding (I suspect e-bikes)... but how does anyone justify doing this financially?
No judgment at all.. I'm just curious. Do you have a bike which RRP's at £8000-10000!?
Own? Yes.
Paid full price for? No chance.
Yes, but I paid 50% of RRP.
Kenevo SL Expert
As above RRP £8,200
Salary sacrifice approx £4,200
The whole industry is based on the DFS model, never pay RRP. Either 30-40% off in ‘sales’ or salary sacrifice
Yes. More than one.
Some more than that.
None of them are e-bikes.
All built from scratch, no full bikes
If you do, don’t put it on Reader’s Rides as it’ll make it very easy for thieves to track it down and steal it!
I do wonder/worry sometimes..
@tomhoward does that mean none of them are finished yet?
If you can tell where I live/where my bikes are from the readers rides pics, you’re welcome to them.
Most are, one’s getting a triggers broom refresh. Should be finished at end of April.
I think i ride with 2 people with bikes that cost that much and they probably paid full price, they are ebikes I think they saw them as one off purchases. She was in remission for a cancer that nearly killed her. She saw it as a route back to the outdoors. Long well paid career no dependants.
I can’t see me spending that much on a bike but some people have lots of money. A guy on here said that he and his wife had £5000 a month left over after food and bills.
I see lots of land Rover Defenders on the road. Had they bought a RAV4 instead they could have bought a posh bike. Had they bought a second hand Berlingo then the whole family could have posh bikes and they could probably go heli biking too.
how does anyone justify doing this financially?
Why does anyone need to justify it?
Ok, it’s a large amount of money, but if you can afford it then why not? Makes as much sense as buying cigarettes which are proven to kill you but cost a fortune, yet lots of people still smoke. Why buy beer in a pub when you can get at at a quarter of the price in a supermarket?
As mentioned above, lots of people buy them to “cycle to work” or on credit. In those cases it’s “how much can I afford a month” rather than the actual retail cost.
Also as above, I have bikes that were near than at rrp but I bought is the mega sales of the last few years.
at full retail, yes, but as mentioned, who pays full price? (mines a Raaw Madonna built from a frame).
No. I think my most expensive one was £4500 RRP, but I don't pay much attention to that it, cost just over 3k direct from the manufacturer. It feels like the bike industry has adopted a bit of a sports direct model with inflated RRPs they don't expect anyone to pay.
I don't mess around in fun cars anymore and my motorbikes are gone.
The MTB's just sit there with no ongoing costs. You only have to buy them once. They feel like a bargain in comparison to other hobbies.
Technically yes - RRP on my S- Works Levo was £12.5k
Paid £7.5k brand new
Is it worth anything like £12.5k, no
Is it worth £7.5k - that's probably a stretch
Here's something I'm wondering (slight thread derailment), if you buy a £3,000 bike you can be fairly certain you'll get more bang for your buck than if you bought all the same components individually.
Does the same hold true for £8,000 - £10,000 bikes? Like, if you bought the same bikes in bits it would end up costing more like £12,000 - £15,000 or once you get up to that sort of price point there's no real saving?
I'm thinking more about regular bikes rather than ebikes here.
They feel like a bargain in comparison to other hobbies.
That quote about getting kids interested in bikes so they'll have no money left over for drugs? That's me.
RRP of my eMTB was just under £8k. I paid about half that.
RRP would have been 10 grand (in 2022!). Stumpjumper Evo.
I paid 6. Still a fair chunk of change, but I figured that with the adjustable geometry, mullet-ability, etc., it would be pretty future-proof and so it has proved. Only non-consumable I've changed is the dropper.
No plans to replace it any time soon. Does everything and brings me joy.
Here's something I'm wondering (slight thread derailment), if you buy a £3,000 bike you can be fairly certain you'll get more bang for your buck than if you bought all the same components individually.
Does the same hold true for £8,000 - £10,000 bikes? Like, if you bought the same bikes in bits it would end up costing more like £12,000 - £15,000 or once you get up to that sort of price point there's no real saving?
I'm thinking more about regular bikes rather than ebikes here.
Tends not to be much of a saving at RRP TBH, that’s why I build from scratch. If I’m spending that much, I want to specify everything.
That being said, a full bike is more likely to be discounted at the end of season, especially if it’s from a big brand, as opposed to a smaller one that builds to order.
I've a Hb916 which is about 8k new I think. I paid just under 3k s/h though.
Own? Yes.
Paid full price for? No chance.
100% this.
Havent built (or kept standard) an off the peg bike for about 25 years.
The insured value, IE what it would cost to replace some of them if I had to start again from scratch, is well up near these figures though.
How are folk getting such chunky discounts on new bikes? Are you regulars at your LBS so it's a "mate's rate" or do you just walk in (or phone up) and haggle?
No, my stable is quite old and I've one full sus MTB, and even though it's a lowly Boardman Pro, it's better than I am off road.
I do have a top end road bike from 30 years ago, as good, if not better than the Pro's rode (mine is custom made for me, unique paint scheme full Dura Ace) and an off the peg framed road bike (built from bits) that's Ultegra. Those are sort of the equivalent of expensive road bikes now.
I've also a really old 90's MTB that does commuter duties, and then I bought a used Colnago CX bike that's my general do it all, winter road/off road and bike packing bike.
PS all bikes are 'off the peg' these days. Although handbuilt, it had been 'produced' already. A little bit different than going into a bike shop, getting measured up, then sitting down and designing a paint scheme and speccing everything, like lugs, braise ones etc. Probably would cost mega bucks these days.
I get attached to my bikes so don't get rid. I don't ride the old road bikes too much as they are rare now, and I'll only ride when dry as parts are expensive and hard to obtain. That's where the CX comes in, road wheels and off road wheels, clip on guards etc. Easy to obtain parts.
not too far off, around £7100 if full build is priced at RRP.
but in reality it cost me 5250
Does the same hold true for £8,000 - £10,000 bikes? Like, if you bought the same bikes in bits it would end up costing more like £12,000 - £15,000 or once you get up to that sort of price point there's no real saving?
Specialized are known for selling S-Works models where the RRP is more than the cost of the components. They're either bought by people in the trade at trade prices or by people who genuinely have money to burn and just want the most expensive version of everything because it's 'the best one'.
I work near a Specialised dealer and they do sell the occasional 10 or 12k bike at RRP. It's usually bought by someone who isn't necessarily a bike nerd and gets thrown in the back of a Range Rover or RS6. It either gets hung up in the garage next to the other toys or sold to 'wash' some money.
As for discounts, you just wait till you see one. Last year's stock, shop demo.
I have a road bike that would probably cost not far short of £8k to buy now. To be honest, I'd probably get a less boutique frame and save a grand or two.
To be fair, it's none of my business what people spend their money on. I overtook people walking their £10k superbikes up the climb on Etape Loch Ness last year, while being overtaken myself by folk on 1990s rigid MTBs wearing trackies and hoodies. We all seemed to be having fun.
Nope, nowhere near that price. My 2020 mega was meant to be 3k, paid 2600.
Feel like the poor man on the forum 🤣
Yeah, I got one of these - Moterra SL . £8.5K! I paid less than £4K with only 100 miles on it. Bargin!
My car was £14K and RRP on that would've been £32K. Imagine spending that on a stupid car
Really great reponses guys...very interesting to see. I also wondered the same about complete bike prices - they often seem to be more than the complete cost of building the bike which was never the case before.
I walked into a local specialized store a few years ago.
1/3 off a fancy ebike, ooh I'll have a look at that, must be a bargain. £10,000 reduced from £13,000
So someone's buying them perhaps not at full RRP.
Feel like the poor man on the forum
I can confidently say that I will never own a £8,000 bike, electronic or otherwise. I just don't have - and never will have - that sort of money to spend on a bike.
If I added up all the RRP's of my fleet, (4 bikes) they'd not reach 8 grand.
Second hand market is very interesting. If you don't want a disc equipped road bike, then there are some extremely nice bikes for not a lot of money. Bit different with MTB's but if you don't go new you can save a fortune on a lightly used bike.
That is probably a huge risk with an e-bike as there is no motor warranty.
That's how the economy works - people buying stuff they don't really need.
Good luck to them, enjoy it!
Stuff is expensive.
8k ain't what it used to be just like a 75k salary isn't.
I took my kids to see a gig at the O2 last night.....4 tickets, one meal in a chain restaurant, parking and fuel - no change from £600. For one evening of entertainment - how long does a bike last - a lot longer then that
I'd probably not spend 8k but I'd happily spend 5k on an analogue bike if I had it (which with two kids at Uni, I don't).
I'm not so sure about ebikes - they seem to cost a fortune and have low specs. A discounted expensive normal bike has loads of loverly kit on it and say a titanium frame etc - ebikes not so much and the motor/battery is just tech which doesn't excite me.
I grew up with not much. Worked and raised kids with the wife, heads above water but no way I could have brought expensive bicycles. Now mortgage free and kids grown up, so I’ve got lots of bikes and two are above that price! Still very average riding the bloody things though 😂
2 bikes which should've been around 8k but I paid a fair bit less for both of them
That is probably a huge risk with an e-bike as there is no motor warranty.
Is with mine as the seller is a Cannondale rep 🙂
Oh god now, I think my Ebike was £6k and only then I got it on r2w.
Friend of mine usually pays more than £10k, flashest brands and then will upgrade the existing top end stuff to his preferred top-end stuff. He doesn't seem to be having any more fun than I am.
No, it feels much too much like 'eggs in one basket'.
Or alternatively, very much diminishing returns, and since I'm so fussy (no reflection on ability 🙄 ) I'd be absolutely fuming to pay £8k on a bike and still have the brakes squeaking, or something that still seems common, have it supplied with 175mm cranks or a duff saddle or tyres that I didn't like etc.
I can confidently say that I will never own a £8,000 bike, electronic or otherwise. I just don't have - and never will have - that sort of money to spend on a bike.
I could spend it but it is not something I would do. I tend to ride bikes that cost me under £1000 as they do all I need them to and as I ride them all year round I don't have to care as much about it as if it was £8000 purchase.
Admittedly, I do like rather simple bikes and spending £8000 would be quite hard to do.
Nope, £6k is about my psychological limit for spending on a bike (although I did buy 4 last year...). The amount of £8k+ bikes at trail centres these days (compared with about 8 years ago when I was last going to them) is pretty astounding though. A lot won't be discounted as makes like Amflows and Athertons aren't generally are they?
Amflow currently have £1350 off, Athertons are built to order, so no discounting.
No, it feels much too much like 'eggs in one basket'.
There's an element of that too I guess. My riding is too varied to spend a lot on any one niche. Plus there's nothing I ride that would actually benefit from a £3k bike, let alone £8k.
I ride my bikes lots and lots and lots. I like owning nice bikes. I like owning stuff that works well and lasts a long time. I own a couple of bikes that would probably have RRPs in the region of £8k. They're exactly what I want with nice kit on them (XTR drivetrains, DT wheels, Formula brakes, Rockshox Ultimate suspension etc).
BUT
I'm not a psychopath. No bike is worth that much to me. It's a bicycle. I've never paid more than £2k for a bike. If I even thought about it I'd want to be sectioned. I buy second hand, through bike to work, build from the frame up and buy bargains when they're what I want.
tbh i find it more enjoyable hunting around for 2nd hand bargains or sale items and building stuff up. I don't feel like it's mine until I've invested some time in fixing maintaining or building it.
Buying an 8k bike thats already finished would remove most of the enjoyment! Plus I'd be too worried about damaging it. I like the "don't buy anything expensive unless you can afford two of them" way of thinking about things. Family creates enough mental load without worrying about material goods as well.
