Maybe it's my age and I'm out of touch but I think the time has come for me to stop buying bike mags . Been with Singletrack from the beginning , riding since the mid 90s and still having a blast . But have watched prices go from a generally gentle uphill slope to a rocket propelled into orbit . Still think 3k tops should be the most anyone would need to pay to get a damn good bike , now 5k seems more and more the norm . Just looking at a rival mag they've got a 9K plus bike in there !!!! That's about what we paid for our 1st house FFS !! It used to be you can get a car for that !I know the argument that if people have got the money etc and you can have just as much fun on cheaper kit ( I do ! ) It just seems like newly monied people are getting into MTBing and they are being pandered to making it bad for ordinary bods ?
It's not just the bikes a helmet at £180 , shorts at£100 (and the stitching is coming apart ) forks at nearly a grand , most of this stuff is made in the Far East but the prices don't reflect that . I think the time has come for me to stop buying mags and then I can ignore it until I need to buy anything . Haven't bought a bike for 2 years and can't see that changing anytime soon . Was kind of interested when Cove announced a new Hustler but £1600 just for the frame ? Think I'll pass thanks .
[insert groundhog gif here]
silly-expensive mtb's are nothing new.
ignore them, even the cheap stuff performs amazingly these days.
[img] 
[/img]
That will be £20, please. 🙂
That's about what we paid for our 1st house FFS !
oldfart
You're not kidding!
Anyway, just because you were there when farthings were worth something doesnt mean things are "too" expensive now.
It is getting more expensive. But you also have to take into account people's wages also increasing. But again it is no where near the same rate as consumer products are rising.
I'm not planning to buy a bike for at least 5 years. It's not going to stop me having fun, and I only read magazines for the adventures not the parts.
blh blah blah inflation, blah, mid range better than ever, blah blah, expensive as you want to make it, blah blah
Top end is getting more expensive, mid range is getting better for the same (actual) money.
This issue has been around for a bit...
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/are-mountain-bikes-too-expensive ]2009[/url]
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/has-cycling-become-a-bit-of-a-rip-off-activity ]2010[/url]
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/is-mountain-biking-now-a-rich-manswomans-sport ]2011[/url]
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/why-are-bicycles-so-expensive ]2012[/url]
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/the-rising-cost-of-biking ]2013[/url]
[url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/are-things-getting-a-little-silly ]2014[/url]
...incidentally. Here is my new MTB:
£400 + £100 for 10 speed SLX/RaceFace upgrade.
[img] 
[/img]
Yes.
'Inspirational and aspirational'.
bfreeman0 - MemberIt is getting more expensive.
it really isn't.
Well to be honest as a teenager what I really wanted was a set of JUDY DH to go on my most awesome Balance hardtail frame (it was awesome really) and if I remember correctly they were £549.00. I was 15/16 and earned about £2 per hour as a pot wash. Ended up buying some off a friend a few years later when the Z1 Bombers came out and he upgraded his GT LTS DH (what a bike that was!!).
So I think now that I can pick up a set of Pikes for the same money and I earn a considerable amount more than £2ph I think it's about right.
So all those people you see riding around on expensive bikes, not all just new MTBers with more money than sense, some of us who grew up in the 90's now have the money to buy the bikes we wanted as kids!
There are plenty more things that are a lot more expensive now which have had no technical innovation over the same period.
Unfortunately it's not just bikes - it's everything.
The Guardian wrote yesterday (IIRC) that "the amount needed to cover a family's basic needs had risen 46% since 2008, average earnings had risen only 9% in that time" ( http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/jun/30/couple-two-children-earn-basic-needs).
You'll probably see that the biggest increase is energy - unfortunately this also affects industry and production.
My understanding of it is this:
When I left my last job (with a product distributor) the pricelist was changing daily due to a ding-dong between the pound, dollar and yen, and the cost of oil (which almost certainly affected aforementioned ding-dong). Not only does oil go into products such as rubber and plastic, but it also (obviously) goes into fuel, which directly affects logistics. Both of these unfortunately have a knock on effect, and will effect smaller production runs (such as mid-high end MTB kit) more due to the economy of scale.
I'm also happy to be corrected on this.
But yes, it has gone nuts. I've recently bought a £3k bike with Deore on it. To be fair it is genuinely impressive kit, but five years ago that would have been laughable.
It's possible to spend huge amounts. But at lower budgets bikes are amazing value. For example:
£600: http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-29er-mountain-bike-20
(which is the equivalent of a £450 bike in 2004 or a £350 bike in 1994. Or a £300 bike in 1990- I bought a £300 bike in 1990, it had a ****ing flexstem.
I remember in one of the (many, many, many) previous threads on this someone comparing the price of the most top end commercially available bike today and the same from the late 80's - in real terms (once inflation was taken into account) they worked out unerringly similar in money. The only difference was that the present day one was many orders of magnitude more proficient.
I disagree with it being more expensive. Sure you can spend silly amounts of money, but if you shop around and do your homework the likes of Canyon, Cube, Rose and Boardman offer some brilliant bikes for less than 2k.
Even buying a frame and building yourown custom bike is fairly cheap with steel frames for £300.
Ebay and the www have made the choice huge. Just ride and be happy.
Most normal well adjusted bods ignore the tosh in "some" mtb mags (present company excepted) 😀
Look at it another way. There will be loads of cheap, immaculate, virtually unused high end bikes around, when all those presently mincing around llandegla car park on 8 grand Santa Cruz get into wake boarding, or whatever the next fad is
Every cloud, n all that.... "D
don't forget that access to second hand bikes and parts is amazing these days with online forums, classifieds and eBay.
this means that you can recoup money on old parts more readily than in bygone days.
oldfart - MemberI think the time has come for me to stop buying mags and then I can ignore it until I need to buy anything
Ta Da. Problem solved.
I agree to some extent, but have always tried to buy kit when it's on sale/end of line and you can find great deals. Depends how bothered you are about owning the latest and greatest.
I recently bought a road helmet - £60 Giro reduced to £37 from CycleSurgery and it's the most comfortable helmet I've ever used.
My last pair of shoes were almost half price, I got a cassette that was heavily discounted to something like £26 and a new tyre for my road bike cost me £17.
I could have spend £100 on a helmet, £100 on shoes, £60 on a cassette and £50 on a tyre. But I would get no more enjoyment out of them.
Rather spend the money on [s]fixing my car/redecorating the house[/s] beer.....
The way I see it is if you're prepared to spend a few grand on a bike, you have the spare cash and your kids aren't starving etc then why not.
The reason why they are so much is to support the cost of the same very same bikes they give free to pros. If you want to pretend to be a pro thats fine.
Top end bikes don't sell in huge numbers that's all there is to it. For every 7k uber "steed" there a dozen 1500 quid bikes. Buy stuff second hand or discounted if you're skint (I do anyway and I'm not) and try to have fun on the trails. 7k doesn't buy more fun after all, fun is free.
I think the trap is manufacturers shifting units at what people are willing to pay, rather than a hijack. Hijack of the mind maybe. It's called progress apparently and there is a cost to it.
I have never bought a complete bike, I just swap frames and parts, as the options come up. I enjoy building my own bikes as I'm sure many other people on here do.
As a result i look at new bike reviews just out of interest, to see if something original has been developed.
So I do appreciate the "trickle down technology" and it suits my pocket too. Mind I also have the work flexibility to ride in the week, rather than be spending my Sunday following someone on their bling bike.
That's about what we paid for our 1st house FFS !
F'in Peasant.
I'd have a modern £500 bike anyday over one from years ago.
I really don't care what the most expensive bike costs
But I'm with the OP on coverage. I think the mags seem to focus on very high end bikes. This month was a good example with 3 £5000 bikes. Yes I know we some times get reviews of cheaper stuff. But I think if a friend flipped through my Single Track pile they would conclude that its a hobby that can't afford
The cost of the most expensive bike may not have changed much but we do now have a multitude of types of bikes now and the whole n+1 thing going on. In the 80s and 90s top bikes may have been the same in real terms but that 1 bike would do it all, everything off road. Now many expensive bike are very specific. Even a really versatile FS trail bike is crap on the road or flat smooth trails and still be out of place at a downhill race
Good responses people ! I think it's because I'm now semi retired and my buying/earning power is in reverse . But ask any of my mates and they'll tell you oven ever paid full price for ANYTHING ever 🙂
most of this stuff is made in the Far East but the prices don't reflect that
what?
what?
He said:
most of this stuff is made in the Far East but the prices don't reflect that
Yes all of this is shit VFM
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FROOCO/on-one-codeine-29er-frame
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FRTITELG29S/titus-el-guapo-29er-frame-with-rockshox-monarch-rt3-shock
http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/FROO45650B/on-one-45650b-frame
http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-m675-10-speed-shadow-rear-derailleur-60109.html
http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-deore-m615-disc-brakes-front-rear-set-62194.html
http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-deore-m615-double-chainset-63270.html
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rockshox-revelation-rl-solo-air-forks-15mm-2014/rp-prod117689
Mid-90's fuel was 40% of what it costs today and I was earning 30% of what I earn today, so for me at least stuff is relatively cheaper, unless you [b]have to have [/b]the latest bells & whistles, in which case you'll pay through the nose.
frOsty125
That doesn't really answer the OPs point though. No one is saying that you can't MTB on a budget or that there isn't good value.
The best example you linked to is the Boardman as it is available from a National chain and is a versatile off road machine. I think that people aren't going to by attracted to the sport by being able to buy cheap bits online. I think by that point you have already hit enthusiast
My concern is that between mags, shops and trails full of expensive big travel machines is that it gives the impression that things can't be done on the cheap
I've seen posts from people on here asking if this or that MTB will be upto the job at a trail centre. That's not surprising when the mags describe a £5000 bike as the ideal trail centers bike. Or when they get on their on a hard tail and think that they are struggling as they don't have an expensive enough bike.
Of course FS isn't needed for Rocks at a trail centre. I followed some one on here's son over said rocks. He was fast and on a 24" wheel rigid kids MTB..
Whining about people with 'new money' just sounds like you are jealous you cant afford a more expensive bike. They have always been expensive and largely followed inflation.
Of course FS isn't needed for Rocks at a trail centre. I followed some one on here's son over said rocks. He was fast and on a 24" wheel rigid kids MTB..
That's as mibbe,the young loon has youth and energy on his side. I'm shite and need a skills compensator to assist me.
ampthill - Why do you care about what other people ride? As far as I can see the sport is as inclusive as it has ever been, even sponsorship (that lady on-one sponsored for enduro)
Hmmm. Actually, I think I should apologise to the OP. He's pontificating about the mags only reporting on high end gear, and not just only high end gear being available.
Must learn to read.
It's always been a sport for people with at least a few quid. You never hear of kids cycling their way out of the ghetto.
most of this stuff is made in the Far East but the prices don't reflect thatwhat?
Ha, I wrote that exact post, then thought I couldn't be arsed to go there! But yes... what?
That's as mibbe,the young loon has youth and energy on his side. I'm shite and need a skills compensator to assist me.
So Do I!!
ampthill - Why do you care about what other people ride? As far as I can see the sport is as inclusive as it has ever been, even sponsorship (that lady on-one sponsored for enduro)
On one level i don't. I like a bike ride and have a bike to ride end of
But a small part of me worries that the sport could contract. Like windsurfing. The kit got better but the sport got less and less popular. I asked a guy in 1990 who always had the right size sail what do you spend on the sport. He said £3500 a year. Its not like MTB wrong board and sail and your just not sailing however good you are. Oh and finally I think you are right at the moment the sport is diverse inclusive and interesting. But some times the mags don't show it like that
Mountain bikes have if anything kept below inflation price-wise. But there is a new top-end that didn't exist in the past - although unless you are racing competitively, there's no point venturing there.
My main gripe about the MTB industry is the gradual encroachment of commercialism. We live in a throwaway culture and no more is this apparent than in the world of cycling. I've been mountain biking for ten years and still have the same bike, with a service once a year, and new shorts, t-shirts, etc, I probably spend £300 a year max.
Manufacturers charge and have always charged 'whatever the market will withstand'.
Recent pricing suggests there's been an upsurge in the number of people with large disposable incomes for whom price is pretty much irrelevant.
Iv,e been biking over 30 yrs, im now 53, what ive noticed is that most older bikers start to look up the ladder as they get older, thus they start to notice the 3k + bikes, mostly down to wanting better kit but also having more income to spend on a hobby, the trick is to know where the cut off point is for you, i found mine years ago, absolutely no point in me spending 7k on a bike that i wouldnt get the benefit from even when i can afford it,you will always get the people that just have to have the best kit out there, that will never change, its the same in most hobbies. btw, i think bikes are far better value for money now than they were years ago, depends were n when you buy it from of course.
If you think mountainbikes are expensive have a look at road bikes. They're worse than hareleys, warmed over nineteenth century designs with a comedy price tag.
Is this a stupid comment?
Yes you can spend a fortune on a road bike but I think to the masses this matters less as:
On the road most people know its the engine that makes you faster
Even a £300 road bike looks like a road bike
I would hate to think what the average price of a bike at an enduro event cost nowadays. I'm still yet spend over £400 on bike or bike part since 1987 🙂
I deserve more 🙂
If kittens have to die when wheel size debates rear their ugly heads, then can I respectfully request a either a puppy or a baby panda be slaughtered every time some old fart starts moaning about the dizzying cost of bicycling and telling us that back in their day you could have the latest penny farthing for a [I]ha'penny[/I], cyclists wore tweed and the working classes still knew their place...
Pretty Please?...
Angeldust me jealous ? Nah couldn't be farther from the truth
The reason I love companies like On-One, Ribble, Canyon etc is because they offer kit that does the job for a more sensible amount of money.
I don't want or need to be ushered into a Specialized Body Geometry store, given cups of coffee and patronised into parting with my money.
It's riding a bike FFS.
AS somebody else alluded to in the 'my bike is boring' thread, the bike isn't boring... its merely a tool that allows you to enjoy the pastime of cycling.... a good trail is a good trail whatever you ride.... conversely a 6k Santa Cruz won't make a trip to the shops exciting.
I have lots of hobbies so it makes sense for me to spend as little on each as possible....I don't get why people fret about the cost of the new 11 speed gear when 9-10 speed Deore level stuff will get you out on the trails for peanuts.
Buy clothing on line or at Sports Direct, it's only going to get wet, muddy, torn etc so why spend £100 on shorts that don't actually being anything to the ride?!
My old 04 Spesh Enduro cost £1400 - All low end kit- Marzzochi forks,deore brakes/shifters,Spesh's own heavy as hell finishing kit & crap wheels.The only decent component on it was an XT rear mech.That amount buys a decent bike these days.
1400 holes went a lot further 10 years ago than what it does today too ! !
The reason I love companies like On-One, Ribble, Canyon etc is because they offer kit that does the job for a more sensible amount of money.
I don't want or need to be ushered into a Specialized Body Geometry store, given cups of coffee and patronised into parting with my money.
It's riding a bike FFS.AS somebody else alluded to in the 'my bike is boring' thread, the bike isn't boring... its merely a tool that allows you to enjoy the pastime of cycling.... a good trail is a good trail whatever you ride.... conversely a 6k Santa Cruz won't make a trip to the shops exciting.
I have lots of hobbies so it makes sense for me to spend as little on each as possible....I don't get why people fret about the cost of the new 11 speed gear when 9-10 speed Deore level stuff will get you out on the trails for peanuts.
Buy clothing on line or at Sports Direct, it's only going to get wet, muddy, torn etc so why spend £100 on shorts that don't actually being anything to the ride?!
TL:DR: Deviant is a Yorkshireman.*
*Or an honorary one.
😛
deviant - Member
The reason I love companies like On-One, Ribble, Canyon etc is because they offer kit that does the job for a more sensible amount of money.
I don't want or need to be ushered into a Specialized Body Geometry store, given cups of coffee and patronised into parting with my money.
It's riding a bike FFS.AS somebody else alluded to in the 'my bike is boring' thread, the bike isn't boring... its merely a tool that allows you to enjoy the pastime of cycling.... a good trail is a good trail whatever you ride.... conversely a 6k Santa Cruz won't make a trip to the shops exciting.
I have lots of hobbies so it makes sense for me to spend as little on each as possible....I don't get why people fret about the cost of the new 11 speed gear when 9-10 speed Deore level stuff will get you out on the trails for peanuts.
Buy clothing on line or at Sports Direct, it's only going to get wet, muddy, torn etc so why spend £100 on shorts that don't actually being anything to the ride?!
It doesn't get much more sensible than that!
Why sports direct, though? Tesco swimming shorts are the best biking shorts I've ever had! They did a pair about four years ago that had decently fastened pockets and 'combat style' leg pockets. Cost me ten quid. I've not quite retired them yet, even though there is an inadvertent 'crotchless' moment on the way soon. But at least three full summers of riding? Why would I spend one hundred sniffs on a pair?
No alu full sus frame (bar having a cane creek) should be over 1k.
Jungle ARE taking the piss. But then because of 0% many people buy and live in tiny rented places.
No alu full sus frame (bar having a cane creek) should be over 1k.
Jungle ARE taking the piss. But then because of 0% many people buy and live in tiny rented places.
I think if you removed 0%/low finance prices would drop.
Just as with everything in life there are ultra expensive options for people that need to spend £$¢€£ to feel good on a car house bag shirt or pushbike. Its their choice and while its never been something I have been able to afford I can get my kicks just fine with what I've got.
25 years ago there were superbikes, they were rigid and had anodised cnc'd purple brakes that didn't work too good. Now you can buy great bikes and kit new that offer a fantastic level of performance. It is hard to buy a descent quality bike that actually crap. £999 can bag you an On One Parkwood that has a great balance of performance technology and vfm.
The rush for new fangled wheel sized bikes is leaving a cheap scrap heap of allegedly obsolete 26 inched bikes that are perfect for anyone disaffected by consumerism.
After all my bikes got nicked I bought a Spesh Pitch for £560 in descent nick and I do wonder how much better a shiny Kona Process or Nukeproof Mega orYT Wicked will be?
A YT Wicked? Yes please when someone sells for the next new thing.
dannyh, i hadn't thought of tesco for cheap riding kit, will check it out next time I need something!
Honourary Yorkshireman, I like that.
My current bike (technically the other half's but I'm having it, she just doesn't know it yet!) is a Ragley Piglet I got for £400, a year old and looks brand new. Has unfashionable 26 inch wheels but it rides great and will become my play bike.
Anything can be hi-jacked by anything if you let it. Just ignore it and it will cease to matter xx
Good point
I am with the OP all the way here
I have not bought a mag for about 3 years yes I have flicked through a few in WH Smiths but put them back
I have not bought a bike for 4 years and despite what the press say I am happy with my Soul
FFs we are talking about push bikes here 2k is a month pay for the average brit and we have to live to yet mags appear to push 3K as a starting point nowadays
Saladdodger! look it's nearly all the old gang, just need a couple others and Kno…… oh, but he never posts here anymore. I miss his photos.
mtbing-hijacked-by-the-big-money-brigade-thread-hijacked-by-a-small-virtual-reunion 😉 x
You can buy a high end Land Rover Discovery for £64K
You can also buy a KIA Sportage for a 3rd of the price, it'll do 70MPH on the Motorway and its wheels will turn round when you accelerate. most of the stuff that the Discovery will do the KIA can also do.
A £600 Bike will do Most of the stuff that a £6K bike will do, Some people will will want to blow big money on a bike just like some folk want to throw two years wages at a Car
Its all about Choices, i dont think folk on £5K a month want to see £2K bikes any more than you dont want to see expensive stuff ?
FFs we are talking about push bikes here 2k is a month pay for the average brit and we have to live to yet mags appear to push 3K as a starting point nowadays
I remember reading in mbuk when I first got into mtbing (15 years ago) that a good first 'proper' bike should cost around a months wages... 3k would only be another 2 weeks to Jonny Average. Or none with a decent credit card/finance option.
IMO expensive bikes are nicer than cheaper ones, on the whole. Not necessarily mind altering differences (obvs, they are still bikes...) but little things that make everything that bit better. As a 15 year veteran (feels like the right word), I think I've 'earned' the right to have nice/the best bikes, regardless of if I can do them justice. If Jonny Average's cousin, Jonny Stockbroker, wants a nice bike, that's fine too, but he may wish to not spunk a suitcase full of cash on something he may not enjoy.
The £5k+ superbikes that get bought by bankers to mince around the Surrey Hills fund the R&D that will make your next bike better. New ideas get tried out there (to have something "innovative" to show off), the stuff that doesn't work gets swiftly forgotten and the stuff that does work will be on mainstream bikes in a couple of years. It's more interesting when it's new and on the high-end bikes, hence the greater press coverage.
I remember paying £700 or so for my Orange C16 in the late 90s with rigid forks. I paid another £280 a few months later for a pair of elastomer Manitou forks that were utter crap compared to what you get now even on cheapo bikes.
The world of sub-£1k hardtails and sub-£2k full suspension bikes has never been better, even if you don't bother adjusting for inflation. You have the people who buy the high-end stuff (for whatever reason) to thank for that.
Thinking out loud, what would the 'bikes are too expensive' crowd do to rectify the situation? Price cap? That would halt development in a heart beat, so no great parts from trickle down technologies. A points system based on the last 12 months riding? Get more points for riding shit bikes in extreme locations, riding the mega on a supermarket bso gets you enough points to buy a £9k dandy horse. Pootling to the shops on a carbon framed enduro gnarpoon? Sorry son, it's a base model hardrock for you...
The WMB after next has 25 bikes under £1500 in, I believe, FWIW.
the biggest selling price point for the average mountain biker (exc recreational cyclists) is around 3k. Some spend more, some spend less. Some want to read about aspirational bikes, some don't. C'est la vie
If you don't want to spend lots of money, don't, but you probably won't get the latest and greatest tech - it's up to you if that matters our not.
Mags, in my experience, actually have a reasonably wide range of price points in, but you'd probably have to read them to notice 😉
£999 can bag you an On One Parkwood that has a great balance of performance technology and vfm.
🙂
I think that low/mid price bikes are fantastic value for money compared to what they were in 1997 when I bought my first proper mountain bike. It was a rigid Orange P7 with an Alivio groupset which lasted less than a year. The frame only lasted about 5 years before the headtube flared so badly no amout of beer can shims could fix it.
I also remember that even back then there was a 9K bike. I don't think anyone actually bought one, it was more just an example of what was possible. From what I remember it was a Klein.
The problem with mountain biking these days is that there is some extreme turd polishing going on. Given the fact that there have been no real advances in mtb technology since full suspension (though an argument for uppy downy seat posts could be made, I suppose) manufacturers have been chasing smaller and smaller gains which gets much more expensive for considerably less value.
Edit: I stopped buying magazines about a year ago because modern mountain bike fashion has diverged so far from what I think it should be. For me, wheels should be getting smaller, tyres should be getting bigger, and derailleurs should be consigned to the bin. Instead, wheels are getting bigger, tyres are getting smaller, and derailleurs still rule the roost.
My main gripe about the MTB industry is the gradual encroachment of commercialism.
I have some bad news for you, it's called 'capitalism' and it's an evil but little heard of economic model that is slowly taking over the world. Whereas Victorian industry was organised on a purely philanthropic basis to give gainful employment to out of work ploughmen and peasants with all produce being sold at cost, things have changed...
Prices have gone up, and mountain biking in whichever form you choose has become a lifestyle to some people, a hobby to others.
Nobody needs the latest toys to enjoy riding their bike. I still have a 24 inch wheeled fully rigid dirt jump bike that i love hooning about on, and my other 3 bikes (yes, I'm sad) all have 26 inch wheels.
People can spend more then I have done on bikes, and might even think they are enjoying it more, but it has no effect on my pleasure. As long as I get to ride with my friends, downhill, xc, 4x or anything else, I'm happy.
Instead, wheels are getting bigger, tyres are getting smaller
Wheels may be getting bigger but tyres are not getting smaller, the choice of decent volume, lightweight, tough, grippy, fast rolling 2.4+ (for all wheel sizes) tyres is better than it's ever been.
Throw in 29+ and fat bikes and I'm not even sure where you got the idea that tyres are getting smaller?
Lets not forget that proper mountain biking has always been fairly pricey.
I still remember my 2003 Ellsworth I.D frame retailed at £1,500 but thats more to do with the importer gauging how much they could get away with (a la Jungle).
A 2003 Santa Cruz Bullit frame was £1,000?
11yrs on and we are at circa £1,500- £1,700 for a alu frame.
I guess its not 'too' bad?
Tomhoward - Member
...As a 15 year veteran (feels like the right word)...
15years? - pfft, that's about how often i replace my tyres.
my 'best' shorts are older than that.
you're not a 'veteran' unless your first bike had steel rims, v-brakes, and friction-shifting
etc.
[/yorkshireman]
handyandy - Member...I still have a 24 inch wheeled fully rigid dirt jump bike that i love hooning about on, and my other 3 bikes (yes, I'm sad)...
you're probably feeling sad because you've only got 4 bikes.
you're not a 'veteran' unless your first bike had steel rims, v-brakes, and friction-shifting
v-brakes?!
newbie...
saladdodger - MemberFFs we are talking about push bikes here 2k is a month pay for the average brit and we have to live to yet mags appear to push 3K as a starting point nowadays
Sorry dude but I just don't think that stands up to any examination, frinstance MBR had as their bike of the year a £2700 bike this year. Not their starter bike or budget option, their flat-out best buy. And I think the Bizango the year before. They all continually cover cheaper bikes and have larger grouptests of entrylevel, midlevel etc.
(er, STW are probably the worst offender for this mind but then they don't actually review many bikes)
ahwiles - Memberyou're not a 'veteran' unless your first bike had steel rims, v-brakes
V-brakes! Oh what I'd have given for v-brakes. I [i]upgraded[/i] mine to v-brakes in about 2006, it was a glorious day.
You can moan about the price of bikes all you like, but somebody ultimately has to pay for all Hora's spurious warranty claims.
You know that £90 of every car insurance policy covers dodgy whiplash claims. Well £250 of the cost of any new bike covers the cost of sending Hora a new set of forks/rear shock/snapped subframe/slightly tarnished top cap/mildly off-coloured handlebar grips/chipped nail extension 3 times a week.
So if you're apportioning blame....
[img] 
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You weren't there, man...
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(I got v-brakes when they came out at the end of '95, man)
My experience is that there are still tremendous bikes to be had for relatively sensible money. The difference is that all the mags are now advertising the aspirational stuff much more and the bike manufacturers are broadening that end of the range.
When I bought a bike in 2006 that retailed at £2,700 it was up there near the top end of what you could buy without going boutique or custom. Even accounting for inflation that type of money would be seen by some as mid-range these days.
I bought my first new bike recently- my first new bike since 1986. So I guess this topic doesn't really apply to me 8)
Buy smart, buy parts in the sales or secondhand stuff. Let other people generate the stuff that we get. After all, you can then abuse your bike/kit more safe in the knowledge that you wont have a nice carbon full sus £2,700 frame to be weary about dropping/falling off/rock strikes 🙂
frinstance MBR had as their bike of the year a £2700 bike this year. Not their starter bike or budget option, their flat-out best buy. And I think the Bizango the year before.
I loved reading the letters sections of mbr for the following months after they gave the bizango bike of the year. It was comical the storm they got from the ex golfing enduro crew.
MTB is certainly the new golf. A trail centre car park is like a golf club from ten years ago. Plenty of executive cars with expensive bikes just like the days of expensive skill compensating golf clubs. Flashing their kit etc. But why is this a problem? people spending all their cash on expensive bikes its their money and good on them if it makes them happy.
You may not be able to get XTR for the price you could a few years ago. But the technology in lower models is loads better than it used to be. I'm personally happy with the cost of riding and just buy within my means new/reduced or 2nd hand.
When I bought a bike in 2006 that retailed at £2,700 it was up there near the top end of what you could buy without going boutique or custom
It wasn't really, there were plenty of 3,4,5k+ bikes, even from the big players, Spesh, Cannondale, Trek etc even then, it's just that they were mostly relegated to the arse end of the catalogue in a kind of 'oh and look, we sell this superdooper team replica style one too, but it's only really for chumps' kind of way, and very few of them actually sold.
The difference nowadays is that they are actually selling a fair few more of them and the mags are reviewing them as viable options rather than an 'oh my god look at this X thousand pound superbike!" mini-article.
Personally I'm sick of all the whiney cheapskates complaining they cant get xtr for 2 buttons and some magic beans. Especially people who live in a country where the currency is worth so little.
It's quite enjoyable riding round on a mega bucks carbon ego chariot laughing at poor people. You should all try it you might cheer up a bit.
MTB is certainly the new golf. A trail centre car park is like a golf club from ten years ago. Plenty of executive cars
If one thing is true it tells you that
A) Executive Cars have got cheaper
B) Peoples idea of executive cars is a lot lower these days