I was out today on my £300 bike and having a blast. Though it's still a bit OTT with its carbon parts, I could've built it for £200 and it'd still be ace. Join me in the second hand rigid fork 1x9 carrera niche!
OTOH if my Hemlock owes me a penny under 2 grand I'd be surprised. Then again it's ace.
Quality thread this... 😆
rip off sport yes.
i was told by a cerain rider,that its the IT-trail centre doods with flash bikes are what keeps mountainbiking going.
special77
Bikes aren't expensive. Cars aren't precision made and are incredibly basic really.To get shocks all round on my car (TVR) that have the adjustment of my bike shocks would be around £4k so there's a good comparison.
😮
Just caught up with this one week on.
Car's aren't precision made? Have you looked at the latest engines and the tolerances that are involved in building them? Watch the Discovery programme on the building of the Audi A8 to see precision work in action.
As for £1k per corner for TVR shocks? Think 3-way Nitrons or GAZ and you aren't even getting anywhere near that price. Where are you getting your suspension fitted?
Expensive bikes? Yes and no. It is all relative. But in the MTB world, IMHO, the more you spend, the more you do get. It is expensive, but it retains the value. I can't say the same for the world of cars.
you can build up a really, REALLY nice/good bike, mtb or road, pretty new 2nd hand for far less than a grand. Easy. I do wonder about people spending 1000's on a spanking new bike. (waits for lottery win).
erm, If you've got it, buy it, why not! Just ride the ****in thing!
best thing iv read in ages!! hahaha
TVR, my mate who has one told my mrs the other day quote "im out in the TVR" she turned to me and said "wots a TVR?" TVR drivers must all be cocks!! haha
btw im a BMW driver and im a sucsses by the seem of it even with no gcse's or or A levels!! why are people so hung up on money and status really gets to me sometimes.
but onto bikes,i seen the costing on bikes etc and the mark-up on them in the shop is stupidly high.i import timber and only look at making around 15% off builders merchants which is less than half of the margin they make. my bikes does cost a few grand but its never worth it when u look but thats my opinion.
Currently I do earn more than 35k and frankly as a measure of success its like jumping off a curb. Your life must be awful if you think that you can measure succes with your pay check. Particulalry on an MTB forum! I read posts all the time from people who earn less and ride more and i think they are the winners.
I'm not saying my life is a disaster I'm doing the morgage and family thing which is fine. I still get away on holiday loads and do lots of things I love. Just wish I had a bit more energy for bike riding. My last bike cost £800 FS (used but only ridden once used by the previous owner). I love it part form the rear brake
Ironically I'm glad I bought cheap cars and bikes when I culd have afforded something flash. I saved up the money for travel. I drove to Tanzania with some mates in a lorry (£2200 each for 8 months all in). My wife and I did a round the world trip cycling in the US and New Zealand, Treking in Nepal. The idea that I might have stayed at home with a custom frome and a Peaugoet 206 GTI apauls me
I really like the new Orange 5 but by the time I've added all the extra's to the spec list your talking almost £3500 for mountain bike, that's more than my car.
So If you go to a premuim brand, click on the top spec and then click on loads options its expensive. What a surprise. Try doing that when your buying a car, it won't be under £3,500
I think bikes are expensive for 3 reasons
People care about and notice small changes in weight, stiffness damping etc (more so than cars driven on roads)
people love to dream and buy bikes to support their dreams not there riding
Lots of peole can afford to aspire to top of the range. So they see top of the range around them all the time and get to try it
we all free to make our choices. Spend as you fit. Out at Woburn we stopped for my mate on his £200 Giant (and on his first trip off road) he applogised and said he'd fallen off and got his leg pinned under alog and couldn't move, it took hime ages too riggle out, the last guy to arrive was on a top spec Orange ST4 but rather unfit. But if he's happy then let him be happy
an interesting read..
£1399.99 for an orange 5 frame, made in halifax and supported by a retail network, is good vfm. it's a well-evolved bike from a small brand. if you were looking for a highly profitable business to buy i doubt orange or any other bike brand outside of the big 3 would be high on the list. people invest in bikes as they have a great future, not high profits at the moment.
instead of asking 'why are bikes expensive', i'd ask 'why is the £ so stuffed against other currencies now?' and 'why do people feel that they need a £3500 bike?' - inflation is everywhere; expensive bikes are nice to ride and keep brands in business, as MTBing is a small industry compared to the level of R+D expense that can go into it. It's great for the industry that people like bikes enough to spend £2000+ if they can afford them, but don't believe you need more than £500-800 to have fun.
keeping up with your mates is a big incentive to buy performance ) i ride on my own a fair bit and i'm back to appreciating the fun of simple, rigid bikes for solo rides, just like the bikes i grew up on. riding is no more or less fun to me now than it was when i was 12, and that's a really pleasing thought. in fact the less i worry about wear and tear of pricey kit, the more i enjoy just riding the thing.
keeping up with your mates is a big incentive to buy performance ) i ride on my own a fair bit and i'm back to appreciating the fun of simple, rigid bikes for solo rides, just like the bikes i grew up on. riding is no more or less fun to me now than it was when i was 12, and that's a really pleasing thought. in fact the less i worry about wear and tear of pricey kit, the more i enjoy just riding the thing.
well put.
There is certainly no point stretching to buy something expensive and then worrying about it, disaster.
I remeber the letters page in MBUK use have kids writting in about their bike with 2 bits of XTR up grades and a bust wheel they couldn't afford to fix. Much better to hold back aittle cash for repairs than over stretch and be left with a posh bike you can't ride
Sounds like you all need to invest in a turbo-trainer: getting out much??
Its always good to see how these threads go in whatever direction !! But getting back to the original point why are bikes so expensive? I dont think one person has answered this yet and i suspect we all agree they are!!
Having looked at the canyon bikes website, I have my suspicions.
