I don’t hate them, I just question their rationality.

It looks shit +1

Plenty of bikes could be specced to that price, in the end of the day with that kit an on one would be up there.

Also us prices = No Sales Tax
UK Prices = Import Duty (14%) and VAT 20%

Their Ali frame prices for VPP compare with Orange fairly well

Which makes a UK built Orange a rip off?

Or as Orange apologists prefer market-forces.

Lol so much shite being spouted in this thread. People buying expensive MTBs is nothing to do with roadies crossing-over. Some people have shit loads of disposable income, get over it and get over yourself. £9k to some people is like £900 to others, if they chose to spend that on something they enjoy then good luck to them. And no I’m not in the category that can afford a £9k bike, and even if I were I wouldn’t pay that for a SC which are always stupidly over-priced for what you get.

Your missing the point though. Its a bicycle. Theres only so many ways you can market a bicycle. Its not ‘customers’ who will buy (market forces etc is a different argument) its the fact that a bicycle (see Roxshock/Sram latest dribble on Pike) can be polished up in many ways to sell at an even higher price.

I can really see in the future (within 10yrs) bike parts will get the same spiel/treatment that old Astons etc had ‘made by hand by highly skilled’ (but additional part) Pervian-Swiss trained technicians at altitude to ensure the modula-flex material 5000.v2v1v3.2 is 100% pure for the ultimate ride.

Exactly. I deal with a couple of high end shops that do regular weekly £8k+ MTB builds because their customer base is very wealthy.

Just because you can’t afford it/justify it, doesn’t mean there arn’t plenty of other people out there who can.

As others have said, the SC business model is a perception of very high end bikes, they are never going to be ‘cheap’. Other brands are available…

It looks shit +2. Wouldn’t be seen dead.

As others have said, the SC business model is a perception of very high end bikes, they are never going to be ‘cheap’. Other brands are available..

This is what I am struggling with. I’ve owned many SC frames going back years. They are in the crowd. Paint was abit shit but they were ok. However they’ve never been ‘WOW’. Theres nothing trick or out there tech.

We can all afford one- haven’t you heard of the term ghetto fabulous? Loads of blokes rock around on Kashima-forked Fox40’s and live with their mum, digs or in rented property.

The issue is what if you get bored of say a carbon SC frame etc? No one will spank up 1k+ for a secondhand carbon frame.

Plenty of bikes could be specced to that price, in the end of the day with that kit an on one would be up there.
Also us prices = No Sales Tax
UK Prices = Import Duty (14%) and VAT 20%
Their Ali frame prices for VPP compare with Orange fairly well

Exactamundo.

If you spec full XTR, Enve Carbon Wheels etc; basically the best of everything, it’s going to cost £6K plus the frame price. Nothing to do with wheel size or the brand name.

US imported frames are expensive in the UK due to import duties and taxes, Santa Cruz are one of many brands in this position. Blame the UK government for this.

If there are people out there who’ll buy the top spec models then companies will make them, it’s basic business sense.

If someone posted a photo of the latest top spec Porsche it would be no different; most of us can appreciate it but never afford it.

If you spec full XTR, Enve Carbon Wheels etc; basically the best of everything, it’s going to cost £6K plus the frame price. Nothing to do with wheel size or the brand name.

But your not paying RRP though are you to spec these. Your paying an agreed trade price unless of course you also distribute some of these products yourself.

If you spec full XTR, Enve Carbon Wheels etc; basically the best of everything, it’s going to cost £6K plus the frame price. Nothing to do with wheel size or the brand name.

But your not paying RRP though are you.

No, you’re paying RRP plus import duty (this is 15% of the total of the RRP and the shipping costs). The UK VAT is then added (20% of this total). That’s a lot of tax on all the US and Japanese parts on a bike of this spec.

You’d be better off buying frame only and then speccing the build yourself which I suspect is what most of us do.

? Are you saying the distributor goes online and buys all the bits and puts them together. The price THEY get is at trade on everything. If its the full bike that comes over it’ll be a trade/distributor price.

I’m really not sure why people spend so much on bikes.

I bought a road bike at the end of last year in the sale. It weighs 14lbs, cannondale will be using the exact same frame and newer version of the same groupset in the TDF this year. It lost less than £3k. I could put some cosmics on it for a true pro build in every way and it would still come in at ~£4k.

Anything over £4k for a bike? Not even with the money available to do it.

Theres talk of rich people- £9,000 is like £900 to them.

Are we talking about lottery winners and footballers?

Cos everyone else is very focused on money. Part of the reason why they get ‘rich’.

Alot of high end cars are leased and the industry is rife with high end cars being ‘wound back’ on mileage annually to retain their value.

we all love cycling – right?

we all appreciate the benefit of ‘trickle down effect’ from high end componentry – right?

we want the industry to survive – right?

so, why berate those who want to spend larger than usual amounts of money on the sport (and we) love?

if nobody bought XX1 because it was so expensive, what would be the chances of Sram taking a punt on developing the technology to offer lower priced 1×11 for the masses?

if Enve et al, didn’t take a punt on producing uber-expensive carbon hoops, would we now be seeing the £600 Superstar carbon hoops?

if i had pots of money, i would spend pots of money on my bikes… simple as…

and as for the comment regarding the Baum Correto as being non UCI-compliant, not everyone races road bikes. Many get an immense amount of enjoyment out of building something truly unique and chasing those extra grams out of the build. besides which, the UCI limits are usually only breached when someone builds a bike where all aspects dip into the realm of ‘weight weenies’. if you pick and choose which bits you want (such as a light frame, or light wheels), but leave other aspects ‘stock’, you should nestle around 6.4kgs (or whatever it is right now), quite easily.

let’s just lay off expensive bikes… they pump cash into the industry which is good for all of us.

The distributors do not pay US RRP for the bikes/frames. They just don’t.
Take the US price, deduct 40-odd% from the US RRP price. That’s what the distributors cost is. Then add the tax. The rest is all gravy.

Who wants carbon hoops for mountain biking? Have you seen how dinged and scratched my rims get?!!!!

I liked santa cruz bikes, I had a blur about ten years ago, great bike.

But the last full sus I bought was £1600. It does everything that that particular santa cruz does, except one thing. It doesn’t make me look like a prick.

I can live with that disapointment.

If I had the money to spend on a bike at the moment..

Lapierre or a SC?

Hmmm. A very quick decision.

The issue is what if you get bored of say a carbon SC frame etc? No one will spank up 1k+ for a secondhand carbon frame.

There are plenty of people who spend £1k+ on a used carbon frame. I’ve sold 2 for well over that, and my current one will also sell for more.

The distributors do not pay US RRP for the bikes/frames. They just don’t.
Take the US price, deduct 40-odd% from the US RRP price. That’s what the distributors cost is. Then add the tax. The rest is all gravy.

Plus shipping, having the cash to carry high stock levels, spares, advertising, demo bikes, sponsorships, etc. Yeah, definitely a gravy train. In fact Jungle are so wealthy they heat the office with £50 notes 🙂

Lapierre or a SC?

Hmmm. A very quick decision.

It certainly is.
We all have bikes we don’t like; I’ve never seen or ridden a spesh which I’ve liked. The new enduro thing is a similar price to the Bronson and is even worse value with in-house wheels etc.

A picture of a man pulling his poo’ing face hiding in the trees?

But why is that bike £9000? I’ve seen bikes in shops costing £3000 and up, but what is it that’s so special about this one, to warrant such a price tag?

If nobody had purchased the 3 Oranges (2 mine, 1 my wifes) brand new, at silly sky high prices, they wouldn’t be in our possession now. If you totalled up the list prices of them, might not get much change from £10k.

Chances are, they purchased another high-end bike brand new (which will eventually end up in someone else’s house).

In the same way somebody bought our car brand new at £30k+…

So at some point, these £9,000 bikes will end up owned by mere mortals 😉

I’d certainly question the validity of this statement…

So at some point, these £9,000 bikes will end up owned by mere mortals

Completely agree, I’ve no problem with it, if they want to spend £9000 on a new bike that’s just fine… It’ll just mean someone like me can buy it for much less in 18 months or so when ‘the next big thing’ comes out 😀

I once spent £10 on a cheese sandwich. I was expecting the king of all sandwiches, a life changer.
It wasn’t,it was horrible.

I’d certainly question the validity of this statement…

I can only give you anecdotal I’m afraid but theres numerous references to this on Pistonheads. Porsche’s and Beemers are good at doing high mileage with minimal wear apperently. Beemers being wound back pre end of lease and Porsche’s etc to preserve resale.

I have 1 MTB bought new, I have 1 road bike (second hand). Note priority here! Plenty of people have huge number of bikes (n+1) which in total terms often exceed 9K. So if it was the bike for me I would still drop the money on it as my only MTB. Why not, I have 8 year old car it does the job. But my MTB is where I choose to spend my money.

Perfect bike for this neck of the woods.

I’ll get my carbon cock rocket out of the car.

dirtyrider – Member

the £8k full Enve, XX1 build is **** all to some people

The top price oin their bike bulder is a shade under $11,000.

That’s be £11,000 when it gets across the pond.

why do people care what other people spend their money on or what they ride and where they ride it?

Having owned an SC for over 10 years I think the ride of them and the fit of them for me is brilliant. Love them. I bought one originally because my mate had a Chameleon and it just felt perfect.

Luckily I look and ride like a cock anyway so I am not sure the bike would change much.

i’m not bothered by what other people do with thier money, it’s up to them./

I’m just curious how a bicycle can cost £9000?

Looking at the jungle site, the Bronson is £8659 with all available upgrades; XTR, ENVE etc.
Too rich for me, but some will buy one. Personally I hope they enjoy them. I think they look fantastic.

I’m just curious how a bicycle can cost £9000?

I don’t the answer to this. I do know when I bought an SC last year I priced up all the kit on it and even sourcing from all over the place the savings wouldn’t have been much (mostly on forks). That is not to say I think the price is good, I would have thought there should be some saving on kit by buying a bike complete but this doesn’t seem to be the case, unless buying a Canyon or YT for example.

Ahh, this old argument.

My race MTB cost more than £9k. It’s got a set of Enve wheels on it. I’m still paying for it now and I still don’t regret getting it. Those that slam Enve wheels have clearly never ridden a set. The comparison with the Syncros ones is laughable, they’re far superior.

Just because you can’t see the point in buying a high priced bike doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t. Some of it smacks of sour grapes a little.

To those asking how can it cost that much – a set of Enves is now nearly £2500 depending on hubs. A full XTR groupset is C£1500 and the fork will be the thick end of a grand. Factor in £100 of tyres, £200 bars, £300 for the reverb and it all starts adding up

Oh, and Jungle are notorious for high pricing on their full builds. I’m pretty certain you could pay RRP and probably save a bit of money, they certainly don’t do anyone any favours. Which is probably why you can only get full builds on the Bronsen

The comparison with the Syncros ones is laughable, they’re far superior.

Not that I’m doubting you, but have you ridden the Syncros?

Which is probably why you can only get full builds on the Bronsen

Incorrect, you can buy frames.

I’m pretty certain you could pay RRP and probably save a bit of money, they certainly don’t do anyone any favours.

This interested me, so I had a look and you are absolutely right. About £1K less for a similar build (XT spec with ENVE wheels). All done on google shopping, so there’s potential for further savings with some smart buying (and perhaps a small discount on the frame). That is, if you can get hold of some 650B ENVE rims.

Of course, as a distributor, everything gets advertised at full RRP, they are hardly going to discount something & thus reducing their dealers margin by doing so…

So by shopping around, yes, you probably can get it cheaper.

Incorrect, you can buy frames.

It says you can on the website, but according to our local Santa Cruz dealer you won’t be able to get one until the end of the year. So its full build only

Not that I’m doubting you, but have you ridden the Syncros?

Sorry Syntace. Nope – I haven’t. Are they 1300g a set for 32 spokes in a 29er?