scary bike prices.

been into Specialized concept store in Harrogate today.    just to do a bit of tyre kicking.

i seem to have been living in a bubble regarding bike prices.  my dearest bike purchase came to 5k which i now realise was far far too much, and probably a complete waste of cash.

the first 3 bikes i looked at totalled  £36000

they were pretty gorgeous………..   but wow.

@ton, I went in once, looked at the incredible prices and the 10 staff sat round doing nothing and left.

Its the only bike shop I walk past and don’t go in to have a look round.

Harrogate

There’s the reason.

It’s a bit weird that superbike prices are now just normal prices

I’ve had 3 bikes from them plus countless parts, and use the workshop regularly. One of the better LBS’s I’ve used.

New prices are eye watering. We only tend to buy in the sales.

That way it’s not what you spend its what you save. Last new purchase had 50% off

I went into the Nottingham specialized concept store a while back.

There was an e bike reduced from £13,000 to £10,000. That was a shock!

I am quite sure I’m not in the target market for that bike.

I went in the other day and asked about spokes for a wheel build. My 4 year old got very bored so we counted things. While doing that I priced the shoes. None under £100.

RRP is just wishful thinking. The inevitable 40% discounts are built in.

RRP is just wishful thinking.

Not in Harrogate.

Bike prices have always been scary at the top end, in 1997 a Yeti Lawill 6 frame was £3,000, that’s £6,842 in today’s money.

Then came cheap far Eastern manufacure and cheap shipping which gave us a few decades of bargain prices, both of those are now fading into the past so we’re back to where we were in the 90’s.

It’s unlikely to reverse any time soon I’m afraid.

Not in Harrogate

They were offering the standard discounts on Chisel and Epic HT last time I was in.

Those £12K push bikes are the same price as a Brand New Triumph 900 Tiger, how can that be ????? 🤔

Oh no, not the Fortnine video again.

Destined to be posted into every single thread about bike prices until the end of time.

What’s the executive summary of that video so I don’t have to watch it?

Motorbikes have vastly fewer SKUs/options, for example, one size fits all, and MC manufacturers have much better economies of scale.

Motorbikes have vastly fewer SKUs/options, for example, one size fits all, and MC manufacturers have much better economies of scale.

I just watched. Summary of the answer to why mountain bikes + motorbikes cost the same: they just do, okay.

It’s worth watching, as are most Fortnine videos. I’ve been watching them for years.

It’s just that particular video is now a guaranteed post on threads like this on multiple websites.

12 grand buys you a Tour de France winning bike, how much do you have to spend to buy a bike that can win motoGP?

Could be worse Ton, you might want a track bike. Team GB new version of the Hope-Lotus is just £55k. Factor is $100kAus. Of course they have to offer them but don’t actually want anyone to buy them. Especially competing countries. The equally funky new Look P24 is yours for a bargaintastic £12k  you get a chainset, but no wheels bars or saddle.

That said, the Di2 S-Works aethos almost had me emptying the piggy bank and switching to discs. Almost.

RRP is just wishful thinking. The inevitable 40% discounts are built in.

We have an industry’s that will Be looking for them to become history

“It’s just that particular video is now a guaranteed post on threads like this on multiple websites.”

That’s because every time bike prices are mentioned, someone will be guaranteed too come along and say “you could buy a motorbike for that”

🙃

You’ll also get people pointing out that you can’t get a Moto GP motorbike for £12k, but you can get a World Cup XC race bike.

Buy a pair of hiking boots and leave the overpriced kashima coated bicycle industry to pedal up its own arse. It’s what I’ve done.

You can also get a new car for £10K which seems even better value than a £10k motorbike but you can also get a watch for £10K which seems less value.  Well it does if you don’t have the ability to think about it for a  few minutes.

You can also get a rideable bike for £500 and a pretty decent one which would meet 99% of peoples actual needs (rather than desirers) for £2k.

Last mtb I bought was in 2013.

An XT equipped good mid/high range mtb. Cost me £1,400 reduced from £1,800 which I though was quite a bit of money

Yep bikes are overpriced these days hence why all the massive discounting that’s going on

However the cheapest new cars on sale these days are over £15k or something. Wasn’t long back you could buy a new car for £7/8k

That store in Harrogate is nothing unique. Most bike shops IMO only carry the silly priced stuff and then wonder why it doesn’t sell

Primroses and landscapes, he (the director) pointed out, have one grave defect: they are gratuitous. A love of nature keeps no factories busy. It was decided to abolish the love of nature, at any rate among the lower classes; to abolish the love of nature, but not the tendency to consume transport. For of course it was essential that they should keep on going to the country, even though they hated it. The problem was to find an economically sounder reason for consuming transport than a mere affection for primroses and landscapes. It was duly found.
“We condition the masses to hate the country,” concluded the Director. “But simultaneously we condition them to love all country sports. At the same time, we see to it that all country sports shall entail the use of elaborate apparatus. So that they consume manufactured articles as well as transport.

I think that sums it up.

I’ve never bought a new mtb and I’ve been riding them for 30 years.  Second hand every time for me.   The prices have always been way out of range for what I’m comfortable to pay.

I walked into a Porsche dealer the other day and couldn’t believe how expensive new cars are.

RRP is just wishful thinking. The inevitable 40% discounts are built in

Ah yes. The margin.

I walked into a Porsche dealer the other day and couldn’t believe how expensive new cars are

You can buy a GTS spec porsche Macan EV for the price of 6 top end ebikes. Porsches are not expensive compared to bikes.

And that really highlights why you can’t compare MTB to motorbike price too. Mtbs are an assembly of parts. Well Known, branded, separately purchasable parts. The only bit you’re really choosing is the frame. When you buy a motor vehicle your buying into thousands of parts chosen for you by the manufacturer, and well as service regimes, emissions levels, engine output … Endless and complex variables set by the manufacturer, versus assembling up to a couple of thousand of pounds of off the shelf components onto their frame design.

It’s a bit weird that superbike prices are now just normal prices

They get attention and create an impression of overall prices, partly it’s a symptom of how most of us are finding money is tighter than it used to be but the wealthiest 5% or so aren’t affected by the same factors and are still spending on bikes. Unit sales of these top end bikes aren’t high but it’s probably where a bike company needs to be at the moment if they can. The mid range market is trashed while the premium luxury end is doing ok, relatively.

You can buy a GTS spec porsche Macan EV for the price of 6 top end ebikes. Porsches are not expensive compared to bikes.

Or you could buy  70 Sonder Transmitters. Just because Specialized’s top-end halo S-Works stuff is exorbitantly expensive, doesn’t mean that bike prices per se are nuts, which seems to be the gist of this thread.

We’ve not had the condescending “nobody’s forcing you to buy them” comment yet.😀

Nobody’s forcing you to buy them.

Bike prices are nuts. But i don’t get the impression anyone is making big profits? Or Infact any money at all.

The prices of e bikes would be slightly more acceptable if they were reliable, unfortunately theyre not.

The prices of e bikes would be slightly more acceptable if they were reliable, unfortunately theyre not.

I think that’s a huge point and I’d add serviceable with known parts supply. It’s one thing spending £6k knowing it should still work in 8 years and quite another wondering if in 5 years whether speed controllers, batteries and motors will be available for your model

I feel like used bike prices haven’t risen as much as new bike prices so they represent even better value in the current market. I can’t see me going new again, even frame prices now feel ridiculous.

I think that we all focus on these mega expensive +£10k bikes but in reality how many are sold compaired to mid and low range bikes? Also how much has Bike to Work distorted this high end market?

if you don’t want the latest model then there are always bargains out there. It’s in no way cheap but I got a carbon fibre Trek Top Fuel 9.7 (‘22/‘23 model) with a smattering of XT for £2.7k. I could have spent x3 on a new Top Fuel but past the point I bought at it’s definitely law of diminishing returns.

Isn’t there a limit on bike to work allowances now?