Shimano price rise (again)

£161.48

blimey, i’ve just had to accelerate the purchase of the whole drivetrain for my new build, was going to hold off but just did a little wee when i saw the new XTR Chainset RRP of £430 😮

got the cranks, mechs, shifters, chain, cassette and pedals all from stif for £550 – saved about £450 off the new RRPs!

seriously, anyone needs any gear get it quick – i reckon the estimate ^^^ of £450 saved is conservative, got the M970 pedals for £78 and they’re listed RRP now of £135… unbelieveable.

stif have got 15% off over £150, serious savings to be made before they up the prices…

Dibbs i was chatting to Barry yesterday, looks like i’ll be staying with a singlespeed for good now, just need to get me some tough ridged forks and that’s me sorted.

wasn’t there a thread on the old forum with people moaning about the price of XTR? and the general comments were its for elite racers (and accountants) so if you want the very best don’t be surprised if it costs.

Most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between XTR and LX in a blind test, so the extra is for the sticker.

do you think CRC prices will rocket?

I’m ashamed to say it but…

…Singlespeed looks like a good option! 😥

RRP of an XT chainset in 1994/95 (without BB) – £140

SRP of an XT Chainset in 2008 (inc HT2 BB!) – £140

Yeah prices went down quite a bit in the last few years as pound was doing well. Was chatting to LBS about this, prices are going up, bad news for customer and in turn cos no ones buying LBS, prices then drop later on, good for customer really bad (short term) for LBS cos all his stock that he paid old price for no-one will buy so they end up selling at a loss.

We’re doomed

“when prices are OTT and unjustified”
but they aren’t. i happen to know the person who sits there and works out the shimano prices and the margin they need to make, unlike a lot of importers they will drop the prices when/if the pound/yen changes.

if you want somebody to blame it’s the people wanting to buy bling bling xtr level bikes, cars and houses with cheap easy credit and the banks that gave it to them.

And I can’t see gordon brown giving 10p to the bike industry to help it out never mind the 500 billion he gave to the banks who **** it all up in the first place. yes I know the banks are a *bit* more important than evans but it still smarts that our money is going to the irresponsible lenders – who then wont lend said same money back to us.

Prices are returning to normal with the fall of the pound.
Bikes, frames and bits have been getting better and better value in recent years, mainly because most are imported and a pound sterling was worth close to 2 dollars, something that wasn’t maintainable.

There can be exceptions though: looking at my main ride (Cotic Simple with Hope hubs, Middleburn cranks etc) it wouldn’t cost much more than it did a few years ago. 10% more perhaps? Not much above inflation over three years.

I think the big shock will be when current UK stocks of complete bikes start running down and the import prices for new ones start hitting the shop floor, it may be enough to put off new riders, and that’s not good in terms of getting cars off the roads on short commutes.

Most people wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between XTR and LX in a blind test, so the extra is for the sticker

My guess is that you have never used XTR as there is a big difference, even from XT. The shifting action for a start, is much lighter and takes quite a bit of getting used to as it’s quite different from the rest of Shimanos groupsets IMHO. Not to mention the huge weight difference. I know many people who prefer XT due to the different feel of XTR.
Of course, you are paying a premium for the top of the range, but to say most people couldn’t tell the difference is utter rubbish.

Well you can still get one for £226- from cyclestore. Actually I might just do that.

(http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDetails.asp?productID=10717)

Deore rear mech now £49.95…..

Don’t Middleburn make decent chainrings? If Madison are mad I’ll support the small companies.

XTR wheelset £780!!!!

just spoke to stif, they’re honouring the prices agreed when i placed the order, despite the fact that they’ve not despatched them or charged my card yet… lucky, just in the nick of time!

Pretty easy to see why:

£ vs $

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=GBP&to=USD&amt=1&t=5y

£ vs Yen

http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?from=GBP&to=JPY&amt=1&t=5y

Just remember kids, no more boom and bust.