Tracking The Health Of The Bike Industry In 2023

A correction in the bike industry is long overdue. When bicycles are more expensive than motorbikes and some cars then you know the industry has gone potty. Sheer greed at the moment with lots of ridiculously overblown pricetags. £15k bikes?? £500 jackets?? £90 tyres?? £400 cassettes?? Utter madness and something had to give. I feel real sorrow for anyone who loses their livelihoods but the writing has been on the wall for some time im afraid.

When bicycles are more expensive than motorbikes and some cars then you know the industry has gone potty.

People always compare the most expensive bikes with average, or budget, Motos though. What’s the average price of a bike vs a Moto? Is the (whole) watch market potty because some cost more than an average house?

If there is stock on shelves not moving shouldn’t some of it be liquidated?

Why do that rather than wait and sell it at a higher price in due course – as long as bills can still be paid.

People always compare the most expensive bikes with average, or budget, Motos though.

It’s difficult to make a direct comparison with any other industry. Bicycles still use standards (despite the best efforts of the big players) and parts are fairly interchangeable between bikes. Most parts on motorbikes fit that bike and no others (although of course, not to the same extent as with cars).

I think it’s more interesting to compare bicycles to desktop computers. With desktop computers you have parts which mostly fit together. You can either buy a complete PC or you can buy the individual parts and build it yourself. The difference is that it costs slightly less to build a PC yourself than to buy a pre-built one (or at least it was last time I built a PC).

Try building a bike from parts and even getting close to the price of a complete bike, even going to the grey market importers who can sell parts to consumers cheaper than bike shops can buy the parts in.

I’m not going to say bikes and bike parts are too expensive. However, I think there are some serious discrepancies in some of the pricing models. It’s not good for bike shops and it’s not good for consumers.

A correction in the bike industry is long overdue. When bicycles are more expensive than motorbikes and some cars then you know the industry has gone potty.

It’s not related to all that. The real top end is the part of the industry that isn’t as affected, or at least their customers aren’t. The bikes are devalued by the rest of the ranges being marked down but if you want the best model + spec and they only made 200 it’ll retain some value.

as long as bills can still be paid.

That’s the crux of it. For how long? Market’s unlikely to get back to normal stock levels for at least a year. You have stock for what you thought was maybe 2 months that is now 12 month’s worth. It’s massively devalued by so many others being in the same position and discounting so you can’t speed up rate of sale with a normal discount level. Overheads have the same or higher costs than before.

I am sad to see the likes of Stanton fold, but I don’t have much sympathy for some of the big bike and component manufacturers who coined it in during the pandemic & lockdown.

UK consumers will have noticed that the falling £ has led to inflated costs – this isn’t the fault of manufacturers, I’ll let you speculate why.

How about smogmonster’s post without the comparison everyone leapt on:
“A correction in the bike industry is long overdue. The sheer greed at the moment with lots of ridiculously overblown pricetags. £15k bikes?? £500 jackets?? £90 tyres?? £400 cassettes?? Utter madness…”
only people with more money than sense can disagree with that.

Aside from that, just noticed tonight that a bike shop near me appears to be closing down. Opened about 5 years ago, got ransacked by scumbags[/url] shortly after opening. Now looks pretty much cleared out

I’ve said it before and it is worth saying again…mountain biking is expensive and in many cases, prices are higher as manufacturers can seel at that price as consumers are willing to spend that money. Mountain biking is a huge market these days so it is far easier to find people willing to spend that amount, certainly having far fewer people buying kit at high prices would have an impact, but probably not much. There are loads of people who won’t/can’t afford the high prices for high end kit, but those who can appear to be a growing market so prices will continue to rise. It can’t last, but it has lasted longer than I’d hoped. Never good when people lose livelihoods though.

only people with more disposable income than me can disagree with that.

FTFY, without wanting to be rude. Those prices reflect the absolute top of the market, not the entry or even average. The same way a 200k Land Rover doesn’t reflect the car market.

I hope Ribble don’t go bust as I’ve just chosen my bike 2 work voucher value based on one of their bikes 😉

Although others are reporting this as a bit of a non story https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-3-january-2023-298333#live-blog-item-41999

OK, fair enough. Apart from the absolute top end of the market, everything is reasonably and sensibly priced and the bike industry will have no problem flogging stuff to average income folk and will continue to thrive in 2023. Cool.

OK, fair enough. Apart from the absolute top end of the market, everything is reasonably and sensibly priced and the bike industry will have no problem flogging stuff to average income folk and will continue to thrive in 2023. Cool.

Average income was £30k last year (roughly what I earn), I reckon those people earn enough to afford an average priced, enthusiast spec MTB, depending on other priorities they have for their cash. If those priorities start to change, and they might well, that’s when the industry will struggle, or prices will drop, if there is room for them to.

When bicycles are more expensive than motorbikes and some cars then you know the industry has gone potty

the cheapest new car is now £13k (dacia sandero). I might be wrong, but I don’t *think* you can buy a non-e-bike from a non-boutique brand that costs that much. santa cruz, yeti et al seem to top out around £10k

I think 5 years ago when the bottom end cars were £7k there were more bikes that were more expensive..

the cheapest new car is now £13k (dacia sandero). I might be wrong, but I don’t *think* you can buy a non-e-bike from a non-boutique brand that costs that much. santa cruz, yeti et al seem to top out around £10k

£13.4k for the range topping Trek Slash. Electric gears and suspension, but no motor. Most expensive thing available is more expensive than the cheapest different thing shock.

In 2002 a Gary Fisher Sugar 1 was about £3k which would be about £8.2k now based on currency differences, BoE inflation calculations and including adding the extra VAT. If there was an equivalent today (XTR, aluminium frame), I reckon it would be about that…

The quality of stuff now is, I reckon, much better than it was 20 years ago too.

How about smogmonster’s post without the comparison everyone leapt on:

Tbh I just cut the quote short at that bit about motorbikes. My reply was about how the issues in the industry post-covid aren’t about price levels. Price levels or vfm is moderated by competition and demand in normal times anyway.

big bike and component manufacturers who coined it in during the pandemic & lockdown.

I’m not sure it was all “coining it in” the materials that bikes are made of certainly didn’t get any cheaper the scarcer they got. They was inevitably a little price markup but I don’t think greed is the whole story.

If you look at the large manufacturers websites there is a huge range of bikes available. Perhaps the current problems stem from too many niches and models. It must puch up costs.

Standardisation, some hope, I need to change the BB on my newest bike (2020) for which I now need yet another bottom bracket tool, this will now sit in the toolbox with the other 4 different ones. Through axles, bought an adapter for my Thule roof carrier, the new bike needs a different size as the boost axle is longer.

Components are not as good quality as they were, my 18 year old Trek still has the original XT mech, shifters, brakes, which work fine after 18 winters, yes it’s had loads of jockey wheels, the bb is a screw in cartridge type and done at least 10 muddy winters.

Got to admit very disappointed with my newest bike (£1275 hard tail) to the point of parting with it and using the old original instead.

How about smogmonster’s post without the comparison everyone leapt on:
“A correction in the bike industry is long overdue. The sheer greed at the moment with lots of ridiculously overblown pricetags. £15k bikes?? £500 jackets?? £90 tyres?? £400 cassettes?? Utter madness…”
only people with more money than sense can disagree with that.

I earn below the average wage but perhaps I still have more money than sense? I dunno, in a world where Rolexes, Ferraris, yachts, £50k handbags and whatever else exist, it’s not different to other premium/luxury goods for rich people.

They can have their Ferrari, I’ll keep my second hand family hatchback. And if they want to buy a £15k bike, great, crack on, maybe it will keep a few more niche framebuilders in business.

The sheer greed at the moment with lots of ridiculously overblown pricetags. £15k bikes?? £500 jackets?? £90 tyres?? £400 cassettes?? Utter madness…”

Otoh you can walk into halfords and buy a tyre for <£20,sports direct you can buy a bike for <£300 that for 99% of people will do exactly what they want it to do. Turn the pedals it goes forwards, squeeze the brakes it stops.

That you’re even looking at these things in a different light to how I view the aforementioned rolex or ferrari means you’re in the 0.1% It’s hobbyist stuff on a site dedicated to hobbyists with a potentially expensive hobby. You can spend £120 on a football but you can play football with one which cost £1.20.

Bikes are not expensive, bits that make bikes are not expensive, expensive things are expensive be that a £5 loaf of sourdough or a £500 xtr cassette.

What is the latest news on Stanton – did they ever manage to find a new backer?

I am not sure many people in cycle industry are retiring to the mansion & country estate, and I do think prices currently are more about costs than greed.

I do wonder if we have all been sucked into the Newer Better Stiffer Technology Acronym churn that is the bike industry.

We ‘expect’ to have full suspension with the next iteration of damping, best gears which are 5.7% stiffer, carbon bars that save 3.2grammes, clothing which is all on-point colour and logo wise, and a team in the world cup we can aspire too. We expect our bike to (perversely) smooth the rough trails we all love, speed us up despite lack of skill and fitness and associate us with the Pro team and a VW T6.

We are sucked into a sport where bigger / higher / steeper *must* be better – yet the difference in the wear and damage my sons bikes get is disproportionate to the extra speed they enjoy.

I do think that hardtails, with Deore level gearing, simple damping and durability as much as being the fastest in the bike park, where a focus on fun not outright performance is due to kick in.

I predict fun and simple bikes coming to the fore.

Canyon and Vitus etc are still putting out full-sus bikes for 2-3k that can do pretty much all UK (and alpine) riding, more like 1 – 1.5k if you want a hardtail.

eMTB’s cost a fortune though. What are the cheapest ones, 5k? And a 2 year warranty before you’re forking out potentially 1k for a motor (with a delay of several months) or 400 or whatever a repair costs, plus the other normal servicing.

My plan is to get before my EMTB runs out of warranty. I’ll see how that goes….

I do think that hardtails, with Deore level gearing, simple damping and durability as much as being the fastest in the bike park, where a focus on fun not outright performance is due to kick in.

I think this is the thing, we here, (for the most part at least) seem to think a deore equipped bike with a Reba is entry level – just look at the kids bike threads – rather than actually the lower of the high end enthusiast stuff.

It’s not the industry that needs reframing, it’s us lot.

eMTB’s cost a fortune though. What are the cheapest ones, 5k?

They’re not, they’re under a grand

When bicycles are more expensive than motorbikes and some cars then you know the industry has gone potty.

People always compare the most expensive bikes with average, or budget, Motos though. What’s the average price of a bike vs a Moto? Is the (whole) watch market potty because some cost more than an average house?

Motorcycle trials bikes are a fair comparison I’d say. They mostly use the same suspension, brakes, wheels, tyres, controls. Frames, engines & plastics are the unique items to each manufacurer. A new 2023 model will range in price from £6 to £8.5k list price.

It’s not the industry that needs reframing, it’s us lot.

Agreed with that.

I do think the lower end of the market will continue OK – I know a few folk who are looking at losing a car and gaining a sub £500 commuter bike…

I do think for many of us, a Deore Hardtail IS a significant downgrade in speed – but IMO a win for fun…

What is the latest news on Stanton – did they ever manage to find a new backer?

I don’t believe so, but I heard from them the other day as I’d ordered some spare dropouts, they are at least shipping those again, but that won’t keep them afloat or attract an investor.

I do think for many of us, a Deore Hardtail IS a significant downgrade in speed – but IMO a win for fun…

We’d probably mostly find that all that really dull not steep enough etc riding is actually pretty good after all/just like it used to be before we spent 12k on a “better bike” that actually made things worse.

“A correction in the bike industry is long overdue. The sheer greed at the moment with lots of ridiculously overblown pricetags. £15k bikes?? £500 jackets?? £90 tyres?? £400 cassettes?? Utter madness…”

But these are very tip-most of a huge pile of equipment at every price point. You can equally buy bikes for £500, tyres for £15, jackets for £30 and cassettes for a tenner. Sport equipment of all shapes and sizes has always has wildly expensive gear alongside the more reasonably priced

The bike industry might not be vulnerable because of some opportunistic price increases – but they’ve certainly increased the cynicism or contempt that many of us have for some bike companies or distributors. There may not be so much sympathy as there was for Stanton in all cases.

Personally I think many bike price increases may quietly be reversed, despite all the justifications (real and exaggerated) related to rising costs. Bike companies might have thought “right, £3k is the benchmark for a basic full-sus now” but that doesn’t mean people will keep paying it as cheaper options re-emerge.

seem to think a deore equipped bike with a Reba is entry level – just look at the kids bike threads – rather than actually the lower of the high end enthusiast stuff.

Both those things might be true though.

I’m sure there are some quite rideable £500 / £600 bikes from Vitus, Halfords or Decathlon – but most of us would probably advise a friend looking to get into MTBing to aim for Deore and a decent fork.

Personally I think many bike price increases may quietly be reversed,

This years SWorks enduro is £10k, down from £11.5k last year.

Otoh you can walk into halfords and buy a tyre for <£20,sports direct you can buy a bike for <£300 that for 99% of people will do exactly what they want it to do. Turn the pedals it goes forwards, squeeze the brakes it stops.

That you’re even looking at these things in a different light to how I view the aforementioned rolex or ferrari means you’re in the 0.1% It’s hobbyist stuff on a site dedicated to hobbyists with a potentially expensive hobby. You can spend £120 on a football but you can play football with one which cost £1.20.

Bikes are not expensive, bits that make bikes are not expensive, expensive things are expensive be that a £5 loaf of sourdough or a £500 xtr cassette.

+1

There are always companies which make things for the top 1% be it Rolls Royce cars, Rolex watches of £400 cassettes. Nothing new here at all….

Also… Model years. The largely unnecessary “upgrading” every 12 months. Sometimes it’s not much more than a colour change. It places the shops at a disadvantage as unsold stock has to be marked down before the next years stock arrives. If there was less annual churn then RRP could actually be lowered. Some of that is the fault of the component suppliers too. The likes of Rockshox seem to change things on not much more than a whim.

There are still bargains to be had out there. The likes of Ribble, Sonder and to some extent Planet X still give consumers a good product at a good price. Consumers need to be a bit more savvy (and I am sure we all are on here judging by the number of PSA’s on the forum)
Ebay often has bargains from the wiggle outlet store ( a New Vitus Sommet with a tiny cosmetic went for £1380).
My last bike which i bought last year cost £1k. A Carbon framed fat bike from Sonder that was an ex demo. Ive done all my kit shopping for the year in the sales.
If folk want to spend £8k and more on a bike the finance is available, but looking at some of the sales there are not many mid range bikes on offer.
This often says the stock isnt available, as its sold out, or it isnt going to be discounted anyway.

Bike companies might have thought “right, £3k is the benchmark for a basic full-sus now”

They haven’t though. Look at the voodoo, boardman, Saracen etc stuff and it’s not 3k, it’s less than 1k for a basic full suss.

The issue isn’t that a basic fs is too expensive (it might be but it’s not in the realm we’re talking) it’s that we all look at a basic fs with a sneer.

We’re moaning that a basic beach holiday is too expensive because we can’t get to the four and a half, five star resort in the Seychelles for less than 6k.

See also “I need a cheap new car, which 9yr old BMW…(that’s more expensive than a 4yr old megane but I won’t drive a citroen)”

Motorcycle trials bikes are a fair comparison I’d say

But less so in terms of how the products are made and there’s 2 problems in the bike industry at the moment, the misjudgement of the boom+bust cycle from covid and how reliant bike brands are on the OEM supply chain, frames onward. A motorbike is more in house production, a smaller % of it’s value made up of OEM parts. Plus the motorbike/car industry is so far ahead of the bike industry in terms of supply chain management and logistics so I doubt the whiplash created by changes in demand is as dramatic.

it’s not 3k, it’s less than 1k for a basic full suss.

Sorry I should have been more specific. To clarify, I meant where the range starts for “premium” bike ranges.

e.g. Fuel EX, Stumpjumper kind-of bikes.

A £3k bike with a RockShox 35 fork on is taking the piss and they know it.