Yeah, it's a far cry from our days. I used paper route money to buy my first mountain bike, and upgraded it on that "salary" ... which was about $25/week.
This is what's wrong with The Industry™
- Thread starter Electric_City
- Start date
-
- Tags
- e-bike
This is why I have decided to go back to my old habits of only buying framesets and upgrade parts as necessary along the way. I don't see myself throwing over 10k$CDN on a bike that isn't exactly how I want it. I prefer spreading the expenses over a few years. I already have the habit of keeping my bikes for several years.
The current state of bike standards seems favorable to do this. (Yes, I am well aware the lizards are better than this and they are probably already on task to fuck up my perfect plan.)
The current state of bike standards seems favorable to do this. (Yes, I am well aware the lizards are better than this and they are probably already on task to fuck up my perfect plan.)
How old are you?
Executives gotta keep that summer cottage and winter cabin. Think of the empty properties for gods sake!
It's always been an expensive sport but one where you could save and stretch your cash and afford stuff. I know I could afford some sweet builds when I was making way less just because of that. Now it would be impossible. The DH bike I'm currently selling would probably now cost 9k new.
Yeah I wonder if this is even sustainable. I get that since there is a shortage now they can raise prices but once the people who are starved for a bike and will pay any price buy and the supply issue gets solved do they expect to keep those prices? That's short sighted AF. It feels like Cinema Managers claiming lower prices don't drive people in pre covid (I have heard that in business meetings very frequently).
Yeah my issue is I technically can afford a super fancy expensive bike. I just don't find it's reasonable to spend THAT amount of money on a bike when i can spend it on trips or life outside of bikes. I have some friends who still do that but I don't want to be that middle aged dude who only has bikes as his hobby
My first full suspension frame cost me ~$2k in 2001, which is ~$3150 in today's dollars. Seems about the same.
From my current buying process it can be impossible to buy just a frameset. So you end up having to buy a complete build which won't be exactly what you want. Then swapping to the parts that you want to, the bargains are harder to find, but they are still around.
But 12 speed stuff is just way more expensive for the higher tiers than 9 and 10 speed XT/XTR/X9/X0 used to be, ~$350 for a cassette versus $90.
But 12 speed stuff is just way more expensive for the higher tiers than 9 and 10 speed XT/XTR/X9/X0 used to be, ~$350 for a cassette versus $90.
Kids don't have jobs anymore. They have parents that buy them everything. Maybe it's just where I live but there are no more high school kids working after school or summer jobs and all the kids I see riding are on bikes many steps up from the cheapest one in the catalogue.
True. However, I bought my first DH bikes used around that time. Proper bikes complete could be had for less than $2k.
Nah, in the early 90s you could get a functional MTB for $340, then enter races for $25 each, and drive there on $1.05 gas. I got into MTB racing because it was the only affordable kind of racing (no BMX in Eastern Connecticut). After a year I sold that bike and got a $650 bike with front suspension that carried me through NORBAs and World Cups until K2 wanted to give me a bike.
Nope. Entry level trail bikes from direct order companies with decent components 8 years ago started at 2k euro. Now they start at 4k euro. I'd not use 2001 maths as 2001 the volume of production was much lower so economy of scale was not a factor. The weird part is Forks are not much more expensive. I am not even mad. I don't understand what really inflates the price.
Are you Swiss or something? You do realize most people in most developed countries still don't shit money? I get that we can live in a bubble bust when i go to bikeparks or sell used parts I frequently meet kids who have huge issues making their bikes work. Not to mention even in the fabulous entertainment industry I don't think many parents will be super eager to drop 5-8k on a bike.
I bought my first "real" mountain bike in 1997, a Marin Palisades Trail with bottom of the barrel parts (RST fork, Alivio etc) for ~$500, or $868 in today's dollars, which would get you this today - https://www.marinbikes.com/bikes/2022-bobcat-trail-3. Seems equivalent.
Maybe you have too high expectations in components? Canyon Neuron starts at €1899 with Deore and the only weak components are the entry level suspension, rest is OK if you consider the parts shortages.
Just buckle down eat ramen and peanut butter
And you can afford an Unno
Is your argument that prices of bikes have not gone up then?
Seems like they have gone up dramatically from where I'm sitting. Perhaps at the low end the prices are effectively equivalent, but the mid to high (complete builds) appears quite different.
Generally, I ride until frame breaks, then consider options. The Tracer has been going since the spring of 2013.
I don't think they've gone up all that much looking at ~equivalent spec bikes, although there are some stupid gucci builds now. However, market correction has been happening sporadically, so you get big price increases all at once.
fascinating, no one gets parts, not even the big oems and they still make lots of dough
Yes, that's what I've been doing too when I broke a frame, but that didn't happen to me that often.
Another good option I did a few times was to build the least desirable frame from the stable with whatever spare parts I had and didn't want anymore, and sell this bike to a friend for a low price, to make room for a new bike. This has proven more difficult with the plethora of new standards in the recent years, but I am trying to get back there eventually. Once my son will be done with my 26" Mach5.7 in a couple of years, the whole stable will be on Boost hubs and 27.5 or 29" wheels, so mix-and-matching will start to become possible again...or at least it will be easier than it is currently.
At the moment, I have most of the bike standards over 4 mtb:
- 26"/27.5"/29"
- 135/142/148 rear hub spacing
- Boost and Non-Boost TA front hubs + QR Non-Boost front hub
- Straight/Tapered steerer
- 27.2/30.9/31.6 ST
- 25.4/31.8/35 handlebars and stems
same, although i just do the frame, and swap over/update parts as they break or as needed.
hey!
That's what I did before the Tracer kicked me from 26 to 27.5".
Perusing entry level bikes today I can say shit is cheaper today when adjusted for inflation compared to my first 3 bikes
Department store BMX
Department store MTB
Low end bike shop MTB
That low end MTB was a hardtail with Shimano Deore components and a Quadra 21 fork. It cost $750, adjusted for inflation that is this bike today. Similar spec but I am pretty confident that modern technology makes it a much better bike.
Mahuna
The Mahuna strikes that perfect balance of mountain bike and all-around fun rig. Its 29” wheels easily roll over obstacles and provide a smooth, predictable ride. The fork features 100mm of supple travel and together with the 29” wheels, helps keep bumps in check.
konaworld.com
Bikes have kept up with inflation, wages have notPerusing entry level bikes today I can say shit is cheaper today when adjusted for inflation compared to my first 3 bikes
Department store BMX
Department store MTB
Low end bike shop MTB
That low end MTB was a hardtail with Shimano Deore components and a Quadra 21 fork. It cost $750, adjusted for inflation that is this bike today. Similar spec but I am pretty confident that modern technology makes it a much better bike.
Mahuna
The Mahuna strikes that perfect balance of mountain bike and all-around fun rig. Its 29” wheels easily roll over obstacles and provide a smooth, predictable ride. The fork features 100mm of supple travel and together with the 29” wheels, helps keep bumps in check.
That is a "what is wrong with the economy" issue not "what is wrong with the bike industry" problem
you mean that phenomenon my paycheck is immune to?
Highly debatable.
(this is the part where we bag on specialized)
mike sinyard vs jess bezos in a fight. go.
it‘s still strange though, especially gravel bikes with their expensive groups are not available, not even from the biggest brands. all delayed or canceled.sales up, not deliveries
Let me add a different view. Specifically, one from a third world country:
Economy has certainly degraded globally since the start of this century, and in part it has to do with having a currency devaluating against the dollar to maintain a healy cash flow for the wealthy class down here, when your country's pay balance depends on exporting commodities. This makes buying a bike more expensive in pesos year-on-year, since the dollar loses its buying power and the local Powers That Be™ devaluate our money in order to compensate for their losses.
So, maybe a 400 dollar price hike on a entry level dually doesn't really move the gauge for you boys, but it makes us thirdworldians in need to dispose of one more basic income in order to acquire such bike. I'm in the top 5% pay bracket for my country, and that still would allow me to buy just HALF a USD 3000 MTB with my net salary, if I didn't spend anything else on food/energy/taxes.
I would still swallow the pill, if it wasn't for the continuous bar lowering The Industry™ imposes, equipping all the models with stuff so amortized they should be already selling it with discount at the second or third year after it hit the market. But The Industry™ choses to change the color, a sticker, call it a new model, and then pass on us consumers the supposed newly generated development costs (of their graphical designers).
Fuck them. Especially Specialized.
Last edited: