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This is what's wrong with The Industry™

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
On a ride yesterday I had the idea that I should invent a "tire tread kit", supply a slick tire with a lot of rubber, an iron with a cutting tool and adjustable depth, and then you make your own tread design. Then you can no longer complain.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,191
media blackout
On a ride yesterday I had the idea that I should invent a "tire tread kit", supply a slick tire with a lot of rubber, an iron with a cutting tool and adjustable depth, and then you make your own tread design. Then you can no longer complain.
or have nice symmetrical tread patterns.
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
On a ride yesterday I had the idea that I should invent a "tire tread kit", supply a slick tire with a lot of rubber, an iron with a cutting tool and adjustable depth, and then you make your own tread design. Then you can no longer complain.
Isn't this what Michelin did in the heydays of Nicolas V. aka The Alien?
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,191
media blackout

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
It's not *that* hard, but having it be something reliable that you can race time and time again? Hell no. T une, KCNC, Xpedo make parts that fill this niche. I'm running ~290g "flyweight" carbon rims on my XC bike, they work and I raced them several times, but I used a "dumb" 28 hole spoke arrangement, vs. the preferred weight weenie 18 or whatever.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,480
4,720
Australia
I remember a long time ago we had a thread about doing this for a DH, iirc we got above $15k.
I remember a thread trying to build the most expensive bike, component by component. Seems the lizurd overlords got wind of this and thought it was a challenge.

I reckon one of those Unno frames, with titanium cranks alone would probably break the old record.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,191
media blackout
I remember a thread trying to build the most expensive bike, component by component. Seems the lizurd overlords got wind of this and thought it was a challenge.

I reckon one of those Unno frames, with titanium cranks alone would probably break the old record.
That was a thread I had started, and I think it met the chopping block when I went on a rage purge because of sandy Andy.

But yea I bet we could break $20 grand no problem now.
 

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
1,993
716
I feel this is EXACTLY how The Industry™ sees it. My bike is better cause I charge more!

It reminds me golf. Taylormade and Callaway are the top two with others being just as good, but without the same funding (spec, trek). Then out of the blue comes a company that charges 2-3x as much. Claims how much better they are with a better marketing department.

Sales take off. Taylormade and Callaway now raise their prices to follow suit.

Its not just the golf industry.
 

FarkinRyan

Monkey
Dec 15, 2003
611
192
Pemberton, BC
@Electric_City although things like the Unno bikes and that crazy Mondraker seem like they are at the bleeding edge of the price ceiling to us mere mortals I don't think we are anywhere near the actual limit of what people will actually pay. The costs more = better argument is particularly enticing to a certain type of wealthy buyer and mtb in general seems to be attracting more and more of these people.
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
@Electric_City although things like the Unno bikes and that crazy Mondraker seem like they are at the bleeding edge of the price ceiling to us mere mortals I don't think we are anywhere near the actual limit of what people will actually pay. The costs more = better argument is particularly enticing to a certain type of wealthy buyer and mtb in general seems to be attracting more and more of these people.
Have you heard of the new fox fork thats coming out? they drilled speed holes directly into the lowers and damper to save weight in material and oil. Fork ways 3oz less! They're only charging an extra $1999 for this service!
 

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,057
1,298
Styria
Too bad Lightweight doesn't do mtb stuff. I think 7000 € a wheel set would be possible. A 5 year old roadie set can be had for 3500 €. :brows:
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
that's a good thing, like the tax reductions for the rich, this will mean that prices for us mortals will sink, because TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS!
No matter what people say about cost reductions due to larger manufacturing scales the Cycling World is insane. It costs $5500-8500 for a nicer MTB. All the while these companies pay entry-level engineers $50K maybe to live in basically the most expensive state, California. All the while you can walk into a moto dealer and get a KXF 450 for $6500 new. It's crazy the only advantage the MTB has is being able to be ridden way more places.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
It's crazy the only advantage the MTB has is being able to be ridden way more places.
And it doesn't make me fat.

And it doesn't require a truck/trailer to transport.

And I can ride it to work.

And it doesn't burn gas/oil.

And no one thinks you are a badass cuz you ride a bicycle, even if it's redbull.
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
And it doesn't make me fat.

And it doesn't require a truck/trailer to transport.

And I can ride it to work.

And it doesn't burn gas/oil.

And no one thinks you are a badass cuz you ride a bicycle, even if it's redbull.
Yeah cause turing those 45 minute motos around the track are not physically challenenging whatsoever..... You could roll an EXC and ride it to work also. But if oil is you big thing you can go ALTA which uses a battery. These cost$13K though so that is like a high end MTB these days.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,855
9,560
AK
Yeah cause turing those 45 minute motos around the track are not physically challenenging whatsoever..... You could roll an EXC and ride it to work also. But if oil is you big thing you can go ALTA which uses a battery. These cost$13K though so that is like a high end MTB these days.
And by and large, that is a minuscule percentage of what people use motos for. Lets be honest, most people aren't riding them at the track every other day like we do our bicycles. Sure, a few people race and go around tracks, but I see far more 2-3-4-wheeled things with engines going offroad than I do on the dirt tracks, in general I see far less of them in totality. The only exception is some of the snow-machine trailheads. Simply as a function of space, if as many people were riding tracks as are out every day ripping it up on a mountain bike, you couldn't go more than 2mph on the track because you'd be wheels-to-wheels.

And yeah, that's the point, you can ride a bicycle far more places, find steep chutes, gnarly roots, jumps, drops, etc., without having to go to a track.

More than often, I see fat people riding some kind of gas-powered 2-3-4 wheeled contraption, to which I usually think "wow, fat people can enjoy the outdoors too!".
 
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ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO

They need more of these. Granted there are 4-5 in LA within way closer range than driving to Big Bear but still.

 
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aenema

almost 100% positive
Sep 5, 2008
305
111
And by and large, that is a minuscule percentage of what people use motos for. Lets be honest, most people aren't riding them at the track every other day like we do our bicycles. Sure, a few people race and go around tracks, but I see far more 2-3-4-wheeled things with engines going offroad than I do on the dirt tracks, in general I see far less of them in totality. The only exception is some of the snow-machine trailheads. Simply as a function of space, if as many people were riding tracks as are out every day ripping it up on a mountain bike, you couldn't go more than 2mph on the track because you'd be wheels-to-wheels.

And yeah, that's the point, you can ride a bicycle far more places, find steep chutes, gnarly roots, jumps, drops, etc., without having to go to a track.

More than often, I see fat people riding some kind of gas-powered 2-3-4 wheeled contraption, to which I usually think "wow, fat people can enjoy the outdoors too!".
I'm not going to get into 3 and 4 wheel gas-powered as you are the only one who brought those up. But I trail ride my moto once a week and it is by far and away the better workout I get every week. Its also fun as he!! and I look forward to getting in that 60-80 miles every Sunday where I see more country in that ride than I do the rest of the week (in most cases) on my mtn bike. If I had to choose between the two it would be mtn for sure (big part of that is moto requires so much more logistics), but moto trail riding is an absolute blast and will make you so sore you can't move for 2 days if you haven't done it regularly. Not only that, it is great cross training for mtn and trains you do do things like looking further down the trail and being loose and comfortable at speed.

Point is, don't knock it until you try it and to think it will make you fat is an absolutely ignorant comment.