I'm totally OK with compromises, even ones to hit specific price points. The 'Cheap, Light, Durable' triangle is the outer boundary, and nobody can get outside of it - but it's entirely possible to stay within that, and that's where I take issue with it.
The prime example that stuck out in my mind is the Trek FuelEX 9.7 - honestly a genuinely good bike that has been specced quite smartly for what it is, but a bike foisted with a pricetag that makes the quality of those decisions seem suspect even though they're not.
$4000 USD for a full carbon frame bike with a GX drivetrain and pretty dialed trail geometry? Sounds like a winner. Bontry XR3 tires - cool. Bonty cockpit - I just want the wider bars. Bontrager house brand dropper? Well, it works and it comes with it. Duster wheels - well, there's got to be some price concessions somewhere, but they work. Deore brakes - yup, solid value, but the 160mm rotor out back is useless in Clyde country. Fox Rhythm Elite Fork - what? The GRiP damper is a big step forward and all, but what was the point of saving all that money on the brakes, wheelset, and house brand cockpit for? Either the rear suspension isn't that great, or the suspension design and shock performance is as good as every reviewer has said it is and this bike deserves a better fork.
The cost to Trek to bump up to a Performance Elite Fox34 can't be more than $80/unit - I'm sure SLX brakes is about the same jump. Sell THAT bike, even if it's a $4250 price tag.
There is so much purchasing power that some patience and application of Excel will show you that if shopping for new stuff, one is still money ahead buying a complete bike that is bundled with enough parts you'll end up using, and that's the best value bike to get. Seems mildly frustrating - to be honest, I can't wait for ROSE to start selling bikes, or for Canyon/YT/Commencal to pick up on the limited customer customization options to be able to make bikes that don't ship with placeholder items.
To be clear, I'm fine with paying more to get more - what's frustrating is when it starts being a case where paying more doesn't get that much more, and that the full custom build puts you money ahead on a relatively standard use case setup (i.e. not building a bike to one extreme or another of the design intent), and that's where I'd argue the product manager for that brand hasn't done that well.
May 9, 2017, 11:41 p.m. - Tehllama42
I'm totally OK with compromises, even ones to hit specific price points. The 'Cheap, Light, Durable' triangle is the outer boundary, and nobody can get outside of it - but it's entirely possible to stay within that, and that's where I take issue with it. The prime example that stuck out in my mind is the Trek FuelEX 9.7 - honestly a genuinely good bike that has been specced quite smartly for what it is, but a bike foisted with a pricetag that makes the quality of those decisions seem suspect even though they're not. $4000 USD for a full carbon frame bike with a GX drivetrain and pretty dialed trail geometry? Sounds like a winner. Bontry XR3 tires - cool. Bonty cockpit - I just want the wider bars. Bontrager house brand dropper? Well, it works and it comes with it. Duster wheels - well, there's got to be some price concessions somewhere, but they work. Deore brakes - yup, solid value, but the 160mm rotor out back is useless in Clyde country. Fox Rhythm Elite Fork - what? The GRiP damper is a big step forward and all, but what was the point of saving all that money on the brakes, wheelset, and house brand cockpit for? Either the rear suspension isn't that great, or the suspension design and shock performance is as good as every reviewer has said it is and this bike deserves a better fork. The cost to Trek to bump up to a Performance Elite Fox34 can't be more than $80/unit - I'm sure SLX brakes is about the same jump. Sell THAT bike, even if it's a $4250 price tag. There is so much purchasing power that some patience and application of Excel will show you that if shopping for new stuff, one is still money ahead buying a complete bike that is bundled with enough parts you'll end up using, and that's the best value bike to get. Seems mildly frustrating - to be honest, I can't wait for ROSE to start selling bikes, or for Canyon/YT/Commencal to pick up on the limited customer customization options to be able to make bikes that don't ship with placeholder items. To be clear, I'm fine with paying more to get more - what's frustrating is when it starts being a case where paying more doesn't get that much more, and that the full custom build puts you money ahead on a relatively standard use case setup (i.e. not building a bike to one extreme or another of the design intent), and that's where I'd argue the product manager for that brand hasn't done that well.