Mtn bikes are a difficult place to make that argument: they're not a mainstream luxury good, their use is restricted to a tiny, tiny niche of people. Unlike Porsches or other things that appeal to a wide swath of people and universally communicate conspicuous consumption. Plus bike shops are loaded with stock because brands delivered 2-3 years worth of stock in a compressed time period and everyone thought 30% growth was 'the new normal'.
I saw a lot of millennials over on the SSC this weekend who took the ferry in their cars with racks loaded with expensive bikes, or just pedaled over on 8-10k road bikes, bedecked in very expensive kit, $400 shoes, etc (in this case I'm specifically thinking of a group of 10 of 'em, men and women). Sure, they wanted the experience of a riding weekend on the SSC, but they sure as hell spent a wad on the toys they brought to have that experience.
If the debate is 'new iPhone every year' vs 'new iPhone every 3 years and a vacation every year' I think it's got merit, but I think the bike world and the outdoor sports and rec world in general is still fueled more by gear than by experiences, and based on the biz model for service-based businesses that provide experiences vs selling stuff to people, it's not hard to see why.
Sept. 6, 2023, 5:27 p.m. - Pete Roggeman
Mtn bikes are a difficult place to make that argument: they're not a mainstream luxury good, their use is restricted to a tiny, tiny niche of people. Unlike Porsches or other things that appeal to a wide swath of people and universally communicate conspicuous consumption. Plus bike shops are loaded with stock because brands delivered 2-3 years worth of stock in a compressed time period and everyone thought 30% growth was 'the new normal'. I saw a lot of millennials over on the SSC this weekend who took the ferry in their cars with racks loaded with expensive bikes, or just pedaled over on 8-10k road bikes, bedecked in very expensive kit, $400 shoes, etc (in this case I'm specifically thinking of a group of 10 of 'em, men and women). Sure, they wanted the experience of a riding weekend on the SSC, but they sure as hell spent a wad on the toys they brought to have that experience. If the debate is 'new iPhone every year' vs 'new iPhone every 3 years and a vacation every year' I think it's got merit, but I think the bike world and the outdoor sports and rec world in general is still fueled more by gear than by experiences, and based on the biz model for service-based businesses that provide experiences vs selling stuff to people, it's not hard to see why.