What the hell happened to these bike prices? 6 years ago, 5 grand got you a really high end bike; now 5 grand buys a mid range bike at best from certain brands (brand new). All the bike companies moved production to Taiwan, and then jacked up prices even though production costs should have plummeted.
Is it simply the duties charged? These prices have gotten insane for bicycles.
True, but there are some pretty good prices out there too.
http://www.commencalcanada.com/meta-am-v42-c102x3044546
http://www.commencalcanada.com/meta-am-v4-c102x3044545
It all started when Specialized broke the $10,000 barrier with the S-works demo. Once that happened and it became acceptable everyone else followed.
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What the hell happened to these bike prices? 6 years ago, 5 grand got you a really high end bike; now 5 grand buys a mid range bike at best from certain brands (brand new). All the bike companies moved production to Taiwan, and then jacked up prices even though production costs should have plummeted.
Is it simply the duties charged? These prices have gotten insane for bicycles.
I am guessing it has something more to do with how we in North America view the bicycle. Here we treat it as a recreation vehicle and therefore a item for those who have money. And view it less as a mode of transport. Meanwhile the UK for example tends to from what I have read as a mode of transport then as recreation. Hence all their cycle to work schemes and such.
I'm working on new and older bikes every day. One thing that strikes me with bikes that I remembered as being amazing only a few years ago is just how damned heavy they are. They also all came as standard with long stems, narrow bars, often crappy tires etc. So you'd be upgrading it before it even went out of the shop. These days you can buy something like a 'low' end Norco Sight which comes with a 1x11 drivetrain, dropper post, wide bar, short stem, Minnions, up to date geometry etc for a lot less than the 5 grand quoted for a top spec'ed bike from a few years ago. The new bike will run rings around an older high end bike in every respect.
Sure, the boutique builds are priced a bit 'out there' but you really don't have to buy them when you can get a really good bike for a lot less. Obviously though, the bling bikes are going to be better still if you have the cash but it's the law of diminishing returns as you spend more money.
treezz
wow you are a ass
Components cost a lot more than they used to.
Think drive trains, dropper posts, suspension. Tire prices have also increased about 25% in recent years.
A lot of bikes now also use more aftermarket parts as OEM spec, or have improved their house brand OEM spec parts a lot.
And some of it is probably just cause they can.
quite a bit of the price increases you are seeing is the low value of the Canadian dollar and get ready for another down swing when Junior rides our deficit even higher in the name of free selfies for everyone.
The raw, primitive, unrefined trails that see little to no maintenance are the kinds of trails that really build skill. What kind of skills do you learn riding a trail that was made by a machine, groomed to perfection and void of any rocks, roots or other obstacles that could send you careening over the handlebars?
Exchange rate CAD/USD is a huge difference from when we were 1:1.
I'm working on new and older bikes every day. One thing that strikes me with bikes that I remembered as being amazing only a few years ago is just how damned heavy they are. They also all came as standard with long stems, narrow bars, often crappy tires etc. So you'd be upgrading it before it even went out of the shop. These days you can buy something like a 'low' end Norco Sight which comes with a 1x11 drivetrain, dropper post, wide bar, short stem, Minnions, up to date geometry etc for a lot less than the 5 grand quoted for a top spec'ed bike from a few years ago. The new bike will run rings around an older high end bike in every respect.
Sure, the boutique builds are priced a bit 'out there' but you really don't have to buy them when you can get a really good bike for a lot less. Obviously though, the bling bikes are going to be better still if you have the cash but it's the law of diminishing returns as you spend more money.
But the cost to produce the older out of date bike is really no different than today's modern rig. Handlebars few inches longer, frame tubes a few inches longer and a few degrees different angles are no justification for much higher costs. Dropping the front shifter should bring costs down not up. At least for mid range bikes.
companies that offer the best bang for your money are designs that are used for several years with suttle design changes , look at the Giant Reign , full carbon ride for just under $6k with a solid groupo . That bike with those part when that frame design 1st came out was over $8k
#northsidetrailbuilders
Could really be a CAD/USD thing. Here, I don't think I's pay more for, say, an XT specc'ed bike than I did 5 or 7 years ago. The wife's 2016 Reign Advanced 1 she just bought even has a lower MRSP than my 2014 Trance Advanced 1, and the specs are pretty similar, even a little better on the Reign, I'd say. I'd say here in Europe, bikes have gotten cheaper, not more expensive.
As for mode of transport vs. recreational vehicles: Doesn't really matter, I think, as a bike like a Reign or whatever bears little resemblance to a commuter bike, build-wise and price-wise. I don't think Skoda sales really influence Ferrari prices. Higher spec MTBs are luxury goods, and priced accordingly.
I'm working on new and older bikes every day. One thing that strikes me with bikes that I remembered as being amazing only a few years ago is just how damned heavy they are. They also all came as standard with long stems, narrow bars, often crappy tires etc. So you'd be upgrading it before it even went out of the shop. These days you can buy something like a 'low' end Norco Sight which comes with a 1x11 drivetrain, dropper post, wide bar, short stem, Minnions, up to date geometry etc for a lot less than the 5 grand quoted for a top spec'ed bike from a few years ago. The new bike will run rings around an older high end bike in every respect.
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This strikes me as truth.
Perhaps it's not the bike prices so much as it is our own bike snobbery? Marketers have us pegged. If the top end bike is 10k, then we wouldn't be caught dead on anything less than "mid-level", which is now suddenly 5k.
What the hell happened to these bike prices? 6 years ago, 5 grand got you a really high end bike; now 5 grand buys a mid range bike at best from certain brands (brand new). All the bike companies moved production to Taiwan, and then jacked up prices even though production costs should have plummeted.
Is it simply the duties charged? These prices have gotten insane for bicycles.
A couple major reasons:
- The drop of the CAD currency vs. the USD
- The inceased spec on high-end bikes (above $2000) such as dropper posts and more sophisticated suspension. Dropper posts add considerable cost to the price of a bike.
- Rising costs of goods, starting with raw materials.
A couple major reasons:
- The drop of the CAD currency vs. the USD
- The inceased spec on high-end bikes (above $2000) such as dropper posts and more sophisticated suspension. Dropper posts add considerable cost to the price of a bike.
- Rising costs of goods, starting with raw materials.
i've wondered this myself as it seems like 5 grand buys a 'nice' bike but it generally has mediocre components and super heavy wheels. it takes another 2k to get anything remotely light. i reckon the above by kperras must basically capture it. i also believe that with the incredible popularity of the sport and growing, there is more demand at the high end which pulls the mid level up in price. supply and demand.
an aside… sometimes i'm amazed at the growth and popularity of the sport. in my small office i'm the only mtn biker. i was explaining it to my colleagues as i think it may be the most popular sport in the whole region and they disbelieved. 'how many soccer stores in town? none. how many mtn bike stores in our town of 62k people? 6. and they are filled with 4,5 and 6k bikes. and many more expensive. i don't know the stats, but the sport is massive and seems to be growing exponentially. = rising prices.
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