Will prices ever go down a gear?
Discussion
On the one hand, many clothing and bike brands made multimillion losses or folded recently. On the other hand, prices crank upward despite the cost of living crisis. How long can this cycle continue?
Will bike (and clothing) companies will continue to pedal ever pricier products? Or will we see a reasonable reset?
The rising cost of cycling and its demographic shift
Has fashion in cycling gone too far?
Will bike (and clothing) companies will continue to pedal ever pricier products? Or will we see a reasonable reset?
The rising cost of cycling and its demographic shift
Has fashion in cycling gone too far?
Salted_Peanut said:
On the one hand, many clothing and bike brands made multimillion losses or folded recently. On the other hand, prices crank upward despite the cost of living crisis. How long can this cycle continue?
Will bike (and clothing) companies will continue to pedal ever pricier products? Or will we see a reasonable reset?
The rising cost of cycling and its demographic shift
Has fashion in cycling gone too far?
I do wonder if as soon as the original founder(s) bail out whether there's any incentive for the new directors to worry about longevity. Its all short termist, get your bonuses, sell more than last year etc etc. Will bike (and clothing) companies will continue to pedal ever pricier products? Or will we see a reasonable reset?
The rising cost of cycling and its demographic shift
Has fashion in cycling gone too far?
And when it all comes crashing down, just move onto another business. I would even guess that when a bike brand fails they just move to another industry. I doubt those people are really into cycling. Its just anther series of numbers on a screen. Realistically how many people on the board at say Rocky Mountain are out cycling every weekend? How many ride commute? Ditto Rapha and any other brand that's been shaky financially of late.
So to answer your question. No. And we will see ever more companies fail. And choice get ever smaller. And because there'll be less competition, quality will also take a hit. But prices wont decline
I would argue prices come down all the time, the most basic components are better than top end stuff 20 years ago. The bike industry is really good at making you think you need the top end stuff, rain check - you probably don't.
I stopped using MTB forums and buying mags years ago. I buy mid range equipment, to suit my abilities and am over biked.
The only thing I think is a rip off is tyres, I remember paying £13 for a maxis highroller in the mid 2000's, you're looking at around £60 these days.
I stopped using MTB forums and buying mags years ago. I buy mid range equipment, to suit my abilities and am over biked.
The only thing I think is a rip off is tyres, I remember paying £13 for a maxis highroller in the mid 2000's, you're looking at around £60 these days.
Cats_pyjamas said:
I would argue prices come down all the time, the most basic components are better than top end stuff 20 years ago. The bike industry is really good at making you think you need the top end stuff, rain check - you probably don't.
I saw a quote yesterday, and a word jumped out 'pro fetishisation' - the media and industry have successfully convinced people they need the same, or similar gear to the pros. They don't, and never will. A new race bike is released, and GCN, roadcc, Bike Radar, Dave Arthur et al have a video released within minutes of each other. Fairlight released their new Secan 3.0 - and hardly a thing.......They've also ignored the huge amount of cyclists who commute, shop, or tour by bike.......who don't give a toss about aero, watts, etc
I genuinely believe pro racing should be on prototypes, similar to most motorsport series. The Ford Puma on the forecourts shares very little to the M-Sport Puma Rally1 in the WRC.
Last time I looked, you could buy a perfectly usable road bike from Halfords or Decathlon for around £400.
I think there was a boom around the 2012 Olympics, then some folk got back on their bikes during Covid, since then I think the sellers have become vulnerable, with too many businesses chasing a dwindling top end market.
And for components, I think over-specialisation puts strain on the market, for example in the past you might have had a couple of different diameter seat posts, now there are a whole range of supposedly aero shapes and sizes to cater for, and all that dead stock costs money.
I think there was a boom around the 2012 Olympics, then some folk got back on their bikes during Covid, since then I think the sellers have become vulnerable, with too many businesses chasing a dwindling top end market.
And for components, I think over-specialisation puts strain on the market, for example in the past you might have had a couple of different diameter seat posts, now there are a whole range of supposedly aero shapes and sizes to cater for, and all that dead stock costs money.
I have said this before to friends or other forum discussions happy to repeat.
The difference between road bikes is fairly small between the what you can buy now and 10 years ago - small tweak in geography, move to disk brakes and electronics gearing on the high end bikes. Mountain bike have had far reaching differences with the move away from only 26” to 27.5” and 29” wheels. Change in tyre sizes from 2.3” to 2.6” and 3” being available. The number of different bike types have expanded from 4 to over 8 (gravel, xc, down country, trail, enduro, park or free ride, downhill, dirt jumper, slope style…), Non boost to boost hubs, larger diameter clamping bars/stem… etc etc all this has done is made it more difficult to swop things over between builds so far easier to just buy a whole bike than do a build. It has made to keep hold of my bikes longer than I have done previously as it’s not worth the hassle of starting fresh again. People are just fed up of all the new standards with little or few gains.
The difference between road bikes is fairly small between the what you can buy now and 10 years ago - small tweak in geography, move to disk brakes and electronics gearing on the high end bikes. Mountain bike have had far reaching differences with the move away from only 26” to 27.5” and 29” wheels. Change in tyre sizes from 2.3” to 2.6” and 3” being available. The number of different bike types have expanded from 4 to over 8 (gravel, xc, down country, trail, enduro, park or free ride, downhill, dirt jumper, slope style…), Non boost to boost hubs, larger diameter clamping bars/stem… etc etc all this has done is made it more difficult to swop things over between builds so far easier to just buy a whole bike than do a build. It has made to keep hold of my bikes longer than I have done previously as it’s not worth the hassle of starting fresh again. People are just fed up of all the new standards with little or few gains.
trails said:
Of course they won't...they are in it to make money, not friends.
Commercial curiosity sparked my original post. There’s less disposable income around, shrinking the market for premium-priced products. That’s a recipe for products that offer good value.However, many brands target the wealthy, which is a limited customer base. That might work for some. But it’s a difficult strategy if numerous brands are chasing the wealthy few. In clothing, we have Rapha, Assos, PNS, Q36.5, Universal Colours, 7 Mesh, Café du Cycliste, and various others fighting for market share of a limited customer base.
But I may be wrong; I’m not in the cycling industry.
Salted_Peanut said:
Commercial curiosity sparked my original post. There’s less disposable income around, shrinking the market for premium-priced products. That’s a recipe for products that offer good value.
However, many brands target the wealthy, which is a limited customer base. That might work for some. But it’s a difficult strategy if numerous brands are chasing the wealthy few. In clothing, we have Rapha, Assos, PNS, Q36.5, Universal Colours, 7 Mesh, Café du Cycliste, and various others fighting for market share of a limited customer base.
But I may be wrong; I’m not in the cycling industry.
My reply was a little rude, apologies for that However, many brands target the wealthy, which is a limited customer base. That might work for some. But it’s a difficult strategy if numerous brands are chasing the wealthy few. In clothing, we have Rapha, Assos, PNS, Q36.5, Universal Colours, 7 Mesh, Café du Cycliste, and various others fighting for market share of a limited customer base.
But I may be wrong; I’m not in the cycling industry.
I think it's just supply and demand TBH; some companies will weather the current economic storm, some won't...the more established 'premium' brands will, again in my opinion, be fine...probably.
deeen said:
Last time I looked, you could buy a perfectly usable road bike from Halfords or Decathlon for around £400.
Absolutely correct but in the same way you can buy a perfectly useable car for £8k. Not sure how much you would enjoy it, what it would be like on a long drive or what its longevity would be before it has problems and thats the same for the cheaper bike.Salted_Peanut said:
Commercial curiosity sparked my original post. There’s less disposable income around, shrinking the market for premium-priced products.
There is still however a great deal of disposable income in some demographics. Folks of a certain age who would have spent their money on golf for example, many of the new 45+ year olds are choosing to spend that on cycling instead. It feels to me they are the ones still keeping cycle apparel prices high. The number of folks in Pas Normal, Rapha, Le Col, Universal Colors, Albion, the list goes on and on and I see these brands a lot. I am happy to spend my fun money on cycling but £150 for a short sleeve jersey seems just crazy to me.jamm13dodger said:
deeen said:
Last time I looked, you could buy a perfectly usable road bike from Halfords or Decathlon for around £400.
Absolutely correct but in the same way you can buy a perfectly useable car for £8k. Not sure how much you would enjoy it, what it would be like on a long drive or what its longevity would be before it has problems and thats the same for the cheaper bike.For racing, I can absolutely see how getting the best kit you can afford is helpful.
As for longevity... well all bikes end up like Trigger's Broom, if you keep them long enough! The benefit of a basic bike is simplicity and price of parts, my chain was £12, rear cassette £35, etc. I also think maybe some of the expensive bits can be more fragile, as they're designed to save weight? And for clothing... my favourite summer jersey was £32 in a sale, decent kit but last year's sponsor, and my 2 newest long sleeved tops were 2 for £70.
deeen said:
Well, maybe depends on what you enjoy about cycling? For exercise, fresh air, the social side of a cycling club and basic transport, I'd say it's the same? I do 40-50 mile social rides with my local cycling club and I can't see an expensive bike making them more enjoyable! Maybe the hills would be a bit easier, but then I could always take a couple of kilos off my stomach, if that was my main concern!
For racing, I can absolutely see how getting the best kit you can afford is helpful.
As for longevity... well all bikes end up like Trigger's Broom, if you keep them long enough! The benefit of a basic bike is simplicity and price of parts, my chain was £12, rear cassette £35, etc. I also think maybe some of the expensive bits can be more fragile, as they're designed to save weight? And for clothing... my favourite summer jersey was £32 in a sale, decent kit but last year's sponsor, and my 2 newest long sleeved tops were 2 for £70.
I'm similar with the kit but will spend more for good winter kit as I commute all year round. I also spend a bit more for good bib shorts. The rest of it is definitely at the lower end of the cost scale.For racing, I can absolutely see how getting the best kit you can afford is helpful.
As for longevity... well all bikes end up like Trigger's Broom, if you keep them long enough! The benefit of a basic bike is simplicity and price of parts, my chain was £12, rear cassette £35, etc. I also think maybe some of the expensive bits can be more fragile, as they're designed to save weight? And for clothing... my favourite summer jersey was £32 in a sale, decent kit but last year's sponsor, and my 2 newest long sleeved tops were 2 for £70.
For the bike I get a lot of enjoyment not just from the cycling but also out of the tech, fiddling, rebuilding, my own servicing, etc so that can get a bit out of control with prices as new shiny things interest me. My car on the other hand is well, over 10 years old and wasn't expensive when new. The triggers broom analogy is definitely true in my case but mostly due to the constant fiddling rather than any real need.
mattvanders said:
I have said this before to friends or other forum discussions happy to repeat.
The difference between road bikes is fairly small between the what you can buy now and 10 years ago - small tweak in geography, move to disk brakes and electronics gearing on the high end bikes. Mountain bike have had far reaching differences with the move away from only 26” to 27.5” and 29” wheels. Change in tyre sizes from 2.3” to 2.6” and 3” being available. The number of different bike types have expanded from 4 to over 8 (gravel, xc, down country, trail, enduro, park or free ride, downhill, dirt jumper, slope style…), Non boost to boost hubs, larger diameter clamping bars/stem… etc etc all this has done is made it more difficult to swop things over between builds so far easier to just buy a whole bike than do a build. It has made to keep hold of my bikes longer than I have done previously as it’s not worth the hassle of starting fresh again. People are just fed up of all the new standards with little or few gains.
I think you have made some good points here.The difference between road bikes is fairly small between the what you can buy now and 10 years ago - small tweak in geography, move to disk brakes and electronics gearing on the high end bikes. Mountain bike have had far reaching differences with the move away from only 26” to 27.5” and 29” wheels. Change in tyre sizes from 2.3” to 2.6” and 3” being available. The number of different bike types have expanded from 4 to over 8 (gravel, xc, down country, trail, enduro, park or free ride, downhill, dirt jumper, slope style…), Non boost to boost hubs, larger diameter clamping bars/stem… etc etc all this has done is made it more difficult to swop things over between builds so far easier to just buy a whole bike than do a build. It has made to keep hold of my bikes longer than I have done previously as it’s not worth the hassle of starting fresh again. People are just fed up of all the new standards with little or few gains.
My current MTB is a V1 Ibis Ripley that I built up from a frame back in 2013. It has evolved over the years with different upgrades but if I wanted to get the latest frame I would need new wheels and forks as they are non boost on the V1.
Having just looked the V5 with XT groupset is now over £6k! Crazy prices.
Cycle fashion is much like fashion for general clothing. There are undoubtedly some people out there who cannot imagine wearing gloves costing less than £50 or a top costing less than £100. Cycling clothing can be had for very reasonable money but if companies are able to convince people of the need to spend ten times more than they need to, well good on them.
Cats_pyjamas said:
The only thing I think is a rip off is tyres, I remember paying £13 for a maxis highroller in the mid 2000's, you're looking at around £60 these days.
Only if you must have the absolute most fashionable or best. What look to me like decent MTB tyres for £20 here.https://www.bananaindustries.co.uk/collections/tyr...
I bought several Vittoria Rubino Pro tryes in 700x28 and 700x32 tyres there. £16 each. Are they as good as the Conti GP5000? No. Are the Contis 4 times better? No.
If you have never heard of the site - the guy that used to run Planet X started a new site.
As for overall cost of new bikes. They are more expensive. On the other hand a bike can last decades. My best touring bike is from 2008. Still running 3x9 on it so consumables are buttons and I have plenty stock of some parts in case they become scarce.
Cycling is how much you make it
I bought a "high end bike" for me, but got the best frame and wheels I could, but only spec'd 105 as gears dont make you faster.... does me proud
Ive bought and sold loads of bikes, recently I bought a Spez Roubaix for £200 S/H - hardly ridden (sub 1000 miles) as new condition with upgraded Mavic wheels. I mean its about 16lbs in weight. All the bike you'd ever need for £200
You can also get unworn unwanted kit on vinted and ebay for bargain prices.
I do love a bargain.
The people I ride with who complain about "the prices" love to adourn themselves with the latest trends.....and brands.
I bought a "high end bike" for me, but got the best frame and wheels I could, but only spec'd 105 as gears dont make you faster.... does me proud
Ive bought and sold loads of bikes, recently I bought a Spez Roubaix for £200 S/H - hardly ridden (sub 1000 miles) as new condition with upgraded Mavic wheels. I mean its about 16lbs in weight. All the bike you'd ever need for £200
You can also get unworn unwanted kit on vinted and ebay for bargain prices.
I do love a bargain.
The people I ride with who complain about "the prices" love to adourn themselves with the latest trends.....and brands.
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