The cost of bikes - have we lost touch with reality?

[GrumpyOldGuy]

.I recall as a student working as a waiter earning 200 a weekend being 'richer' than I am now. So go out and buy ur dream bike..I did..live for the moment ..life's short

 

- Yeah, indeed, I think most of us can relate to that scenario. As a young first year toolmaker apprentice I earned R32.00 a week - with that I bought a small VW beetle, souped it up, filled it with petrol, drove everywhere, enjoyed a good social life and still had a few rand in my pocket came next Friday. Go figure.!

 

.......but in a way you are correct, life is very short and the older you get the more that realization hits you, that maybe, just maybe you arent going to fulfill all your life's ambitions, so enjoy what you can now, tomorrow is never promised.

Edited October 25, 2012 by GrumpyOldGuy

[YUMEYA]

I think walking into a shop and throwing down 30K all at once on a bike is harsh. What are the opinions then on building a bike as the cash flows in? Surely its more expensive but your pocket does not feel it as much and you enjoy building it up piece by piece as a project.

This works for me.

[Skubarra]

I'd rather be the one smiling while riding an S-works, even if it's at the back of the pack.... as opposed to smiling at some else who has an S-works...

 

Just think about it...

 

Ok I thought about it... and no - I really dont get it

 

Plodding along at the back of the pack on an insanely expensive bike preferable to slogging it out at the front of the pack on a "average non-S-works"? Not in my dreamworld, but I guess different strokes...

[HeyYou]

Perhaps those taking pleasure in beating 'old' guys on expensive bikes by 30 minutes should ask themselves how fast the 'old' guy was when he was young and riding a steel Hansom, or Alpina, or whatever, Ever tried a sub 3 Argus on an 12kg, 12 speed??????

 

He might well have been faster than you are and perhaps by a lot more than 30 minutes too.

 

Just a thought from an older rider, 40 years in the saddle and can eventually afford an expensive bike, though not 100k.

[Mojoman]

Not beating golf yet though with these prices:

 

Currently, the most expensive set of golf clubs in production are the Five Stars made by Honma, a Japanese club manufacturer. The company constructs its custom clubs out of platinum and gold. A full, custom 14-piece set of these expensive clubs costs $32,000.

Jack Nicholson, Roger Clemens, and Donald Trump play these sticks as does Latin crooner Marc Anthony. Bet we don’t see him chasing down J-Lo’s SUV with these babies.

While the Five Stars are the most expensive set, individual clubs can cost more. The most expensive single golf club in the world is a special edition of Barth & Sons’ GoldenPutter. Each GoldenPutter is custom made in Germany with a 5 micrometer thick coating of 24 carat gold on the shaft. The costly club comes in a case made of cherry wood.

The First Lady Special Edition takes the GoldenPutter concept to the next level. While it retains the golden shaft, the leather grip is a bright pink. The head also features crystal inlays. A diamond version of the First Lady Special Edition sells for $150,000.00 making it the most expensive single golf club in the world.

 

I think if you have the money and want to spend it on fancy things, then do so! It doesn't matter if you are crap or not, its your money! Cant take it with you when you die. I am however suprised there are no diamond encrusted bikes out there for the girls yet!!

[Mojoman]

I wonder what that '7 Diamond' bike designed to commemorate Lance is worth now??!!

 

http://most-expensive.net/bicycle

[Scooter69]

I agree, the cost of bikes is insanely high.

 

I also believe that prices are artificially kept high by the manufacturers.

 

Looking at the engineering going into a bike, I submit that a bike built to acceptably high standards SHOULD cost WELL below R15000-00, this excludes the hand built specials that are overpriced anyway.

 

I believe that the ultralight bikes are a fad, the ordinary riders like you and I cannot benefit THAT much from using an ultralight, an ultralight is plenty good for the ego though.

 

Fashionable bike clothes are also a bit of an overkill in my opinion.

 

As far as regarding a price of R30k as being reasonable, heh heh heh, I am afraid that I cannot agree on this one.

[YUMEYA]

Hard to argue against this... If the money is burning your pocket I guess why not..

 

However I still think if a middle/back of the bunch rider has the need to splash this kind of money on a mtb he really is missing the point. You really do not need a R100k bike to have an amazing time on the trails and if its about showing off... nobody is impressed when your R100k spez limps over the finish line in the bottom half of the field, in fact quite the contrary

A 100k spez looks better than a 25k spez. Like A Merc AMG looks better than a standard Merc. A fox with Kashima coat just looks better than one without.

 

I did Die Burger for the first time last year on a Tarmac S-Wroks (freaken SEXY machine).

During the ride I joined a bunch. Pulling the bunch was a guy riding an old steel bike. The word in the bunch was that this guy had been pulling this bunch from the start (while they giggled like little Biatches) and they were all enjoying the free ride. I rode up to the front and when I finally met the guy all he was doing was riding his own ride and the riders behind decided that they are just going wheel suck. I tried to share the load with him but his pace was too fast for me to maintain throughout the ride. So I helped where I could. Where the story gets interesting is when the guy first runs out of water, no one offers him a sip and I hand him my bottle. Then he runs out of steam with about 20km to go. Everyone in the bunch drops him like hot cakes as if they racing for podium position. I stuck with him and pulled him till there was 5k’s to go, by then we had passed a water point and I knew he would be OK.

I did not finish with the bunch and sacrificed a few minutes. Helping a fellow rider was more of a priority.

 

Next time you in the starting chute. Chat to the old bra on the Dogma and do not be surprised when his eyes lights up just like yours do when you chat about the port you love.

Back to the topic. Bikes are expensive, but if you a smart shopper you can have own top of the line for the fraction of the price.

There are some fishing reels that sell for over 10k. And people buy them. A fishing Reel!! Are you going to catch more fish, hell NO! But hey, do we need ceramic hub bearings?

[SwissVan]

I remember seeing the Spez S Works Epic in 2002 at Fountains at a race and the Spez agents had demo bikes with price tags attached, price was R65K...in 2002 or 2001 victim of the $$ /ZAR ROE

 

Howz this for a Fugly and expensive bike +/- ZAR 1.1 million...........for the Blacktrail 2

 

http://www.gizmag.co...st-ebike/16290/

 

[JGR]

I remember seeing the Spez S Works Epic in 2002 at Fountains at a race and the Spez agents had demo bikes with price tags attached, price was R65K...in 2002 or 2001 victim of the $$ /ZAR ROE

 

Howz this for a Fugly and expensive bike +/- ZAR 1.1 million...........for the Blacktrail 2

 

http://www.gizmag.co...st-ebike/16290/

 

Swiss - what are the prices like your side? I know more but how relative is it?

[MrJacques]

I think we are paying too much in SA, a lot of that due to import costs and every middleman adding their markup. A bike can end up costing you twice as much as it should be because of this. In Europe some companies have set up a direct to customer sales model (e.g. Canyon bikes, which are good value for money). There are other brands as well, like Boardman bikes which offer fantastic value for money if you look at the price / spec, but aren't available here. Maybe with some competition the rest of the prices might come down?

[Twombles]

 

I just sent my MTB in for a full service... Im nervous! Dont want one of these phone call..

 

 

 

Been wanting to do a build for a while now.. and i must say it sometimes lands up costing a little bit, but i suppose it takes times to find those bargains and patience... still keen on it tho, also been doing alot of reading and knowing what is wrong with your bike when something goes wrong helps alot, and if you know how to fix it yourself, bonus!

 

I am sure it will be fine. This is not the standard for a service- just when you need to replace most of the moving parts.

 

My first step is getting the right tools. (starting with a bar fridge, I got the Tunes already! )

[Azonic]

Agree, bikes are expensive. MY personal gripe comes from the cost of events!!! When I was younger I used to race every 2nd weekend, club XC racing. But, the last few years the entry fees have become CRAZY. So much so that if I do 2-3 races a year that's ALLOT. I'm not a club member (anymore) nor have I done my CSA license this year. So yes, I understand that I have to pay for a day license (never used to be needed in the past, but lets not squable), then a "non-member" fee, plus the event entry fee, and if you slept long enough, the late entry fee. All of which lets the average little race cost you like R200. WTF. Even without the numerous pelanties, the race is still over R100, often close to R120. For 40km events... so you pay like R3 for every kilo you cycle? 9/10 times I just say screw it, and just go do a training ride.

[Blokman]

.

 

80% of people on MTB should have stuck to the road

 

80% of people on a MTB have never been on the road ever.

Edited October 25, 2012 by Blokman

[SwissVan]

Swiss - what are the prices like your side? I know more but how relative is it?

 

Well as you know most things in Switz are overpriced, I cant say for sure if buying bikes here is more expensive than SA as the last bike i bought was a Zula in 2010 and since then have not really paid attention to prices here / there.

 

I saw a 29er S Works Epics 2013 top of the range model with a price tag that started like this Chf 10'***.00 (+/- ZAR 93K) i dont recall the *** digits cause I lost interest pretty quick after the 10K registered.

 

Back in 2004 when i bought my S Works Epic I worked out it would have been cheaper for me to buy it in SA and buy a return airticket for a tjom to delivery it to me.

 

I still ( ) bought it here in the interests of building up a good relationship with my LBS.....

[MeridaHFS]

Slightly off topic but not only the bike prices are getting out of hand. Saw on a local online shop these assos jerseys for R1700!! What are they made of and how much better than the rest can they actually be????!!!

Assos SS. Mille Jersey

http://www.cwcycles.co.za/sites/default/files/imagecache/product-holder/product_images/assxhqrx.jpg

 

full front zipper

• zip protection
  
• low volume
  
• high body clima regulation
  
• rear ventilation system with Stabilizer Panel (Assos Patent)
  
• UV protection 50+
  
• zippered safety pocket
  

Edited October 25, 2012 by MeridaHFS