Is Sram going mad

[Patchelicious]

I still say we are to blame,,,we pay therefore prices go up

 

as said above look what you pay for a top end bike vs motorbike

 

there is no reasoning on the price other than us planks pay the prices year on year,,,so why would they change the price???

 

DEMAND supply

 

if everyone keeps their hands in their pockets for 1 year,,,boooom what do you think these parts are going to cost, and the bikes

 

I suspect that if nobody spent any money on cycling for a whole year that we would have the collapse of the cycling industry, mass job loss, which will have a massive effect on the various economies, crime escalations and a big drive for communism.

 

But yeah, I get what you are saying

[Shebeen]

http://www.theonion.com/blogpost/****-everything-were-doing-five-blades-11056

 

Would someone tell me how this happened? We were the ******* vanguard of shaving in this country. The Gillette Mach3 was the razor to own. Then the other guy came out with a three-blade razor. Were we scared? Hell, no. Because we hit back with a little thing called the Mach3Turbo. That's three blades and an aloe strip. For moisture. But you know what happened next? Shut up, I'm telling you what happened—the bastards went to four blades. Now we're standing around with our cocks in our hands, selling three blades and a strip. Moisture or no, suddenly we're the chumps. Well, **** it. We're going to five blades.

Sure, we could go to four blades next, like the competition. That seems like the logical thing to do. After all, three worked out pretty well, and four is the next number after three. So let's play it safe. Let's make a thicker aloe strip and call it the Mach3SuperTurbo. Why innovate when we can follow? Oh, I know why: Because we're a business, that's why!

You think it's crazy? It is crazy. But I don't give a ****. From now on, we're the ones who have the edge in the multi-blade game. Are they the best a man can get? ****, no. Gillette is the best a man can get.

What part of this don't you understand? If two blades is good, and three blades is better, obviously five blades would make us the best ******* razor that ever existed. Comprende? We didn't claw our way to the top of the razor game by clinging to the two-blade industry standard. We got here by taking chances. Well, five blades is the biggest chance of all.

Here's the report from Engineering. Someone put it in the bathroom: I want to wipe my ass with it. They don't tell me what to invent—I tell them. And I'm telling them to stick two more blades in there. I don't care how. Make the blades so thin they're invisible. Put some on the handle. I don't care if they have to cram the fifth blade in perpendicular to the other four, just do it!

You're taking the "safety" part of "safety razor" too literally, grandma. Cut the strings and soar. Let's hit it. Let's roll. This is our chance to make razor history. Let's dream big. All you have to do is say that five blades can happen, and it will happen. If you aren't on board, then **** you. And if you're on the board, then **** you and your father. Hey, if I'm the only one who'll take risks, I'm sure as hell happy to hog all the glory when the five-blade razor becomes the shaving tool for the U.S. of "this is how we shave now" A.

People said we couldn't go to three. It'll cost a fortune to manufacture, they said. Well, we did it. Now some egghead in a lab is screaming "Five's crazy?" Well, perhaps he'd be more comfortable in the labs at Norelco, working on ******* electrics. Rotary blades, my white ass!

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe we should just ride in Bic's wake and make pens. Ha! Not on your ******* life! The day I shadow a penny-ante outfit like Bic is the day I leave the razor game for good, and that won't happen until the day I die!

The market? Listen, we make the market. All we have to do is put her out there with a little jingle. It's as easy as, "Hey, shaving with anything less than five blades is like scraping your beard off with a dull hatchet." Or "You'll be so smooth, I could snort lines off of your chin." Try "Your neck is going to be so friggin' soft, someone's gonna walk up and tie a goddamn Cub Scout kerchief under it."

I know what you're thinking now: What'll people say? Mew mew mew. Oh, no, what will people say?! Grow the **** up. When you're on top, people talk. That's the price you pay for being on top. Which Gillette is, always has been, and forever shall be, Amen, five blades, sweet Jesus in heaven.

Stop. I just had a stroke of genius. Are you ready? Open your mouth, baby birds, cause Mama's about to drop you one sweet, fat nightcrawler. Here she comes: Put another aloe strip on that f*****, too. That's right. Five blades, two strips, and make the second one lather. You heard me—the second strip lathers. It's a whole new way to think about shaving. Don't question it. Don't say a word. Just key the music, and call the chorus girls, because we're on the edge—the razor's edge—and I feel like dancing.

[Paddaman]

I suppose we should introduce the real 14 x 1 speed system, that has been around "for ever" and it is probably cheaper than the R22000 of the SRAM offering

 

https://www.rohloff.de/en/experience/technology-in-detail/

[droo]

Bicycles have been expensive things since the dawn of time. And people have been bitching and moaning about this fact since about a minute after the dawn of time.

 

But here's the thing: You don't have to buy the top of the range kit. If you've got a spare 100k-odd to spend on a bike, go nuts. If not, there are plenty of perfectly workable options for a tenth of that price if you're willing to buy second hand and maybe one step back from the latest hype.

 

It's like people complaining about how a 911 GT3 is out of reach of the common man. 

 

If you want to get from A to B, you'll be fine in a 1993 Corolla.

 

You can have almost as much fun on a 10k bike as you can on a 100k bike. Hell, I ride with guys who would hand me my ass on a plate on a 1996 Rincon with Chinese nylon tyres.

 

Ignore the hype and the upgrade-itis and the "I need to have the very best of everything but I can't afford it so the manufacturers must be ripping the ring out of it" - the reason they're ripping the ring out of it is because you're swallowing the hype!

 

Go ride your bike. I promise you you can have at least 90% of the fun on a singlespeed built from spare parts as you can on a R 150k allofthebellsandwhistles machine. I know cos I've ridden both.

 

If that last 10% (or less) is worth all the extra cash, then by all means spend it, even if it means beans on toast for a few months. But accept that it was your choice.

 

/rant

[Pikey]

other people lust after carbon.

pick me pick me ????

[Patchelicious]

other people lust after carbon

 

 

pick me pick me

 

I always knew you had a little thing for Rob.

[Hairy]

Bicycles have been expensive things since the dawn of time. And people have been bitching and moaning about this fact since about a minute after the dawn of time.

 

But here's the thing: You don't have to buy the top of the range kit. If you've got a spare 100k-odd to spend on a bike, go nuts. If not, there are plenty of perfectly workable options for a tenth of that price if you're willing to buy second hand and maybe one step back from the latest hype.

 

It's like people complaining about how a 911 GT3 is out of reach of the common man. 

 

If you want to get from A to B, you'll be fine in a 1993 Corolla.

 

You can have almost as much fun on a 10k bike as you can on a 100k bike. Hell, I ride with guys who would hand me my ass on a plate on a 1996 Rincon with Chinese nylon tyres.

 

Ignore the hype and the upgrade-itis and the "I need to have the very best of everything but I can't afford it so the manufacturers must be ripping the ring out of it" - the reason they're ripping the ring out of it is because you're swallowing the hype!

 

Go ride your bike. I promise you you can have at least 90% of the fun on a singlespeed built from spare parts as you can on a R 150k allofthebellsandwhistles machine. I know cos I've ridden both.

 

If that last 10% (or less) is worth all the extra cash, then by all means spend it, even if it means beans on toast for a few months. But accept that it was your choice.

 

/rant

mmmmm beans on toast with chopped chilies!

[Baracuda]

Related to this topic, I had an interesting chat with mates based in Europe and Canada recently on bikes and what folks buy relative to SA. Apparently most folks in Canada and Europe are on SLX/XT X7/X9. One rarely sees XXX1  / XTR, which most see as reserved for pros and few realistically explore. Yet here in SA, most believe they should be on pro level kit. The same goes for Enve wheels and all the rest.

 

There was a very interesting article on pinkbike with the new owner / managers of Enve wheels. They were really battling until the owners wife (ex-Mckinsey type) took over and just increased the price exorbitantly and priced the same product as a 'premium offering". Low and behold, pro's and status-types shelled out more. The other manufacturers have seen this trend and are following suit. 

[Hairy]

Related to this topic, I had an interesting chat with mates based in Europe and Canada recently on bikes and what folks buy relative to SA. Apparently most folks in Canada and Europe are on SLX/XT X7/X9. One rarely sees XXX1  / XTR, which most see as reserved for pros and few realistically explore. Yet here in SA, most believe they should be on pro level kit. The same goes for Enve wheels and all the rest.

 

There was a very interesting article on pinkbike with the new owner / managers of Enve wheels. They were really battling until the owners wife (ex-Mckinsey type) took over and just increased the price exorbitantly and priced the same product as a 'premium offering". Low and behold, pro's and status-types shelled out more. The other manufacturers have seen this trend and are following suit. 

we had a certain client who sold a certain (Great quality product) at a great price, but the good never sold that well ..... he changed the branding, increased price by a great margin and is now doing very well.

 

product is still a great product though.

[Pikey]

I always knew you had a little thing for Rob.

he does sell some nice hub's ????

[droo]

mmmmm beans on toast with chopped chilies!

 

Yup. You get it.

[Hairy]

Yup. You get it.

except that won't happen .... the spar downstairs sell houwhoek pies ........ houwhoek pies rock!

[lechatnoir]

we had a certain client who sold a certain (Great quality product) at a great price, but the good never sold that well ..... he changed the branding, increased price by a great margin and is now doing very well.

 

product is still a great product though.

 

Apple anyone?

[lechatnoir]

except that won't happen .... the spar downstairs sell houwhoek pies ........ houwhoek pies rock!

 

Please!!! what spar is this??? I need those pies in me NOW!!

[Gringo]

My perspective on expensive things was put into place when a fellow rider passed me at Sani2c on a cheap mountainbike wearing rugby shorts....

 

Ego was bruised. Moral of the story, live within your means and get out on the trails and ENJOY the bike that you can afford. Who wants to be a blinged out race snake anyway...

[Hairy]

Please!!! what spar is this??? I need those pies in me NOW!!

Cape Quarter on Somerset Road