Indoor trainer price GOUGING during / after lockdown...

[Andrew_Smith]

I see that Alixpress also now have a chinese made direct drive IDT

 

https://thinkrider.eu/product/thinkrider-x7-smart-trainer/

 

goes for 10k on alixpress

 

Please note this trainer is not supported with Zwift:

 

https://zwift.com/hardware

[sirmoun10goat]

 

This may just be the first of MANY such price hikes we are about to see .... not just in cycling.

 

Very much so in the import industry. Christian imports all the Kickr products as nothing is made locally.

 

BMW, Ford, Toyota, etc all import certain models not made locally, and export certain model made locally. This import/export arrangement gives them a natural hedge ie receive dollars from export which can be used to pay for imports. This reduces the impact of swings in forex.

 

Unfortunately for Christian to hedge against this will require him taking out hedges which come at a price, and will invariably be past on to consumers. The other challenge is the rand stays constant for months, so hedges are usually a waste. Then suddenly the rand has a wobbly an depreciates significantly over a short time. By then it's too late to take out the hedge. Thereafter the rand gradually strengthens, so during this time hedges are just a waste as they wont be executed. And you never know when the next bomb will hit the rand.

 

It cannot be easy for companies who rely solely on imports.

[Matchstix]

Please note this trainer is not supported with Zwift:

 

https://zwift.com/hardware

If its a smart trainer it should still work.

[tinmug]

Please note this trainer is not supported with Zwift:

 

https://zwift.com/hardware

 

The Zwift web developer is on an extended holiday. The Elite Suito, which comes with a free 1-month Zwift subscription, is not listed. 

[Duane_Bosch]

The Zwift web developer is on an extended holiday. The Elite Suito, which comes with a free 1-month Zwift subscription, is not listed. 

Ja the Zumo isn't either which is what I have. I just told Zwift I have a Diretto and it works fine.

[Vetplant]

I see that Alixpress also now have a chinese made direct drive IDT

 

https://thinkrider.eu/product/thinkrider-x7-smart-trainer/

 

goes for 10k on alixpress

What irritates the crap out of me is that they didn't even try to do some own design work, they just copied the Kicker 2/3 as efficiently as possible.

 

Please don't buy this if you have R10k to burn, support the companies that put the effort into developing the hardware.

[shaper]

What irritates the crap out of me is that they didn't even try to do some own design work, they just copied the Kicker 2/3 as efficiently as possible.

 

Please don't buy this if you have R10k to burn, support the companies that put the effort into developing the hardware.

Its not new coming out of China.  There is also the Magene Gravat that has been around for a while (2017).  The ironic thing is, it is a copy of the Kickr....... then wahoo copied elements of the Gravat for the Kickr core.

 

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/08/magene-gravat2-smart-trainer-in-depth-review.html

Edited April 23, 2020 by shaper

[Shebeen]

What irritates the crap out of me is that they didn't even try to do some own design work, they just copied the Kicker 2/3 as efficiently as possible.

 

Please don't buy this if you have R10k to burn, support the companies that put the effort into developing the hardware.

Don't fully agree here.

 

If they can sell it at half the price, then they either have put a lot of thought/effort into their manufacturing or wahoo are ripping the public off.

Assuming there's no patent infringements I'm happy to let economics find the stable pricing

[BaGearA]

Don't fully agree here.

 

If they can sell it at half the price, then they either have put a lot of thought/effort into their manufacturing or wahoo are ripping the public off.

Assuming there's no patent infringements I'm happy to let economics find the stable pricing

Almost nothing comes out of China without patent infringements, China just Dont give sheet

 

See also knockoff iPhone, gopros, drones ect.

[hansolo]

That Magene is more expensive than the Kick Core in the DC Rainmaker review and it would have less support in a place like South Africa. Why would you buy it then?

 

Sort of off topic but somewhat related. Chinese products (eg. cars) are becoming better and more expensive. It used to be cheaper option but I think most consumers would still rather pay a 5-10% premium for a more well known brand than a newer Chinese or even Indian one. It will be interesting to see what long term effects of this virus has on manufacturing as it sounds like lots of countries/companies are trying to bring back manufacturing.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Don't fully agree here.

 

If they can sell it at half the price, then they either have put a lot of thought/effort into their manufacturing or wahoo are ripping the public off.

Assuming there's no patent infringements I'm happy to let economics find the stable pricing

Or, they were leveraging off someone else's R&D and didn't have to include that in their costings. Plus, as Han says, it's more $$ than the Kickr Core. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

[Markellis]

I love my Core, only thing I hate is moving that b@stard around. There is no handle and it’s awkward to carry.

 

During lockdown I have had a few sessions on the porch and moving that thing from the pain cave to the porch was a workout on its own!

 

 

[Muttley]

I love my Core, only thing I hate is moving that b@stard around. There is no handle and it’s awkward to carry. During lockdown I have had a few sessions on the porch and moving that thing from the pain cave to the porch was a workout on its own!

With all that moving around, don't foget to do the spindowns 

[Shebeen]

Or, they were leveraging off someone else's R&D and didn't have to include that in their costings. Plus, as Han says, it's more $$ than the Kickr Core. 

if that's the case then you wouldn't buy it.

 

What's the problem?

 

for what they are, direct drive trainers seem ridiculously overpriced.

think Wahoo have priced their R&D into that, won't last forever but they seem to be doing ok right now.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

if that's the case then you wouldn't buy it.

 

What's the problem?

 

for what they are, direct drive trainers seem ridiculously overpriced.

think Wahoo have priced their R&D into that, won't last forever but they seem to be doing ok right now.

There isn't one. The wahoo (and other options) are cheaper and better, IMO. Well, better meaning better support, more well known company, locally available etc.

Edited April 23, 2020 by Captain Fastbastard Mayhem

[Duane_Bosch]

This whole trainer story is the same as computers.

 

The money is in the software. No product to move. No warehousing costs. No manufacturing costs. Just a smallish team of IT nerds and a bunch of server space. Which you don't even need to buy anymore. The signals sent to the units aren't new. There have been feedback steering wheels in gaming for probably 20 years.

 

People paying $15 a month to see their little cartoon dude ride up an imaginary Alp. Beautiful! 

 

I believe that the increased volume of people using these apps will see improvements in the offerings and hopefully more competition and better pricing. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by Duane_Bosch