Current Bike Pricing vs. Value

[Dexter-morgan]

We import magnets on a big scale and the shippers hate heavy containers so they hit us with charges.

[Headshot]

12 hours ago, JS Scott said:

Right?! Funny you mention that, myself is busy with getting a few dirtbikes restored. At this rate a top of the line KTM 300 is cheaper than the equivalent MTB. 

I haven't dabbled in motorbikes for years until very recently. Various things have struck me   - the weight - they are mostly steel and heavy duty aluminium. Some parts have got lighter but for the most part, they weigh pretty close to what they did 30 years ago and they are so heavy compared to a bicycle. Secondly, the reliability.

The bike I am restoring is a 33 year adventure style bike and the rear shock still has life left in it - no leaks, minimal shaft wear and it still goes in an out like it should. Compare that to your swiss watch MTB shock.

The swingarm is steel and runs on a not too big main pivot bolt. The bearings are still totally smooth and quiet. Sure the swingarm is rusty but that's a relatively easy refurb if you're prepared to do some work on it.  Leaky fork - buy some generic fork seals and oil for a couple of hundred rand and they will last another 20 years. The same seals for  a MTB will cost you a few hundred rand more.

 

[JS Scott]

8 minutes ago, Headshot said:

I haven't dabbled in motorbikes for years until very recently. Various things have struck me   - the weight - they are mostly steel and heavy duty aluminium. Some parts have got lighter but for the most part, they weigh pretty close to what they did 30 years ago and they are so heavy compared to a bicycle. Secondly, the reliability.

The bike I am restoring is a 33 year adventure style bike and the rear shock still has life left in it - no leaks, minimal shaft wear and it still goes in an out like it should. Compare that to your swiss watch MTB shock.

The swingarm is steel and runs on a not too big main pivot bolt. The bearings are still totally smooth and quiet. Sure the swingarm is rusty but that's a relatively easy refurb if you're prepared to do some work on it.  Leaky fork - buy some generic fork seals and oil for a couple of hundred rand and they will last another 20 years. The same seals for  a MTB will cost you a few hundred rand more.

 

Yeap, it's sobering to see the difference between the two. Sometimes I wonder why they can't bring some tech from motorbikes over to mtb. Like needle bearings in the pivots and head bearings etc. Like you said, there's no reason for MTB components to be so expensive and to have such a short lifespan in comparison to the same parts in different applications. 

 

I sat restoring a 1996 Honda CR125 for about a year. The whole project including buying the bike didn't even cost me 20k. I had more fun on that than I did on any of my mountain bikes because the fun vs value is just so rewarding. Even working in a bike shop and being a bike tech right now I can't justify buying another mountain bike at the moment, I just feel the value I'm getting for my money isn't there. I'd rather invest in other departments and just vasbyt until prices hopefully normalize again. 

[Spafsack]

We used to import for over 12 years. Gazebo frames, flag poles, that kind of stuff. Now we buy local. Local is around 50% more but we always have stock. What i cant get my head around is WHY, why did covid cause price increases for so many goods. I can understand the knock on effects at first, but its been years now. Something does not make sense. 

Getting back to MTB's. It really is a massive problem. Not long ago you could get a decent carbon dual sus for 50k, now you looking at a newish aluminium. Everything nowadays which is second hand, in mint condition, is probably worth double, whether its your 4 year old double cab, or your mtb, scary stuff.

[soslow]

The unfortunate reality is that prices will never come down again, they will just stabilize.

[DIPSLICK]

AS SAID ABOVE THE the cost of containers/shipping has gone through the roof, I do also think we are our own worst enemies(saying that I just upgraded)

last Year January I got my daughter her first "proper" bike, Einna 

I swear on everything dear,,, had I bought 2 brand new motorbikes and trailer and kit, I would have change compared to the costs of running2 high end bikes, esp with a teenager who grows when she sleeps, but we would not have had as much quality time,, I dont think anyway 

Had anyone told me when I started cycling as a weekend wannabee(still am) what my bikes would be worth in my garage today  I would have said not over my dead body, I am not that stupid 

 

[ChrisF]

19 minutes ago, Spafsack said:

We used to import for over 12 years. Gazebo frames, flag poles, that kind of stuff. Now we buy local. Local is around 50% more but we always have stock. What i cant get my head around is WHY, why did covid cause price increases for so many goods. I can understand the knock on effects at first, but its been years now. Something does not make sense. 

Getting back to MTB's. It really is a massive problem. Not long ago you could get a decent carbon dual sus for 50k, now you looking at a newish aluminium. Everything nowadays which is second hand, in mint condition, is probably worth double, whether its your 4 year old double cab, or your mtb, scary stuff.

 

Dont forget .... The East have had a number of covid outbreaks, currently fighting one again.  BIG areas are under total lockdown.  Fabrication is nowhere near what it used to be.

 

Couple of  articles about what the shipping have been hit hard .... 

 

And then you get to "supply and demand" ....

[Spafsack]

Thats true Chris, but honestly, when will it stop. China is on full lock down, AGAIN, will we be next, rest of the world🤔In my mind it means prices will never go back to what they were, and thats a big stuff up.

[LazyTrailRider]

It hurts, but there is nothing we can do about it.

OP, I don't think anything has happened to "making cycling more inclusive". In the more than 30 years I've been riding, sport cycling (the high-performance version we're talking about here) has never been inclusive. In 1989, I drooled over fancy bikes next to me on the start line. It's still the same, I'm just the one with the fancy bike now, but the dynamics have stayed the same.

One thing that *has* however grown the divide between the haves and have-nots is digital bikes. On a recent ride we loaded 4 very nice e-bikes onto the back of a Hilux and realised that combined their RRP was more than double that of the bakkie. In one sense crazy, but in another it's amazing to have access to the technology we have currently.

[stephenplumb]

I had a rather big cycling accident at Uni, and the subsequent payout left me with a bit of cash to get a new bike. This would have been circa 1990/1. My mom was travelling to ireland and so I got her to get a bike for me. It was a Cannodale R2.8 series road frame, custom built with Shimano STI600 groupset, DT Swiss spokes and Mavic rims. I forget the minor components, but the only way to go higher was fitting Dura Ace and perhaps zipp wheels. That whole bike was R5.5k.

 

I hesitate to let me wife know what my son's and my Pyga set me back, but suffice it to say that the sale of my old amarok pretty much covered the sons bike, and mine was an indulgence. I do love the pygas but the pricing is mental these days, but what choice do you have?

[BigDL]

On 4/6/2022 at 2:43 PM, ChrisF said:

 

Bought my bike in February 2020.  24 months later I updated my insurance .... current replacement value 67% more than when I bought it !! 

Your post made me go and look at my bike replacement cost. Paid £2400 for it in Nov 2019 (2020 model). Same bike now £3400. Absolutely identical spec as far as I can see. 

[Dicky DQ]

22 hours ago, BaGearA said:

Customers ? 

So you're on the inside then too

You should have a decent understanding of where the prices are coming from 

Biggest two are the rand that's worth dog sh#t and Supply chain shortages that cannot be caught up (supply/demand is a mofo)

But another issue is that the GP is typical kept at the same %. That is one of the biggest price drivers.
So yes we are still only on 20% (haha, not) but 20% of 20k is not the same as 20% of 50k. At the current escalations they should only be on about 5% GPbut I think they are closer to 30.

[ChrisF]

46 minutes ago, BigDL said:

Your post made me go and look at my bike replacement cost. Paid £2400 for it in Nov 2019 (2020 model). Same bike now £3400. Absolutely identical spec as far as I can see. 

 

How does bicycle insurance work on that side of the pond ?

 

Also on replacement value, or a different approach ?

[BigDL]

4 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

How does bicycle insurance work on that side of the pond ?

 

Also on replacement value, or a different approach ?

Not actually sure. I have added my bikes to my home insurance policy, although because they stay in my barn and aren’t chained to a fixed item, then I probably wouldn’t be covered anyway. I added them at the price I paid, plus accessories (power meters mainly). I actually need to revisit as I couldn’t afford to replace them at current value. 

[Wayne pudding Mol]

What I get from this is I need to sell my house and buy all the bikes I can with the proceeds

in 6 months, sell all my bikes, buy a bigger house and retire 

what could go wrong 🤣

[Benjamin]

4 minutes ago, Wayne pudding Mol said:

What I get from this is I need to sell my house and buy all the bikes I can with the proceeds

in 6 months, sell all my bikes, buy a bigger house and retire 

what could go wrong 🤣

Wayne

Sl topic change but did you ever manage to sell your magnificent “village  bike “ that the whole hub had a hand in choosing the bits ?

That would be a good example of bikes holding value ?