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Bike boom - is it over?


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8 hours ago, LazyTrailRider said:

Back to the topic at hand:

My LBS is apparently one of the two top Specialized dealerships in the country. About 2 months ago they were waiting for a shipment of 80 Levos (yes, 80). Guess what? Almost all of them were pre-sold, the rest reserved as demo bikes.

I have a great relationship with them, so I hear crazy stories all the time. For example, people walking in and buying 2 pairs of S-Works Recon shoes (R6k/pair) in different colours for different days.

Make no mistake, there is a lot of money to be made if you can corner the top 5% of the market.

 

Similar with the Specialized dealer in our area.

 

Entry level Levos move at a steady pace.  High end is consistently pre.sold ...

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20 hours ago, Headshot said:

That is a top of range 300cc 50kw 2 stroke fuel injected enduro bike - it even has lights. So yes its top of the range and it will help you go faster in the discipline for which it is intended to  a far greater extent than a silly Swerx will on the Epic. 

Agreed and there was a time when I would have taken the 300 every day of the week and twice On Any Sunday. Maybe aside from the fuel and if you are on Hammer etc maybe even including that, servicing and maintaining the 300 may not be that much more than a top end bicycle at the agents, even the tyres. Dirt bike kit is more expensive; boots at R12k if you go for good ones (and good ones are much needed).

But bicycles have made an overtake I think. My first MTB was a "top of range" GT, XT components and a good (so the LBS salesman told me) fork. BUT, hard tail and vee brakes; all for R8k or so. At that time I would guess a KTM 300 was around R25k new.

Times have changed.

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32 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

Agreed and there was a time when I would have taken the 300 every day of the week and twice On Any Sunday. Maybe aside from the fuel and if you are on Hammer etc maybe even including that, servicing and maintaining the 300 may not be that much more than a top end bicycle at the agents, even the tyres. Dirt bike kit is more expensive; boots at R12k if you go for good ones (and good ones are much needed).

But bicycles have made an overtake I think. My first MTB was a "top of range" GT, XT components and a good (so the LBS salesman told me) fork. BUT, hard tail and vee brakes; all for R8k or so. At that time I would guess a KTM 300 was around R25k new.

Times have changed.

Clever.

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39 minutes ago, mazambaan said:

Agreed and there was a time when I would have taken the 300 every day of the week and twice On Any Sunday. Maybe aside from the fuel and if you are on Hammer etc maybe even including that, servicing and maintaining the 300 may not be that much more than a top end bicycle at the agents, even the tyres. Dirt bike kit is more expensive; boots at R12k if you go for good ones (and good ones are much needed).

But bicycles have made an overtake I think. My first MTB was a "top of range" GT, XT components and a good (so the LBS salesman told me) fork. BUT, hard tail and vee brakes; all for R8k or so. At that time I would guess a KTM 300 was around R25k new.

Times have changed.

I remember a few years back when KTM 300's broke the 100k mark and it was a big thing.

Scarily on the bike boom front though- I paid 25k for a 2007 CRF250X in 2010, I thrashed it for a good few years. The scary thing is that guys are still selling 2007 CRF250X's for R23-R30k. It is ridiculous. 

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1 hour ago, dave303e said:

I remember a few years back when KTM 300's broke the 100k mark and it was a big thing.

Scarily on the bike boom front though- I paid 25k for a 2007 CRF250X in 2010, I thrashed it for a good few years. The scary thing is that guys are still selling 2007 CRF250X's for R23-R30k. It is ridiculous. 

Well it seems scumtree has it at 40K for a 2009
image.png.e45de40834fbc99c300e909c0f138e88.png

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It is rather scary, I know those motors, they can be so reliable if looked after well. But they are ticking timebombs if not looked after to the T. I still have mine, I have kept it for the last 4 years because in my head it is barely worth 15k and I am rather sentimental about it and it now happens to be a really quick farm bike. 


Scumtree also has a 2006 KDX200 for sale for 30k, that bike was R30k brand new in 2006...

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Second hand cars in particular are a complete rip off in SA. When friends arrive from overseas and start looking at cars to buy they are always shocked. Bikes and cycles have suffered the same fate...

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On 8/3/2022 at 8:56 AM, Schnavel said:

I agree with this - our perception of what is considered to be a decent bicycle in South Africa, is somewhat skewed. 

Something I noted in most places in Europe is that very few people have the fancy top of the range bikes. I was very hard pressed to find any bikes with Dura-Ace or Red, or Sworks. The majority of bikes were kitted out with 105 mechanical or lower. For some reason, South Africa is somewhat of a niche market in that everyone only wants to have the best equipment possible (di2, AXS).

I once asked a bicycle shop in Amsterdam if they have Shimano XTR drivetrain in stock .The shop assistant wanted to know for which pro team am i riding 😄

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21 hours ago, Headshot said:

Second hand cars in particular are a complete rip off in SA. 

This is simply a result of less people being able to afford new cars.

In wealthier countries, buying a new car is for most people not a stretch by any means, so there is less demand for used and thus the prices are lower.

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6 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

With Saris up for sale, Zwift cancelling their idt project and influx of lower cost Chinese options that also aren’t selling well ( probably because most people who would buy one have already done so) is indicative of the bubble popping 

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20 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

With Saris up for sale, Zwift cancelling their idt project and influx of lower cost Chinese options that also aren’t selling well ( probably because most people who would buy one have already done so) is indicative of the bubble popping 

this is a telling graph - peleton share price

image.png.21dc862c669ec28b27b6a12ef1e47499.png

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