Safapark

I'm looking into getting some new kit and was thinking this too:

Why are bikes so expensive? - Telegraph

What do you reckon?

fietsbob

Tory-Royalist.. you want others to work for free, too?

they are focusing on the Ferrari end of the market, the Monaco Tax dodging set .

the Pro teams pay people to ride that stuff , the racer's dont Buy their own bikes .

Jim Kukula

In 1985, a bike with Reynolds 531 tubing would surely have cost more than 200 GBP.

The first bike I bought for myself was a Raleigh Super Course, in around 1970. As I recall, the main seat tubes were 531 but the forks and stays were lesser steel. It was the cheapest Raleigh with any 531. As I recall, that bike was above $200. Lots of lawns mowed!

Yeah a 3000 GBP bike is still quite on the high end. Another sort of spectrum... why do you want a bike? 1) to ride around; 2) to get physically fit; 3) to keep up with other riders; 4) to race; 5) to win.

These days I think $1500 gets you a very nice bike. Maybe $500 is about as cheap as I would recommend to anyone for a new bike. Still quite expensive for lots of folks... though what is that, three pair of fancy sneakers?

Jim Kukula

Well, here is a nice picture:

Retro Raleighs: The Super Course

that is my old bike for sure! It says $125. OK, that was 40+ years ago, so much for my memory!

linnefaulk

Oh good grief! That's like comparing all cars to Ferrari's?

cafzali

You mention kit, which most people take to mean clothing and accessories, but then link to an article about the cost of bikes. They're related, but not entirely the same.

What the article fails to point out is the vast majority of people who get into the sport, and even stay in it, choose to ride on equipment and use clothing that doesn't represent the most expensive in the category. And these are people who bike more than the average person, wear their clothes out sooner, etc. So if they can do it, there's no reason the more casual cyclist can't.

Bike equipment and clothing is like anything else. Every company has some lines that are dedicated to the top of the market because margins are higher there and those lines help finance their overall R&D costs. But, as has been said here many times, we ll benefit from that at some point because of the economics of "trickle down," coupled with the fact that someone's always looking to buy the latest and greatest, which continually funds the R&D cycle.

caloso

Only suckers and newbs pay retail.

johnny99

This article is silly. Just because the most expensive bicycles (or cars or whatever) are getting more expensive doesn't mean you have to buy them. There are plenty of cheaper bicycles on the market and that is what most people buy.

Igualmente

Just like I can't afford a Bugatti Veyron, I can't afford and don't need a 12,000 GBP bike. On the other hand, I find servicing and buying parts for my bikes to be a pleasant change from the $400 brake jobs and $600 major maintenance packages that are the norm for cars. I can lift the bike without jacks and the parts are much cheaper.

Safapark

Sorry, I should have just said bikes (kit's not cheap either though but I haven't seen an article about that).
Just wondered what everyone's thoughts were. What do you think would be the minimum you can get a half decent racing bike set up for these days then? Is it a case of you get what you pay for? Or is it, past a certain point, like an expensive watch? Doesn't tell the time any better.

JameB

Teach us your ways master!

caloso

$2000/1200gbp should get you plenty of bike to start racing.

ThermionicScott 

You can race on anything that meets the rules. People would be able to answer these questions better if you could offer your location and what all you plan to do with said bike.

JamesRL

I paid $200 for a vintage road bike, and I'm still not faster than it. And I suspect that is true for many many riders.

modelmartin

I hate retail!

caloso

There are lots of things you can do. Best thing is to join a club. People are always selling off their stuff or know others that are.

hillyman

Just the term kit makes me wonder if someone is too doped up to put the thread in road racing

fietsbob

lots of wannabe racers work in bike shops, to get stuff at cost [+10%] wages kinda stink
because everybody else wants cheap too . and you are where the costs are cut.


'Kit' its like kilt same countries .. limeys

Wilfred Laurier

bikes aren't expensive
necessarily
but there are expensive bikes

and there are also online reltailers
and online bike brands
and used bikes

the last word on the article is give to a mr david standard
"In my opinion a decent racing bike nowadays is £3000, anything over that is not going to make any difference,"

no1mad 

Depends on where one learns to speak and use English. The US and the UK (as well as other nations) share a common language, yet we still have trouble understanding each other at times on even a basic level...

Machka 

Bicycles ... and all the additional equipment, kit, etc. etc. that could go along with them ... are not all that expensive.


Not when you compare them to hobbies like yachting, motor sports, and equestrian.

Photography, one of my other hobbies, is roughly as expensive as cycling.

flatlander_48

Well, sometimes that's the only tail you're going to get...

Caliper

The article states that bike prices are increasing faster than the rate of inflation. *But, your top shelf 2014 bike has a LOT more technology than a top shelf 1984 bike. *Steel replaced with aluminum, aluminum replaced with carbon. *If you want to compare inflation, compare the same thing. *Build a Reynolds 531 or 7075 aluminum frame with 6sp indexed down tube shifters, no carbon anything and compare to the inflation adjusted price of the old bike. *

Of course, whether it's a 1984 or 2014 model, it's still much more about the motor than the bike. *A few pounds off the bike is nice, ergo shifters are really nice, but all the modern carbon parts in the world won't help you if the other guy is just putting out more power. *The pros are in a gear race because the top guys are really all so close to each other in performance that they do need the equipment. *The rest of us, not so much. *

Retro Grouch 

Even the most expensive bicycles are not only cheap but they're accessible. An ordinary guy, if he chooses to, can buy the bicycling equivalent to last year's F1 car.

High end bicycles may also be the ultimate status symbol. Park a $30,000 boat and trailer in your driveway and your neighbors might not even notice. Casually let it drop that you paid half of that amount for a bicycle that you still have to pedal and they'll think you must have money to burn.

rydabent

As with most anything more money gets better bikes and kit. That is up to a point. Usually mid range gets you to a point that beyond that, all you are buying is hype glits, snobbery, and name.