larrydk

Is it me, or are road bike prices these days out of hand?

Sprocket Man

I don't agree with that. Of course, everyone's definition of what is considered "out of hand" will vary considerably. What price range are you looking at?

SingleSpeeDemon

Dude...prices are friggin' insane. I remember a few years ago when I got back into cycling and went to my LBS...wasn't a ride under $1000.00. From what I understand, $1000.00 is entry level.

SingleSpeeDemon

Puh-lease! You're from Hawaii where EVERYTHING is expensive. Your perception of cost is skewed.

dmotoguy

not really.
there are a few brands that are probably a little more expensive than others due to their name/prestige, but overall i dont feel bad spending my money on my bicycling hobby. BTW, I am not rich, I am a 20 yr old college student that saves for bike parts.

SingleSpeeDemon

I think if you had a wife and three kids, you would think differently.

Tom Stormcrowe

That's why I buy used...I mean "Vintage" bikes from yard sales! Example: 1988 Raleigh Pursuit Sports Touring bike for $20.00 with virtually zero miles on it. That's what I'm riding now, and it is truly sweet! Especially for $20.00!

Sprocket Man

True! But I thought I could add to this thread by throwing in my $.18 (that translates to $.02 for those of you living in the continental U.S.).

DrPete 

I don't know. I bought my first road bike in college about 10 years ago now. It was a Bianchi Campione D'Italia that was 800 bucks. It seems that the entry-level has stayed pretty stable.

On the top end, though--I totally agree. The amount you can spend on a bike these days is limited only by the imagination. I know that those bikes existed 10 years ago, but they were generally unavailable from "normal" bike shops. Now you can head off to your random Trek dealer and drop 10 G's on an SSLx.

DrPete

therealsybarite

if you want to you can bike all you want on a very cheap bike. pleant of used, old bikes out there with plenty of life in them. if you want something new and fancy, well it's your option to fork out the $.
we all fall into the marketing bs so most of us for out the $,

CastIron

It's a technology and gear driven sport. It's always going to be expensive. But it seems to have risen on par with most everything else.
Case in point: In '89 I built up a very nice lugged steel bike spec'd with Dura-Ace and handbuilt wheels w/ Mavic rims with Cinelli bars/stem. A nice race worth rig from it's era. It was about $1600 then. Today an IF steel frame with pretty much the same spec goes for about $3700. It's five pounds lighter, has more gearing options, and is likely a more competent bike. $2k for nearly 20 years of inflation and technology using the same product (steel frameset and D/A gruppo) isn't out of line. Heck, my house doubled in five years. Still, damn expensive. Anyone know what a full set of pro level golf clubs goes for? In cycling terms we're talking an over/under of $5k

Granny

I think prices are in line with many other sports and hobbies. Want to play golf? The CC down the road has an initiation fee of $125,000 and you still have to pay big time annually.

-=(8)=-

You should check out this company called BikesDirect.com !!
Due to secret, scientific manufacturing process they can offer
GREAT bikes, the same as Cuervelo's, Fuji's and Pinnerellos for
real cheep !!

CastIron

Lem is that a Major Taylor and is it yours? If so, how is it?

Biggziff

True Dat!!

Try having a house, kids, wife, 2 cars, etc and try to get a new bike.

Canonet

I'm not sure they are. According to "Bicycle, the History" by David V. Herlihy, the average price of a bike in the 1890's was about $100 and a child's bike could be had for $50. By the turn of the century the big department stores were selling bikes for about $50, and by 1910 the average prices were down to about $25. The Consumer Price Index in the U.S. in 1910 was about 10; today it is about 200. This means you should expect bike prices to be about 20 times what they were in 1910 if they kept pace with inflation. $500 for an "average" bike -- your standard utility or hybrid -- probably isn't too far from what many people would pay.

I remember paying just over $90 for a CCM Targa 10 road bike in 1976, for what amounted to a very low end bike, that would be equivalent to about $360.00 in today's dollars. You can still pick up bikes of similar quality for that price. I also remember that it was possible (but beyond the limited paper-delivery savings of a 13 year old) to get a Raleigh for almost $200 in a real bike store -- that would be roughly equivalent to $1,000.

I think the problem is that we all end up with a temporal reference point for prices, comparing all costs afterwards to that point. Mine is somewhere in the mid-1980s; I still can't understand why anybody needs to pay more than 60 cents for a cup of coffee.

rapidcarbon

everything is insane. Gas, house, electricity, and everything else.

-=(8)=-

Big props for knowing what it was !!
But no, it is not mine but it is first on my 'MUST HAVE' list !
I ACHE for this bike !
As soon as my post-move job situation settles I am going to bite the
bullet and order one.
A.B. Mike has another interesting used antique style custom on his
page that I momentarily entertained making an offer on but after
pondering I dont think it could have held up to the roads I travel
here....
If anyone has one of these, feel free to post some pics !!

SSRI

for the same amount of money you can buy a better bike then 18 years ago. (but not made in the same country). My first real road bike centurion lemonds RS 1988 $560 something after tax. even with 560 in 2006 you can get a better ride then a 6 speed shimano light action setup. Taken in the account of inflation 560 bucks in 1988 got to worth at least 900+. For about 800 buck you can get a generic frame with 105 ten speed.
the best bike out there is the one that is in you budget. same goes with speakers, stereos, TV, computers, RC cars etc.

I feel at this time and age you get more bang for the buck.

Apollo

LarryDK...I'd have to say I think bike prices are rather reasonable. I'm amazed at what you can spend, sure, but a good road or mountain bike can be had for less than a $1000. Like any other "hobby" you can spend anything you want and I think its all what you're used to. Having purchased two "decent" bikes over the past four years, a Klien and a Lemond for $2400, and $2000 respectively, I think I got good equipment for the money. Having said that my wife just had a custom made Titis Exogrid which came in just under $8700. Now I think that's a bit much, but in her eyes, well worth it.

~Apollo

7rider

You can look at the cost of your bike as a long term amusement park ride. Each time you ride your bike, divide it into the cost of your bike. Let's say you spent $3,000 on a bike and you rode it 100 days last year. Was each of those rides worth $30? Are you planning on keeping that bike for five years and riding a 100 days a year? The cost goes down to $6 a ride. Of course this doesn't count maintenance and the inevitable upgrades, but you get the picture.

.:Jimbo:.

You're obviously paying for quality when you pay more, that said, no company wants to make a bike with subpar quality, in fear it could damage thier reputation. Hvaing a cheap heavy frame, with lousy components are do-able, but no-one would want one. Consider how bad of a rep the caddy and gmc bikes get for being cheap roadies. So companies build nicer frames, and equip them with nicer components, even if that means they can't have an under 1000 dollar bike.

Sporkinum

Yeah a lot of it is nuts. But as long as there are people that think spending a wad of dough is required to have fun, it will stay like that. Brifters? 10 speed clusters? Unobtanium frames? Bah I say! I'll keep riding my 11 year old, 22 year old and 35 year old steel bikes and still have a blast.

Budget hint! Ride with some gearhead addicts, you can pick up their old stuff for pennies on the dollar. Sometimes the discounts are even better after their wives divorce them. (had 2 riding buddies that had that happen!)

mahv

Taking in account inflation, prices in general are less than they used to be.

roadfix

No, home prices are out of hand.