Originally Posted by
50PlusCycling
No. Winning bikes used to be much simpler than today, but they have never been cheap. When I first got into cycling as a kid in the late 70’s I lusted after a Masi road racer at my LBS. The price for the bike fitted with a Campy SR kit was $1800. Our monthly rent for our Orange County California house in those days was $300 per month. As I was earning only $15 per month delivering papers, it was a little out of my budget.
Price increases through the 70s were steep. My ‘73 Cinelli was $525. That was in September. In January of that year, had one been available, probably less than $400. That was a Cinelli built complete in Milan, with features and extras just not available on shop built bikes in US. My first full Campy & db531 bike, a 1967 Falcon, was $192.35 including sales tax, a spare tire, a toestrap and Milremo wrapper to hold the tire, glue, a patch kit, a Silca pump, a bottle and cage, a hat, a Campy T wrench, Campy peanut butter wrench. In ‘67 a Falcon was still a fully hand built frame, hand painted graphics. Many thought I paid too much for those bikes.
$1800 for a Carlsbad Masi sounds really high. Anyway most Masis went directly into collections, racing was done on simpler bikes.