Originally Posted by
livedarklions
You realize that #1 doesn't actually answer op's largely meaningless question, right? All you've done is push the question back another level to "why are people willing to pay for Dura-Ace and the labor for internal cabling?".
Guess what? There are objective reasons for why Dura Ace costs that much. Shimano used to publish a chart showing the materials used in each groupset, and you can see exactly how your money went towards titanium parts, forged aluminum parts, ball bearings instead of brass bushings, etc. And you can also see the additionally matching done to lighten the cranks and brake calipers, the 2-piece bonded hollow crank arm, carbon reinforced hollow chain rings, etc. So it’s not just ‘yeah, that’s what people will pay. What’s it to you?’
Originally Posted by
livedarklions
And sorry, but why the hell is subsidizing a team an argument " for" paying the money?
At no point was I justifying paying for this bike. I was explaining why the bike costs so much.
Originally Posted by
livedarklions
And if $5000 (about 35%) of the cost of a Tarmac is the Dura-Ace, calling that "handmade in the USA" is a bizarre redefining of handmade.
Now you are just arguing for the sake of arguing. Obviously ‘made in USA’ applies to the parts made by Specialized.
Originally Posted by
livedarklions
Show your math for #2, that's a bunch of assertion masquerading as a question.
Feel free to rebut that assertion. You go ahead and count the parts count for a motorcycle and compare it with a bicycle.
Anyone who has worked on both motorcycles and bikes knows that motorcycles are vastly more complex with much more engineering and machining on every part. The much vaunted disc brakes on bikes is roughly at the 1975 level for motorcycles. The Di2 brains is rudimentary compared to the engine/traction control/speed shifting ECUs on the Motorcycles.
Anyways feel free to debate that premise. That would be an interesting debate. Whereas ‘it is what it is’ is not an interesting topic for debate.