Why Are Gravel Bikes So Expensive?
07-29-18, 04:32 AM
#1
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Why Are Gravel Bikes So Expensive?
As per the title ... are we just being fleeced at the moment as there don't seem to be any "reasonable quality" budget options and do they really cost that much more than a MTB or Road bike to produce.
I bought a Specialized Hardrock Comp a few years ago for £450 ... it's been a great bike
https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/categ...disc-10-39570/
and this one ... again a reasonable bike for £325
https://www.evanscycles.com/speciali...-bike-EV279818
Road bikes .... granted not top of the range but this is a reasonable budget option for £300
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...51-54cm-frames
A gravel bike with Claris gears is £750 as a starting point
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...adventure-bike
Is this just because they're the latest and greatest fad and in a couple of years there will be more reasonable quality budget options available ... interested to hear what other people's thoughts are.
I bought a Specialized Hardrock Comp a few years ago for £450 ... it's been a great bike
https://www.bikeradar.com/gear/categ...disc-10-39570/
and this one ... again a reasonable bike for £325
https://www.evanscycles.com/speciali...-bike-EV279818
Road bikes .... granted not top of the range but this is a reasonable budget option for £300
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...51-54cm-frames
A gravel bike with Claris gears is £750 as a starting point
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...adventure-bike
Is this just because they're the latest and greatest fad and in a couple of years there will be more reasonable quality budget options available ... interested to hear what other people's thoughts are.
07-29-18, 05:34 AM
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Marketing 101..there's absolutely no relationship between cost and price.
Marketing 102..goods are priced as high as the market will bear. Hype some market segment, make it "all the rage" in the consumer's head & then price accordingly..more demand = higher price..with price having zero relationship to cost.
..the rest is details..
Marketing 102..goods are priced as high as the market will bear. Hype some market segment, make it "all the rage" in the consumer's head & then price accordingly..more demand = higher price..with price having zero relationship to cost.
..the rest is details..
07-29-18, 05:52 AM
#3
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The no-name gravel bike I've ordered was cheaper than my Specialized Roubaix SL4 Comp Disc carbon road bike and almost every component on it is far better. It may disintegrate in the rain though... 
07-29-18, 06:26 AM
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I guess it really depends on what we call expensive. Inexpensive options are out there. Now that gravel themed bikes are becoming popular I would expect the prices to come down a bit.
07-29-18, 06:48 AM
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I think your links are a little bias (hand picked for a purpose) towards making your point.
compare a gravel bike with a road bike of equal components disc = disc, tiagra = tiagra etc!!!!
You might also want to compare flat bar component prices vs drop bar component group set pricing, before throwing them on a bike and then comparing.
compare a gravel bike with a road bike of equal components disc = disc, tiagra = tiagra etc!!!!
You might also want to compare flat bar component prices vs drop bar component group set pricing, before throwing them on a bike and then comparing.
07-29-18, 07:09 AM
#6
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The Halfords Carrera was a bike I happened to see in the shop a couple of months ago when it was on offer at £250 .... I didn't even look at the spec then (didn't know the difference between Claris, Sora or 105's at the time) but just thought it seemed like quite a lot of bang for your buck so looked it up to see which it was and what the spec was .... now take that ... how much extra to put on some disc brakes nd Sora rather than Claris .... wouldn't of thought enough to take the price up to £750 .... and there are an awful lot of reasonable road bikes for around £300 if you do a search.
The example I linked to of the gravel bike was one of the cheapest I could find at the time although I have since found these as well
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...-5-57cm-frames
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/bik...-5-57cm-frames
The Nakisi with the Sora doesn't seem bad for the money and apparently back in Feb it was briefly discounted to £440
Last edited by Witterings; 07-29-18 at 07:17 AM.
07-29-18, 07:23 AM
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how about comparing a Specialized road bike to a Specialized gravel bike of equal components?
Or a trek gravel bike to a Trek road bike of equal components?
Or we can do it your way and compare a Bikesdirect gravel bike cost to the cost of a Cannondale Road bike. OMG!!!! road bikes prices are so expensive!!!!
Or a trek gravel bike to a Trek road bike of equal components?
Or we can do it your way and compare a Bikesdirect gravel bike cost to the cost of a Cannondale Road bike. OMG!!!! road bikes prices are so expensive!!!!
07-29-18, 07:41 AM
#8
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how about comparing a Specialized road bike to a Specialized gravel bike of equal components?
Or a trek gravel bike to a Trek road bike of equal components?
Or we can do it your way and compare a Bikesdirect gravel bike cost to the cost of a Cannondale Road bike. OMG!!!! road bikes prices are so expensive!!!!
Or a trek gravel bike to a Trek road bike of equal components?
Or we can do it your way and compare a Bikesdirect gravel bike cost to the cost of a Cannondale Road bike. OMG!!!! road bikes prices are so expensive!!!!
https://www.evanscycles.com/speciali...-bike-EV306365
https://www.evanscycles.com/speciali...-bike-EV306375
and these
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/b...colorCode=grey
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/b...colorCode=grey
07-29-18, 08:03 AM
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In which Disc brake bikes need more engineering on the forks and frames to deal with braking energy. which Cost more.
07-29-18, 08:09 AM
#10
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Here is a comparison between the Trek Checkpoint ALR4 and the Trek Emonda ALR 4 disc. Not much of a price difference.
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/b...olorCode=black
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/b...olorCode=black
07-29-18, 09:08 AM
#11
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Theoretically if they wanted to produce a gravel bike to a similar spec I would have thought it'd be possible at a comparable price as apart from slightly different geometry and drop as opposed to flat bars what's the extra cost ... but it seems the manufactures want to keep the entry point higher for the time being with the vast majority's entry point at £799 or more.
07-29-18, 09:09 AM
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07-29-18, 09:44 AM
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and heavy
If you expect to better your self , you'll pay more.
If you want to pay the same and stay the same, why even buy a new bike?
07-29-18, 10:04 AM
#14
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I love how the OP reacted to everything but skipped this comparison. 
Disc brake bikes seem to be about $500 bucks more than comparable rim brake bikes.
Here is a comparison between the Trek Checkpoint ALR4 and the Trek Emonda ALR 4 disc. Not much of a price difference.
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/b...olorCode=black
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/b...olorCode=black
Here is a comparison between the Trek Checkpoint ALR4 and the Trek Emonda ALR 4 disc. Not much of a price difference.
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/b...olorCode=black
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/b...olorCode=black
07-29-18, 10:26 AM
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What a comment .... are you just in here to try and score points or something
I did look at them and I'm not a bike expert ... my impression was that yes they did have a similar spec in a lot of ways but aesthetically the road bike looked like it was more high end and a lighter bike but I don't have enough knowledge to know if one would be a better quality frame / wheels and maybe that's what added to it's value rather than just whether it's got disc brakes or not so I didn't comment.
I'm a member of an awful lot of forums as I've had a number of different hobbies over the years ...... I've never been in another where the people are so seemingly hostile and looking to constantly score points over someone ..... and it's often the same people in numerous different threads ... as opposed to actually helping someone and they're often really snide little comments like yours .... sad really and says a lot about some of the people.
I did look at them and I'm not a bike expert ... my impression was that yes they did have a similar spec in a lot of ways but aesthetically the road bike looked like it was more high end and a lighter bike but I don't have enough knowledge to know if one would be a better quality frame / wheels and maybe that's what added to it's value rather than just whether it's got disc brakes or not so I didn't comment.
I'm a member of an awful lot of forums as I've had a number of different hobbies over the years ...... I've never been in another where the people are so seemingly hostile and looking to constantly score points over someone ..... and it's often the same people in numerous different threads ... as opposed to actually helping someone and they're often really snide little comments like yours .... sad really and says a lot about some of the people.
07-29-18, 10:31 AM
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This is gonna be a bad comparison but I’ll do it anyways because, well I did it before:
Imagine that you’re starting off with a hybrid or a mountain bike. A decent non-big box store would probably be around $300-500. You have 8 speed shifters, flat bars, and disc brakes. Converting that bike to drop bars would require new handlebars and shifters, cranks, derailleurs, and shorter pull disc brake calipers. Those additions are an extra $300-400 depending on how cheap you go.
But how about building a “Gravel Bike” from scratch? You can get a frame and fork for about $150-200, disc brake wheelset for $120. Claris shifters for $120-140. Stem & handlebars for $50, seat and seat post for $40, and the entire drivetrain for $100-150. After adding all that up going as low as possible we’re sitting around $580 and we still don’t have things like tires/bar tape/disc brake calipers/etc. and obviously going the rim brake route will save money.
There’s one thing I neglected to mention which is a hidden cost, and that’s research and development. Do you want to ride your road bike off road with 35-45 tires? Do you want them to fit 700c and 650b wheels? Do you want to run your Mountain bike with drop handlebars? Getting all those things to not only work but work RIGHT is gonna add even more costs compared to using stuff that’s already been figured out for a decade with traditional Road bikes and mountain bikes. Hell even hybrid geometry won’t work perfectly if you just swapped the handlebars over.
”Gravel/Adventure” is still a niche and with almost all niches, there’s a cost to it.
Imagine that you’re starting off with a hybrid or a mountain bike. A decent non-big box store would probably be around $300-500. You have 8 speed shifters, flat bars, and disc brakes. Converting that bike to drop bars would require new handlebars and shifters, cranks, derailleurs, and shorter pull disc brake calipers. Those additions are an extra $300-400 depending on how cheap you go.
But how about building a “Gravel Bike” from scratch? You can get a frame and fork for about $150-200, disc brake wheelset for $120. Claris shifters for $120-140. Stem & handlebars for $50, seat and seat post for $40, and the entire drivetrain for $100-150. After adding all that up going as low as possible we’re sitting around $580 and we still don’t have things like tires/bar tape/disc brake calipers/etc. and obviously going the rim brake route will save money.
There’s one thing I neglected to mention which is a hidden cost, and that’s research and development. Do you want to ride your road bike off road with 35-45 tires? Do you want them to fit 700c and 650b wheels? Do you want to run your Mountain bike with drop handlebars? Getting all those things to not only work but work RIGHT is gonna add even more costs compared to using stuff that’s already been figured out for a decade with traditional Road bikes and mountain bikes. Hell even hybrid geometry won’t work perfectly if you just swapped the handlebars over.
”Gravel/Adventure” is still a niche and with almost all niches, there’s a cost to it.
07-29-18, 11:35 AM
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What a comment .... are you just in here to try and score points or something
I did look at them and I'm not a bike expert ... my impression was that yes they did have a similar spec in a lot of ways but aesthetically the road bike looked like it was more high end and a lighter bike but I don't have enough knowledge to know if one would be a better quality frame / wheels and maybe that's what added to it's value rather than just whether it's got disc brakes or not so I didn't comment.
I'm a member of an awful lot of forums as I've had a number of different hobbies over the years ...... I've never been in another where the people are so seemingly hostile and looking to constantly score points over someone ..... and it's often the same people in numerous different threads ... as opposed to actually helping someone and they're often really snide little comments like yours .... sad really and says a lot about some of the people.
I did look at them and I'm not a bike expert ... my impression was that yes they did have a similar spec in a lot of ways but aesthetically the road bike looked like it was more high end and a lighter bike but I don't have enough knowledge to know if one would be a better quality frame / wheels and maybe that's what added to it's value rather than just whether it's got disc brakes or not so I didn't comment.
I'm a member of an awful lot of forums as I've had a number of different hobbies over the years ...... I've never been in another where the people are so seemingly hostile and looking to constantly score points over someone ..... and it's often the same people in numerous different threads ... as opposed to actually helping someone and they're often really snide little comments like yours .... sad really and says a lot about some of the people.
Are there dirt cheap mountainbikes out there? Sure. Will they weigh less than 25 lbs? Probably not. Also: that Spec. Hardrock 650b was a closeout price, and out of stock at any rate.
07-29-18, 01:29 PM
#18
Senior Member
Point is: they aren't markedly more expensive when you compare products with similar components. He showed an excellent example of that.
Are there dirt cheap mountainbikes out there? Sure. Will they weigh less than 25 lbs? Probably not. Also: that Spec. Hardrock 650b was a closeout price, and out of stock at any rate.
Are there dirt cheap mountainbikes out there? Sure. Will they weigh less than 25 lbs? Probably not. Also: that Spec. Hardrock 650b was a closeout price, and out of stock at any rate.
What you get with a pre-assembled bike is a price point, and that is based one what they think they can get away away with, not what it actually costs.
07-29-18, 01:35 PM
#19
Full Member
What a comment .... are you just in here to try and score points or something
I did look at them and I'm not a bike expert ... my impression was that yes they did have a similar spec in a lot of ways but aesthetically the road bike looked like it was more high end and a lighter bike but I don't have enough knowledge to know if one would be a better quality frame / wheels and maybe that's what added to it's value rather than just whether it's got disc brakes or not so I didn't comment.
I'm a member of an awful lot of forums as I've had a number of different hobbies over the years ...... I've never been in another where the people are so seemingly hostile and looking to constantly score points over someone ..... and it's often the same people in numerous different threads ... as opposed to actually helping someone and they're often really snide little comments like yours .... sad really and says a lot about some of the people.
I did look at them and I'm not a bike expert ... my impression was that yes they did have a similar spec in a lot of ways but aesthetically the road bike looked like it was more high end and a lighter bike but I don't have enough knowledge to know if one would be a better quality frame / wheels and maybe that's what added to it's value rather than just whether it's got disc brakes or not so I didn't comment.
I'm a member of an awful lot of forums as I've had a number of different hobbies over the years ...... I've never been in another where the people are so seemingly hostile and looking to constantly score points over someone ..... and it's often the same people in numerous different threads ... as opposed to actually helping someone and they're often really snide little comments like yours .... sad really and says a lot about some of the people.
It was just funny that someone gave a good example and you made a comment again saying how weird it is that gravel bikes are more expensive.
Last edited by Facanh; 07-29-18 at 01:43 PM.
07-29-18, 03:29 PM
#20
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Like most everything bikes are costing more every year... Looks to me you can still pay as much or as little as you want and easily justify the expense...
07-29-18, 04:52 PM
#21
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with that said, a couple minutes of searching landed some cherry picked results to counter tour question/claim.
https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/...ss-bike-nb-scg
$600 for Sora shifting, fit up to 40mm tires, carbon fork, and disc brakes.
https://www.randombikeparts.com/coll...no-105-11s-new
$1000 for full carbon frame and fork, 105 drivetrain, disc brakes, and fit 40mm tires.
there ya go- gravel options as cheap as your cherry picked road bike.
07-29-18, 05:02 PM
#22
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07-29-18, 05:25 PM
#24
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its still a snooty comment, regardless of further attempts to justify.
suggesting one must pay more to better one's self is pretty exclusive sounding.
if I have somehow again misunderstood you, then just ignore the comment and know you aren't being snooty/elitist/exclusive.