thehammerdog

I was just reading my new Road Bike Action, which is th ebest road bike mag out there.....Anyway MAvic Aksiums on $3K bikes?? really I have them on my rig a nice 2008 Bianci 929 C2C but they seem tobe the go to wheels from $1500-3K now?? what gives?

DrPete 

Because if you're buying a bike like that, chances are good you have (or will have) race wheels, and there's no point having an expensive, light training wheelset. Same reason Cervelo's bikes--especially their TT/Tri bikes--come with relatively crappy wheels.

Flatballer

I think manufacturers should sell modules more, especially on the high end.

Bring your own stem, bars, seatpost, saddle, pedals, and wheels. Those things are all too personal to put on new bikes, in my opinion.

Specialized sometimes sells a module of their S-Works I think. Basically a frameset with a group on it.

MONGO!

Specialized module just comes with a seatpost and crankset.

DrPete 

Yup--basically a gimmick-- Call it a "module" and you sell more cranksets.

Rutnick

more like higher profit margins because they have a wheelset they might have $40-$50 or maybe less invested and not everyone that buys a $3k bike races. Plus, more sales if the company also sells wheels and the owner wants to upgrade.

umd

The Specialized modules with the cranks are BB30. The framesets have standard BBs not BB30 so you that's the primary difference. Now that BB30 cranks are becoming more popular they could probably sell the BB30 frames as framesets.

umd

Oh yeah, I have a set of Aksiums that I got "for free" because of the R-SYS recall. I plan to put all-conditions tires on them and use them when it rains but currently the reside on my wife's TT bike. Either way I guess they would be on "$3K" bikes...

rob!

Not everyone likes the same group either

umd

In case it was not clear the Specialized "module" does not include the groupset.

Treefox

I got Shimano 500's on a CDN $2500 (retail) bike.

Those got replaced very quickly.

datlas 

That's nothing, at least these wheels are halfway decent.

Look at some of the really crappy tires that come stock on these 3K bikes. It's pretty rare to see tires like PR3s or 4000s...right?

DrPete 

This first sentence is pretty incoherent, but you seem to be saying that cheap wheels make for higher profit margins. Why do you think the bike would be the same price with Ksyrium Premiums? They'd charge you a ton more, and many folks would just swap the wheels out anyway.

Again, since most people who buy these bikes will want to change/upgrade the wheels, why put really nice ones on there? That way if someone wants to ride away on their Aksiums they still can, and those who want to choose their own wheels still get a slightly cheaper bike with nice components where it counts.

cheval

If I'm shopping for a $3000+ bike, its because I want/need a bike better than the one I've already got. Why then shouldn't I be unhappy to learn this "better bike" comes with "worse wheels" than the ones I've already got? In the end I'm wasting money on the cheaper wheels that will end up unused in the back of the garage. I understand why bike sellers do this, but I don't have to be happy about it.

unbelievably

Like he said...gimmicky

DrPete 

Then vote the only way the manufacturer will care about--don't buy their bike.

AngryScientist 

This is why i will be buying my bike from competitive cyclist or similar. when i'm ready to buy my next bike i dont want

a) cheap wheels
b) a saddle i wont use
c) the wrong sized stem
d) cheapo tires, etc.

I think for an experienced cyclist, who doesnt require hand holding, building a bike part by part is the way to go, especially when you consider how many spare parts and "take offs" most of us probably have in the basement.

Grumpy McTrumpy

perhaps because with better wheels it would be a $3500 bike.

DrPete 

I tend to agree, but it WILL cost you more than the built-from-a-box bike unless you do some serious bargain hunting.

I'm also a very satisfied CC customer for the same reasons. I'll most likely be buying my next bike from them too, whenever that is.

Smallguy

I know allot of guys who still buy a complete and then swap out the "crap" and replace it with their good parts and sell off the stuff they do not want... helps offset the cost somewhat

Rutnick

the first sentence wasn't incoherent. Ksyrium premiums? I can get a set of Aksiums for about $150 or less new. Jeez, I bought a $3k bike NOT to race and it came with Race Lites. I didn't have another set of wheels. I just wanted a nicer bike because my previous bike was 20 years old.

I still don't have a "nice" wheelset by this board's standards. By many standards, my Race X Lite Aeros are boat anchors but I got them cheap and I haven't broken them.

Honestly, it's about profit margin. It's all about the benjamins.

The bike manufacturer isn't saying....hey let's do this guy a favor and put a cheap set of wheels on his bike because he is likely to have his own racing wheels because anyone that buys this bike will race and has his own race wheels.

Now that is incoherent.

Grumpy McTrumpy

I think this is true, although I have saved quite a bit on bikes by doing it, and the bargain hunting was really easy to do.

DrPete 

You're actually right, because the first part of your post wasn't a sentence.

The first sentence did make sense.

Rutnick

If I want a doctor, I'll ask you. If I want a mod, I'll ask you. If I want the grammar police, I'll ask someone else. I know neither of us are the the third selection.

The point is still valid. It's all about the benjamins. The only thing you can offer is my grammar selection and people buy $3k bikes not for the wheels but because they already have race wheels.

I find your logic flawed.

DrPete 

Let's review:

There is no certainty in that statement, but chances are, in fact, good that if you're spending $3K on a bike you have a preferred wheelset.

Thank you also for bringing to light the revolutionary idea that bike companies like to make money.

And if you're going to post something, you don't get to ask who responds to it, so you just have to deal.