Is The Cycling Industry Ripping Us Off?

[ichitan]

One of the things said in this video, is as follows:

I think the £1000 to £3000 bike should should actually be £300 to £1,000... If you got a bike off shelf for £2,000, it isn't worth £2,000. It should probably cost £400 to £500, and I think that's the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn3PLoT8O84

[GirishH]

Hey Ichitan, that can be said about anything and everything in the market..:-)

(12-08-2023, 07:53 AM)ichitan Wrote:  One of the things said in this video, is as follows:

I think the £1000 to £3000 bike should should actually be £300 to £1,000... If you got a bike off shelf for £2,000, it isn't worth £2,000. It should probably cost £400 to £500, and I think that's the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn3PLoT8O84

[Jesper]

(12-08-2023, 07:18 PM)GirishH Wrote:  Hey Ichitan, that can be said about anything and everything in the market..:-)

(12-08-2023, 07:53 AM)ichitan Wrote:  One of the things said in this video, is as follows:

I think the £1000 to £3000 bike should should actually be £300 to £1,000... If you got a bike off shelf for £2,000, it isn't worth £2,000. It should probably cost £400 to £500, and I think that's the problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn3PLoT8O84

Do not blame the market; blame those who will spend money on something overpriced whether worth it or not, on a marketing gimmick, or based on name alone. This is just another vague thread that has no relevance to bicycles since it applies to everything being sold in the world today and days gone by. Imagine bikes being sold for over $5000; it already happened in the 70s and 80s (no electric motors or batteries!); why would anyone expect it to be any more reasonable 40 to 50 years onward.
You can make cheap bikes (or anything) via mass production with low paid workers and minimal (or no) quality control while trying to avoid any regulation that might increase manufacturing costs. Simple! You want cheap ichitan; then be prepared to keep on complaining about every aspect of bikes/cycling while you try to cut costs regardless of whether it reduces the efficacy of the safety, efficiency, etc. of your bike, or other's bikes/cycling.. My advice to you is to take some online engineering design courses, and design (and manufacture) a prototype of your "perfect" bike. It will probably be a lot cheaper than my education and then you will understand how costs trickle down into the market even for, at times, the most simplistic product. Design, preproduction, quality control testing, production, etc. is expensive just to study a new design before even putting it on the market (after more factory product testing, consumer product testing, factory retooling, etc. ,etc.)

I have designed, fabricated, and sold a product before.
I have built one prototype (I still have it and use it 40 years later) of the product; I built 3 more (2 upon request sold at cost without any monetary gain, one as a gift). I did not have any outside support nor manufacturing facility. I could have charged whatever the individual was willing to pay, but I only made other items after years (15 or more) of personal testing before I even thought about risking another's safety, or money regardless of profit or loss. I have an engineering background (mechanical, electrical) so I understand what it takes to develop and market a product from start to finish.

This site should be more than just posting links to videos already online for public consumption. I recommend that ichitan create his/her own videos directly related to personal cycling issues. We can all flood this site with links to reactionary videos which are often exclusionary of the "big picture".

Threads like this are not enlightening anyone with common sense; nor is it solving any problem since that lies with consumers willing to be foolish or ignorant rather than knowledgeable and practical. Market pricing follows demand. Demand is often based on frivolous decisions by the consumers, and manufacturers/distributers/dealers will take full advantage of the ignorance or foolishness of consumers even when the consumer knows they are being overcharged (but they just have to have it now!).

[ichitan]

Here is another video on the same subject. Following is a little of what is said.

I wanted to start by saying an example so the the 3T RAC Max Italia an absolute weapon of a bike but why does it cost £9,000 for a SRAM Force equipped model...

To me the the crisis is more the $1000 or a £1,000 bikes become 1500 or £2,000 bikes become 3,000. I think that's this is where the crisis is mostly inflicted on these lower price bikes...

A lot of bikes the prices have gone up significantly more than inflation...

It is important that those brands do bring out those other bikes and that is difficult right now because there's just there's not a lot of money to be made at the lower end of the market so everybody is focusing on that high end. That's a fact...

In the bike industry there are enough people looking for a $1,000 or $2,000 bike that that will be addressed by either current players or new players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6YWL1aTXA4

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@Jesper

Why don't you focus on posting good content, instead of sabotaging what I post. I am trying to be polite.

If you are not interested in a topic, skip it.

Right now, the bike industry is going through a crisis, with many bike companies going bankrupt. Many people are asking what should be done. That may not interest you, but it interests many other people.

[Painkiller]

Nobody forces you to buy anything. don't get pissed at the world because you have Champagne taste and a beer budget

[Eusha]

Cycling industry prices can vary, but the value lies in quality gear and performance. While some may feel the pinch, investing in durable equipment ensures a safer and more enjoyable riding experience, challenging the notion of being ripped off.

[Painkiller]

(12-12-2023, 04:09 AM)Eusha Wrote:  Cycling industry prices can vary, but the value lies in quality gear and performance. While some may feel the pinch, investing in durable equipment ensures a safer and more enjoyable riding experience, challenging the notion of being ripped off.

Not only beautiful, but smart also!

[enkei]

They sure are, some brands perhaps more so than others...

But remember: you don't HAVE to spend your hard-earned on overpriced, under-engineered bling. If you're smart, you can find a gorgeous and fun Colnago C40 for a lot less than the trash a lot of big names are making today. In ten years, long after those other bikes have been scrapped, the Colnago will be worth a multiple of what you invested in it and you'll have enjoyed some great rides in the meantime.