Just thinking... I just sold my 2009 Demo 8 and for $300 more, I purchased a 2008 CRF450. Is anyone else fed up with the cost of bikes??? Don't get me wrong, I love MTBing and own 4 mountain bikes between my wife and I. I just wonder how bike compnaies justify these prices when they build a bike in Taiwan(cheaply) where as a moto is made in Japan(not cheaply), The R&D budget of a moto company is probably 1000x more then that that of a bike company, the marketing budget of a moto company is again way more than that of a bike co., and last but not least, there's an engine! Can someone explain the economics that force a bike company to charge what they charge?? I would love to know what a bike companies cost is after marketing, raw materials, design etc etc.This is a reality that I will coninue to support in spite of my disdain for the cost. I guess that is how much I love MTBing.
OT Exhorbanant cost of bikes
suvlako
41 - 60 of 91 Posts
Joined
·
543 Posts
I appreciate your feedback but aren't you kind of comparing apples to hair dryers?? Sounds like you have built a damn near "works" moto. As I mentioned to in the original post. I sold a used 09 demo(demoII at that) for a used 08 CRF450. If I had sold my bike and purchased a CRF230, then people could make the argument that the bike is way more "trick" then the moto, hence the cost difference. Oh well, as I mentioned before, I will keep riding and paying whatever the cost. Off to Moab(with bike and moto)! Thanks for the feedback guys.
kelstr said:
Joined
·
777 Posts
"cheap" and "expensive" are both VERY relative. for me, a $50 tire is well out of my range. for someone in a better financial situation, $50 might be chump change. look at just how many things biking is cheaper than...someone mentioned cars, motorcycles, airplanes, real estate, stock market investing, spaceships, whatever. but, look at how many other things biking is more expensive than...writing, legos, playing marbles, whittling a stick, watching TV, playing vid'ya games. heck, look how much cheaper biking is than...well, biking. some people on this site NEED the newest, bestest, shiniest, most expensivest bikes, but i'm perfectly happy with my ol' hardtail. for me, mountain biking is quite cheap...for others, it's expensive.
i guess what i'm trying to say is "IT'S ALL RELATIVE!"
edit:
why the hell is this in arizona?
i guess what i'm trying to say is "IT'S ALL RELATIVE!"
edit:
why the hell is this in arizona?
Joined
·
121 Posts
Economics
Well, from my copious experience in high school economics, I know that there are only two things that matter - supply and demand. The way I see it, the demand for really nice bikes is pretty low so, the price has got to be high. Simple as that.
Seriously though, with all that goes into the design and production of a high-caliber bike and the relatively small market, prices are going to be high. Maybe if we get everyone to stop buying bikes from Wal-Mart and Target that'll change, but excluding such an act of god I don't see the high prices changing much.
Well, from my copious experience in high school economics, I know that there are only two things that matter - supply and demand. The way I see it, the demand for really nice bikes is pretty low so, the price has got to be high. Simple as that.
Seriously though, with all that goes into the design and production of a high-caliber bike and the relatively small market, prices are going to be high. Maybe if we get everyone to stop buying bikes from Wal-Mart and Target that'll change, but excluding such an act of god I don't see the high prices changing much.
Joined
·
523 Posts
I'm pretty sure High Demand= High PriceBoKnows said:
Low Demand= Low Price too stimulate demand. Could be wrong.
It all comes down to this, the OP said that even though he doesn't like it, he will continue to purchase high end bikes. That's the problem , people don't like the prices but continue to pay them.
Here's what I propose, A BIKE ONLY SELLS FOR WHAT PEOPLE PAY FOR THEM.
If a 2010 high end bike was $10,000 or $15,000 nobody would buy the bike, or very few and the price would have to come down.
If a 2010 high end bike was $1,500 everybody would be buying them and the price would go up because, simply, THEY CAN GET IT!
Joined
·
1,863 Posts
Agreed, the price isn't high because they sell so few, the price is where it is because enough people are willing to pay that price to make the companies the maximum amount of profit. Specialized has plenty of business savvy employees, if they could make more money by selling 10x more sworks stumpjumpers for $1000 a piece instead of $7000, then they would do it.
Joined
·
807 Posts
Don't think anyone has mentioned the track fees. For those of us that only ride/rode MX, coupling $20-30 (depending on the track) plus gas in a truck to get there 2-3 times weeks was a money killer for me. Tack on the oil/air filter cleaning/changes plus amortized wear, and each track day was in the $60+ range, assuming you didn't crash!
Part of me is glad I shattered my femur and had to quit, but I'd do it again tomorrow if I had the coin, as MTBing just isn't quite as much fun as plowing through woops or a nice double on a 450 at night!
Part of me is glad I shattered my femur and had to quit, but I'd do it again tomorrow if I had the coin, as MTBing just isn't quite as much fun as plowing through woops or a nice double on a 450 at night!
Joined
·
2,587 Posts
there will always be people that are convinced that upgrading from a 100$ cassette to a $350 titanium cassette will automatically make them a better rider... of course they will have to upgrade that $350 one when the following year's model comes out
Joined
·
1,111 Posts
Those are the people that I love because they leave their old parts at the LBS for me to use when I break the equipment that I use. So please, upgrade everything and give me your old "crap". If it is new to me and in working order (not pretty) I won't complain and I'll be very grateful...longhairmike said:
not just one company...
Going back to the original posters question. One of the reasons bikes are so expensive not mentioned here is that when you buy a bike, you are supporting more than one company.
As an example, looking at the most recent MBA review on the Ellsworth Truth:
Frame - Ellsworth
Fork - Magura
Shock - Fox
Tires - Kenda
Crankset - Shimano
Handlebar - Syntace
At least six companies represented (there may be more when you factor grips, spokes, cables, cable housing, etc.). The purchase of a bike includes the R&D, manufacturing, shipping, salaries, etc. for all of those companies.
When you buy a stock Honda, everything on the bike is made by Honda (for the most part I think).
What I don't get is why aren't bikes from companies like Specialized, Trek, Cannondale (and a few others that use their own brand components) any cheaper than those that buy from outside suppliers ?
Going back to the original posters question. One of the reasons bikes are so expensive not mentioned here is that when you buy a bike, you are supporting more than one company.
As an example, looking at the most recent MBA review on the Ellsworth Truth:
Frame - Ellsworth
Fork - Magura
Shock - Fox
Tires - Kenda
Crankset - Shimano
Handlebar - Syntace
At least six companies represented (there may be more when you factor grips, spokes, cables, cable housing, etc.). The purchase of a bike includes the R&D, manufacturing, shipping, salaries, etc. for all of those companies.
When you buy a stock Honda, everything on the bike is made by Honda (for the most part I think).
What I don't get is why aren't bikes from companies like Specialized, Trek, Cannondale (and a few others that use their own brand components) any cheaper than those that buy from outside suppliers ?
Joined
·
477 Posts
I don't think you are right, motorcycles manufacturers use tons of suppliers that are not in-house (as do automakers, computer companies, anything really).vmb said:
The bike might be Yamaha, but
The fork and shock are Kayaba
The tires are Dunlop
The wheels are Excel
The piston is ART
The handlebars are Pro Taper
The carburetor is Keihin
And the list goes on.
Joined
·
777 Posts
when you buy a car, very few parts are produced in-house for ford, chebby, honda, TOYota, etc. most parts are produced by other suppliers; most of the suppliers are the companies that produce the OEM replacement parts at autozone with different brands. it's just that in the car world, Magna isn't required to put stickers on the mirrors and windshields, Johnson Controls isn't required to put stickers all over the interior lights, Delphi isn't required to put stickers on all the fuel injectors...catch my drift? the bike world has a very pronounced "bling" subculture; hence you get all the itemized lists like you made.vmb said:
Joined
·
6,460 Posts
Specialized may sell more bikes but if you compare only the high end bikes, I bet the numbers are not great. That is, compare the number of Specialized bikes >$2000 to the motor bikes that Honda sells. I bet the numbers are not even close (way more motorbikes than peddle bikes).suvlako said:
But honestly, buying a frame for $2495 made out of aluminum is crazy but it is called supply and demand. People will pay for things that they want.
Just for kicks if you assume that Turner sells 1000 frames/year that would be ~2.0 Million in sales. The cost of each frame is probably what, 500-1000 bucks? That still leaves close to 1.0-1.5 million bucks to spread around to employees and for warranty/insurance things/advertising/etc. Not bad but could be terrible if you had a bad year!
41 - 60 of 91 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
