Why is MTB so expensive?

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flag murdochfb
Posted: Jun 19, 2012 at 12:34 Quote
Hi, im going to have a little rant about my favourite sport Mountain biking.

I have helped out in a bike shop for quite a while now and if i've learnt anything from it, it is that Mountain bikes are to expensive for what they are.

You can get a top quality, brand new trials motor bike or a decent car for the same price as a new medium spec MTB.
and there is no way that more engineering and work goes into a pushbike than a motor bike or a car.

This is why i have not brought a bike new and i dont think i will do any time soon.

So why is it soooo expensive?
flag ascurtis
Posted: Jun 19, 2012 at 15:22 Quote
your priorities aren't the same as everybody else's. If it's going towards something you love and you don't owe bills then the money is arbitrary. Why is it expensive? R&D, new tech, and different trends arise. Not to mention most bikes are hand made.You get what you pay for, mostly.
flag jaymac10
Posted: Jun 19, 2012 at 18:50 Quote
ascurtis wrote:
your priorities aren't the same as everybody else's. If it's going towards something you love and you don't owe bills then the money is arbitrary. Why is it expensive? R&D, new tech, and different trends arise. Not to mention most bikes are hand made.You get what you pay for, mostly.

It's not even about that... It's about low volume production. Anything mass produced is going to be cheaper, realitivly speaking. That's why cars and motorbikes are cheaper, because they sell 100x more of them. Lowe margin, but way higher sales.

That's why a stupid bike with all of $500 worth of steel and parts in it can cost upwards of $3,000 and up!

Look around at anything and you'll see that the low volume/high end niche product will always be a higher price!
flag SWenduro
Posted: Jun 19, 2012 at 19:07 Quote
For $6000 you can get a top of the line bike or a POS car. A top of the line car can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Bikes are expensive, but they aren't that bad.
flag myothercarsa2cv
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 2:58 Quote
Bear in mind we also live in the UK, where everything is a rip off Razz

One thing you can learn from supermarket bike man (has he won yet?) is that you don't need the latest and greatest to enjoy yourself.
flag arnie86
O+ FL
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 7:11 Quote
Yes mountain biking CAN be expensive, but also there are ways to make it more affordable:

1) Buy used. With MTB being constantly developing sport with new tech, parts and trends, stuff is always for sale. Then on that day where you get to sell some old parts, sell them cheap because you know how it feels to be in that position.

2) Buy online. Im probably going to get blasted for this but buying online at the big boys like CRC, Pricepoint and Jenson can save you dollars, especially when used in conjunction with promo codes. If they have a tire you like on special, stock up! I know its good to support your lbs but why am i going to pay $120 bucks for a rear derailleur when i can pay 55? Instead I try and support my lbs by buying regularly changed items from them like tubes, cables, pads, seals, bearings etc along with any mechanical work i cant do myself.

3) buy a big toolkit. yes its a big one off payment but learning how to wrench your own bike can save you lots of money. Regular maintenance increases the life of your bike too.

4) keep bike related savings. you know that the month you lost that $200 bucks when you washed your jeans will be the same month your rear wheel blows up!

5) do research and buy once. buying twice costs when you bought the wrong part costs more (duh).
flag murdochfb
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 8:00 Quote
ascurtis wrote:
your priorities aren't the same as everybody else's. If it's going towards something you love and you don't owe bills then the money is arbitrary. Why is it expensive? R&D, new tech, and different trends arise. Not to mention most bikes are hand made.You get what you pay for, mostly.

No, my priorities are the same i want the manufactures to have my money but they won't be getting it because i can't afford a good new bike.

Also i'm not just blaming the manufactures because they (usually) dont sell it direct, its the shops who sell bike at these prices.
flag ascurtis
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 13:01 Quote
murdochfb wrote:
ascurtis wrote:
your priorities aren't the same as everybody else's. If it's going towards something you love and you don't owe bills then the money is arbitrary. Why is it expensive? R&D, new tech, and different trends arise. Not to mention most bikes are hand made.You get what you pay for, mostly.

No, my priorities are the same i want the manufactures to have my money but they won't be getting it because i can't afford a good new bike.

Also i'm not just blaming the manufactures because they (usually) dont sell it direct, its the shops who sell bike at these prices.

There are two types of people on earth: Those who have bikes and ride them and have fun; and those who can't get what they want, throw temper tantrums, and have no fun because they won't make sacrifices that will allow them to have fun. Don't be that second guy.

Q: "Why does it cost so much to get quality goods"
A: "Because companies like money"

and if they don't get money, they don't make parts. So buy a bike you can afford and ride it.
flag renzo1320
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 19:11 Quote
also the fact that there is more testing done on materials for strength and weight.

edit: mountain bike action magazine wrote an article about that in their July 2012 volume
flag nidgeslash9
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 19:54 Quote
I just bought a Slash9, it's the most expensive bike i have ever bought. I don't know of and decent car i could get for that price. Even if i could, a car is a utility vehicle, for transport and shopping. A bike is for fun. I have ridden since 1977 when i bought my first bike fort £5 with my paper round money. I never complained about the cost of things, just waited until i had enough saved up to buy what i want. After all these years i never get bored. It's a great way to relax and empty my mind. Just for that i get my moneys worth.
If you are worried about how much things cost you are in the wrong sport or you have not yet learned the true value of money. Spend what you can afford, if it's not enough wait until you have saved or until you can get a better job.
Good things come to those who wait.
flag jaymac10
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 21:48 Quote
Some of you are still making moot points and missing the original and basic question of, why is MTB so expensive?

It has nothing to do with R&D, technology, materials, bla bla bla. There is 100x more R&D and technology that goes into buildig a vehicle than even the most advanced mountain bikes. When you think about how complex a car is and the cost vs a bike, the car is a steal. That stuff is all relative.

It all has to do with the fact that MTB (or any advanced bike in general) is a luxury, not a necessity. Add to the fact that its a low volume business, profit margins need to be extreamly high in order for the economics to work for everyone involved in the industry.

MTB doesn't have to be expensive. Go buy a cheap used $100 hard tail bike with a fixed fork and it will get you from Point A to point B just fine. It might take you longer and might not be as enjoyable than riding a $1,000 bike, but it will get you there none the less.

Watches are another great example. Start looking into high end Luxury watches and see what kind of prices they are asking. Panerai $10,000, Rolex $20,000, JLC, IWC $25,000.... Hell there is a watch that you can buy for like $250,000 that doesn't even tell time!

Now, are these watches worth their high price given the fact that a mass produced $5 Digital Timex watch will actually keep better time than these $20,000 watches? Maybe not to you and me, but to others, yes which is why they continue to be produced because someone is willing to buy them!

The last thing that affects the price of goods is consumer demand (and also supply). It's us, and no one else that ultimately determines the price. If everyone stopped buying all of the top of the line bikes from the big corps, do you think the price of those would come down? Hell yes they would! But in a world with various levels of success, what's expensive to you, is cheap to someone else. Which is why there are different priced products for different people!

Every company on the planet is trying to be on that thin ledge of the 100th floor balcony of charging the most for their product without going over and falling to their death!

It's how the world works my friend! All of this applies to just about every concevable monitary product or service on the planet, not just MTB'ing. I'm not saying I agree or disagree with it. Just pointing out the obvious Smile

The theory of reality states that if you can see things as they actually are (not how you want them to be or think they should be) you can make "it" work for you. However, of you fail to see things as they are, "it" will automatically tend to work against you!

So start seeing things as they are and you'll be fine!!!

Cheers,

Jay
flag danarchy420
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 22:09 Quote
I know peaple that say bikes cost too much but blow 100 usd or more every week at the bar take long vacations to sit around and do nothing somewhere but they all say man I wish I could afford a bike but drank 3 bikes last year
flag nidgeslash9
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 22:13 Quote
danarchy420 wrote:
I know peaple that say bikes cost too much but blow 100 usd or more every week at the bar take long vacations to sit around and do nothing somewhere but they all say man I wish I could afford a bike but drank 3 bikes last year

+1
flag geeout
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 22:17 Quote
I have no idea but I could have very easily bought a nice new motocross bike for less than my mtb. Smile
flag danarchy420
Posted: Jun 20, 2012 at 22:27 Quote
What's the cheapest mx bike price. Compared to the most expensive mx bike. Because most low priced mx come with cheaper inhouse parts just like a cheaper trek comes with cheaper inhouse parts so when you buy the 6000 doller bike your getting the equilvilent of the of the top of the line mx bike not the cheap low price point bike
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