Santa Cruz are the Latest Brand to Increase Retail Prices Due to the Effects of COVID 19
In a letter shared to distributors and then leaked on social media, Santa Cruz have reported they will be increasing their prices by an average of 10% from April 2 due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Santa Cruz have confirmed the letter is genuine to Pinkbike but they are far from the only brand to raise prices in this unprecedented year. We've previously reported on similar statements from Commencal, Propain and Nukeproof as the impacts of the virus and global politics increase the cost of doing business for bike brands.
The letter highlights five key issues that affect Santa Cruz's pricing:
Increased transportation costs - The shipping industry is currently running at capacity and, with demand outstripping supply, prices are skyrocketing for both sea and air freight, affecting a multitude of industries
Increased component costs - These same transport costs also affect the component companies that spec Santa Cruz's bikes, meaning the OE cost of the parts on a new Santa Cruz bike will be higher. Apparently, even packaging materials cost more due to the huge increase in online shopping.
Exchange rates - The NTD (New Taiwan Dollar) has increased in value against the US dollar. A year ago, $1 USD bought you $30 NTD, now it only equates to just over $28NTD.
Tariffs - Joe Biden may have replaced Donald Trump in the Oval Office but the former President's tariffs remain in place and continue to affect prices.
Assembly Costs - Santa Cruz has invested heavily to ensure their assembly plants exceed local guidelines for safety in the pandemic.
These issues are affecting the whole bike industry due to the overwhelming demand for bikes and, the letter suggests, they look set to continue for some time.
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Of course, I've been saying that about lots of things for a long time, and pretty much been wrong.
"People can't pay $1-million for a modest house in Vancouver/SF/SEA/Wherever, the market has to crash any day now...."
"People can't pay $50K for a pickup truck, that's unsustainable..."
"People can't pay 30K/yr for college, prices will have to come down..."
If my track record is anything to go buy, you should all rush out and buy a bunch of MTB's, because they're going to be worth twice as much by this time next year.
For us that means; Site Traffic = More articles and overall MTB media, likely more people seeing PB as the best avenue for used bike parts and bikes, and hopefully more positive support for the sport.
I don't know about you but I think that means that the market is adjusting?
The industry responds to market demand.
I suppose the issue is lots of folks have disposable income, so demand is adequate.
On a bright note, the performance of low grade components is improving and lots of companies are starting to produce their top tier carbon framed bikes from aluminum.
I build my own bikes and tend to swap over parts as I buy and sell frames, so my new parts are kinda added piecemeal fashion.
Being a fair mechanic, I save a lot of time and money doing my own work. This is probably what more folks should learn to do versus complaining about bike prices and shop rates.
If I was a non mechanic, I'd invest in a bike repair course.
But it's not THEIR fault..you know..COVID.. tariffs... inflation... taxes.. former president Trump... President Biden... because we are dumb enough to buy it (BS and all).
(fr though)
I do believe in most of what you say, fwiw. One issue is when inflation outpaces wages, that $1 you saved will only buy $.80 tomorrow.
Like, I know this one guy--who took time off to care for his cancer ridden and wheelchair bound mother. Well, he gambled and paid the overpriced Cobra insurance (just to be safe and not make a mistake). Was pushing his mom to a Doctors appointment and a car lost control--hitting/seriously injuring him and killing his mother. He lost both his and his moms house and now lives in a trailer--with at home nursing visits. I mean, can you believe this idiot didn't save every dime since his first job at 16--just in case of that rainy day accident. I mean how stupid of him of not to make smart decisions in his 20s and have atleast some rental property to live off of now. Such a noob at this life and for what---because he wanted to help his mom out.
I mean, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink....right?
Also, can I make a copy of that blueprint to life you have. I'd like to put it on the internet so nobody makes a mistake in building the correct life for themselves
www.mises.ch/library/Rothbard_What_Has_Government_Done.pdf
I had a high 6 figure job and very large savings wiped out when the SHTF. Everything that's supposed to help you worked against me. I may never recover from this. But who cares about what happend to me. Just letting you know that my anecdotal evidence is, when your cards up you get crushed.
People going "blah blah blah just get a STEM job." you are not thinking clearly about what's next for you.
Your gig is either getting offshored (coding)
Or turned over to a neural net very soon. (Also coding, law, accounting, some elements of medicine ect)
When your job disappears, you think equal pay will be part of the new job?
You shouldn't be able to assemble and ship a bike across the world for less than you assemble it in the country of origin.
Tariffs are there to encourage companies to keep their processes in origin countries.
White collar jobs are getting more and more competitive to get in the first place. I am in a good spot personally. I have Big 4 accounting experience, SEC reporting, etc. so I am relatively comfortable that I will always have a decent job, but yeah, entry level accounting jobs that lead to career growth are becoming harder to get and if don't thread the needle and get into public accounting early on, you are going to have a harder time. The law market is f'ed. It's basically a trophy system now where a few people in the top of their class gets a job and everyone else is saddled with debt. Medicine is cool and probably safe, but you need to go into massive debt and get into highly competitive programs to even do it.
Basing inflation on CPI is a joke.
I hope it was, cause otherwise it's just an ignorant observation unconnected to what most people consider reality.
Just in my line of work, a machine tending robot is now in the budget of smaller shops, the narrative is it frees up staff to do more complex tasks but in reality it will just close many roles entirely.
I don’t agree with what your stating, but maybe from several thousand miles away you know how how all 300m people in the US think and how the system works. While not to the degree that some European countries take things, I think the US has a lot of social programs and supportive services to help people back on their feet. I am not saying the system or people here are perfect, but I think your comment was inaccurate and a bit ignorant.
Consumers: so if those things change and reduce your costs prices will go down accordingly, right?
Bike companies: ......
Consumers: ?????
Bike companies: .......
Further to @woofer2609...being part of the system gives me the right to complain about it. And try to make it better, if only for myself or those in my scope of influence.
So XX1 or XTR builds are going to be $12k? That aint gonna fly....
"People can't pay $1-million for a modest house in Vancouver/SF/SEA/Wherever, the market has to crash any day now...."
I read an interesting article on this aspect, and for Canada it seems we've all implicitly agreed that owning your own home is just really important to us, so we plough more resources into a house. The part that has me worried is younger people who will have the same ingrained desire to own a home but how are they supposed to find a million-plus in their lifetime to do so? They also grew up with essentially 0% interest rates so their parents financed a lifestyle that has set very unrealistic expectations about what a first house looks like (just sold a home to in a market of millenials; it was very informative).
On the other end, $50K for a new truck? Either it's entry-level or an absolute steal. I hava a friend you just spent closer to 100K, but when you're paying a couple hundred a week it doesn't really matter what the actual sticker price is. You're just renting it forever.
My savings acount is currently paying 0.10%
Some places in the world have negative interest rates for personal savings right now
The markets are at all time highs suggesting some sort of looming correction
Every level of government is pushing borrow, spend and pay later (or never)
I'd love to know where I can put my money and guarentee 100% return. Lots of people would love to know where they get that first dollar your strategy is built upon.
The world's problems are not solely attributable to unemployed 20-somethings in metro centres eating avocado toast. They're not helping, but it's not all their fault.
100% I’ve made over $100k for quite some time and get super bummed about my work, the time commitment and the mental toll. All jobs have their stresses but I really want to do something that isn’t a “24hr” gig. I want to clock in to work and clock out to not think about work.
Unfortunately my wife doesn’t make a lot of money and we live in an expensive region. So DINKs like us have to work like we do or consider moving. Ugh.
Except, due to some nefarious bullshit. Elements of the state are run by private companies with the ethics of vampires.
to all the children: there isnt some jedi council that just "makes it so" because some douchebags were jealous.
School is important kids!
That's because you have already paid for it... time and time again for the rest of your life. You have paid your hospital bills and other peoples hospital bills... people who don't contribute tax money.
I bet you're one of the guys that gets off on 60 hour work weeks and 30 minute lunches----all the while it's leading your kids to early pregnancy and dependency issues. Ever notice how many of your "peers" aren't that great of people anymore?????
Your mentality is old and dated bro...it's time to move on to better things. I want clean streets again, I want good infrastructure/roads again, I want to wake up from this nightmare of Reaganomics....Face it man, they stole our labor and your really mad about that--not social healthcare
1) You have no idea who I am, what I do, or what I believe.
2) Where are you living now that you don't have clean streets, and good infrastructure?
3) You don't have to get your health care through your employer now. You can go on the healthcare exchange. Or just pay for your expenses directly.
4) Perhaps I can judge you too for a moment... You struggled to finish high school, you have a weed and minor recreational drug problem that prevents you from committing to a career, so you have a manual labor or entry level job... until you are fired or quit. You and your girlfriend argue over money, bills and your immaturity. You're a victim, and blame the success of others for your failures. Because you cant be successful in this environment, you want to "change" it. You're lack of education and life experience leads you to believe that government has money and should provide for the people. You have no appreciation for those who came before you, who sacrificed to create everything you see and use around you in this modern world. So, please... continue to blame Reagan for your situation.
Take what you want from that information--but you hate a lot of people that will help you when the times get tough--we're in this together and I'd rather my tax dollars go to single payer and infrastructure. Not another war and tax break for the corporations. Remember when America had a lot of independent shops that paid taxes....Why aren't you this upset at Jeff Bezos-or the 91 Fortune 500 companies that constantly have a 0% tax rate? Why aren't you this mad that corporations are listed as people and lobbyists run our PUBLIC DEMOCRACY??? Why??
That's not real info... all those corporations and individual leaders of corporations pay millions and billions of dollars in various forms of taxes every year. In the US, the top 1% pay 40% of all taxes paid... the 49% of earners below them pay 50% of all taxes... and the bottom 50% only pay 10%. Is this not how it should be?
We're all better off when we help each other out. Change my mind.
"We're all better off when we help each other out"... this is a nice thought but, unrealistic expectation. An entire human history tells us so. The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests. You cant build a government and an economy on hoping people eschew their primal programing. That primal programming is "survival". You cant shake it, you cant condition it out. We are undeniably programmed to be selfish and greedy. You see it in infants, toddlers, children, teens, and adults. This instinct guides every thought and action... and for good reason of course... survival. Even our acts of generosity and kindness can be linked directly back to some self interest. There is no alternative way so far discovered of improving peoples lives that can compare to the productive activities that are unleashed by free-enterprise.
People will always find a way to survive... humans have been doing it from day one. There was no free housing, free healthcare, free food, or free clothing... just a will to survive and the natural intellectual and physical tools provided by God. Some people just aren't motivated until its real. The people happily living poor and taking handouts, would find a way to support themselves if the handouts stopped.
Being on your own is not a death sentence.. its natures way.
Its unfortunate, but lets buy used bikes boys... see u in the buy/sell section
It's all very infuriating as the bike industry has moved their factories to China to reduce their cost and that savings should be passed to the consumer and here we are. Clearly the tariffs haven't been successful in bringing manufacturing back to the US. If the tariffs are removed and/or the exchange rate changes, are we going to see that 10% back? Nope. Less jobs, more expensive goods. Win-win right?
A 10% increase on the GX build for the hightower is going to make the bike $5,700. A GX Yeti is $5,500 and you can upgrade to full factory suspension for an extra $500... or you can get SLX for $5,200. Meaning SC is now more expensive than Yeti, which is probably the most expensive brand beside maybe RM. IBIS is similar pricing to Yeti, but you get carbon handlebars and a bikeyoke droppper on the GX buildkit, which you do not get on the other two brands.
The thing is though, Specialized, Canyon, Trek, Commencal, YT, etc. are offering really good bikes for the money. Are they as good as Yeti and SC? At least some bikes are and that is a preference thing anyways.
Maybe this will not hurt the brands ever or maybe it will take a while, but they are going to increasingly become brands for the rich hobbyist if they go this way. For every shredder I see on a Yeti, I see 5 dudes in their 50s who kinda suck (downvote me for that comment if you want).
Looking at frame cost is the better common denominator for comparing what you're paying for from brand to brand. All 'gx' builds are not created equal as you're only looking at the drivetrain aspect of the build and actually is just a small portion of the build price and does not factor in suspension, wheels, ect. And each of those pieces of components can be mixed around to hit a price target, so it's not a fair comparison. What you are really buying is the frame since there are less component choices and the same components are found on almost all bikes.
No only I can't get a Santa Cruz, I can't get the bike I already have
Mountain biking is becoming some pretty elite orientated sport.
Maybe the Troll from the above thread is right, we should all move to Siberia, live off the land and ride for free!
Pinkbike. Please do "bike price archives' . I did it once for MY15-20 for devinci. I can't recall exactly when it happened but there was a HUGE jump one year and then a steady climb since. Cars go up 500$ a year ona starting price of 20-50k. Bikes go up 200-300 a year on a starting price of 3000$ initially. Not sustainable.
And for anyone who tries to justify this, just shut up. It's a road bike frame that looks like a road bike frame and acts like pretty much any other road bike frame. It has one moving part and that's the headset. I have a steel road bike frame from Craigslist that costs $100 and has 98% of the performance for less than 2% the cost.
For sure.
Sometimes when trails are wet but sun is out I actually go ride my road bike and I think "wow, this is fun. Why don't I do this more often?" And when I do I start to think about a new bike but then I realize that there is literally no advantage I am going to have on a new bike compared to be 2002 or so Lemond steel bike.
Good points on the alu bikes though. Ripley AF with an eventual wheel upgrade and change to XT when the very good value deore runs out of steam is a great option
Here in Australia a Stumpy Evo Expert build is A$9900 (US$7660). Fox Performance elite level suspension, X01 groupset and alloy rims with a DT360 3-pawl driver.
Compare it to the Canyon Strive CFR with full Fox Factory, XTR groupset and DT Swiss EXC1200 wheels at A$9399 (US$7273).
In the US you pay $6999 plus taxes for the Canyon, $1999 more than for the Stumpy (US$5000), but here the Canyon is actually nearly US$400 cheaper than the stumpy...
Well said Sir!
There is no competition in adjustability and weight to the Stumpjumper EVO atm
Profits are going up! Investment in decent carbon and current geo is heading down.
Hope you like NX and 370 hubs!
You are going to be spending 7 grand to get something remotely decent. Hope all their loyal customers remember this in two years when the bottom falls out of this boom.
Next to go will be the lifetime warranty. Not such a big deal. They only people who talk about how great it is are people who haven’t had to actually use it.
But they built an ebike trail in downieville. They care about you.
Their frames are best in class, incredibly easy to service.
Do I need to oil the carbon layup?
@Baller7756 no its not. Nobody could just build a carbon frame and think of all the possible spots of impact. If you want a frame made out of concrete then get one yourself but just because you hit that rock back there doesn't mean your frame supplier has to get you a new one.
1. who changes their bearings (themself)
2. most people switch bikes more often than bearing need to be replaced
All other frames are as easy to disasemple.
I really dont get the bearing thing- that doent make up the 2000€ markup.
1. me
2. Id say most dont switch bikes that often. Id bet people just never maintain their bearings is more likely.
Downieville is mostly all moto trails bunch of Jerry’s out there on the wrong tool
Lots of people take time to care and service their bike. You can too if you want to save 100s if not $1000’s. Otherwise, you’re paying a shop to get your bike dialed or riding a bike that’s clapped.
You want to waste $ blowing through full suspension bikes every couple seasons and ride bikes that creak horribly due to lack of service, go for it. It’s your money.
These $3000 frames cost the manufactures hundreds not thousands to produce (particularly high volume models). They are made by people making a few dollars per day. The biggest cost is initial design, and molds. Once they start cranking them out, the cost per unit drops and drops. What percentage of sales turn into a warranty claim... 3-5%?
Sure shipping increased a few bucks per bike, tariffs added a few bucks per bike, and components went up a bit (driven by demand). There was already so much profitability in a single bike sale... they didn't need to pass these increases on to the customers.
And your understanding of the costs involved in the manufacture of a frame from factory to walking out the door of a shop is straight up amateur hour.
Costs have increased across the board. Raw material (rubber, , components, labor, shipping, currency exchange rates all are playing a part in every company’s need to raise prices.
It’s hitting a most sectors in the global economy. Go ask a contractor how much material costs have increased since the start of Covid. You’ll see a 10-30% increase in costs for lumber for instance.
Read the recent NYT article about the disruptions to global shipping. Some companies are having to drive their goods 1000 miles from one port city to another just to get containers so they can ship their goods internationally. Ships are sitting off ports for 2-4 weeks due to labor disruptions from labor strikes and Covid restrictions.
And please don’t preach about profitability on bikes. If they were so profitable, then why have the number bike shops been cut in half over the last decade. We’re those former owners so tired of making money they decided to shut their doors so they could wipe their ass with 20’s? Margin on bikes at the local level, after all the overhead won’t even keep the lights on. Service, accessories etc on top of the bike sales are what enable shops to stay open.
You don’t want to pay for or can’t afford a top end bike, fine. It’s understandable. But don’t bitch foul because a bike company won’t warranty your frame when the rider caused the problem.
(1) Let me express my appreciation for the insults you tossed my way... I assume if we don't have the same opinions on this or any subject, that I'm 100% wrong and should be canceled?
(2) Forgive me for not writing a decertation on manufacturing processes in a forum, and offering such inconceivable opinions.
(3) I did not say or imply that a LBS operation is extremely profitable... I talked about bike manufactures selling $3000-4000 frames and assembled bikes for $8000-$10000. You don't need a PhD in Economics to know that there is not that much engineering, materials, labor, and logistics in that single frame or bike.
(4) I currently run a 2021 Transition Spur XX1, and a 2021 Yeti SB165 T3.
Sorry for attacking you personally.
Cool bikes btw. I hope you’re enjoying them.
Also, if dentists buy Yetis then CEOs buy Santa Cruz. I began ignoring Santa Cruz after they rebranded the affordable Heckler as an overpriced E-bike hog.
If you think companies are increasing prices in order to increase margins rather than just survive and have some product to sell until shit calms down, then apparently ya’ll have been under lockdown too long to realize what is happening in the real world.
Being cynical is a world view and it has more to with how you see the word and you place in that world than it has to do with the world.
Good shite is expensive, that's life, you don't like it, then don't play the game.
Unicycles are much cheaper and there's rarely a reason to upgrade, just saying ...
Um, 300%?
I just did a quick search on Alibaba, and the first seller I found selling bikes by the container load fits 290 bikes to a 40 ft container or 120 to a 20ft container, for their full-suspension carbon 29er. This is individually boxed bikes too, not naked frames and oem components in boxes of 100, which would let you optimise shipping volume further.
The price of 40ft container shipped from China to US east coast is around $5k, after the so-called 300% price increase, or less than $18 per bike (total, not increase). Obviously this is only port-to-port costs for the end product, and other freight costs have also gone up for the whole supply chain, but still...
Component costs, tariffs and assembly costs may be a reasonable argument, but citing shipping costs as a significant driver of price increases on a $4-8k bike is ludicrous, because the absolute increase in this cost is the same as for department store bikes.
This isn’t the only price pressure, but it is the most significant in terms of %age cost increase. High end bikes less affected, but low end bikes are hit really hard, as an additional landed cost of $40-50 is a huge %age increase on landed cost for a bike that previously retailed at £300-£400. Above £3K it is increasingly insignificant.
This is conspiratorial thinking at it's best and it seems to be what the internet is best at breeding.
Good luck trying to find a bike this year, especially at the prices you think you "deserve".
I did speculate on the number of frames you can fit in a container, but efficiently packaged I'd say 800 is easy. They don't have to be individually boxed because they are going from the factory to and assembly plant.
I don't need to find a bike this year, I ordered mine in September and it should be here in early April!
Edit - Apologies - all my costs should be $ rather than £ - I keep typing £ out of habit!
Either way, price increase %ages are the same.
There's no conspiracy thinking involved in saying that the cost of freight contributes only a small proportion of an expensive bike price - it's simple mathematics.
Your last point is really the best explanation for price rises in a free market - "good luck trying to find a bike this year". The higher end bike market is a very neat example of the price of a product being much more closely related to the price the market will bear than the cost of manufacture. I haven't seen anyone saying that they 'deserve' lower prices.
Specialized is on my shortlist for my next bike (assuming bikes are available at some point in the future again) in no small part because of their super-competitive pricing right now. Even a year ago, I wouldn't have considered them at all.
I think you're right that many of the big names in the market will never reduce their prices once costs fall, but they might get some competition from other brands who will focus on price as a differentiator.
Fact is, those more sophisticated supply chain managers, like Trek, got way ahead of smaller brands, anticipated demand better via closer collaboration with the DC's and stores and used a volume leverage to secure product and price.
Exchange rate, Thats fair. But COVID protocols? Would love to see the real numbers. Maybe $50K annual on 100K SQFT facility? If that!
You can blame it all on external sources, but at some point it would be good to see a brand like SC (who is one the best bike brands out there) to own up a little bit more to the missed opportunities and operate closer to cost, rather than pass on the cost.
Will be curious if brands who have been forward looking (like you explain Trek has) if they will keep their prices down, or if they will just pump prices since every one else is doing it? Secondly, if prices pump...let's pretend a year-ish from now manufacturing is humming along pretty much normally, I wonder if SC and all these other brands go 'Yaaay, costs are back down, let us drop prices again for our customers' or if they think well, the demand has been there, let's keep the prices high as long as we can. It will be an interesting thing for sure.
Spec raised a few 100 across the board too.
Other outdoor sports? Same thing on pricing, all while dealing with the same issues.
Something here doesn’t add up.
Vitus Escarpe CRX (2021); CF, Shimano XT, Fox Factory: AU$6200.
Scott Genius 940 (2021); CF, SRAM NX, Fox Rhythm: AU$6300.
Scott Genius 940 (2020); Al, Shimano SLX, Fox Performance: AU$5100.
Scott Genius 940 (2019); Al, SRAM GX, Fox Performance: AU$4500.
They're all taking the piss.
You can get a carbon nukeproof with fox factory and full XT for the same money. My current Bronson may be my last SC.
Pre pandemic WSJ reported average car loan in US was almost $39,000 with a seven year term... local (Boise) home builder tells me his profit margin on a new house is roughly 10%, almost regardless of size/sales price... he used to build $500k to $800k houses, now nothing under $2M... and his target buyer? Retired CA police officers with six-figure pensions.
anybody notice adult beverages are up at restraunts bc covid? doubt theyll go back down once your given place of biz is fully re opened.
remember when Obama said $5/gal of fuel is the new norm....lol
Many just dont have anything to sell and/or cannot take orders as most are filled 1 year out already.
I believe @ibiscycles has a US carbon project under development, and We Are One has a Canadian carbon bike coming. Guerilla Gravity is US made... it will be interesting to see if their prices change this year.
I could also see this pushing a resurgence for carefully engineered aluminum frames that keep cost and weight to reasonable levels. (like what Pole is doing)
Maybe we will even see a return of the $4-5k aluminum models with top tier suspension and good wheels?
I’m glad I got my Tallboy v4 frame a year ago on the PB buy and sell page! Looks like I might be riding it a while longer.
Santa Cruz seems content to rest on their laurels and charge super-premium prices for their ho-hum product based on brand cachet alone. This seems like a great opportunity for companies with domestic manufacturing facilities such as Devinci, Guerilla Gravity, and Orbea to start eating up SC's market share...
The dollar right now has more value than it did for the entire decade of 2004-2014.
@hi-dr-nick I'm not talking supply and demand of the USD, I am talking supply and demand of bike parts - more specifically the manufacturing and transportation of those parts.
I'll reiterate for you guys. Actually, no, instead of you morons skipping down to the comments, go read the article first!
Point one on currency, straight from the article you are in, to do with price increases: Exchange rates - The NTD (New Taiwan Dollar) has increased in value against the US dollar. A year ago, $1 USD bought you $30 NTD, now it only equates to just over $28NTD.
Point two, on demand issues, from the article you so clearly did not read: "Increased transportation costs - The shipping industry is currently running at capacity and, with demand outstripping supply, prices are skyrocketing for both sea and air freight, affecting a multitude of industries
Increased component costs - These same transport costs also affect the component companies that spec Santa Cruz's bikes, meaning the OE cost of the parts on a new Santa Cruz bike will be higher. Apparently, even packaging materials cost more due to the huge increase in online shopping."
I will add manufacturers cannot keep up with demand in many cases, adding new machinery, new facilities, more labour, also driving up costs. If you work for a shop, you are seeing priced go up on components and bikes for any ones of, if not all the reasons above.
But what the heck do I know...I'm just making stuff up that just happened to be in the article you are in the comments section of!
And it's hard to compare car maintenance to bike maintenance.
You obviously can adjust to your preference, but realizing what you get out of what you put in puts chasing trends into perspective.
Comparing to cars, houses or education is pointless. All of those things retain, appreciate or depreciate at a significantly better rate than bikes. If bikes are an investment, you are a bad investor. Budget gives perspective and makes sure it stays a hobby. Because an 8k bike isn’t essential transportation
www.mises.ch/library/Rothbard_What_Has_Government_Done.pdf
ive just bought a brand new motorbike for significantly less than i paid for my last MTB, seems like these Covid costs are only affecting the bicycle industry.
Id call that significantly less than a top of the line Rocky, Santa Cruz or , Specialized bike...
www.pinkbike.com/news/the-complete-2021-rocky-mountain-instinct-lineup-compared.html
I invite you to go browse Specialized, SantaCruz and Trek website...look for their top of the line bikes...You’re in for a severe reality check my friend
www.bicycleretailer.com/international/2015/07/03/santa-cruz-bicycles-sold-pon-holdings-owner-cerv%C3%A9lo-and-focus#.YEmuVJ1Kg2w
It's bad enough trying to actually get a bike. But tack on another 10% and your loyal customers aren't going stay loyal anymore. Especially when you have the likes of Yeti, Ibis, and Transition(to name a few) who haven't raised their pricing in an attempt to cash in on a global pandemic.
What a f*cking crying shame. I thought SC was one of the good ones.
- We'll expect this promptly in other products too.
"Increased component costs - These same transport costs also affect the component companies that spec Santa Cruz's bikes, meaning the OE cost of the parts on a new Santa Cruz bike will be higher. Apparently, even packaging materials cost more due to the huge increase in online shopping."
- Not enough competition in component market - only 2 major players is enough to stifle supply.
"Exchange rates - The NTD (New Taiwan Dollar) has increased in value against the US dollar. A year ago, $1 USD bought you $30 NTD, now it only equates to just over $28NTD."
- Legit
"Tariffs - Joe Biden may have replaced Donald Trump in the Oval Office but the former President's tariffs remain in place and continue to affect prices."
- Could not find any recent info on this, although Trump did have tariffs in place for bikes.
"Assembly Costs - Santa Cruz has invested heavily to ensure their assembly plants exceed local guidelines for safety in the pandemic."
- Hard to argue this, although would have thought shutdowns also contributed (as has been the story).
Better quality, cheaper transport, leaving money in friendly country, destroying chinas economy... maybe the price in american/european is acceptable now?
let's see...The US has borrowed something like 5,000,000,000,000 dollars in less than a year. this devalues the currency. then other currencies get strong and you lose buying power. this is inflation.
how is that Stimmy check treating you now!???
It's all horseshit. It's voodoo, slight of hand theory that ignores humans and their actions when presented with pressure.
MMT completely discounts the Laffer Curve almost wholecloth. Evidence in the real world proves Laffer correct. MMT is simply an elitist flat earth society.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_external_debt
only 3 of 208 countries with reported data, have no external debt. this doesn't even take into account internal debt. the planet has lived beyond it's means for 100 years. The gig is up. Its going to be a game of musical chairs with 20 countries. The difference is instead of there being 19 chairs and 1 odd man out, there will only be 1 chair...
If brands released an enduro bike that's a super simple single pivot design, with quiality components at an affordable price they'd sell millions.
Let's say Rock shox 35 fork, microshift 8 speed transmission, deore brakes, pnw dropper... c'mon, It can be done for 1200-1400€ easily...Components like those are perfectly reliable and functional. You don't need kashima to be fast.
www.cnbc.com/2021/01/22/shipping-container-shortage-is-causing-shipping-costs-to-rise.html
Dont be so gullible, this my friend is pure greed bullshit
I'm not saying SC should be charging less - it's a free market, and like other manufacturers positioning themselves at the premium end of the market, SC pricing is based on what the market will pay rather than on their actual cost.
european hand made customs becoming more cheaper compared to china produced boutiques.
- will the prices go down again after everything goes back to normal?
- or will they keep the prices high just because people are willing to pay anyway?
i am always buying new but unsold stock from the previous model year at massive discounts (i got a 2019 rocky mountain instinct c50 for nearly 50% off just because it was early 2020 and the next years model was out).......that isn't looking likely no more though with demand outstripping supply. just hope i don't break any of my bikes anytime soon.
They'll be crying when the market shrinks when the true affects of covid job losses are felt. The first markets to be hit will be high spend/maintenance indulgence hobbies.
Made them downright affordable, and how I got my Miami-Vice colorway Nomad, still the best looking bike I've ever owned.
Anyway, can't see myself buying another SC for a good while, despite the fact they make some nice bikes.
They don't offer the Fox Factory upgrade on the Oiz H10 otherwise I'd have probably gone for it because they're only charging you the difference between the Performance and the Factory.
Shipping costs have increased by over 1000% in a lot of cases.
Component costs are up 10-20% already and are likely to rise further
Tariffs still exist, they are costing significantly not just financially but also in terms of the amount of work needed to be done by the import teams.
Covid restrictions in factories are significantly reducing the amount of output per employee that is possible so you have to either pay more people or make less stuff than 14 months ago.
All of that adding up to only 3.44%? Its likely Santa Cruz are making a lot less net profit per bike sale than they used to, even after this price rise.
You can assemble more bikes than ever and it still cost you more per bike to do that assembly, you have to employ more people or spend a lot on new production equipment.
I work in a bike manufacturer, air shipping has gone up 1000%, sea shipping at least 500% (but your container might not arrive for 6 months when the door to door shipping time used to be 6 weeks). Your estimate of how many bikes you can fit in a container is also a long way out. If you think of it in complete bikes (all the parts have to come from somewhere, even if they are not assembled when shipped) you can probably get around 2-300 mountain bikes per container if you don't have the wheels built or any assembly done in the far east. (we don't make mountain bikes so I don't know specifics but it is definitely more than 3 cubic feet per packaged bike.)
Also raw material costs are up massively (if you can get hold of them at all)
Manufacturers are hurting badly right now. We have more orders than ever and we can't get the parts to build or ship them and everything we do is costing more money than it ever has before.
From a pure capitalism point of view, every manufacturer is raising prices. If it was all fake and they were just trying to squeeze consumers wouldn't the best thing be to keep prices the same and advertise hard on that fact, bringing people to your brand, making people distrust the others and building a long term fan base, increasing volumes and increasing profits. It might not be the best strategy for every manufacturer but the fact that none of them are doing so has to say something.
As for shipping, I searched for the prices from Asia to west coast USA which seem to have been far less impacted than other routes from what I could find.
I don't see a problem with the cost of either.
However...
Wages dont/won't have near doubled..
Santa Cruz your business model is outdated!
I AM THE MSM and I’m coming after you Muahahahaha!!!
That pizza parlor thing tho, I'm with cuba‐n, that's completely real, funded by congress, and we should all string up the members of congress we dont like by their toenails.
#MEGA
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