Bike Components $are out of control

[znfdl]

Cruising the Competive Cyclist website and cam across a listing for the new dura ace carbon crank. Yikes :eek:

2008 Shimano Dura-Ace FC-7800-C Carbon Crankset

Item: SHI298 Weight: 609.0g
$1,400.00

[shinomaster]

Sounds like the perfect accompaniment for a Mevici and cashmere socks.

[merckx]

The cost of fitness is expensive.

My grandfather, who was a farmer and was fitter than god told me this. His profession cost him his life.

[maunahaole]

And there are people who will pony up that kind of coin for that, too.

[gdw]

They have been out of control for years but there is an easy way around it. Ebay.

[Bill Bove]

Yes, the new Dura Ace crank is expensive.

But nobody needs to have one.

Make your own decisions about how much a bologna sandwich is worth to you and go on from there.

[eddief]

about $75 at aebike.com.


Not sure how, but these cranks with square taper bb's still work fine on my bikes.

[shinomaster]

I'm sure the price will come down. Remember when $700 seemed like a lot for record cranks?

[Kevan]

and the monies related to the number 10 is ridiculous.

[Grant McLean]

I'm sure the price will come down. Remember when $700 seemed like a lot for record cranks?

exactly! it's all about context.

how about $3500 for the Sram SRM crankset!

-g

[regularguy412]

<sigh> That's sad.

I just purchased a Sugino RD crank for my new fixie. Listed weight is 575 grams _WITH_ a single, 48T ring. It only cost $75. This is a road double crank, but with a 103mm BB (which it will take) and the ring in the outside position, it yields a 42mm chainline. Maybe it's not high-bling, but it will sure work just as well_AND_ it's lighter!

Amazing.

Mike in AR

[shinomaster]

Just wait till ShimaNo makes Carbon shifters! Maybe they will figure out how to use horse hair, or something really cool like bamboo.

[72gmc]

Question not, good people--get out there and consume!

I am contemplating my own future consumption. Seriously considering going backward from 10 speed to lower my cost per component because even components of components are priced silly. Does this mean I hate America?

[shinomaster]

Question not, good people--get out there and consume!

I am contemplating my own future consumption. Seriously considering going backward from 10 speed to lower my cost per component because even components of components are priced silly. Does this mean I hate America?

Hating consumerism and the market economy means you are an evil-doer.

[regularguy412]

Hating consumerism and the market economy means you are an evil-doer.

Is this how pink bicycles come into being?

:D
Mike in AR

[djg]

znfndl pal, I hear that Lexus offers for sale some really expensive cars that I do not care to buy, like a $100k (approx.) hybrid that actually gets slightly worse mileage than a similar non-hybrid sedan they sell. But, you know, we still have a couple of cars in the family, despite the fact that I ride to work most days, and I got a nice juicy discount when I broke down and bought the wife a new minivan from Honda's remaining inventory of last-year's-model. Which brings us to cranksets: the latest, lightest, and/or blingiest tends to be pricey, and have ya checked out some of the deals available on last year's model from this or that marque? Not so bad, non? Nu?

But you know this...

[Ahneida Ride]

Just remember you are paying in frns (fed reserve notes) not dollars.

frns = unbacked fiat currency created outa thin air to support the national debt.

Inflation is a tax and most pernicious.

Welcome to frnacation. :eek:

[chrisroph]

I'm sure the price will come down. Remember when $700 seemed like a lot for record cranks?

still does.

I'm thinking of getting a centaur compact from nashbar for abour $80 for my winter bike but what I have on it (7 speed vintage dura ace crank, square taper free ball rubber friction seal bb, centaur drlrs, chorus alloy levers, old record dual pivot brakes front and rear, rear centaur hub laced to op, really old record steel axle front hub laced to equally old rim) works fine.

i'm really getting curmudgeonly about the cost of all of this stuff.

[shinomaster]

still does.

I'm thinking of getting a centaur compact from nashbar for abour $80 for my winter bike but what I have on it (7 speed vintage dura ace crank, square taper free ball rubber friction seal bb, centaur drlrs, chorus alloy levers, old record dual pivot brakes front and rear, rear centaur hub laced to op, really old record steel axle front hub laced to equally old rim) works fine.

i'm really getting curmudgeonly about the cost of all of this stuff.


I know I was being sarcastic. Now those cranks are on clearance everywhere for $300.

[Pete Serotta]

The price of the US $ and the race to "new" stuff has really raised the cost of new components. I am amazed at the cost of wheels - it seems there are more starting at $1000 than at $500. I am sure it is perception but 1000 seems cheap to the three pair I saw recently in the store (all sold) that had Powertap and carbon and $3000 plus bills.... :confused: :confused:

Not that I am not a softie to new campy ;) ;)

[A.L.Breguet]

The price of the US $ and the race to "new" stuff has really raised the cost of new components. I am amazed at the cost of wheels - it seems there are more starting at $1000 than at $500. I am sure it is perception but 1000 seems cheap to the three pair I saw recently in the store (all sold) that had Powertap and carbon and $3000 plus bills.... :confused: :confused:

Not that I am not a softie to new campy ;) ;)

The wheel market really is nutty. You can win a lot of races on 28 or 32 spoke open pros on any decent hub. As little as $250.

[Avispa]

Cruising the Competive Cyclist website and cam across a listing for the new Dura ace carbon crank....

Not that I think that piece is cheap, but CC is just not the cheapest out there! Compare their prices vs. Excel Sports, for instance.

:beer: for eBay, when everything goes well...

..A..

[dave thompson]

Is Dave Ramsey a new god?

[Big Dan]

We do this thread every couple of years and nothing changes.
Everybody wants to be the cool dude with the latest junk......


:p

[1centaur]

I am a little mystified at the price of the Shimano crank. The Zipp VumaQuad, with a lot more bling factor and a lot less weight, is much less expensive, while Zipp is usually on the high end (or higher) of comps. I ride DA on just about every bike I have and would not consider the carbon crank within $500 ($700?) of that price. It's almost like their previous attitude of "we don't need no stinkin' carbon cranks" is being underscored with a contemptuous, "if you want it so badly, here you go, chump" pricing strategy. FSA has finally got their act together on carbon cranks, Easton's putting their credible name out there on carbon cranks, Cannondale's very attractive for high end cranks and SRAM is getting there. If this is a pure stylistic statement(for the matchy-matchy set), it's out of character for the proud engineers of Shimano. Most likely, somewhere in Japan a cost accountant transposed a decimal in the process of cost accounting the R&D.

As a professional investor, I believe the term is "mispriced."

[shinomaster]

Don't Zipp cranks self-destruct?

[DarrenCT]

is this shimano crankset the most expensive ever?

[flux]

is this shimano crankset the most expensive ever?

Check out the Clavicula's by THM-Carbones.

[DarrenCT]

this IS out of control for sure. whatever happened to legs and lungs as the most important part of a bike?

[markie]

You could get some of these. They are worth so much because they self-destruct. :p

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Morati-Titanium-Ti-Cranks-Crankset-Paul-Proshift_W0QQitemZ330180485971QQihZ014QQcategoryZ5 6193QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[chrisroph]

this IS out of control for sure. whatever happened to legs and lungs as the most important part of a bike?

cause you can't buy these

[DarrenCT]

cause you can't buy these

use google, there are things that can help apparently :)

[DarrenCT]

cause you can't buy these

however.... you are correct :)

[72gmc]

You could get some of these. They are worth so much because they self-destruct. :p

Those crankarms look like the result of a meeting that went:
"Look what we can do."
"OK, but is that even a good idea?"
"Well, people will buy it."
"I'll start on the marketing plan."

[roman meal]

280 bucks for a chorus post.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=280171278342&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=018

[Fixed]

bro pay a lot or pay a little it's up to you and your needs

used bikes can be had for pennies sometimes
imho
give me a fix and i'm happy cheers

[stevep]

simple advice.
dont buy it if you think its too much money.


youre welcome.

tapes from the shimano office:
engineer..." the aluminum crank is superior in every way..."
marketing guy.." we need to have a carbon crank...customers want it"
engineer..." itll be very expensive cause we have to cover the development cost for a product that we wont sell that many...and it makes no sense"
marketing guy..." i dont care how much it costs, just make it..."

the engineers argument won out for 5 years... finally a new marketing guy arrived on the scene and made it happen.

[PaulE]

but FRN's that other countries don't want any more, so we will be paying more and more for imported goods. With apologies to Mexico, the FRN or US$ is the new Peso.

Just remember you are paying in frns (fed reserve notes) not dollars.

frns = unbacked fiat currency created outa thin air to support the national debt.

Inflation is a tax and most pernicious.

Welcome to frnacation. :eek:

[Grant McLean]

but FRN's that other countries don't want any more, so we will be paying more and more for imported goods. With apologies to Mexico, the FRN or US$ is the new Peso.

Campagnolo wholesale prices from american suppliers are up 20% from less than 1 year ago.

-g

[ButtedMoron]

The wheel market really is nutty. You can win a lot of races on 28 or 32 spoke open pros on any decent hub. As little as $250.

what I find most amusing is you used to be able to buy wheelsets from Excel Sports called Swiss Threats. Hugi 240 Hubs hand laced 32 Spoke, 3x with fancy DT butted spokes to DT semi aero rims. Wheelset was around $600 and was lighter than any of the 1000-2000 fancy sets they sold. Plus if you wacked a rim, you could rebuild it.

I've known folks who tweaked/wrecked Ksyriums and it was something like $150 bucks to replace/rebuild and took 2 months


sheeeesh

[DarrenCT]

what I find most amusing is you used to be able to buy wheelsets from Excel Sports called Swiss Threats. Hugi 240 Hubs hand laced 32 Spoke, 3x with fancy DT butted spokes to DT semi aero rims. Wheelset was around $600 and was lighter than any of the 1000-2000 fancy sets they sold. Plus if you wacked a rim, you could rebuild it.


killer wheelset. besides, they look a lot nicer than the es or sl's imho

(more so on a classic bike)

[pdxmech13]

Steve
that is exactly the conversation that happened.
now give me my tapes back and I'll let you keep the mind controlled suspension

[Avispa]

this IS out of control for sure. whatever happened to legs and lungs as the most important part of a bike?

Well... Is the driver the most important part of a race car? Some will argue that!!! Look at the price of some of those cars (and their parts).

The funny thing is, many pros do not use these carbon parts!
Bettini is one of the few pros that rides with a carbon stem.

..A..

[rounder]

If this keeps up, we will have to give up bicycles because we can't afford them and start riding harleys. Either that, or decide that we like what we already have and repair/replace as needed.

[Jeff N.]

Cruising the Competive Cyclist website and cam across a listing for the new dura ace carbon crank. Yikes :eek:

2008 Shimano Dura-Ace FC-7800-C Carbon Crankset

Item: SHI298 Weight: 609.0g
$1,400.00Meivici buyers'll be all over it. Jeff N.

[stevep]

Steve
that is exactly the conversation that happened.
now give me my tapes back and I'll let you keep the mind controlled suspension

by mistake i erased 18 minutes of the tape..but i'll send you back the rest...
the 18 minutes now is just me laughing

in it the marketing guy wants to add an eleven speed cassette to the mix...
and make the thing shiift automatically..nice

[Too Tall]

You guys are missing something. When they sell these overpriced items to the few this underpins OUR foundations :) Hellllooooo. I'm way beyond snarling under my breath when Freddy Farmer goes roaring backwards ontop the newest offering from Walser wearing 2k worth of clothing sweating his ba!!s off cursing heavy wheels he just paid 2billion JackBrunks(tm) for ;)

Am I wrong?

(No offense Jackster, you get the humor I hope).

[dbrk]

We do this thread every couple of years and nothing changes.
Everybody wants to be the cool dude with the latest junk......


Not everybody. I prefer old junk, much of which imho works as well or better. But what do I know? I like don't think about what a bike weighs either.

dbrk

[sspielman]

The exchange rate is a funny thing...The dollar is in the tank in large part because our balance of trade is so out of whack (thanks, OPEC)....Normally, its value would hit a point that American goods would become such a bargain that exports would start increasing. This time it just isn't happening...probably has something to do with the fact that we have tried our best to shut down every damned factory that we have and send its production to China..So, we have very few manufactured goods to export....AND thanks to the high price of oil, we are using ALOT of our ag commodities (corn/ wheat/soybeans-another traditional export) here at home for the production of biofuel. Duhhhhhh and we thought that everybody would play along forever and pretend that the dollar was still worth something!

[saab2000]

I am no economist, but I see many reasons for the collapse of the dollar. Education (or lack thereof), crumbling work ethic, loss of manufacturing, spending enormous amounts of money on Iraq, lack of fiscal common sense by most Americans with massive debt, the mentality that 80% of Americans can take pay cuts to support the top 5%, etc. All that will eventually take its toll, and now it is.

Just my opinion.

[J.Greene]

You guys are missing something. When they sell these overpriced items to the few this underpins OUR foundations :) Hellllooooo. I'm way beyond snarling under my breath when Freddy Farmer goes roaring backwards ontop the newest offering from Walser wearing 2k worth of clothing sweating his ba!!s off cursing heavy wheels he just paid 2billion JackBrunks(tm) for ;)

Am I wrong?

(No offense Jackster, you get the humor I hope).

I wish I had time to tell my story of the trip to my lbs yesterday. The sales staff should not quote directly from the sram ceramic bearing pitch book. It makes them look stupid, really really stupid.

JG

[PaulE]

I am no economist, but I see many reasons for the collapse of the dollar. Education (or lack thereof), crumbling work ethic, loss of manufacturing, spending enormous amounts of money on Iraq, lack of fiscal common sense by most Americans with massive debt, the mentality that 80% of Americans can take pay cuts to support the top 5%, etc. All that will eventually take its toll, and now it is.

Just my opinion.

+1 x 10^[expansion rate of FRN money supply]^[expansion rate of national deficit]^[expansion rate of balance of trade deficit]!

What's Shimano's price for that carbon crank in Euros, Gisele Bundchen's rumored preferred method of payment?

[Fixed]

Not everybody. I prefer old junk, much of which imho works as well or better. But what do I know? I like don't think about what a bike weighs either.

dbrk
+1 bro
cheers

[znfdl]

Not everybody. I prefer old junk, much of which imho works as well or better. But what do I know? I like don't think about what a bike weighs either.

dbrk

I do not prefer old junk, but I have been buying 2005 & 2006 Record pieces for a reasonable price.s All my geared bikes are now campy.

Also Too Tall is happy because I am giving him my Shimano stuff.

[Grant McLean]

The exchange rate is a funny thing...The dollar is in the tank in large part because our balance of trade is so out of whack (thanks, OPEC)....Normally, its value would hit a point that American goods would become such a bargain that exports would start increasing.

At least American built frames are getting less expensive to Canadians!

-g
:)

[Too Tall]

I wish I had time to tell my story of the trip to my lbs yesterday. The sales staff should not quote directly from the sram ceramic bearing pitch book. It makes them look stupid, really really stupid.

JG
LMAO ;)

[Too Tall]

At least American built frames are getting less expensive to Canadians!

-g
:)
And you send us what besides late night talk show hosts? Where's the equity?

[Fixed]

And you send us what besides late night talk show hosts? Where's the equity?
are they still on when you get up to ride bro ?
cheers

[sspielman]

are they still on when you get up to ride bro ?
cheers

...not any more..the writers are on strike!

[saab2000]

And you send us what besides late night talk show hosts? Where's the equity?

I'll tell you where the equity is. Go to Ottawa or Montreal or any other city we normally go to.

Canada has lots of eye candy! :beer:

[Ahneida Ride]

It just ain't frnacation. (creation of frn in excess over expansion in economy)

The bike manufactures have figured out we like bling and that we are
willing to cough up our fiat frn shopping coupons for bling.

Heck, I just dished out 170 frn or so for FSA ceramic pulleys!

frn = fed reserve (incredible preserve) note

[Pete Serotta]

I am going to put the leather tape that Ahneida is starting to market on my Legend this weekend.. It is not bling BUT sure is nice and leather :D :D

It just ain't frnacation. (creation of frn in excess over expansion in economy)

The bike manufactures have figured out we like bling and that we are
willing to cough up our fiat frn shopping coupons for bling.

Heck, I just dished out 170 frn or so for FSA ceramic pulleys!

frn = fed reserve (incredible preserve) note

[Too Tall]

It just ain't frnacation. (creation of frn in excess over expansion in economy)

The bike manufactures have figured out we like bling and that we are
willing to cough up our fiat frn shopping coupons for bling.

Heck, I just dished out 170 frn or so for FSA ceramic pulleys!

frn = fed reserve (incredible preserve) note
G-d love a duck. This is beginning to sound like an AA meeting ;)

[Pete Serotta]

G-d love a duck. This is beginning to sound like an AA meeting ;)

if so, I will be right (write) over...... :cool: