Quote:
Originally Posted by litcrazy
Inflation follow up.
Maybe this should become its own thread, but I thought I'd follow up using a big brand bike (even though I've been disconnected from the sector). I note that the road category has its quirks as noted, but this was interesting to compare.
In 2014 the MSRP for a Specialized Tarmac SL4 with mechanical disc was $2024 from what I could find on the Specialized sight.
The MSRP for 2024 Tarmac SL7 with mechanical 105 is $3800.
Running an inflation calculator, the that 2014 $2024 in 2024 dollar would be $2670.
This takes out the questions of US built boutique bikes.
I understand a 2024 Tarmac is better than a 2014 Tarmac, but it does make it real how much more expensive that 2024 105 Tarmac is. That's an 88% increase.
I'd be curious who's doing better in the bike industry in light of that increase? Did unit sales go down?
It doesn't seem like shop mechanics' pay went up 88%. It doesn't seem like shop owners are making 88% more. Is that all going to Shimano and Specialized? To their manufacturers?
As a point of comparison, 2014 base model Prius seems to have had an MSRP $23,215. A 2025 base model Prius starts at $27.950. That would only be a price increase of 25%. I imagine Toyota would say the 2024 also has seen improvements.
Am I crazy, or have recreational bikes drifted more and more expensive relative to inflation and thus become more and more of a luxury item (even before the arrival of e-bikes). I imagine I could also look at one magazines awards edition and we'd see a similar rise in prices, not just at the top but in their budget and mid-tier awards.
|
CPI (and other inflation measures) are averages over a
large number of categories, with category-specific weighting based upon analysis of what the "average" consumer needs, wants, and buys.
These are useful tools, but they are not apples-to-apples for a specific category, which may have faced much larger increases than other categories (or even categories that are seeing decreases).
So it is possible that bicycles faced category-specific pressures through the pandemic period specifically that led to outside price pressure, even relative to the average represented by CPI or other inflation measures.