#61
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same here.
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#62
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Thanks, Private Equity!
This is such a drag. Kona was always a huge part of the biking community up here, sponsored our CX races (even had a race we would hold at their old warehouse), a local club (via the shop) and all kinds of events. The local Kona bike shop would show up and do neutral support... Just all around doing good stuff. There was a time when almost every bike you saw on the mountain was a Kona (as has been said, now they are all Transitions. Guilty!) I'll happily blame the money guys in Greenwich, but if we are being honest, the bike industry jumped the shark when $5,000 bikes became the norm. The tails of the covid boom are going to haunt the industry for another few years. I suspect we are just getting started. Next stop recession, personal income drops and so do the rest of the dominos. Bummed in Bellingham. |
#63
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Edit: Take a look at OEM spec - Eagle AXS is effectively dead already on OEM mtb builds. Last edited by EB; 04-19-2024 at 02:19 PM. |
#64
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I swear I'm not being snarky--is there any reason why you couldn't do that on a regular bike?
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#65
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Others can't exert themselves since they may not be able to get their heart rate up past a certain level. There are a lot of reasons why someone might want the assist. One of my supervisors used to race a ton when she was in grad school but now has an e-assist road bike and said that it lets her ride with her husband or just at a level where she can exert herself without going over. Everyone has different goals. I'm just stoked to see folks getting out and getting exercise and fresh air. |
#66
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I'm kind of in a weird spot here but even though I know the effects of inflation and bike tech and..... etc.
I still can't get over the fact that I bought a race-able caad9 with 105 for 1300 and that was a frame that was recently tour-ridden. I think the market has changed where the trickle down effect doesn't quite work the same way, but I really do think that the increase in integration and tech has really pushed price of bikes up like crazy. IIRC a full DA with zipp supersix was like what... 6.5k? Now you'd be hard pressed to get a top of the line bike from them for 10k which is inflation adjusted-ish. I know there's a huge difference in tech here since that top of the line bike now has electronic shifting, is more aero, disc, etc etc etc. But I think it still alienates people to see things that are that expensive. I think on average, wages haven't really kept up with inflation much so the average person feels the pinch more than ever and it further makes things like bikes look elitist. In reality, I think things are the result of poor planning. Thinking the demand during and post pandemic would keep up. It happened in so many industries including musical instruments, like with fender, that things grew too fast, then they slashed and burned when reality started to set in. That said, I'm a little bummed that I wasn't really in place to capitalize on some of these sales. It would have been nice to have bought a fully modern fleet for the price I've paid for my cobbled together used bikes/parts. |
#67
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Bikes have gone sideways a lot the last 10 years, then they had to spend a whole bunch more money to try and make sure they didn't get slower as they went sideways.
You see the same model of bike now versus the one 10 years ago and the new one gained a ton of weight from the disc brakes + electronic groupsets, then they worked to minimize that weight gain. As a result in the same model you're often paying for a higher grade of Carbon in the frame/fork and you're paying for fancier cockpit bits made of carbon along with carbon wheelsets whereas that same bike 8-10 years ago would have had alloy wheels. The new one will still be heavier but the price went into making it 500g heavier instead of 2000-2500g heavier. |
#68
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#69
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You missed the deal on intense bikes @ costco. It'll probably happen again but likely not for a while.
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#70
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Costco deal lasted about a week, but even that didn't last forever. It helps to follow various forums and websites dedicated to deal tracking (including the PSA thread here, and the mtbr subform on deals), you also have to be ready to make a purchase on a moment's notice if you want the best deals. The really good ones are gone quickly. On more than a few occasions I've had good deals that sell out between the time I put them in my cart and when I finish checking out.
__________________
Instagram - DannAdore Bicycles |
#71
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Bikes are being sold at a wider range of price points, from $300 - $15,000. Furthermore, the average consumer can choose from more than a dozen different brands, which means there should be more than enough competition between brands. If the prices people are paying for bikes are going up, it is only because people are willing to pay those prices. |
#72
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quality and demand
I am curious about this idea of factoring in quality when tracking inflation.
I used the Prius as a reference point with this in mind. Hybrid technology has improved such that the rise in price of a Prius also comes with performance benefits. Perhaps that's not true for a pair of jeans, an apple or a gallon of gas. But that's why I noted the much lower price increase for the Prius where this same consideration would apply. I also chose cable actuated 105 to put aside the question of the cost of electronic shifting. Still, the price increase was 80%. Because bikes are a luxury item, I also chose 105 level because it stands at a particular status level in the Shimano hierarchy. Quality is so hard to measure. I do think more modern bikes by many measures are better for a particular kind of rider. Though very few riders fit in this category (shifts better in a sprint under power...). However, in my mind the cost of 105 can't be mitigated by saying now Claris is better, because as a luxury item, Claris doesn't offer the same respectability/prestige as 105, and so much of what is being sold is respectability/prestige. Thus, you can't compare a 2024 Camry to a Lexus even if it has the same horsepower and as many speakers. Finally, I don't dispute the role of supply and demand, but if it does feel at odds with the sense of obligation I feel I'm supposed to feel to local shops, small brand and MUSA parts. Based on this logic, I should hope for a sharp drop in prices as a market correction to the 80% increase in price over the last 10 years. Unfortunately, I have too much of a parasocial relation to many in the bike industry to not feel bad for the real world impact this would/will have for many involved. |
#73
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I recently looked at the lowest end of the market price range MTB's, and found that often-heavier bikes having narrower overall gearing with conspicuously-wide ratio gaps are replacing the former simple triples, while of course selling for around 30-40% more than just a few years back. That Costco sale, particularly on the full-suspension models, was one for the record books. I missed out, but also missed out on dealing with anything having to do with thru-axles or having 80cm handlebars and all making their physical size more like my old dirt bikes. |
#74
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https://www.propain-bikes.com/us/products/outlet/ Killer deals are still out there.
__________________
Instagram - DannAdore Bicycles |
#75
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__________________
I'm riding to promote awareness of my riding |
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