not a hater but Specialized cranking up prices

[Pinned]

Worsening exchange rate USD - TWD has caused a big rise in manufacturing costs. Factor in enormous increase in shipping costs, increases in the cost of components, increase in raw materials cost...the manufacturers are paying more than 10% additional to make and import bikes. Not defending Specialized pricing, and I'm not a customer, but the strain on the cycling industry from the manufacturing side is brutal.

[buddybikes]

Try fully custom Alchemy. Small shop building my custom bike for almost same price as the Spec Expert. You may need to help them source some parts (which I find kind of fun) since their suppliers (as well as any small maker) are having problems also.

Originally Posted by eddief

I actually really like my Roubaix and Turbo Creo but I Spec just cranked up prices a lot. Not sure about non-ebikes but somethins going on with Creo. At least one model up $1K oh my.

I was in Mike's Bikes Petaluma today and the manager said things are just nuts. Covid, supply constraints, and they are trying to keep employees who are doing hazardous "work" with no vaccine in sight for them. Perfect storm in the bike biz.

You might think they are making money hand over fist but the combo of higher employee costs, ridiculous supply constraints, and even backed up repair revenues cuz they can't get parts still make the bike biz a hard nut to crack.

He congratulated me for finding Conti 5000 32 in Italy. He'd do the same.

[ltwtsculler91]

Originally Posted by steveandbarb1

Try fully custom Alchemy. Small shop building you a custom bike for almost same price as the Spec Expert. You may need to help them source some parts (which I find kind of fun) since their suppliers (as well as any small maker) are having problems also.

This exactly. As prices from the big names go up, expect to see more custom/smaller "premium" builders fill the gap. At the shop I worked at, we started to see more Parlee's move as Trek has raised their prices over the last two years and Parlee moved from being in line with top models to the mid range. Seeing that Trek's entry 105 carbon "SL" Emonda/Domane have gone from being around $2000 to $3000 with similar adjustments across the board the last two years, I'd expect things to keep going that way.

If a mid-level Trek/Canndondale with Ultegra is $4500, why not spend $5500 and get on a similar build spec with a custom steel frame or a Parlee ?

[KonaSS]

I think it is very fair to say that bike prices are starting to seem crazy, and this is from a guy who has spent alot on bikes over the last 20 years. I actually bought 3 Specialized bikes in the last year, all before pandemic scarcity and price increases. When I did, compared to many other lines, Specialized was very fair to good prices. And if you are going to turn over your bikes every few years, Specialized is like the Toyota Tacoma of used bikes. That is where they are overpriced.

When comparing spec across similar bikes, Medium sized brands were actually much worse. I assume that is because they don't have the buying power and they are paying more for components and maybe even frames on a per unit basis. Where Specialized is ridiculous is on frameset pricing. You are almost always betting buying complete.

Perhaps this is the change that will get us riding appropriate level bikes. Do any of us really need anything better than Ultegra or comparable from other brands? Some of the newer aluminum bikes ride really nice too.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

Unless you walk through the coals hand in hand with Mike Sinyard and Tony Robbins...things are little rough right now if you're a specialized dealer. Rumors are true

30 day terms and loyalty tests...just to get in line behind motorsports dealers to stock bikes with a mid 20s margin. Covid-19, take me away

Not 100% sure how draconian the other brands are but probably somewhat similar

2022 will be a even more interesting year

Rumors?

[oldpotatoe]

Put name of LeisureTimeActivityGear here and EVERY category of everything is in short supply. Bikes, golf, fishing, guns/ammo(no political comments please), fitness gear of all types..in short supply..

Guy that owns Vecchio's needs sram etap/hydro left levers(not sold as a pair..go figure)..has RH..lefts in OCTOBER...

[2000CSI]

Things are going to get very interesting in the industry in the next year or two.
Everybody is going to raise prices. I've heard of component lead times for bike manufacturers of 360-500 days. That's more than a year folks! Product cycles are less than that. Some manufacturers are sold out already for '21 and into '22.

[54ny77]

i have a stash of 10 spd parts that'll last me for the next decade. anyone wanna trade for bitcoin?

[El Chaba]

Originally Posted by 2000CSI

Things are going to get very interesting in the industry in the next year or two.
Everybody is going to raise prices. I've heard of component lead times for bike manufacturers of 360-500 days. That's more than a year folks! Product cycles are less than that. Some manufacturers are sold out already for '21 and into '22.

There will be a collapse.....

[zap]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Guy that owns Vecchio's needs sram etap/hydro left levers(not sold as a pair..go figure)..has RH..lefts in OCTOBER...

Surprised spare etap bits are available that far out. I'm under the impression that SRAM is no longer supporting etap.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by zap

Surprised spare etap bits are available that far out. I'm under the impression that SRAM is no longer supporting etap.

they probably still making stuff for warranty purposes, they just released a new etap RD for example.

[mtechnica]

Anyone have a graph of high end bike prices adjusted for inflation? Weren’t bikes over $1000 in the 80’s?