I am really completely out of touch with the latest and the greatest

[weisan]

Last week, I traded in one of my bikes at a local bike shop for $1100. They gave me a gift card to buy anything I want in the store. So, here I am, thinking to myself at the store, "hey, maybe this is the perfect opportunity to try some of latest components..." I asked the sales guy about eTap, and making sure he understood that I knew absolutely nothing about the groupset other than it's wireless and made by SRAM. He showed me a Specialized Roubaix road bike that has SRAM Red eTap AXS. I took a peek at the hanging price tag -- "$10,000". (gulp)

Ok..."er, so how much is the groupset?"

sales guy: "I have to check, I don't know for sure, I think it's in the $2000 price range."

Ahhhh....wow, I didn't realize I still need to cough up some money, I thought surely $1000+ should buy me a nice complete group....nooooo. This showed how out of touch I am with the latest and the greatest, I am still riding 9 and 10 speeds, haven't even converted to Di2 or any of the electronic groupset.

Long story short, to help with my sticker shock, the young man managed to convince me to order the cheaper set of eTap Force AXS which was selling at $1,650 from QDP. At the cashier, it ringed up to $1780 with tax included. In the end, I not only traded in my bike but also spent an additional $680 which I didn't expect.

And that's not the end of the story.

Later in the day, I had to talk to the same guy again on the phone. Apparently, he had made a mistake in assuming that the group that we ordered included the crankset and the cassette at that price and it wasn't!!!
He was very apologetic and felt misled which I don't blame him, he was just going by the picture that he saw on the Internet.




Anyway, I kindly told him that I really couldn't afford to pay any extra cash to get the crank and the cassette, so we canceled the order.

Now I am back with a gift card that has a store value of $1100 which I decided that I will probably not spend on buying anything from the store, thus this ad.

What happened was, I did a bit of soul searching coming out of this experience.

I am really not a retro-kind-of-guy and I get that the newer stuff works really nice.

But I think, for now, I will pass.

My current state of mind with regards to biking is one of contentment and tranquility.

I am happy with where I am and what I have. Truly.

[mtechnica]

I think you'd find an 11 speed ultegra or dura ace mechanical group to be a really nice upgrade over your 9/10 speed and it won't put you in the poor house. I'm not sold on electronic personally but YMMV.

[Mikej]

I feel your pain- I thought I was going to get a custom ti super bike all built up with axs, Enve King wheels, custom ti stem, everything- guuulpp! I actually don’t even know what to do now as I have a drawing, but just didn’t really comprehend the cost of everything I wanted. I already have a ti bike from this builder, now it seems fine after the costs and decisions, which I still haven’t sorted out. Hi

[AngryScientist]

smart shoppers on a budget never buy the latest and greatest. you always pay a premium for the absolute cutting edge. give any of this new stuff a couple years and it will be discounted to where it is much more affordable to the masses.

[Dave]

Even force axs is really high priced. I bought two chorus 12 groups for less.

My colnago c-rs was built up with chorus and zondas for no more than 3k.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by mtechnica

I think you'd find an 11 speed ultegra or dura ace mechanical group to be a really nice upgrade over your 9/10 speed and it won't put you in the poor house. I'm not sold on electronic personally but YMMV.

This

I enjoy Di2 when I've used it, but it's pretty much mechanical, mechanical, and mechanical for me

M

[Mr. Pink]

Somebody lost a battery in their electronic shifter the other day in the Vuelta, so, hey, there's that. And you won't have a team car to wait for in a minute or two, carrying your spare bike.

[stephenmarklay]

Which is why everyone was doing mail order out of the UK.

Really, I kind of soured on the $ that cycling was taking. Between the bikes, the bibs the shoes etc. it all just got too much for me. Folks with the means riding around on 10k bikes.

Anyway I digress

[steelbikerider]

It is possible to ride the really good stuff if you shop well and do your own work.

I don't think I will ever buy a brand new top of the line bike at retail unless I win the lottery. I usually buy a frame and switch over the group. Next year I may build a new set of wheels, then cranks and brakes, then drivetrain, all at sale prices. after 4-5 years I repeat the process. I average about a $1000/year on new components and consumables.

Now I'm riding a 3 year old protour level frame(barely used team bike) with all 9000/9001 DA that was built up for around $3000 without wheels. A similar build in a retail shop would be $7000-8000. Way more than I need but I enjoy it. My second bike is a custom steel with 7900.

However, my next purchase will probably be a new custom steel from a reputable TX frame builder to replace my 20 year old steel frame that has seen 3 different groupsets. The frame alone will probably cost as much as it did to build up my carbon bike.

The other caveat is to not let the old parts accumulate and gather dust. I'm impressed with the $1100 trade in. Go to Sport Shop and stock up on Castelli fall and cool weather gear that you normally wouldn't buy.

Anybody need any 7700 stuff?

[HTupolev]

Originally Posted by weisan

I thought surely $1000+ should buy me a nice complete group....nooooo.

It absolutely can. It won't get you the most expensive stuff, but that doesn't mean anything in any market. Top-end prices are always whatever people will pay. Would you say that $200,000 isn't enough to buy a nice car just you can spend several million on a Bugatti?

At any rate, I don't understand why you'd be that hung up on latest-and-greatest in the first place.
Outside of e-shifting, shifting technology hasn't made any notable strides in nearly thirty years. And while e-shifting is pretty neat for TT/Tri bikes, since it allows putting shifters on the basebars, it's not terribly critical on road bikes where brifters already allow shifting out of the saddle in both the hoods and hooks. Unless you're trying to solve a specific problem with your shifting ergonomics, or literally have no budget limitations, in 2019 I personally wouldn't bother with e-shifting on a road bike.
More speeds is nice, but presently doesn't require top dollar. If you want 2x12, look into Campy Chorus.

[bigbill]

This year I forayed into the Shimano world. All my road bikes are campy 10 or 11. I bought a Ultegra 8000 mechanical group from the classifieds here and put it on a really nice Ti bike, that I bought here. The 8000 stuff works really well but I've had a few hand issues throughout my life including a compound fracture of my left hand, several broken fingers, and the webbing between my thumb and forefinger sliced open, all in my 30's. Now I'm 54 and it's starting to bug me when I ride. Today is the first day I seriously thought about Di2. I have an easier time with campy and the thumb paddle.

[FlashUNC]

Not to pile on, but you would have been swapping a freehub body as well. All AXS cassettes start with a 10 tooth small cog, requiring SRAM's XDR freehub body to use.

If you don't have a hub from a manufacturer making an XDR freehub, add wheels to the list.

The new AXS stuff is outstanding, but I don't like how SRAM is pushing it out into the market when they say you should be getting it all-in. If it's a full group, then sell it like a full group, not just the shifty bits.

[joosttx]

I love my axs eagle on my MTB. Although I would say it is not revolutionary I would say it is next level to everything out there. The idea of going 10x50 cassette and singe crank ring really intrigues me for my gravel bike. I also like the idea of having two bikes with interchangeable drivetrains.

[colker]

Thing is... the latest drivetrains won´t change much the quality of my bike riding. The new crop of full suspension trail bikes otoh. although i have lots of fun on my hardtails i know something like a Mojo 3 or Mojo 4 would open new doors. I would need different trails to explore those bikes full potential. So what i really need is travel w/ bikes to different places.. not more bike stuff.

[zmalwo]

12s is not even needed. Both Sram and Campy was on 12s this year but the tour was still won by a 11s group. If you look at the price difference b/t 11s and 12s groups it's almost double the price. Ultegra di2 group is the best group ever made, more durable than DA, 60% the price, shifts better than any groupset on the planet and the most customize-able group as well. Everything expensive nowadays is a scam. The money goes to inefficiency,less averaged out developmental cost vs a small market, advertisement, exponential salary etc. It's like a Rolex back in the 60s cost a serviceman's one month salary but now it's more like a whole year's salary yet their watch haven't improved at all. Bike parts to a lesser degree but expensive stuff always feeds on people's ignorance of thinking that higher price tag = magically better.