You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Came across this today...[url= http://www.evanscycles.com/products/sram/quarq-battery-cover-for-red-elsa-riken-ec061805 ]battery cover[/url]
£27 quid for a battery cover...you'd have thought that if you'd have spent over a grand on one of their cranks they would have the good grace to not completely rip the piss when it comes to spares.
So what other examples of utter greed from bike manufactures are there out there?
Ouch!
TRiathln aero kit. Water bottles etc. Complete rip off
Power meters in general - £600 for a couple of strain gauges and a circuit board in a box plus some software
It's not so much the makers, it's the distributors who double the price of everything by moving a box from one place to another.
Camelbak 3L bladders , 30 quid , seriously ?
camel back spare mouth valves £5.99 😯
Power meters in general - £600 for a couple of strain gauges and a circuit board in a box plus some softwareIt's not so much the makers, it's the distributors who double the price of everything by moving a box from one place to another.
It is a precision measuring tool, that you'd want to be perfectly consistent in a whole range of demanding conditions. There'd be a big market for cheap power-meters, so if it can already be done on the cheap while maintaining reliability, someone would have done it. They'll definitely get cheaper though.
Yeah - all Camelback bladder spares are a total rip-off. Who are they trying to kid?
Expensive stuff in expensive spares shocker. The way of the world. If you can afford a £1K crank...
IMO most stuff above deore.
Mech hangers
Power meters in general - £600 for a couple of strain gauges and a circuit board in a box plus some software
Have you ever worked with strain gauges? Know anything about the surface preparation, glues and waterproofing to make them durable and reliable long term? I'm guessing not.
A good, small, fatigue rated loadcell is at least £500. So buying one of them, ready calibrated including telemetry (because they are on a spinning thing) and logging gear for £600 sounds a bargain!
1x11 powerlinks. From less than £3 to £13 for exactly the same thing depending on what greedy outlet want to sell it to you
"[b]SRAM[/b] Quarq Battery Cover for Red/Elsa/Riken is a [b]genuine replacement part[/b]."
There's the problem.
Some SRAM parts RRP can be crazy prices. Though often heavily discounted online. Guess though here it's fancy expensive non essential kit so going to hold price. It's almost like they "saw you coming" 😛
To be honest, ANYTHING Road Bike related,
I've dug out an old CX bike from 5 years ago and stuck some sensible road tyres on it, I've been out ONCE in 2 Months on the MTB so the majority, 95% of biking so far this winter has been done on the road.
Imagine my surprise when i ventured on to a website the other day and saw how much they charge for these LYCRA Tops, WTF ! Not just the tops, shorts, shoes, jackets, helmets, the list is endless and massively overpriced,
I know you can get cheaper alternatives from Lidl, Decathlon etc but i do like to splash out on my Hobby so when i saw these prices i pulled out my old Endura Thermal bib longs my singletrack shorts and a few base layers and set off out into the rain.
So ANYTHING road bike related, it just seems more expensive than MTB Kit.
Endura stuff seems to be rarely drop in price for the popular stuff. It's like some sort of price fixing is going on. It's when online prices are fairly much the same as LBS prices that makes me wonder 😉
To be honest, ANYTHING Road Bike related,
You have to bear in MIND, that road kit lasts a lot longer than MOUNTAIN BIKE stuff, so it usually ends up better VALUE in the long run.
(Am I getting the random caps lock right?)
I dont mind paying for ENDURA clobber, and i quite like the fact that the maker who is the supplier caps the prices at that so theres no skull duggery going on, it makes things fair all round,
Hang on. Just writing a list of these with this pencil I just bought for £20 - http://hiutdenim.co.uk/products/tri-conderoga
camel back spare mouth valves £5.99
Do I remember rightly that there used to be 2 spare valves in the packet? It's big enough for 2 or 3!
Chain devices in general.
irvb - Member
Hang on. Just writing a list of these with this pencil I just bought for £20 - http://hiutdenim.co.uk/products/tri-conderoga
DAFUQ?
Artisan-craft-bullshit-shark-jumping pencils. Whatever next?
[quoteHave you ever worked with strain gauges? Know anything about the surface preparation, glues and waterproofing to make them durable and reliable long term? I'm guessing not.
A good, small, fatigue rated loadcell is at least £500. So buying one of them, ready calibrated including telemetry (because they are on a spinning thing) and logging gear for £600 sounds a bargain!
Yes, about 20 years ago for firefighting equipment - had to withstand temperatures from -40 to +200, totally waterproof and survive being run-over by a truck!
Chain guides
The Reverb remote button replacement kit.
Shit design, predatory pricing.
So ANYTHING road bike related, it just seems more expensive than MTB Kit.
Forks
RS going from dual air which was free to adjust travel to solo air which means spending £80 on a new air shaft...
Suspension oil/brake fluid
Cleats (when you can buy cleats for £15 and new M540 pedals which include cleats for £28!).
Anything from Sram...prices are eye watering...particularly their drivetrain bits. Plenty online places do discounts but even with those it is still a rip off.
Everything then!
Hang on. Just writing a list of these with this pencil I just bought for £20 - http://hiutdenim.co.uk/products/tri-conderoga
Marketing blurb even claims that's it got a [i]soft touch finish[/i].
agree on cleats!
oe bearings is always a good money spinner
When it comes to odds and sods type spare parts Shimano make every other manufacturer look like a bandit. I seem to recall paying £25 for a seal kit for my useless old Juicy brakes a few years ago, about what Shim charge for a replacement Caliper with pads.
The price of top-end wheelsets always makes my eyes water
I don't think forks are too overpriced once you've seen how complex they are inside- multi valve/circuit damping etc.
I agree re chainlinks, they get exponentially more expensive as you go from 9 to 10 to 11 speed and it's obviously a tax on early adopters and disposable income.
Some stuff is incredibly well priced though- think about the complexity of an slx clutch mech that you can pick up for £35 and works for 2000 miles in UK conditions.
How about some ceramic bearings for €715?
[url= http://www.ceramicspeed.com/sport/products/WheelKits/product/CSWK0401010/DT-Swiss-1-Coated ]http://www.ceramicspeed.com/sport/products/WheelKits/product/CSWK0401010/DT-Swiss-1-Coated[/url]
Probably power links - compared to the other 90odd other links you get in a chain.
However - as said above compared to road bike parts - almost £500 for a Campagnolo electric shifting replacement battery?
I don't think forks are too overpriced once you've seen how complex they are inside- multi valve/circuit damping etc.
Some are quite reasonably priced by the time online retailers get hold of them - Rock Shox in particular.
You can't get a top end Fox 36 under £800 though, and going on past experience I'd expect the lower tier models to be rubbish anyway.
Good job RS make such good forks really.
Fox evolution spec forks and shocks are incredibly basic and undoubtedly overpriced. The factory spec stuff is very good though.
Xfusion forks are still the sweet spot for price/performance imo
Camelback cleaning tablets. £8.50 for 8 from CRC.
Miltons sterilising tabs, £1.25 for 28 from Tescos...
Energy drink mix, energy bars etc
Endura are EXTREMELY picky about who they sell to, that's how they keep prices relatively high. I wouldn't mind if the quality was consistent and the sizing wasn't all over the place.........
Those trendy little arse saver mudguards. Seen them for 12 quid!
As I bought one from Planet X for 99p ( and I bet they made on that deal) I do feel that the price of many of them is a touch OTT.
I must be honest though and admit complete admiration for anyone who can get gullible idiots to part with lots of money for some thing that cost bugger all.
I wish I could.
Really though , no such things as rip off as you don't have to buy them.
Expensive stuff in expensive spares shocker. The way of the world. If you can afford a £1K crank...
IMO most stuff above deore.
Most outdoor brand gear in general.
Add a big brand name in (eg Gore Tex) and just double the price.
Not parts but Santa Cruz frames , how much ? Our American guide couldn't believe how much they sell for over here , in the States they are a middling brand certainly not boutique .
+1 for a lot of so called "boutique" brands, with a warranty that's only good for three years. There's a good reason why I've never hankered for a Santa Cruz.
There's a general trend...it's all down to how much cash can be leveraged and how often, hence the now all too common reinvention of standards every two years or so.
As for Fox...I'll take Rockshox every time, thanks.
With you re Fox forks , still haven't addressed the stanchion scoring issues 🙁
Jones frame set £1200 for Cromo why
Any bike branded components, oil, grease, bolts, bearings and such that are exactly the same as non bike branded and available in any good high street or online hardware store, yet are massively more expensive on a price per quantity basis because they're bike branded.
Even store brands. Go into Halfords and you can pick up the same items in the car section at a fraction of the price in bigger quantities (brake fluid is an example).
Shimano's own branded tools! 😯
Another vote for 11 speed powerlinks, nearly fainted when I was going to order a couple and saw the price.
Think I paid £1.50 for 2 last time I bought some (9 speed) and you can buy a decent complete chain for less.
Don't think I have paid over £6 for set of Shimano replacement cleats, but when you can get a set of 520 pedals for £15 , that then makes them seem expensive. Tyres for me seem to be stupid prices. Some Schwalbes are £50 each in the LBS , when Michelin make decent tyres , tubeless and good quality for half that , so you cant say its down to production costs.
Forks, well I would never pay over £400 for a pair and definitely not this years colours. At the end of the day, the basic principal is a pair of outer legs with inner ones sliding in them. As to whether the forks need a stupid priced valve or device in it, as that's what your paying for. The technology of forks and sliders has been the same since the beginning, until you try a lefty and then you notice how much better they are.
Most things whith "Hope" written on them unfortunately :/
The Jones frame and the Jones Bars. £130 for standard ally bars? F*ck off. Really would love a frame too but my god I can't justify that. I can get a custom titanium frame from Pact Bikes for less.
Tyres.
Tubeless stuff.
Tubeless tape, tubeless fluid, tubeless, valves, it's all basic and cheap to make and yet the prices are mad.
We are all complaining about the price yet we still pay it...which doesn't help.
Tubeless valves - even if I buy 1000 of them they still cost nearly as much as an inner tube!
We are all complaining about the price yet we still pay it...which doesn't help.
^This*
* Grumbles about in pocket to find £14 for a GT replaceable mech hanger. Decides against it. Never had a mech hanger break. Fate being a fickle fistress I've certainly sealed mine now...
Santa Cruz bikes, and yes if you don't like the price don't pay!
Most things whith "Hope" written on them unfortunately
Couldn't disagree more with this.
The fact their customer service is possibly the best out there and coupled with the fact you can easily purchase even the smallest of spare parts, I and many others would continue to use them, regardless of price.
Cost and value are 2 very different things.
re Hope. Great brakes. Great hubs. Also some of the worst QR levers I've ever used. Some of the most expensive headset spacers also. But they do bear the 'Hope' logo so they must be awesome spacers?
Try to run a manufacturing business for a few years and it'll totally change your perspective. Many things (especially 'cheap' plastic parts) cost way more to make than a layperson may expect. And all the other costs of running a business add up - especially if you want to provide excellent customer service (or indeed market your products so people know you exist and consider buying them)!
There's usually a cheaper alternative to any of the gear listed here as a rip-off. And if there isn't, maybe there's a reason why?
Flat pedals....at £50+ some at a £100...
tyres, defeinately tyres. No way they should cost nearly as much as car tyres.
Yes, about 20 years ago for firefighting equipment - had to withstand temperatures from -40 to +200, totally waterproof and survive being run-over by a truck!
Where's your cheap power meter then? You'd make millions.
Tyres for me seem to be stupid prices. Some Schwalbes are £50 each in the LBS , when Michelin make decent tyres , tubeless and good quality for half that , so you cant say its down to production costs.
You can use that logic on everything though. You can buy a £5 tyre in Halfords, so Michelin are over charging. Indeed you can buy a bike for £50...
SRAM spares are stupidly expensive. XX jockey wheels were £120!
A lot of it's about simple supply and demand. Imagine how many car tyres Michelin sell in a year compared to bike tyres. Yes overall the research, materials and production cost of a bike tyre should be a lot cheaper but the research, design and production line costs have to be split across a much smaller number of the end product compared the the larger number of car tyres.
"Rip-off" doesn't equate to expensive - e.g. a Rapha top isn't a rip-off, it's sold at a price the market wants to pay. Other tops are available at different prices.
The cost of a powermeter isn't that related to the cost of making one. It's the sunk development costs + market value that affects the price more. If you've had a team developing something for several years before you sell anything (e.g. Garmin and the Vectors) you need to recoup that investment.
The example given by the OP is a good one - it's a very specific part only available from one source. They have to make them anyway for the full units so the incremental cost of spare ones must be very small. The R&D/development costs are recouped through the sales of the powermeter/crank itself so I'd struggle to see how even supply chain/stocking costs could justify the price.
re Hope. Great brakes. Great hubs. Also some of the worst QR levers I've ever used. Some of the most expensive headset spacers also. But they do bear the 'Hope' logo so they must be awesome spacers?
At least somebody gets it. I'm not saying all hope stuff is overpriced, but £80 for a brake rotor? Or £8 per headset spacer? Come on that's ridiculous...
elliott-20 - Member
Couldn't disagree more with this.The fact their customer service is possibly the best out there and coupled with the fact you can easily purchase even the smallest of spare parts, I and many others would continue to use them, regardless of price.
Cost and value are 2 very different things.
Hope bearings - identical bearings can be found in your local bearing supplier for a fraction of the price, just without the name Hope stamped on them. Great customer service is fine but if all I need is bearings I don't see paying a premium for the name on an internal component as value for money.
On the parts front, that always amuses me. People rave about how easy it is to get Hope spares and easy maintenance of components like their hubs. Buy a DTS hub and you won't be stripping it down to service it every 6 months anyway. 6 years more like 😉
How about the box of nitrile gloves Park sells for about £30.
Identical to those sold in Screwfix for a fiver.
Is that £80 for one of their vented rotors? How many do you think they sell? How much did the R&D cost? How long did the final design and CAM tooling take? How long does it take to machine one? How many rotors do they get from one cutting tool (surprisingly expensive things!)? What does final assembly, packing and warehousing cost? It all adds up!
If you don't want to spend that much on a rotor there are plenty of other options. Moaning about the price of the most complex and high power rotor on the market is like moaning about the cost or fuel consumption of a Bentley for taking the kids to school...
£8 for a headset spacer? If I had millions of pounds worth of CNC machines making expensive parts like brakes and cranks and hubs I wouldn't want to waste valuable machine time on making cheap parts like headset spacers - but if enough people ask for them I'd do it but they'd have to be sold at a high price to keep demand down and profit decent.
On the parts front, that always amuses me. People rave about how easy it is to get Hope spares and easy maintenance of components like their hubs. Buy a DTS hub and you won't be stripping it down to service it every 6 months anyway. 6 years more like
I have four Hope hubs, ridden in all weathers, multiple times a week, thousands of miles. One pair are almost five years old and have never been serviced, one pair almost two years old and the same. One Hope BB that is even older and about to go into its third frame with original bearings, one BB that's only 18 months old and obviously fine. And headsets likewise.
I don't buy Hope stuff because it's easy to service, I buy it because it rarely needs servicing - and when it finally does it's easy and you can get the parts.
Other than brakes, Hope stuff just goes on working - and it's not expensive once you line it up with Chris King, American Classic etc.
There's no doubt that Santa Cruz frames are expensive but lifetime bearing replacement and unquestioning warranty support must have value too.
Other than brakes, Hope stuff just goes on working - and it's not expensive once you line it up with Chris King, American Classic etc.
Can't agree with that. I stopped using any hope products after being let down so many times with hub a brake failures.
Most of my wheels have American Classic hubs and they've been perfect with 10 min service once a year to change the free hub grease.
Parts are also cheap enough considering their service length.
Some people love their stuff and some don't. Hey ho.
Isn't Hope stuff made in the UK? (paying for UK staff, UK property, UK taxes etc,)
If so then it seems cheap to me.
ALL mountain bike kit in the UK is seriously overpriced IMO. How many people on low or middling income are shut out of a great hobby by the pricing? Then when you shop around to afford you are vilified for not supporting the high pricing in bike shops?
Hope bearings don't have Hope stamped on them, they have INA or another top-end bearing manufacturers name. Yes you can buy cheaper bearings but they tend to be rubbish and I'd rather pay the extra £10-20 to not destroy my frame pivot bolts.
Agree with tyres become expensive but using triple compounds etc can be cheap. I presume everyone else buys their Maxxis tyres from Alltricks and saves 40% over rrp too?
I think many brands are taking the mickey with carbon frame prices, especially when you hear about the likes of Yeti and Evil doing everything they can to avoid warranty replacements
There appears to be alot of bitter (poor?) people on here.
The only real bike part rip offs you'll find are from the scammers in the classifieds, who're probably also bitter (poor?)
Cycling is a great hobby for those of us with plenty of money/disposable income; you can never have enough bikes (remember the N+1 rule!) We're the one's who're happy to pay thousands of pounds for the latest cycling tech (even if we don't know how to use it properly!)
And over time, this technology "trickles down" to the cheaper models, so those less well off can afford it/get a piece of the action - you should be thanking us, not moaning!
Cycling is a great hobby for those who're in a less fortunate financial position aswell. But, they need to know their place; they shouldn't be looking up Chris King hubs or Jones frames and then moaning about the price - those products aren't for you, they're for me!
Controversial one I know given the love for them in the bike world but...
Most things from Park Tools 😛
RicB - Member
Hope bearings don't have Hope stamped on them, they have INA or another top-end bearing manufacturers name. Yes you can buy cheaper bearings but they tend to be rubbish and I'd rather pay the extra £10-20 to not destroy my frame pivot bolts.
Yeah, you're right actually about the name stamp. However not on the cheaper bearings. Official Hope branded and they can be INA etc but still twice the price of an identical INA etc branded with no mention of Hope from a regular bearing supplier instead of a bike shop selling them in a Hope box/bag.
And in my opinion and experience, a 2RS bearing of "no name" is identical to one with INA/SKF's name on it. Had named and no name and no difference at all that I can tell, and certainly not rubbish.
Sorry hora you are talking shite, as ever.
It's a rip off etc, dream on, who is rich in the bike trade?
And guess what NO ONE needs high end stuff, Santa Cruz, Ritchey etc, plenty of bikes/parts available at affordable prices to get people riding.
It just makes me laugh at how you say its all a rip off when you constantly buy stuff WAY better than you need. "Poor me!"
Also loving druids "Hope is cheaper than really expensive stuff, so its good value". No comparison with cheaper stuff lollllololol.
I was hoping I would be able to pick up 9 speed deore chainrings for about five pence each by now. 🙁
NEWS FLASH: Cycling is the new golf