[Closed] Is it me or is mountain biking

It's cheaper than golf.............and 100 times more fun, too. 😀

It's as cheap or expensive as you want it to be.

Sites like this and mags would have you believe that you couldn't possibly have any fun unless you spend X amount, but it's just going out and enjoying what you have.

B0ll0x to the purple, 650b, narrow wide, carbon lite, 1x10 29ers...

Yup prices of some things has just gone silly.

I'm just a magpie who likes shiny things.

I agree and it's why I never buy anything substantial new, always 2nd hand! Only things I pay new prices for (and am still not too happy about) are tyres, grips and brake pads.

Even just standard stuff costs a load. I've overdrawn every month and it's down purely to buying bike bits. Thing is I'd go mad if I couldn't get out to cycle 2/3 times a week, can't go back now, so meh what can you do. You're a long time dead..... lets ride!

Simple economic...

Agree everything is over priced now, for example used to be able to get an XT rear mech for about £37, 5 years ago, now witll cost you about £60. Prices do go up for raw materials and what not but as demand increase you may expect these factors to level each other out.

I have started using ebay and buying second hand stuff as a result.

It's the punters fault though, they pay what the the suppliers charge and then grumble amongst themselves* that they are being ripped off. If demand declined then prices would come down too.

*or on here

Spokes! Why have spokes become so bloody expensive?

Its very easy to get carried away isn't it. When i was a nipper, i went everywhere on a £50 bmx. Then a £100 Apollo. Cheap but a huge amount of fun. In 1998 after lots of begging my dad bought me a secondhand P7. It cost a lot for a used rigid but it is still good and rideable now so good value for money.

I get annoyed when you pay good money and the product just doesn't last.

I just buy the low end cheapy stuff now. E.g. Used to get top spec Revelations, SLX minimum etc. Now I'm on Sektors with Deore.

Works just as well TBH, doesn't look as good though.

So you have bought one brake and nothing else in the last 5 years? How can that be too expensive?

It is if you have to have the latest 'innovations' and kit but otherwise I reckon it's pretty reasonable. Bikes have been decent for a while so you can always pick up stuff that's a couple of years old or second hand for very reasonable prices.

It's really as expensive as you make it.

there are lots of opportunities to buy expensive shiny bits, it was ever thus.

bikes are cheap.

this:

[img] [/img]

is £1500 (including 29er tax)

if you chuck it the bin after 3 years it's still cheaper than gym membership.

bargain.

Its a capitalist marketplace, the vendors prices will expand into the market.
You can blame the rest of us for paying too much..

When was it cheaper?

The gap has widened. You can get a wheelset that is probably lighter, stronger and better quality than many high-end wheelsets of fifteen years ago for a hundred and fifty quid. Or you can spend four hundred quid on a rear hub and a thousand on a carbon rim.

Deore kit is fantastic. Superstar, CRC, and loads of other places sell parts cheaply, and folks like On-One/Dialled etc do frames at brilliant prices. You can buy cheaply, and get a more than decent bike for your money

But it's definitely got harder to be satisfied with a bike that's five or six notches down the ladder from the ones in the mags and the adverts. There's a powerful mix of progress and marketing that's marking you feel that way. I know I've been totally suckered by it.

I try and keep the spares bin topped up whenever I see good deals on kit online (chains, cassettes etc). If you shop around then keen prices are still available.

not really, I rather ride a modern £1k bike than a 15 year old £1k bike.

(Both New Obviously)

mid 2007 you got 240-250 yen to the pound, now you get 160. Have a think about what that does to the cost of imported goods.

No better if you look at Dollars, Euros etc

Yes you can get cheap stuff, you always could, just cheap now is list a few years back.

I'm very happy with my bike at the moment. If I had just bought everything I have from scratch rather than getting to the final spec via different parts/gears/wheels etc it would actually have been relatively cheap, but I like trying out different kit/setups/shiny new things. There's always bargains to be had both in some of the on-line shops and 2nd hand on here. I was starting to think I'd never buy a complete brand-new bike again but then I look at the Canyon bikes. Well-specced bikes at pretty damn good prices. I think it's just the pro/high-earner level stuff that has gone mad price-wise. For Average joes like me there's great "cheap" kit around.

It is if you have to have the latest 'innovations' and kit but otherwise I reckon it's pretty reasonable. Bikes have been decent for a while so you can always pick up stuff that's a couple of years old or second hand for very reasonable prices.

It's really as expensive as you make it.

Yep. Kinda what happens when you import everything and you devalue your currency.

Kit i not really more expenive now relative to income it is ut that incomes are squeezed by other things.

Spoke can be cheap. Sapim Race in silver are £0.45 in places I do them for that so it not just me. Alpina spokes are even cheaper. DT Swiss are expensive and if you have factory wheel then buy those next time as spokes for those are silly money.

I ride a variety of old MTB's with 7 or 8 speed drivetrains this keeps the costs down. KMC Z82 chains are cheap as are HG41 cassettes. You can put together a very capable MTB for under £500 buy buying a older frame and kitt it out with older parts. My favourite are XT M730/M735 parts from the early to mid ninties. If you are willing to build the wheels yourself then total build costs can be small. I mean the parts for XM317 rims 64 Sapim Race spokes and XT T780 rim brake hubs is about £140 and that is all new parts All you have to do is build the wheels and they will be very good ones.

If you want the latest tech as I do for another bike then you have to pay, that bike has cost me a fortune even at trade prices (which sometimes are no beter than online pricing).

I think mountain biking is relatively expensive but on balance worth it. I walk the same hills which is free and generally more social as it's easier to talk and you can also officially access places where the bike is forbidden, but biking I can cover more ground and it's more of a buzz.

You can't complain about cost if you're buying a hope brake 😉

As others have said, there's some very decent stuff that can be had for comparatively little. Wonder if someone who's been in the game a long time (20-30yrs) wouldn't mind inflation adjusting what they spent on kit back then vs now...

"Hope/too expensive"- well, durr.

We're all half-daft on here, we make mountain biking expensive but you can get a phenomenal bike today for the cost of a dismal one 20 years ago (even leaving aside inflation).

Agree everything is over priced now, for example used to be able to get an XT rear mech for about £37, 5 years ago, now witll cost you about £60.

You can have an SLX for £35 which is almost certainly better than the XT one from 5 years ago.

And CRC are doing an XT rear mech for £42 - which barely an inflationary rise on your £37 5 years ago.

I think the marketing has just got better, so people feel compelled to buy expensive stuff just for the label, when the reality is that the new low end stuff is better and cheaper than the old high end kit.

OP
If it makes you so unhappy,find a cheaper hobby and stop whining

Oh, and you may be confusing things you want ,with things you need.

HTH 🙂

1300 quid
[img] [/img]

Buy secondhand, and be happy with last year's technology.

i reckon the new replacement cost of my main mtb is probably around £4000, yet it cost me about £1500 spread over a matter of years by replacing parts as and when required.
Similarly for my other mtb and my road bike.

One of the hallmarks of late capitalism (the name for economic period we are in now) is the notion of perpetual technological evolution / planned redundancy.

To keep us buying / consuming / spending, corporations need to keep bringing out 'innovations' and we are cultured from birth by the advertising industry into thinking that we need the newest (i.e. most expensive) kit or we simply aren't as good as our mates.

My grandparents used to cycle all over the North Yorks moors in the 40's and 50's on heavy steel bikes with 3 gears. They had a great time.

How many dentists / solicitors on here have spanked £4k plus on a 170mm travel, Kashmina-coated trail munching machine to do the same?

+1 for Deore kit by the way. Long-lasting and reasonably priced.

I am the opposite,

I have hardly any disposable income, I should be saving for various life events, however I just can't help buying lots of mountain bike things.

Help!!

stop whining

I think this is the truth of the matter

Thanks fasthaggis

I've overdrawn every month and it's down purely to buying bike bits.

😯

I think this thread is a brilliant example of the issue,

Two people have posted £1000+ plus bikes as "great value". One at 1300, t'other at 1500.

To the average person, spending over £1k on a BIKE is absolutely [b]mental[/b].

To us it seems like good value as it's a capable bike compared to a £5k + frame/bike.

However that doesn't mean [b]it's good value[/b].

Whether you like to admit it or not, it's still a £1300/1500 BIKE. A lot of peoples CARS don't cost that.

It's the same in a lot of sports, someone already mentioned golf.

A friend wanted to buy her partner a bike for his birthday, and asked for my help. I asked what her budget was, she said "max, MAX - £200".

Just gives perspective on it all, doesn't it?

My bike is my main hobby, just like some golfers I know. As it's my only real vice I don't mind paying for the bits want/need. I like fiddling with the bike, trying different things but I won't spend more than I can comfortably afford.
I've been wheeling and dealing on second hand stuff for years now. I brought a bike back from Australia in 2001 and have been swapping parts/frames etc ever since. That bike cost me £500 s/h and the one I'm riding now has probably come in at around £1500 so it's cost me about £1000 in 12 years..pretty happy with that considering the bike I now have compared to the one I brought back with me.

With the right scouting on the internet and older stock in your lbs, you can get amazing deals, but it will take up more of your time. A friend built up a decent 29er hardtail (full xt brakes and transmission, xtr hubs, mavic rims thomson stem/seatpost, reba forks) by patiently buying sstuff brand new from ebay or sale items from german bike online stores, and he did it for £700 in total. It just took a bit longer and time to look, but very much worth it in the end.

Also accept that a late 2000's 9-speed mtb isn't very far away at all from a brand new bike in terms of performance, but costs comparatively little to upgrade/maintain - and enjoy!

I seem to be surrounded by people buying buying carbon mtbs...Scalpels, Flashes, Santa Cruz bouncy 29er thingys etc. Someone I know put a £150 cassette on his 'hack bike' (or so I am told).

I'm getting left behind on a 1st gen Swift and a Sir9. Neither of these are bad bikes and the Niner was the recipient of (for me) a big spend but I am quite happy to run s/h on the Swift and 9 speed stuff on the Niner.

It is easy to get sucked into the trap that you have to spend money because everyone else is. I'd like to but tbh....let's say I was once a roadie and old habits die hard!

Inflation adjusted, I don't think cost has changed much over the last decade but quality certainly has...for the better.

Yep, to those on a very tight budget, to post up links to £1k-plus bikes is a joke. My car cost £2000 and is into its second year. My MTB cost me £120 on ebay (Carerra Vulcan) and I've had to make do with it, despite heavy wheels and finishing kit, because I'm just waiting for the right deal (funnily enough, I posted yesterday in the Wanted section, specifying a £200 max budget, hoping someone might have something better than a Carrera Vulcan going spare).

I still have fun on the Vulcan, even did the Beast on it, much to the surprise of a father/son duo who expressed surprise at the bottom that I did it on a HT. Truth be told, I'd lost the path of the Dragon's Back and had to join a route - black it was. It's glorious, though, to overtake people on multi-thousand pound bikes on my jaunts in the Peaks.

I also have to run a commuter/baby wagon and a road bike. Again, these were £60 and £200 respectively, second-hand from mates. I get my kit from Aldi and Decathlon. If I had the disposable income I'd spend more, especially on a lighter MTB, but every outgoing is money not going in to the household, for which I feel very guilty. Yet if I didn't have my bikes I couldn't get around, have fun or stay sane, so it's a cost the house has to bear.

More fool the spendthrifts who splurge thousands on bikes despite their lack of competence on a bike! I suppose it's money that otherwise might have gone on cars or golf, so maybe it's a good thing. Yet it seems to me that some of that sense of ready cash in the new customer base is driving prices up across the board.

To the average person, spending over £1k on a BIKE is absolutely mental.

Yes, but the average person doesn't ride as a hobby!

Just gives perspective on it all, doesn't it?

Not really. The OP was asking if biking is too expensive [i]now[/i], vs back in the day. You get a more capable bike for less money these days, hence the answer is no.

Stuff is expensive and rubbish. I get one ride out of a chain then it's goosed according to the park tool. Brake pads can last one ride if it's wet. I could go on...

brake pads last one ride, how long are your rides? a week?

brake pads last one ride
I had this happen too in the peaks in winter with formula brakes..........sold the brakes

Depends how succeptable you are to being marketed too as well. As someone who knows that while still running positively stone aged equipment - 9 x 3, 1 1/8 forks with QR 26" wheels - that I'm still not going find the limits of it. And I'm happy with that. I doubt very much that a carbon frame, tapered forks, 20mm axles, 1x 10 drive chain etc are either going to make me a better rider, or more importantly; make me enjoy it any more.

So if you settle for that quaint technology of a by-gone, more innocent era, then you can build yourself a really really nice, capable piece of kit for an absolute fraction of the cost of the average unit hanging off the back of an Audi in Llandegla car park

I thought it was quite telling that none of the manufacturers would supply 26" wheeled bikes for a back to back, £1300 price-point test in this months mag. Perhaps they're all too aware of that too

Prices do go up for raw materials and what not but as demand increase you may expect these factors to level each other out.

I left the bike trade five years ago, but in the weeks before I left the company I worked for changed their pricelist three times.

The reason? The US Dollar, the Yen and the Pound Sterling were going up and down like yo-yos, and oil was increasing in price by the day.

So when you factor in that oil goes into most bike products (rubber, plastics) and fuels the vehicles carrying bike products from China to the UK, the currency fluctuations and the fact that everyone in the chain needs to take their percentage cut, you end up with more expensive products. This is before a rise in VAT too.

I believe it is more expensive but - as already said - the flipside is that there's some great trickle-down technology available now.

Its a capitalist marketplace, the vendors prices will expand into the market.
You can blame the rest of us for paying too much..

Bikes aren't too expensive as such, people can just afford/justify really nice ones so top end prices are booming. The rest of us are buying more normal stuff that's subject to a lot of wear and tear and expecting a lot of use from it. Full sus, dropper post, gears etc, if you ride a lot, have a lot of functions etc, it costs a lot. Or you have Deore/SLX/Recons etc which is largely as good or better than XT/Reba-Fox of a few years ago.
We often base our value markers against the model-name of kit rather than what it actually is and a price that's consistent with inflation etc.

I ride a lot so I have a rigid SS and it hardly costs anything yearly. The initial cost was high but it's great to ride and the cost-per-mile is low, lowering all the time. Riding is as much fun as it's ever been. Buy less things but buy more durable things.

something to think about in 1996 a Rock Shox Judy SL was listed at c£600 I seem to remember, think about 17years of inflation, now tell me that a sid for a £1000 is actually excessive, when you think the Judy used a few bits of rubber as springs and a Cartridge damper that failed if you ever used it!

plyphon - Member

Two people have posted £1000+ plus bikes as "great value". One at 1300, t'other at 1500.

t'other was me 🙂

To the average person, spending over £1k on a BIKE is absolutely mental ... However that doesn't mean it's good value.

Whether you like to admit it or not, it's still a £1300/1500 BIKE. A lot of peoples CARS don't cost that.

even a £1500 bike is cheaper/less expensive than a few years Gym membership.

which would you rather spend £50/month on?

bear in mind that even if you choose the 'gym' option, you'll still need a hobby.

still think £1500 is a silly amount?

how about this;

[img] [/img]

£350 - it's an astonishing amount of bike for the price of 6 months membership at a climbing wall.

Not really. The OP was asking if biking is too expensive now, vs back in the day. You get a more capable bike for less money these days, hence the answer is no.

Whilst the OP was certainly making reference to what he paid in the past, the way I interpreted it was

"Is mountain biking too expensive".

I think there wouldn't be much of a thread if it was as you suggested, as everyone knows you get more bike for your money these days compared to back in the 80/90s - but that doesn't stop it from being expensive.

bear in mind that even if you choose the 'gym' option, you'll still need a hobby.

eh? I know many, many people who have the gym as their hobby.

the gym comparison is fairly weak and breaks down once you remove the gym - and just include the activity (Lifting weights, for example).

A pro body builder can use a £30 set of weights from Argos and have the same experience as a set of £300 quid weights.

This analogy breaks down once you start to include more complex form of exercise, but then even so the comparison to a gym doesn't really work.

You spend £20 (what it costs round here) a month on gym, and for that year when the gym updates it's equipment to get immediate access.

When you buy a bike, it looses half it's value as soon as you take it out the shop.

So it's not really a proper comparison of value. The gym membership is a service almost, where as the bike is a product.

if you were comparing a bike to say, a rowing machine, then the comparison would work.

still think £1500 is a silly amount?

I never thought £1500 was a silly amount. I think that's really good value. But then again, I ride bikes. 😆

I think people need to remember that good value is not inherently proportionate to expense. You can have good value expensive things, and shit value cheap things (and vice versa) - the discussion is the expense of mountain biking - not the value.

The 1300/1500 bikes are great value and I'd defo buy that giant, but it is still very expensive, even more so to "normies" who don't ride - £1500 is a lot of money to a lot of people (maybe not here) whatever way you slice it, is my point.

It's only *expensive* if you buy brand new stuff...

I dread to think of the "RRP" value of bike stuff in the house.... eye watering

the price of 6 months membership at a climbing wall.

Plyphon - you may know many many people who's hobby is going to the gym. Just out of interest; would you want to volounterily spend more than 2 minutes in the company of any of them? Just wondering, like? 😉

Plyphon - you may know many many people who's hobby is going to the gym. Just out of interest; would you want to volounterily spend more than 2 minutes in the company of any of them? Just wondering, like?

A lot of the perma-spraytan types are insufferable, but I lived 3 years with a pro body builder and he is one of the most standup guys I know who hates the poser types.

incredibly dedicated to his sport, was quite inspiring really.

On that note, I guess the perma-spraytan gym posers are akin to the carpark mincers with full XT of the bike world, so go on - hands up. 😆

We could really do with CRC getting flooded again, I picked up loads of cheap stuff from that, cassettes, chains, rear mechs, the sort of stuff that wears out and doesn't go off. All my "stock" has gone now though.

i stand by my gym comparison.

and i'll push it a little further.

no one bats an eyelid if you tell them you've got gym membership, or a sky subscription, or an iphone, or a new car, or a new Xbox, or do a bit of coke every now and then, or a new camera, or a season ticket for your local premiership footy team, or get drunk every weekend, or gamble, or smoke, or redecorate your front room (again), or buy an espresso machine, or get a tattoo.

but if you choose [u]not[/u] to indulge in a few of those, and instead spend a fraction of the money saved on a (really very good) bike, that will help you remain happy and healthy for many years, you're a weirdo, and peoples' heads will explode as they try to comprehend the insane amount of money you've wasted.

I think you can enjoy on as little or as much as you like. I like to constantly change and get new stuff. As a result my wife says I look like I live on the streets in my clothes which are considerably older than my kids.

I think this thread is a brilliant example of the issue,

Two people have posted £1000+ plus bikes as "great value". One at 1300, t'other at 1500.

To the average person, spending over £1k on a BIKE is absolutely mental.

Perspectives indeed. I'd say they are top end bikes. Not budget options. It may be value for money, but to most people that is a bloody [i]lot[/i] of money (I don't know which Gyms you go to!)

The way I see it, if you spend more than that, you're going into the equivalent of Lamborghini territory, albeit on a much more affordable scale. Stuff that you don't need, but is very nice to have, if you have the cash.

In reality, there's no need to spend more than a few hundred quid on a bike. You might have to compromise on some things, but we do this in most parts of our lives. Really we have more choice than ever, all of great performing bikes. We're just constantly told we need more.

I have an 'expensive' FS bike which I bought new before I new much about bikes - and a 'cheap' hardtail which I bought of eBay. Including improvements but not consumables (chains, pads, lube) they work out at 55p a mile and 20p a mile respectively which makes them the 'cheapest' bikes in my household.

In the 4 years I've been riding the 'top end' seems to have got much more expensive. At the 'good basic' level many bikes are more expensive or have poorer kit at the same pricepoints (especially forks), but online sellers like Canyon and shops like Halfords seem to have kept prices down.

For bits though, there are plenty of value options - I'm a big fan of Superstar, On-One and Carboncycles... and lights are MUCH cheaper (my last XM-L2 torch was under £10).

Yep I think the crack and whores are beginning to look like a cost effective pastime .
( I have actually used the ' bikes are cheaper than ....' defence when harassed by the woman in charge)

Thing is, isn't "everything" more expensive now?

It costs me nearly £100 to fill my car with fuel
"Dinner for 2", at a mediumly priced restaurant can easily be £150 with taxis
A magazine in WHsmiths can cost £5
A pint of beer, well who knows these days!

The difference with Mountain bikes, is that as technology has pushed into the sport more and more (as will ALL sports) the amount you "can" spend has increased. The amount you "need" to spend to get any given level of tech, has i think fallen in real terms?

i stand by my gym comparison.

and i'll push it a little further.

no one bats an eyelid if you tell them you've got gym membership, or a sky subscription, or an iphone, or a new car, or a new Xbox, or do a bit of coke every now and then, or a new camera, or a season ticket for your local premiership footy team, or get drunk every weekend, or gamble, or smoke, or redecorate your front room (again), or buy an espresso machine, or get a tattoo.

but if you choose not to indulge in a few of those, and instead spend a fraction of the money saved on a (really very good) bike, that will help you remain happy and healthy for many years, you're a weirdo, and peoples' heads will explode as they try to comprehend the insane amount of money you've wasted.

No see you're miss understanding the argument.

You're talking about [b] value[/b], personal worth. That's subjective.

I'm (and what I think the OP is) talking about [b]expense[/b], that's [b]objective[/b] (based on the average income, of course). Based on the average income, £1500 is a lot of money.

It may or may not be a lot of money, [i] to spend on a bike [/i] depending on how you feel about bikes.

What i'm saying is a £1500 bike is expensive.

FWIW, I bought a 2nd hand MTB for £700, done probably 150-200 quid worth of upgrades. I love it and think it's a steal for the fun I get from it, even more so compared to what it would cost me for the same bike as new - but I won't deny £900 quid is a lot of my money!

You're talking about value, personal worth. That's subjective.

no i'm not, i've simply listed a load of things that normal people happily spend their money on.

you don't have to sacrifice much to free up £50/month (the finance payments for a 3yr £1500 hire/purchase)

here's another way to help get approval from the fun police: i find exercise reduces my alcohol tolerance, so i drink less, even 1 pint less/week is a tenner/month!

buy a bike - it'll save you money 🙂

Doh! I skimmed the whole thread thinking nobody had mentioned finance and then right in the last post 😉 ;D

I'm sorry, but the average wage is what,
£26k? these days. Theres enough flexibility there to get you a very good bike on 0%- certainly £13-1500 worth.

I personally earn a LOT less than the average wage yet because I wanted to (thus was able to prioritise) was able to afford a £3k bike on 0%
It was costing me £125 a month for three years but I've just managed to pay it off after one year.

If you're not that in to it, then yes, it can appear to be expensive if you chose it to be. If you want to just ride your bike then it's cheap enough for everyone.

Its as expensive as you want to make it. As much fun no mater how much or little you spend.

Your not a tight bastard everything as gone way to expensive.

I'm yet to see how access to mtb-ing has actually become more affordable.

To give one concrete example, specs have been driven down every year since 2008, in line with the global recession. A specialized allez, for instance, had tiagra as standard in 2008: now it's more expensive than an inflationary rise and has a lower spec (sora).

The above-mentioned gt timberline at £350, would be a pig on climbs, presumably massively over-weight because of its cheap componentry.

A finance deal at £150 per month being touted as affordable ... seriously! That's considered by most average households as significant disposable income. Most people would be quite rightly leery of getting themselves into debt on finance, too. Bear in mind that £1500, plus any extras, up keep, etc, is more than the average monthly wage!

It's all well and good suggesting that 'it's what you make of it', but for those with no extra capital it can feel pretty frustrating seeing prices of basics and bike shop costs going up and up. I think the greater-spotted mamil had a lot to answer for!

Ok, if finance isn't your thing, then use your cheapo bike (anything will do here) to get fit on whilst you save- then buy a nice second hand bike for £600 next year.

I'm sorry, but not everything has to be INSTANT to be classified as accessible. Go and watch local races, volunteer as a Marshall, read books, help your local club trail clearing or start your own local group.
In the meantime, the spannering you learn keeping your heavy shonker running will prove invaluable when you work your way up to a good bike.

jameso - Member
the price of 6 months membership at a climbing wall.
Holy crp. Gritstone is free )

It's not though is it. You need to get there and have the relevant equipment, which all wears out and isn't cheap these days. The same goes for hill walking.

The Santa Cruz 5010C gets a pretty good write up in this months What Mountain Bike mag. I should bloody well hope so too seeing as it costs £8k !! Not really sure who's spending nearly a grand on new forks either? It's not surprising decent second hand ones are holding their money.

Buying everything brand new will always be expensive but there are certain things that warrant it. Due to the kids i never now go to the pub or clubbing spending stupid money on beer, taxis and kebabs...and quite happy spending it on bike parts instead...albeit i still get great stuff on classifieds like a really good as new stem for 50% of the usual price.

I dont give a toss about what other people have or have not...my cycling is about me and my release from the mind numbing tedious day to day rat race. Just get out and ride even if its on a grifter or chopper!

My Niner frame cost a fair bit, but it's ss & runs rigid most of the year. I picked up some SH Rebas to go on over summer for £100 off here. I don't think I've spent anything more than about £100 on it in 2 years.

On the flip side, my riding buddies have spent over £6k each in that time, buying the next best thing. We still cover the same ground, at the same speed. I wouldn't swap my Niner for any other bike tbh. I revel in it's simplicity. Might treat it to a respray next year.

I'm still riding my first real MTB that cost £500! a lot of the parts have been changed but nothing expensive.

Currently building my new bike which works out at something like £1.5k Last time I checked 😯

Which is a lot of money for me, but it's not finished and i started buying bits about 6 months ago... so a lot easier to handle than splashing £1.5k on a new bike (not to mention the fact i get exactly the spec i want this way)

in 2000 the average UK wage was 20.5k. last year it was 29k'ish.
In 2000 the cost of a XT rear mech was about £40, its not about £80.

2005 marzocchi bombers Z! freeride £379
2013 marzocchi RC3 Ti £879
Same amount of product, R&D costs similar, price = disproportionate increase.

This is a mature and popular market, but 10 years back it was far less so.

^ so wages have risen pretty much in line with inflation since 2000. Rear mechs, forks etc have added tech and gained in price (ie XT RD - std parallelogram design like a beefed up road mech vs new Shadow plus clutch mech, or coil+open bath fork vs multi-mode dampers, air springs etc), but an equivalent level of technology is available for less than the yr2000 price plus inflation. Online, an XT Shadow+ mech seems to have found a retail value of about £50-60.
R+D costs don't really increase but I see more complexity in most bike parts now, more features, tooling costs etc. There's also exchange rates and labour cost increases against us. All that adds up and I don't see any real evidence of bike companies, distributors etc making greater % profits than 2002-3 ish. Less if anything, it's more competitive now that online retail has matured and that means you're probably getting a better deal if you shop around.

lardman - Member

2005 marzocchi bombers Z! freeride £379
2013 marzocchi RC3 Ti £879

Same amount of product, R&D costs similar, price = disproportionate increase.

same amount of product? - only if you weigh them.

Most people don't really need anything more than Deore spec these days. This years Deore is a fantastic jump over previous and so much cheaper than even the next level (SLX) up and you won't cry when you rip the RD off like an XTR.

my main outrager is that trickle down stops at deore. everything above has arguably seen progres and improvement wheras the cheaper groupsets just seen to get more plasticky.

There are plenty of rideable £350 bikes available, but why making a light rigid bike for £150 is beyond the abilities of the chinese I'm never quite sure, the first hit is meant to get you hooked, not hurt.