You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Was afetr a new lid and started looking at the POC Lids, they are nice looking but jees they are expensive?
style over substance methinks.
its swedish. Posh scandinavian lids.
get a fox flux, similar shape, really comfortable and loads cheaper
the cheap end of the market is full. You can buy a decent skid-lid from decathlon for about £20, often less. at this end of the scale profits are small (per unit).
but, clearly the 'market' has room for pricey (profitable) products, for those people who want something just a little nicer, and less common.
if you can afford them, get one. if you're struggling, don't bother.
Cos they know we're [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/do-they-think-were-mugs ]MUGS[/url]
R&D. Lots of it. Euro safety testing. Expensive work environment.
Manufacturing may be cheap but designing something new from scratch isn't. Try it.
I'm sure they could have gone the cheap and black method favoured by most MTB specific companies but they came from skiing where budgets are higher.
Read this interview to understand the difference between the MTB market and other outdoor sports.
Summary - mtbers are cheapskates and MTB dealers only buy cheap black stuff.
http://www.straightshotblog.com/interview-royal-racing-creative-director-tavish-capewell/
Also asked in this thread:
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/poc-gear-why-so-expensive
/p>
Their marketing budget can't be small either, can't open a magazine without an advert appearing. Personally I'll be avoiding their kit until they spend a little less on 'R&D' and a little more on sewing lessons.
Edit - beaten to it by Crashtestmonkey
Thing is a helmet is disposable/consumable and they all meet the same standards (unless POC meets higher stds?)
And it's all a bit Audi too.
marketing and deliberate market positioning. Rapha realised there was enough space at the higher end of the market even with Assos. Plenty of people here wear Howies stuff. Many of us own bikes (or collections of bikes) worth "you could buy a car for that".
For me (as cynic-al said) kit is disposable/consumable and I baulk at spending a chunk on a jersey that will get wrecked by a thorn snag, gloves or a lid that could get wrecked with a silly otherwise-innocuous off. My big bike would cost £4K to replace at rrp, and I wear £6 Kona-from-CRC gloves... 🙄 🙂