Disturbing Prices

[jmeb]

http://www.steve-goff-frames.co.uk/frames.shtml

Man. Those prices looked too good to be true. Sounds like the sorta are... https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=120959

 

[scott43]

Man. Those prices looked too good to be true. Sounds like the sorta are... https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=120959

Huh.. Little sketch in the UK! We got guys around here doing them for $2k. That's some change though..

 

[scott43]

In any event, I seem to be in the minority in thinking bike prices are a little outrageous...I'll go back to curmudgeon corner and mutter under my breath now..

 

[François Pugh]

I would be happy with a hard tail bike that would last a few years and would not break when treated like the bike in the Wallmart video. I don't want to pay more than $300. for it though. I guess I'm a curmudgeon too.

 

[François Pugh]

Or $350 hockey sticks.. Answer, no.

But, but ..but...That hockey stick could be the difference between making it to the NHL or not! That and the skates that I have to wear in the shower so they mold to my feet, and....

 

[Tricia]

On page 5 in less than 24 hrs.

And this is why I put some money into fixing up my 8 year old bike instead of buying a new one.

 

[Doug Briggs]

Back then it was Giant and GT for me, but they were all the same anyway.

Ya, but did Giant have the famous GT Triple Triangle Frame? Classic and stylish.

This was my temporary bike while I sent my Gary Fischer's rear triangle back for warranty replacement. I got this bike used for small change along with a pair of studded Hakkapeliittas for commuting. Everything bot the crank and BB were from the Fischer. This bike has since been converted to single speed with its original non-shock fork.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I ride an aluminum Kona Hei Hei I paid $1,500 for. I love it. I demoed a $6,500 carbon fibre Santa Cruz a few years back and loved it more, but not nearly $5k more. Not being into super high end bikes and not being a super serious rider I can;t see why I would spend so much on a bike. I have an entry level Giant road bike I paid $500 for. I think it listed for $750ish. It works just fine for me.

I bought my first mountain bike in '93, a Bridgestone, for $500 and it was far from top of the line.

My first MTB was a Bridgestone MB-5. Bent the fork in the first week. Replaced the fork rather than upgrade. It got stolen and the shop I was racing for at the time appraised it for enough to buy the owner's Ti VooDoo D-Jab (which I still have).

 

[Doug Briggs]

Know nothing about bikes, but:
The original Mac was $2,400. No hard drive. Lisa was near $10k. With the Mac one really needed an extra external disc drive too to avoid the endless swapping of discs. As I recall the first Sony 3.5 inch drives were single sided discs.

View attachment 47199
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I was working at Apple in Technical Support when this was released. I had been trying to support Lisa and despite the infinite disk swaps to make it work, it was easier to help people with the Mac than Lisa. The Apple /// and Lisa were crippled by Jobs' insistence that there not be a fan in the machine. I don't recall if the Mac drives were one or two sided, but they were pretty small for what the OS was trying to do. I still have my Mac 512. Remember that the 512 stood for 512 KB of RAM. They sold 128s, too. KB. It takes 1,024 KB to make a MB. Now we have machines with GBs of RAM.

For many years I paid about $2000 for the near top of the line PCs I was using starting with an Apple ][ 64 KB machine. In this millenium the prices have dropped for near top of the line to about $1000. PCs and bikes are worlds apart though with the scale of production and demand in the PC market forcing prices down while improving performance. In the bike world, prices continue to rise a bit. Inflation comparisons for either product are pretty useless since the technological advances are worlds apart. You can't buy a machine as UNpowerful as an Apple ][ or an 1981 IBM PC.

I still have the Apple ][ as well with a 64 KB memory card. I haven't tried to turn it on either Apple in a loooong time.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I got a Santa Cruz 5010 C last fall after riding my Gary Fischer Sugar 2+ for 15 years. The GF was in good shape, upgraded to dropper and disc, so fairly current except for geometry. It came with 5" travel front and back. Riding the GF was like dancing with a lifelong partner; smooth, predictable and comfortable. The SC was a serious upgrade both in components and design.

The GF listed for about $2500, the SC about $5000. I miss the GF like an old friend but love the SC for all that it can do that the GF was unable to. It is different but every SC component is better than GF's and they are about the same in component level available at the time but the levels have changed.

 

[Mike Thomas]

I would be happy with a hard tail bike that would last a few years and would not break when treated like the bike in the Wallmart video. I don't want to pay more than $300. for it though. I guess I'm a curmudgeon too.

Well, you'll never be able to ride a bike like Phil Kmetz so whatever bike you buy is safe.

And this is why I put some money into fixing up my 8 year old bike instead of buying a new one.

You probably should have just lit that money on fire. An 8 year old my bike is like a Salomon XScream... One does not spend money putting new bindings on an XScream.

 

[Tricia]

You probably should have just lit that money on fire. An 8 year old my bike is like a Salomon XScream... One does not spend money putting new bindings on an XScream.

If I had the extra cash I'd get a new bike, but I don't. And to be fair to the title of this thread, the price of a new bike in the same caliber of a high end ski makes a significantly bigger impact on the bank account. If I get a new bike, then Phil needs a new bike and that doubles it.
The amount of money I put into it was minimal. Lets hope I get my ass on it more than I have in the past 7 years.

Edit:
I'd like to add that I respect what you're saying and I agree with you for the most part, but the money is still a bit much for the two of us.

 

[Eric267]

Well that's my point..82 bikes..4 are under $2k. what's high-end?

Exactly. And on that note, then what's become standard/entry level for someone that's into riding and wants decent components? Go to a bike shop around here and rent a bike, it's likely going to be a $2,000+ bike. If that's not what's standard, what is?

 

[Tom K.]

Comparing a 10k mtb to a 10k motorcycle or car is silly. A 10k mtb is the absolute best bike you can buy. A 10k motorcyle or car is middle of the pack or even low end.

My 2018 Trek Fuel Ex MSRP $8,300.

My 2017 KTM 250 XC-F MSRP $8800.

Both top of the line. Awfully close in price.

Maybe not so silly?

 

[James]

the Apple /// and Lisa were crippled by Jobs' insistence that there not be a fan in the machine.

Yeah I think Jobs crippled the Mac by insisting it be a sealed box. I understand making that for the masses, but plenty of people wanted to add stuff. In insisting on a sealed unit he effecyively gave up on a lot of sales to businesses.
Remember that at that time Radio Shack and the Trs80 was still something and open box was the norm.
The orig Mac was a failure financially iirc.
Remember the Newton? A pda early 90's. It had handwriting recognition, sort of. You had to write a specific way. Grafitti I believe they called it. It was software developed by a youngish Russian. Not sure it ever was fully functional for recognition.

I once bought a lavish book on the Newton when it was remaindered sometime in the 90's. In development, there was a huge battle within the company. Either come out with a very expensive portable tablet computer where you could draw on the screen or the little pda that obviously won out. I recall the projected price of the tablet was about 6k but could be wrong. Maybe 4. Pretty sure Jobs was not with the company at the time. He was off doing NEXT.

 

[Tricia]

My 2018 Trek Fuel Ex MSRP $8,300.

My 2017 KTM 250 XC-F MSRP $8800.

Both top of the line. Awfully close in price.

Maybe not so silly?

I agree with this.
When I was in Michigan I recall shopping for my mt bike and my ex was furious because my bike cost almost as much as his new dirt bike. And he was a AA Enduro Racer so he didn't scrimp on his gear.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I agree with this.
When I was in Michigan I recall shopping for my mt bike and my ex was furious because my bike cost almost as much as his new dirt bike. And he was a AA Enduro Racer so he didn't scrimp on his gear.

But he expected you to.

Phil understands equality. You lucky lady.

 

[Tricia]

But he expected you to.

Phil understands equality. You lucky lady.

Yes I am.

 

[scott43]

On page 5 in less than 24 hrs.

Yeah I sure stepped in it, didn't I!

 

[James]

Truly depressing thread. Can't even blame it on Vail.

So...how about used??

Otherwise one might as well get the KTM. As long as it's a four stroke. The very little riding I've done, following someone in the mts with the smell of a 2 stroke is like being forced to follow someone on twin tips all day with the continual spray in the face.