Are we being ripped off?

flyer

Having just bought a Specialized Roubiax Pro for £2500, (£2100 after negotiations). I woke up this morning and though, wow I could have bougt a car for that!

I went for my fist spin and whlist I was riding I thought, the rides nice, very nice.

But I couldn't help wondering what the Roubiax Elte (£1400 chaeper) would have been like, I bet I wouldn't notice the difference.

Ok its got lots of carbon and Dura-ace/Ultegra, but where do they get the prices from?

I guess you pays your money and akes your choice.

You can but an Omega for 2k and one that looks just as good for £50 from next!!!!

Anyway just wondered if anyone thinks we are PAYING OVER THE ODDS?

Flyer

dennisn

flyer wrote:

Having just bought a Specialized Roubiax Pro for £2500, (£2100 after negotiations). I woke up this morning and though, wow I could have bougt a car for that!

I went for my fist spin and whlist I was riding I thought, the rides nice, very nice.

But I couldn't help wondering what the Roubiax Elte (£1400 chaeper) would have been like, I bet I wouldn't notice the difference.

Ok its got lots of carbon and Dura-ace/Ultegra, but where do they get the prices from?

I guess you pays your money and akes your choice.

You can but an Omega for 2k and one that looks just as good for £50 from next!!!!

Anyway just wondered if anyone thinks we are PAYING OVER THE ODDS?

Flyer

No one is twisting your arm or using force to make you buy these things!!!!

Dennis Noward

APIII

If you're uncomfortable about the amount of money you've spent, you've probably overstretched yourself.

CrookedCucumber

It's capitalism. You're paying, on average, what you're prepared to pay. No more, no less. In a capitalist economy, for better or worse, the `true value' of something is a meaningless concept.

Bikerbaboon

Its like anything in life its got a law of deminishing returns

you can get a bike that will do the same thing for £300 but as you pay more you get less for each pound you spend so hte diferance from a £300 bike and a £1000 would be alot more than the diferance between a £1000 and a £1700 even though you are spending the same amount extra. so pike a bike that you like and offers value to you

SCR Pedro

CrookedCucumber wrote:

It's capitalism. You're paying, on average, what you're prepared to pay. No more, no less. In a capitalist economy, for better or worse, the `true value' of something is a meaningless concept.

I couldn't agree more. You will never actually pay the true value of the materials used which is why a house costs so much. Upon saying that, I didn't feel too ripped off after paying £550 for my SCR2, but I am struggling to justify a possible wheel upgrade.

Cheers
Pedro

Nuggs

SCR Pedro wrote:

I am struggling to justify a possible wheel upgrade.

Commie.

Redmog

Nope, you've never had it so good! I bought my current bike 17 years ago for four hundred quid, It is a nice (I like it!) but nothing special training bike / club racer. I reckon I could replace it with a direct equivalent for under six hundred quid today. What with inflation & stuff bikes are probably cheaper now than then (and lighter, faster & just as shiny).

One of the great things about bikes is that the really exotic (like your Specialized Roubiax Pro) are actually attainable for some mere mortals. Unfortunately SWMBO has decided that I'm not one of them so just enjoy it!

Down the Road

New car for £2500 I don't think so. Some numpties pay £1500 for a telly

Scotsnapper

If you have more than £2000 to spend on a bicycle, i really don't know why you are asking the question? Apart from the fact that you want to tell everyone how much disposable income you have!
Enjoy it, don't beat yourself up over it.

mr_hippo

Have you got £2100 legs to go with your new bike or have you got 50p ones?

Slow Downcp

mr_hippo wrote:

Have you got £2100 legs to go with your new bike or have you got 50p ones?

Can't see what difference that makes - my bikes are better than my ability, but I accept that.

cannonfodder

Nuggs wrote:

SCR Pedro wrote:

I am struggling to justify a possible wheel upgrade.

Commie.

mattliverpool

Acceptance of inadequacy is the end of competition.

You work on those 50p legs!!!!

Mystique

Let's get this in perspective...You have managed to buy a complete top-end machine for your chosen hobby for less than a car nut might pay for 4 tyres, a yachtsman might pay for a single sail (trust me, I know about that one), or a private pilot might pay for a single years' maintenance.

Stop beating yourself up over it - I believe it's called "buyers remorse" - and enjoy the bike!!!

Doobz

Mystique - very good comment..

il_principe

'xactly -you might have got a a car for £2100 but it'd be a sh1t car. Anyway, bikes are far better than cars. I own 3 bikes, one was stupidly expensive and is way better than my ability, but I don't care one jot! I don't own a car, don't pay VED, insurance, fuel etc etc... add that little lot up and suddenly £2100 is damn good VFM.

giant_man

I agree with jash's comments above, bikes are sooo better than cars.

It has nothing to do with ability, no way. If you have the cash and can afford it, go for it! Then you have experienced it and it the most important thing in my book.

The way in which we are being ripped off in the UK is the comparison with the US economy which at the moment determines we should be paying roughly half of what the Americans are paying. But most to the time we are paying the same in uk sterling, which is plainly wrong!

Chuffing government for you :evil:

fast as fupp

you should now be planning on upgrading thr ultegra bits on it to DA!

yorkshireraw

the whole 'ability' justification for an expensive bike is unnecessary. We don't demand that anyone who buys a Ferrari must have the driving skills of Schumacher. Even if that's an extreme example there's enough people out there with motors that can go 140mph, even if (legal bit aside!) they don't have the skills to handle that kind of pace.

The issue arises where some people seem think that because they have paid 2 or 3 grand for a bike it will automatically make them better / quicker , or they assume guys on 500 quid steeds will be worse than them. As some of the chaps above have said, they bought a nice bike because they could and they wanted to, but they arent claiming to be superstars. Besides, if you pay 3 grand for a bike and it lasts you 3 years of regular riding, that's 83 quid a month. There's enough people out there spending that a WEEK on fags, booze & fast food. In reality the bike could probably last 10 years if looked after, and with a few replacement parts (in an 'Only Fools & Horses' Trigger broom style!).

simon johnson

You bought a bike from Specialized, the higher price also covers their 'reputation costs'; you know that in one years time it's highly likely that they will still be in business and be able to assist should there be a problem with the bike and can be confident that a Specialized bike will not let you down (mechanically)

biondino

The issue arises where some people seem think that because they have paid 2 or 3 grand for a bike it will automatically make them better / quicker

My new bike definitely makes me quicker! Better is a different matter but quicker, unarguably

biondino

I guess I should probably change my pic - that's my old Trek's muddy bottom bracket...

moorehen

I had similar feelings when I spent 2.5k on a principia about 5 years ago. I have to say I loved it but could never really justify the cost of it, I just happened to have the spare cash at the time so bought the best I could afford.

Now I've got two kids, mortgage, 2 cars etc etc and have just spent £560 on a Bianchi and I've still got the same buzz as when I got the Principia.

As you rightly put it - you pays your money and makes your choice.

Enjoy it, you'd only think 'what if' if you hadn't got it!!

Agricfowl

If l was you, l would have gone for an S-Works frame with any groupset of my choice. In my case, it would have been Campy Centaur with carbon cranks. Bike shop near me reckons they could come under £2500.

I am soo jealous. In the meantime, enjoy the rides. It is worth it. 8)

markos1963

Be it 100,1000 or 10000 it doesn't matter what you spend, most of us on here wouldn't stand a chance on any bike in a sprint against Cavendish on a butchers bike. We justify our spend according to our income,desires and sheer bloodymindedness. As for cars I get fed up with the general public saying 'I could have bought a car for that' when I tell them how much I spent on my bike. When I see the price of a set of alloys, powerchips, drainpipe exhusts and stupid ICE I think to myself I could have bought a Colnago for that.

philak

I wouldn't mind paying £2400 for a new bike if i had the ready cash. When i'm offered the same '08 bike for £1900 though, before the season is even half over, then i know some pretty big mark-ups are happening throughout the ranges.

If you can sell a bike with £500 off and still make a profit then i wonder how much they really cost to produce.

Im thinking of waiting another month before i take the plunge and buy another bike. It was bad enough seeing my £550 SCR going for £100 less just weeks later last year. I'd be even more upset seeing my new steed £2500 marked down £500 in the same time period but you pay your money and take your choice i guess.

giant_man

I would pay 5 or 6 grand on a bike that makes me feel good and is absolutely sublime to ride, it's worth it to me.

flyer

Went out for a 40 miler today, I didn't think I would feel a lot of difference to my S_WORKS Tarmac. But it felt more relaxed, perhaps thats just in my head, but I guess part of it is the feel good factor of a new bike.

Like anything in life you feel you can justify it more when you start using it. Last year I did 2,940 miles in the summer. This year I have only done 1,205 so far, so I now need to get out there an get some miles done.



Flyer

Smokin Joe

Spend three grand on fishing gear and people will say, "Wow, that must be really good gear".

Four grand on a Hi Fi and they will say, "Gee, I bet that sounds fantastic!"

Buy a bike for more than £199 and the response you get is, "All that on a bloody push bike - are you mad?"

oldwelshman

I paid a lot more than that for mine but if you put it into real perspective bikes a cheap.
23 years ago I paid £450 for a raliegh road ace which was 531c with shimano 600ax (Ultegra basically) and this was not a top end bike then. How much would £450 be worth now?
I also worked out that a regular smoker forks out more in a year than it costs for a decent bike if you add beer to that its even better value for a bike.