The Staggering Price of Cycle Parts

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Rooster1

I was right about that saddle
As I browse the web I occasionally glance an advert for a group set, priced at £1849,or a set of wheels at £1999. Now, I fully appreciate the value, advances and advantages in these innovative, quality products, but I can't help but gasp sometimes at these staggering prices.

Covering an anticipated 5000 road miles this year, my budget on parts (gears, wheels, chains etc) is probably £200-300 for the year at the most (and yes, I struggle to get what i need).

Furthermore, the prices for these parts is kind of the budget I might entertain for a complete bike (if I am lucky).

There's obviously a market for Rolls Royce parts, kit, bikes, and plenty of people with that kind of money and I'm wishing it was me I guess!!

Truth be told, if I had £5000 to spend on a bike, I probably would.

Roll on XMAS!

(EDIT - Truth is, I quite like fixing stuff up on a budget rather than throwing money at problems)
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
Your title should be the staggering price of some cycle parts. As in any 'hobby' market, there's a vast swathe of products at 'reasonable' prices - kept there by competition. But as you move up the specialist/quality curve, the curve gets steeper and steeper until it's all but vertical, driven partly by the willingness of a few nutters to pay virtually anything for 'better', and partly by the short supply of such nutters, which means you can forget about economies of scale. If you think cycling's bad, look at hi-fi mags next time you got to the dentist. You can get a very good turntable for £300, but for one that's even better, you can easily pay 20x that.
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
There is a market for it. I tend to go middle of the road, but my best bike was top end stuff, but I've had it 25 years.

For example, some of the cassettes for MTB's are £300 or more !! Chose a sprocket or two less and they are £50-£70 on something that is probably the most worn part on a bike.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
At one end of the scale I've tried to work on a friend's BSO that he bought for £99 and given up as you couldn't actually adjust it right.

At the other end of the scale I bought myself an expensive bike as a 60th birthday present and in 800 miles I haven't had to make a single adjustment except to tighten the brakes to compensate for wear. I don't expect to have to spend much money on it because the quality of the parts is so good.
 
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twentysix by twentyfive

Clinging on tightly
Location
Over the Hill
(EDIT - Truth is, I quite like fixing stuff up on a budget rather than throwing money at problems)
Yeah, me too :okay:
 
I suit what I buy to the amount I cycle really. Having come from a skip diving background of finding cycle parts, I don't think I really do enough to justify the top end stuff. I tend to aim for sensible. Sometimes though, a pricier item is well worth it and I enjoy treating myself occasionally.


As for vets......
 

Ian H

Ancient randonneur
There's no need for vastly expensive wheels unless you're racing, though doubtless some folk use them for sportifs, if they like pretending to race.
The most expensive seem to be deep section, which you'd only want for time trials.
 

mythste

Veteran
Location
Manchester
I managed to get my Trek Emonda with SRAM red at a relative bargain price. It's a complete luxury for me and the most expensive single item I own. I'm happy with that. A replacement Cassette is the best part of £200 and I'm prepared to pay that as and when.

My daily commuter/poor weather bike has 105, where I can pick up a new cassette for closer to £20! I'm happier replacing that one more frequently!
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Anybody remember the story about the failure of Suntour? They invested everything in a superb groupset aimed at professional riders but priced it too cheap, so nobody thought it was any good and it flopped, putting Suntour out of the race. I have some old Suntour thumbshifters and they are superb, absolute jewels.
 
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