Bicycle Price Inflation

[Bilbosdad]

When he heard the £300 price of a run of the mill utility bicycle my Father in Law winced and asked why people spend so much money on bikes. I replied that I didn't think bikes were actually as expensive in real term as he thought and perhaps he was missing the effects of inflation. I remembered buying a bike in about 1975 for over £40 with my hard earned paper round money so £300 today didn't seem a lot. The next day I did a little non-scientific research.

In 1981 I was paid £3650 pa
In 2014 the same people are paid £24950 pa

This is 6.835 times greater.

In 1981 a nice bottom of the range 5 speed Claud Butler bike cost £149 (10 speed were £10 more) this would be £ 1018.41 today when adjusted to wage inflation (buying power)

Today a bottom of the range Claud Butler racing bike costs £249.99 which would be the equivalent of £36.58 in 1981.

It seems like bikes are actually less expensive now than in 1981

Obvioulsy I could be out, but am I correct are bikes actually over 5 times cheaper ?

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Hello @Bilbosdad

I have been looking up about my 1967 Claude Butler Saphire which I bought from @biggs682 as....... Umm, after having it for over a year, my health has improved and so on, so I'm about to finally get it restored *properly* (sorry about that Biggs!)..... And according to the catalogue, it was worth £32 new.

Any ideas what that would be in today's money?? How do you work it out?

Thanks.

And this appears to be it too. Well, looking at the paint work, etc, anyway:

Curiously I can't seem to find any other pictures of them online except for the ones Biggs took when he sold it

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/1967-claud-butler-sapphire.117842/

 

[Bobtoo]

There are various inflation calculators online, e.g. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...tion-calculator-value-money-changed-1900.html and http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/inflation/calculator/index1.aspx That makes your 1967 Claude Butler about £500 in 2012's money.

 

[cyberknight]

Its because people now own track pumps so they can inflate more

 

[biggs682]

@Mad Doug Biker glad to hear health getting better .

from what i can remember they were only produced for a couple of seasons in and around 1967

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Thanks!

 

[Klassikbike]

Today it is much simpler to mass produce with super high tech machines. In the past a lot of the detailed work was still done by hand. I recently started a desire to collect 60's and 70's japanese kids bikes (With lot of funky looking things added to the bikes). In that time I was told that such a kids bicycle 6 to 10 year old would cost you just over a full months salary for the average working class person. Nowadays a regular kids bike will normally not cost you 1600 USD.
So yes in the past bicycles or often also cars were more expensive. (A Gullwing SL 300 Mercedes If I remember right would cost you 5000. Might sound cheap at todays standard but it was an expensive car at that time.)

 

[David Higson]

I have noticed that the price of secondhand bikes has gone through the roof with the advent of e-bay and other armchair purchasing options. Time was when they were relatively affordable and a fraction of the cost of a new one, dependent on age and condition . Nowadays, even recycling shops, whose avowed aim is to provide cheap bikes for the uninitiated masses, sell quite old and creaky machines for prices pushing the £100 level. I know that a lot of pricing is down to perceived value but, being honest, some old bikes are just that - old bikes. Plenty of life and pleasurable riding but should be priced more reasonably if people are to be encouraged to get back on the bike, especially in these cash-strapped times.
The price difference between online auction sites and your local Police auction is quite marked and you can still pay reasonable money but remember that even £50 is a lot of money to someone on a low income..

 

[raleighnut]

I used to be given old frames/bikes but nowadays because of "fashion" these are fetching a lot of money. Some old bikes always cost a fair bit e.g Dawes, Mercian, Carlton and all 531 handbuilt specials but in the past few years prices of old basic Raleighs etc have rocketed.
Please note that I don't blame the sellers here as anything is only worth the amount a buyer is prepared to pay, it just seems that old bikes are the new "cool" and the price reflects that.
BTW I have never sold any of mine (given a couple away and built one specifically for my nephew) and now have 11 in total, all different styles and all but 1 (next project) ready for use.

 

[compo]

Market forces unfortunately. More people looking for bikes so up go prices.

 

[sidevalve]

Not too sure old bikes are that expensive. After all a 10 - 12 - 18 speed bike can be had [yes even on E Bay] for under £50. 3 speeders [standard fare when I were a lad] are really in the specialist market now. Is [for example] £40 all that much ? After all football tickets can cost twice that. Parts for cheap bikes are available for just a few quid [6 speed block for £5 etc] and even years ago if you got a very cheap bike you would have to "fettle" it.
A good working bike can be sorted out for £40 - 50 [and often a fair bit less] and ridden. All the rest - clothing, fancy computers, can be left.

 

[David Higson]

I've seen the same market forces affect other "collectibles". Whilst it's one thing overcharging for "vintage" "Mint-In-Box" toys that nobody ever plays with, a bicycle was/is/can still be a viable means of transport. Relatively few "vintage" bicycles actually warrant the name.Some stuff may be worth the money but there are far too many bicycles going for far too much. Asking 90 quid for a Triumph TrafficMaster that I paid £45 for in 1977 is like pretending a 1970's Morris Marina is a "Much Loved Classic." I love old bikes but I'm also a realist. Thousands of these things were produced so they're hardly outnumbered by potential buyers.

 

[JoeyB]

You can still pick up complete Raleigh 501 framed bikes for £40-£50 notes...

 

[David Higson]

Genuine Raleigh 1985 vintage - Three careful riders - Some minor restoration required - £££ Priceless