How can stuff cost so much?

[Arch]

I've been looking at chainrings for my trike upgrade, and I'm astounded by the prices I've seen. £50-60 for a toothed disc of metal, and of course, the less there is of it, the more it costs...

Luckily, I think I've found something that'll work for £9.99...

But seriously, how can stuff cost so much? A whole bike, maybe, something that needs assembly and setting up, but a single piece of metal, presumably stamped/milled out by a machine....

How much of it is just swagger?

 

[Over The Hill]

I have sourced any I have needed on ebay and fairly decent ones seem to be available for about £6 plus a couple of pounds postage.

There seems to be a different world out there of people who like to spend lots of money on gear just for the sake of it. Thus you get the bod on his £2,000 bike pushing the thing up a fairly ordinary hill while you sail past on your £130 secondhand bike.

I am all for quality to make life comfortable but for a weekend leisure cyclist to get olympic grade kit is just plain silly (IMHO).

The problem is that many bike shops seem to cater for this top end of the market but forget about the punter with limited means or who simply has better things to spend his money on. It is their loss and ebays gain as I hardly use my LBS now because they never have basic reasonable quality kit.

Parts seem to be really expensive compared to the whole thing. I would guess if you bought the bits to build a bike it would cost a lot more than buying the whole bike.

 

[fossyant]

Ribble do some very good stronglight chain rings - you have the choice of dural (cheaper) or the 7075 zircal stuff.

Don't get real cheap stuff. I'll also recommend Blackspire - very good, and reasonable.

 

[Over The Hill]

Genius! Spend a shed load on a nice trike, then skimp on the drivetrain by spending under a tenner. Some economies are utterly pointless.

It's like buying a diesel, but filling it with unleaded because it's cheaper!

Clearly petrol is the wrong fuel so will not work. What will not work on the £10 cog? Ones I have seen have been decent brands at that price.

 

[Fnaar]

It's the "reassuringly expensive" type of viewpoint... people think it must be good if it costs a bomb, even it it was made at the same factory as the £9.99 one and just stuck in a different box. I reckon. But I'm a skinflint.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Lots of 3rd party chain rings are milled lathed works of engineering loveliness with laser etching and all sorts. Cheap stamped / pressed they ain't

 

[gbb]

Fossys right, the stronglight chainrings are ok.
I just went to get new rings for mine, a 50 and 40 T.
The campag 50T was near £70 No doubt good quality, but personally i can't and won't spend that much.
I had Stronglights on and theyve done 2 or 3 seasons...the 40T cost £15 when i got it.
Just paid £25 for a 50T and £19 for the 40T

Don't anyone tell me i could have got them cheaper...i like to support my LBS

 

[beanzontoast]

I have sourced any I have needed on ebay and fairly decent ones seem to be available for about £6 plus a couple of pounds postage.

There seems to be a different world out there of people who like to spend lots of money on gear just for the sake of it. Thus you get the bod on his £2,000 bike pushing the thing up a fairly ordinary hill while you sail past on your £130 secondhand bike.

I am all for quality to make life comfortable but for a weekend leisure cyclist to get olympic grade kit is just plain silly (IMHO).

The problem is that many bike shops seem to cater for this top end of the market but forget about the punter with limited means or who simply has better things to spend his money on. It is their loss and ebays gain as I hardly use my LBS now because they never have basic reasonable quality kit.

I agree with you in the main. Most bike parts I buy come from internet suppliers nowadays, based on recommendations from forums like this one. I'd like to support the LBS in principle, but I draw the line at significant price differences. IME, most people aren't interested in spending more than they need to if there is the same kit available elsewhere cheaper - or different cheaper kit that will do the job just as well.

I still prefer to use my LBS for clothing, as I like to try stuff on. But even there, it's getting harder to find the 'basic' kit - a lot of what they stock is quite expensive to me.

 

[Crackle]

What are you after Arch, I've got some chainwheels lying around, 130 BCD I think and the inner 90, need to check. I've a 30 (90) and a 42 and 52 (130).

 

[Arch]

What are you after Arch, I've got some chainwheels lying around, 130 BCD I think and the inner 110, need to check. I've a 30 (110) and a 42 and 52 (130).

Cheers, it's 110BCD I need - mainly a bigger one (50ish), but the 30t one might be useful, depends if I decide to reuse the single on there, which is fairly low geared already, or get something to give me a gear or two lower. Can I get back to you, it's all hypothectical until I get the replacement boom anyway.

One of the ones I've looked at on SJS is Shimano Sora, I suppose that's only for poor people with no judgement, I can never remember what the hierarchy is (and don't really care). It's a very well, Maggot, to say pay more, but on a limited budget, little economies are what make it possible to have the trike at all.

 

[fossyant]

SJS aren't cheap, but they have stock....

See - Ribble...

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/ro...al-5083-110mm-Shim-9-10-Chainring/STROCHRI370

I use the Dural ones on my Ribble road bike, and have done for over 10 years - hard wearing and look nice.

 

[hackbike 666]

I spent a mint on getting my gears sorted out and the front chain ring replaced.I had trouble after only doing 67 miles on the bike and finding a lot of the rear wheel spokes had become loose.It was never right after replacing the wheel and resulted inme having two spills.I reckon I was ripped off but that's the problem with being a mug but happily the gears have been brilliant ever since.

P.S It's done almost 7000 miles now.

 

[TheDoctor]

A £10 Stronglight alloy chainring is perfectly good quality. Given that the pull on a 'bent chain is almost exactly in the same line as the chainring, I fail to see how it can possibly bend.

 

[Danny]

Cheers, it's 110BCD I need - mainly a bigger one (50ish), but the 30t one might be useful, depends if I decide to reuse the single on there, which is fairly low geared already, or get something to give me a gear or two lower. Can I get back to you, it's all hypothectical until I get the replacement boom anyway.

One of the ones I've looked at on SJS is Shimano Sora, I suppose that's only for poor people with no judgement, I can never remember what the hierarchy is (and don't really care). It's a very well, Maggot, to say pay more, but on a limited budget, little economies are what make it possible to have the trike at all.

Sora should be decent quality, and will probably last longer than the ultra light and ultra expensive high end Shimano chain sets.

If you decide to go for Stronglight I think I have some spare chain rings you could have.

In the past I have had some success in getting my nearest bike shop to match on-line prices for parts - though generally when I've asked them to fit them.

 

[TheDoctor]

Sora rings are steel IIRC. Last forever, weigh lots. I swapped mine out for Stronglight alloy ones, and tweaked the gearing at the same time.