The Bike Industry and Inflation

Our team bike is out until 2022. I ordered a BMC time machine through the team and it arrived quickly… but it was basically the last one in the US (our team works closely with BMC).
Had I waited even a week or two later I might not be on it.
The price was high, but again I feel like every day is worse than the last. It’s really a no win situation :face_exhaling:
On a related note…I love it! Though I am ordering some deeper race wheels for my A races later this year.
Edit: we usually ride Scott bikes

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Gorgeous bike!

:heart_eyes:

Truth!

Some commodities like steel and lumber will drop back down to reasonable prices at some point, but I’m not holding my breath that they’ll ever return to prepandemic prices.

I think bike prices will stay the way they are. Manufacturers aren’t overproducing and the price hikes weren’t insane (unlike lumber), so I think current prices will be the new normal.

Any watch nerds out there? Gray market Rolex Daytonas are going for 3X over retail. People have money to spend…

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Not trying to bash bicycle manufacturers, retailer or anybody else in the chain but I can’t honestly see that prices will drop. Not to levels that we’d expect anyway.

If manufacturers have been able to provide some product to the market, they’ll have data to show that there’s demand for their product, even at increased cost. There would need to be solid data to the contrary showing their product stagnated.

Could be partly fuelled by the fact that ‘Savers’ are getting nothing back for their money in a bank and they’re just saying ‘sod it! I’m going to have some fun with my money’. On the other hand, people globally have been losing their jobs and their homes.

During the financial crisis of 2008-2010, UK VAT was increased from 17.5% to 20%. We were told that it would return to 17.5% once the ship had steadied. We’re still waiting…

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Guys, bike prices have been climbing steadily every year since forever.

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Me. I own an early 90’s Tudor…the vintage market has also been insane.

Anyone know a custom frame builder? Parts availability or lack thereof has to be especially hard on them. How are they doing otherwise?

Sure, but they’re getting to the point where they’re unreasonable. Unless you’re making well north of $100,000 per year.

My guess is the current prices are being sustained on credit and trump bucks.

Important to factor in inflation and not just get mad about prices going up over time

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Well exactly , so the $5,000 bike should be $5,500 today, but it’s $6,300 today in reality and could have been had on sale previously.

So the real world price increase is SIGNIFICANTLY greater than inflation and wage growth.

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Prices go up over time regardless of inflation. To think ___ should cost the same as it did 5 years seems misguided

There’s no sales now because there are more dollars than products, why discount something when a line of people are eager to throw money at it

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Not really. Lots of products are similarly priced as to what they were five years ago or perhaps in-line with inflation.

Maybe you just like getting ripped off? Dunno lol.

Personally, I don’t see what additional value we’re getting to account for the prices out pacing inflation. Bikes are continuing to get specced with worse and worse components in a given price bracket every single year. To me, a $3,000-5,000 bike coming with SX/NX, components is unacceptable.

You think? Were people actually negotiating the price of a new bike pre-pandemic? I didn’t see that many bike sales unless it was old stock, but that obviously isn’t happening now.

Definitely, it used to be easy to walk into a shop and get 10-20% off MSRP on a new bike. It looks like I managed just under 17% off on my last new bike purchase in 2018.

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I’m also pretty sure that the 2016 top fuel 9.8 XT didn’t have carbon wheels as standard like the 2021 does, or a dropper post. I agree if you look at prices for bikes NOW they have certainly outpaced inflation, I disagree that it’s completely unwarranted. Would I like it if prices were lower? Of course, but I’m trying to look at things as objectively as possible.

Personally speaking, my 2021 FUEL EX (recycling some parts from my previous 2018) is a way better bike than my old 2015 was, from both a frame set and component point of view.

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The 2021 Supercal doesn’t come with a dropper either and yes it has carbon wheels, but they’re really not that nice. So I don’t consider that as an upgrade over a decent set of aluminum hoops.

As for the Fuel Ex, it’s a totally different bike now. The pre-2017 models compares more directly with the current Top Fuel.

didn’t Biden also give out lots of bucks?

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Not sure why we’re comparing a Top Fuel to a Supercaliber. My FUEL EX is more comparable to an old Remedy but I’m not drawing that comparison because all bikes have morphed geometries in the last 5 years

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He did, but a bit less and they were the bucks first promised by Trump. However, I’ve been calling them Trump bucks since the first stimmy check.

The prior-gen Top Fuel and the current Supercal are both Treks XC race bikes. The current Top Fuel fills the spot of the old Fuel Ex in their lineup.

Well I guess the “buck” stops with… whichever guy you didn’t vote for. lol.

Carry on.

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