Why are 'bents...

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

I asked myself this when my friend turned up with an ironing board in
his car (appently called a Kingcycle, a mere 800 for the frame, Lloyd
loom chair and a couple of wheels). I imagine it's like hi-fi, they all
think they have their own design down to a tee so don't pool resources.

"Chris Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

--
Chris

Prolly no serious economies of scale as it's a niche market compared to the
vast number of uprights sold. Mind you, prices are a bit better than wot
they woz...

Cheers, helen s

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

Because they are made by low-volume producers, not makers who turn out
identical bikes in thousands from big factories in China.
Because the distribution chain is also low-volume, so the price per item has
to be higher.

They cost similar sums to bespoke or near-bespoke up-right bikes.

You get bargains appearing on ebay from time to time, or if within
travelling range of the Netherlands, there are a lot sold there, and thus a
fairly large s/hand market.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

"MartinM" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

I asked myself this when my friend turned up with an ironing board in
his car (appently called a Kingcycle, a mere 800 for the frame, Lloyd
loom chair and a couple of wheels). I imagine it's like hi-fi, they all
think they have their own design down to a tee so don't pool resources.

I reckon it's more that there aren't any out there, so it's close to them
all being custom. And they are probably built by enthusiasts rather than
people with marketing telling them to cut corners to hit a certain price.

cheers,
clive

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

Small market and typically hand-built I'd guess.

Quoted message said:

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

I'd love one too but a Windcheetah is a bit more than I'd like to pay
right now. Maybe I should do some overtime ;o)

Chris
--
Chris Eilbeck
MARS Flight Crew http://www.mars.org.uk/
UKRA #1108 Level 2 UYB
Tripoli UK Member #9527 LSMR

Clive George said:

I reckon it's more that there aren't any out there, so it's close to them
all being custom. And they are probably built by enthusiasts rather than
people with marketing telling them to cut corners to hit a certain price.

like "real" hi-fi manufacturers (envious NAD owner)

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

KMX-X ykims. Someone posted info on TW-Bents a while back, but they
dont seem to be easily/at all available in the UK.

On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 21:54:22 +0100, Tosspot <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

KMX-X ykims. Someone posted info on TW-Bents a while back, but they
dont seem to be easily/at all available in the UK.

You might be thinking of Actionbents, a distributor based in [i think]
Washington [state].

http://www.actionbent.com/index.html

For the money, reports from people that have bought these are very
favourable. But they are very much absent over here....might be a
money, import/duty thing... no idea.

Garry

On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 19:33:20 +0000, Chris Smith <[email hidden]>
said in <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

... so bleedin expensive?

Ahem: I think you mean *exclusive*.

Answer: small-scale manufacture, often complex frames, and usually
high-spec components.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

Not all, have a look at http://www.dutchbikes.nl/uk.htm and
http://fortybike.nl/velofun-folder-engels.htm and do consider s/h you should
be able to get an older model for a much better price. Check
http://www.velovision.co.uk/smallad/forsale.html on a regular basis as they
often turn up here.
Also Cycling + mag classified.
Good luck

SW

"Chris Smith" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

--
Chris

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

Because that's where the supply and demand are at equilibrium

</mindless literalist>

--
Keith Willoughby http://flat222.org/keith/
ETAOIN SHRDLU

Clive George said:

I reckon it's more that there aren't any out there, so it's close to
them all being custom. And they are probably built by enthusiasts rather
than people with marketing telling them to cut corners to hit a certain
price.

And also for the most part bought by enthusiasts, who aren't
particularly interested in buying something with plastic brakes and a
transmission wrought from Gorgonzola. c.f. many tandems and trikes.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Nigel Cliffe said:

You get bargains appearing on ebay from time to time, or if within
travelling range of the Netherlands, there are a lot sold there, and thus a
fairly large s/hand market.

FSVO "a lot", of course, but the volumes are certainly far bigger than
here.

One thing I have observed over here is people tend to think, "I fancy a
recumbent!", read that, say, a Streetmachine or Windcheetah is the
badger's nadgers and assuming all 'bents are basically similar buy one
with all the trimmings only to find it's hopeless for their particular
needs (as if someone new to cycling who fancied pootling around town
doing their grocery shopping looked at Le Tour and thought "that Lance
Armstrong must ride a good bike, I'll get myself a carbon Trek racer!"😉.
Consequently the second hand values of such machines are high but
they're basically unridden and quite a bit cheaper than new. Not sure
how the Dutch s/h market will compare to that, but it wouldn't surprise
me if the same syndrome exists to some extent.
The caveat with such machines is the same as faced the original buyer:
it really is quite important to ride the thing and assess its
practicalities for one's own particular needs and physiology. A BikeE
and a NoCom are both "recumbent bicycles" but beyond that have about as
much in common as a Raleigh 20 and an Olympic grade track bike.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

Because they're made in countries where labour is expensive, like here
or Germany.

"Nigel Cliffe" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Chris Smith said:

... so bleedin expensive?

I'm half tempted by the Dark Side - but I'm ver ver poor... 🙁

Because they are made by low-volume producers, not makers who turn out
identical bikes in thousands from big factories in China.

Not "big factories" as we know them, but slave labour establishments where
the workers are paid peanuts. How do you think these bikes are so "cheap"??
(and this doesn't apply only to bikes.... hi-fi, toys, clothes, etc are also
supplied by sweated labour in China.)

--
IanH

On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 19:42:52 +0000, Zog The Undeniable
<[email hidden]> said in <43bd7a59.0@entanet>:

Quoted message said:

Because they're made in countries where labour is expensive, like here
or Germany.

As are Brompton, Longstaff, Thorn, Roberts and so on.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

Just zis Guy said:

On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 19:42:52 +0000, Zog The Undeniable
<[email hidden]> said in <43bd7a59.0@entanet>:

Quoted message said:

Because they're made in countries where labour is expensive, like here
or Germany.

As are Brompton, Longstaff, Thorn, Roberts and so on.

Which all, with the exception of the Brompton, cost as much
as a recumbant. And the brompton has pretty cheap bits on
it.

--
Arthur Clune

On 7 Jan 2006 20:52:56 GMT, [email hidden] (Arthur Clune) said in
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Which all, with the exception of the Brompton, cost as much
as a recumbant. And the brompton has pretty cheap bits on
it.

No they don't. You can get a decent Roberts with much better kit on
it for less than a good 'bent, and I had a three-seater Thorn that
still cost less than my 'bent. Unlike the new Bike Friday tandem,
which cost a ridiculous amount.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

Arellcat said:

I have NAD hi-fi separates - I think the 3020 sounds pretty good for
its price. Perhaps if I was as much of an audiophile as I am a
bikeophile I'd spend rather more!

I bought one on those in 1980. Still got it still sounds good.

--
Andy Morris

AndyAtJinkasDotFreeserve.Co.UK

Love this:
Put an end to Outlook Express's messy quotes
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