Ive just been looking through a new and tempting cycling catalogue. Though looking at the road cycles i am as always shocked at the prices. I mean most of them have standard aluminium frames made in Taiwan and standard groupsets - so theres little room for extra design costs etc. In fact up to about £1500 each major bycycle manufacturers machine is rougthly the same, and probably made in the same place! So this brought be to thinking what are these contraptions actually worth. How much profit to bike manufacturers make? I mean a standard aluminium frame mass produced in the far east cannot actually be worth £300. I mean how much is raw aluminium? How much does it cost shimano to produce a groupset? Sometimes I find myself gasping in astonishment at prices... How much for a handlebar? etc etc Are the prices of our dream machines kept illusively high? Are our celebrated manufactuers ripping us off? Or could this be an yet another example of rip off Britain as Ive seen US prices that our comparably cheaper than ours.
Bike Cafe · Public discussion
What a bike actually worth? £$
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- Bike Cafe
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- 17 March 2005
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- 19 March 2005
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- howierart
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i hate these american companies making thier frames in taiwan, speccing them from Japan and selling them to europe under the 'made in america' banner. Made in America means nothing outside of the US..
thats why i never buy bikes, i always steal them whenever possible.
howierart said:
Ive just been looking through a new and tempting cycling catalogue. Though looking at the road cycles i am as always shocked at the prices. I mean most of them have standard aluminium frames made in Taiwan and standard groupsets - so theres little room for extra design costs etc. In fact up to about £1500 each major bycycle manufacturers machine is rougthly the same, and probably made in the same place! So this brought be to thinking what are these contraptions actually worth. How much profit to bike manufacturers make? I mean a standard aluminium frame mass produced in the far east cannot actually be worth £300. I mean how much is raw aluminium? How much does it cost shimano to produce a groupset? Sometimes I find myself gasping in astonishment at prices... How much for a handlebar? etc etc Are the prices of our dream machines kept illusively high? Are our celebrated manufactuers ripping us off? Or could this be an yet another example of rip off Britain as Ive seen US prices that our comparably cheaper than ours.
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MountainPro said:
thats why i never buy bikes, i always steal them whenever possible.
At least your honest... :p -
Manufacturing costs have absolutely nothing to do with the price of anything anymore. That’s an industrial age concept and is hopelessly behind the times. In business school, they don’t even talk about it.
The current term used is “value creation.” If Trek can put in your mind the idea that you’re riding a piece of Lance Armstrong’s Glory, then that idea in your mind is a value they have created with their marketing and by paying for Lance and the boys. They charge you accordingly, and by god people pay serious money for that.
It’s the same way they get people to pay $200 for a faded pair of jeans.
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TrevorN said:
At least your honest... :p
i lied......
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