Bike Prices are Out of Control! 

You know it's out of control when you can buy a motorbike for the same price

If the consumer stops paying these prices, then prices will have to come down.

Mate I complete respect you for this especially as you in the business. It takes clarity and balls to do what you have done here..👍👍👍👍👍💪💪💪💪

There is a reason why bike manufacturers are starting to go out of business. Not everybody is stupid enough to buy their overpriced bikes.

100% agree that the bike industry is out of control. I expect a painful correction here at some point. 😬

I don’t understand why bikes need to be so expensive especially when you can buy a brand new motorcycle with more technology for the same price and even cheaper.

The current prices are the reason I have gone back to steel and chosen a custom frame fabricator. They claim carbon is stronger than steel, well I beg to disagree. Look at the amount of carbon bikes that have been going to carbon repair shops. These businesses have been thriving and there is more of them. If I have to pay $6k to $10k for a bike with good components on it, it only makes sense to go with steel or titanium, something that can last. The weight difference is minimal in comparison to carbon offerings today. With carbon, one tumble could turn it into trash. Only pro level racers should be using the high end carbon bikes, nobody else. If I needed a car I wouldn't be in the market looking for F1 capable Indy racer, that just doesn't make sense, and neither does me wanting a pro level bicycle.

Going back to the 90s to early 2000s. The technological development combined with increased interest in cycling actually drove the cost down. Performance for price increased during that time. In more recent years, technological development was used to justify increased cost.

Thank you Sir. That took courage to release onto RU-vid, more so considering your a bike sales representative. Respect.

after decades of racing I realized the point of diminishing return is around 3-4k usd, you can easily drop dudes riding a 12k bike on a hill with good training. I can guarantee, if Tadej is riding a 6k bike he can certainly beat everyone on a 15k bike in the pro-peloton.

I can buy an E-bike for 1500.00 dollars or a Honda Navi for 1800.00 dollars... lol

The fact that unknown brands with almost the same technology and material cost only half the price from premium brands shows that current bike prices are probably 2 times of its' actual cost. Something has to change in the way the Pro Teams are financing their business because bike manufacturers are forced to spend millions in sponsorship to those teams as part of the marketing budget. Canyon may have removed the middleman (distributor) with their direct to consumer business model but they still have to pay MVDP and his team millions for the next ten years.

You compared the canyon aero frame to the standard race frame from giant. For apples to apples, you should compare the canyon ultimate. Ultimate CF SL 8 Aero has ultegra di2 12 speed dt swiss carbon rims and is $7650 aud

The actual manufacturing cost to produce a ten thousand dollar bike is around 700 dollars meaning the profit margins are excessive.

The Chinese owned brands are already eating their lunch, the same thing happened with camping and outdoors recently, all the big brands starting going under. The covid record selling bump is over and folks are tired of excessive margins. In this economy most of us are chasing value.

I spent 700 dollars on my first road bike in 2014. Fuji Roubaix aluminum frame carbon fork tiagra groupset. I still have it and have upgraded it to 105 and put carbon wheels on it. Its still solid, looks new and goes as fast as i can push the pedals. Yesterday i bought a Trek Checkpoint SL5. Most money I have ever spent on a bike but its brilliant. A little heavier than my old Fuji due to wheels and tires, but got it for 2799 US brand new with warranty. I remember when 3k dollars would buy a really light weight high spec bike.... prices are insane. I do plan to eventually get a road bike to replace my old Fuji but its hard to justify 5k dollars or more to buy a heavier bike. The madone SL6 from trek is a full 2 pounds heavier than my old aluminum Fuji. Yes its aero and carbon, but how did bikes get so much more expensive with the added weight?!?! Disc brakes and aero are nice, but does it warrant the ask.... i dont think so.

Your bang on...TCR Ultegra Di2 should be between $4500-5k as should be the Propel

30 odd years in the industry and I call absolute bullshit on the prices of a decent bike. Running shoes are better value for me now. I can't afford to ride now I'm retired. Onya Tim.

I totally agree Tim, I live in the second hand market. its full of perfectly good bikes, and most of the high end bikes for sale there are from guys think 12k will make them faster but forgot to actually train! I dont see where the value is in something priced 10k and up, just ask any age grouper.

Recent started biking in the UK. Got a very modest £350 MB as just starting out, and not willing to drop 3-5k and above.

No matter what you get , you still got to pump the pedals!!!!!

The cost of road bikes vs Mtn bikes is crazy, as in what you get…. For the same price they both have full carbon frames, the same level of components however the MTB has front shocks, rear shocks, dropper seat etc. I don’t understand how the price on roadies is so high

Agreed Tim. It’s getting out of hand.

If you want to enjoy your ride, you can buy a top 10 year old bike, with manual gear, no disc break, carbon frame, a good pair of wheels and Dura Ace transmission for $2000. You'll have the same performance for 1/5 of the price. But if your aim is to make your little number, it's a different story.

I bought a 2024 Honda Grom and added so many aftermarket parts it ended up costing a bit over $6000.00...in relation I just purchased a Canyon Ultimate CF SL 8 Moviestar ($6311.93 with tax) and I've added wahoo Element Roam V2 ($400.00) , a garminTacx NEO 3M ($2000.00) , a mat, a SRAM RED AVS XG 1290 12 speed cassette rainbow 10-33T ($300.00) etc...etc..... so basically my motorcycle is way cheaper than my bicycle. 😂😂😂😂

I recently bought a Scott Foil 20 (2023/Sram Rival/Syncros Carbon 50 wheels) I live in Barcelona (retails €6100) abs ridiculous, however went to a Scott dealer here and they were offering it for (discount) €5500, I said I would offer €5000, they rejected it, I shopped around and saw one for €4500, I grabbed it. I then contacted the shop that wouldn't offer it for me for €5000 and I said I bought it for €4500, there was silence. Sometimes it's not the bike manufacturers who are greedy but the bike shops themselves. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I ride 100% indoors because i can't afford a bike. Refurbished Wahoo Kickr £650 2nd hand bike to go on it with Shimano 105 £350 or a new road bike £4k minimum! crazy times...

I have a Giant Contend SL Disc I bought 5 years ago for Aus$2400 New. It's not Carbon, it's Aluminum, but if I wanted to drop some weight, I'd loose a few kg's. Best bike I've owned. I love how the Trek bikes look and feel, but the choice comes down to buy a Trek Bike, or place a decent deposit on a car/house. Which is absolutely insane...

Last summer I built up a Madone SLR. The frame was new old stock, I only paid $1200 for it. I got 20% off SRAM Red AXS and $600 off a set of ENVE Foundation 65 wheels. The total costs still topped 10k. At these prices, don't have kids, lol

In terms of juniors as well it’s hard to support race fees and have a competitive bike when the parents are the ones buying the bike and it’s the price of as mentioned a potential first car all with the high risk that it could get crashed within a day and be worth nothing

It's complete madness if you ask me. However if you're prepared to go 105 it would bring it down a bit I would hope without really impacting the ride experience for mugs like me. Not that I'm in the market, it's not a discussion with my wife I want to have right now😂

How is ultegra 12 speed Di2 "mid to high end"? It's literally the second best groupset Shimano makes! Mid tier would be something like 105 12 speed mechanical, considering you have 105 electronic, ultegra and dura ace above that and 11 speed mechanicals below that. I have just bought a 2023 Gian TCR with carbon wheels and 12 speed 105 Di2 for 3.000 euro. Doesn't seem that crazy to me, tbh. It's like saying that cars are getting too expensive without considering that nowadays most cars come with technologies that were reserved for top end luxury cars just a couple of years ago (like safety sensors, rear view cameras and android /apple car)

I mean... It's everything. Everything is expensive and kind of overpriced. It's the silent inflation, not the one that's going away, this one will last. But with that said: The enthusiast level of bikes has very much inflated in value, while the normal market seems to be doing at least OK. I am more in the market for bikes that cost around 3000 AUD (at least, that's what google says around 1800 Eur should be). Nothing fancy, just a good mid-range bike that works. And those are at least more affordable again, than they were over the last few years. I bought a Topstone 1 in 2021 for 2400 EUR and guess what, right now the new model is still 2400... BUT, but... Unlike in 2021 you can actually get good bikes, with the same specs for around 1600 to 1700 EUR.. My hope is that big manufacturers have to adjust the prices sooner or later, but... Honestly, still a lot of people probably prefer having a "Specialized" over a "Cube"... So... Who knows.

Bikes are outrageously priced and I think the manufacturers are finally having to reap what they've sowed. Trek is getting rid of 40% of their line to try and minimize the impact on their bottom line, but if they keep focusing on the 1% of riders that can afford/justify spending five figures on a bike instead of catering to the larger segment of the industry (which includes their future customers), they'll just be digging their own grave. You're right that even direct to consumer brands have been charging more, but that's a logical step for them when the legacy brands are charging so much for so little. Direct to consumer still offers more bike for less money even though their prices are inflated. If the prices continue at this level bike companies are going to take an even bigger financial hit and we might not see as many of them around in another five or ten years. Bike shops are certainly going to have to change tack and focus on maintenance and repair more than bike sales if companies like Trek keep opening their own storefronts to try and maximize their profits. Companies have negatively altered the industry from top to bottom because of their greed and willingness to gouge the customer, and it won't get better until they lower prices. Just a result of their selfish, money-motivated business decisions in my opinion.

As long as there are enough consumers willing to pay the high price the price will continue to be costly. It's capitalism and how the free market works. When people stop spending then the companies are forced to reduce their prices. It's either that or lower priced same build quality bikes start to eat away at their profit margins forcing them to lower their price.

Alloy is good enough these days.

Ultegra DI2 is not mid-to-high-end. It is the top end.

Maybe check out the value of decathlon bikes, it's way lower than the average prices for the same components

I bought a mechanical Cervelo soloist for $2800 USD. Don’t have to get ultegra di2 with carbon wheel bikes.

The big brands are just charging more because they can. If you look around you can find much better value for money. Those bikes at 5 figures are stupid. People think they make them faster which they might by a few seconds but they aren’t worth it. A £2k bike can feel amazing. A £200-£500 can feel amazing if you just want to get stuff done. It’s more about what you do and where you go that gets the buzz rather than the bike.

It's not just the bike but everything in cycling is over priced. Cycling kit for starters. Pedla and Maap are taking the piss.

Good content bud, thanks for posting

I watched one of the latest UK youtubers review of the specialized CRUX 12k here in Australia Seatpost / saddle / stem / bars / cheap parts Wheel mass produced carbon laced to DT 350 Nice frame and sram 1 by Dood 12k Lots of newbies paying alot I have had mountain bikes and road bikes and mail ordered parts back 20yrs ago from USA Chris's king hubs not specialized is cheaper tho well made SWISS DT but lower end parts stems is cheap not CNC If you know bikes you know

you can get an excellent bike for under € 900, it weighs a few grams more and you shift with cables, but the only reason to spend more would be competitive sport with serious prizes.

Yeah im looking to make an investment into a new bike and nesrly 3k for some of these carbon bikes with 105 di or mechanical ultegra group sets is pretty nuts in my book. Ill be buying a used bike for about 1200-1800.

Have a look at POLYGON from Bicycles Online. I have one of their MTB’s and can’t fault it. I’ve looked at their road bikes and reckon next time I’m up for a roadie that’s where I’ll buy it.

In Bangkok, we be stocking up on tyres, etc shortly😅.

Your right they are way to expensive, bit like iPhones, it's just the resale value of no name bikes. The bike you buy is the bike your selling down the line.

Hey guys,i got an email from trek a while back showing their new bikes and prices....i couldnt believe it.ill stick to my 4yr old trek slash thanks lol,its crazy

I pay no more than $3000, 2,800 € / bike.

1000 eurs and you good to go!! Bikes are the cheapest now!

You guys are whacked, my single speed cost $350 and it's lasted me ten years.

Buy second hand is my opinion.. better value

$5K+ for a plastic bike? Not for me.

Luckily a bicycle is not a basic need, so you don't have to buy an expensive bike. The best bikes are going to be expensive. Anything in life that is nice typically is. I just hope these type of videos are not spurring violent attacks on cyclists to steal their bikes.

Bikes seem expensive, but I’d rather give my money to a bike manufacturer and bike shop than my medical specialist who charges me $320 for 10mins of his time.

Ha Haaa. I know where I know you from, you were in the Bonnie Palmer fundraising paddle race from the GC Seaway to Currumbin. Just before the race you got out of the ski for a "rest stop" and I came over to you in my white thundercat to see if you were ok. Some big sharks where you got out, not a very good idea to go for a swim.

We know it doesn't cost $4000 more to build a Trek than a than a Merida.

Bike companys digging their own grave!

Just buy a cheaper bike. Happiness in cycling is not checking your stats, distance, speed and average speed, it's cycling to explore, stopping at the kedron brook crossovers and looking for turtles and small fish, and checking out other people in their lycra.

All prices have risen significantly … not sure why you’re obsessing about bike prices?

the added value of the bikes is the high price. You have to have a product in your catalog that you can sell to people who want to spend more money than everyone else.