A simple sheet of reflective stickers costs £6-7. Armbands £10.
This stuff costs pence to make, so why is the markup so high?
Why reflective gear costs so much?
Re: Why reflective gear costs so much?
gilesjuk wrote:A simple sheet of reflective stickers costs £6-7. Armbands £10.
This stuff costs pence to make, so why is the markup so high?
Don't buy from overpriced cycle shops, get your hi-viz stuff from suppliers of industrial safety kit. It's VAT zero rated and tons cheaper!
Derek - The enlightened petrolhead 
I've had flourescent tabards with very substantial reflective strips - that really do work - from poundshops and "Home Bargains" for 99p and £1 - open weave material which is eminently breathable.
I asked at my LBS for a flourescent/reflective tabard (I won't mention the well known brand) and the proprietor himself told me that he didn't stock them because he wouldn't be able to sell them when nearby market stalls and cheapo shops sold tabards which are just as effective for a couple of quid, and construction industry hire shops/safety shops also sell them for a couple of quid. Just as Grumpy-Git says.
I have a specialist cycling tabard, which cost me £15 - reduced from £20 because they weren't selling - and it is actually very good, being yellow and orange flourescent, with a couple of rear pockets (stupidly in black, which denies the function of a hi-vis vest) and some very effective reflective strips. It'll last longer than the 99p ones, but not 15 times as long, and it is twice as big when rolled up.
I asked at my LBS for a flourescent/reflective tabard (I won't mention the well known brand) and the proprietor himself told me that he didn't stock them because he wouldn't be able to sell them when nearby market stalls and cheapo shops sold tabards which are just as effective for a couple of quid, and construction industry hire shops/safety shops also sell them for a couple of quid. Just as Grumpy-Git says.
I have a specialist cycling tabard, which cost me £15 - reduced from £20 because they weren't selling - and it is actually very good, being yellow and orange flourescent, with a couple of rear pockets (stupidly in black, which denies the function of a hi-vis vest) and some very effective reflective strips. It'll last longer than the 99p ones, but not 15 times as long, and it is twice as big when rolled up.
Re: Why reflective gear costs so much?
GrumpyGit wrote:gilesjuk wrote:A simple sheet of reflective stickers costs £6-7. Armbands £10.
This stuff costs pence to make, so why is the markup so high?
Don't buy from overpriced cycle shops, get your hi-viz stuff from suppliers of industrial safety kit. It's VAT zero rated and tons cheaper!
+1... well said that man!
Not only for Hi-Viz gear but general safety gear. Cycling specific spectacles can cost the earth, but go to a Safety Wear website you can see specs that offer the same protection... UV, strong lenses to withstand hits from road debris, antislip frames and anti-mist for a fraction of the price...I am talking about a fiver. And you can either smoked, clear or amber lenses, for around £15 you can have all three, with polycarbonate lenses.
As regards why cycling specific kit is so expensive, that is because some cyclist will pay it, and in a few cases just to have a particular logo or name emblazoned across it. The usual justification that you get what you pay for, but when you look at the very good kit that is safety rated on H&S sites, that argument falls flat. A lot of the stuff from H&S stores are also very fashionable and trendy.
http://www.arco.co.uk/products/3C4300/108073/
http://www.arco.co.uk/products/3U2100/70344/
http://www.arco.co.uk/products/3U0100/54853/
gilesjuk wrote:Bike stuff is breathable though
Indeed it is, but even then you do not have to break the bank.
http://www.cyclestore.co.uk/productDeta ... uctID=8123
Fully waterproof, and unbelievably breathable, and on top of that any crud thrown up at it from the road will just wipe off.
All for £39. It works just as well as jackets costing 5 times the price.
In fact I also do a lot of hiking, and I have this same jacket in all black, it beats hands down any North Face, Sprayway or Berghaus jackets specifically designed for hiking... and they can cost between £150-£300.
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thirdcrank
- Posts: 36781
- Joined: 9 Jan 2007, 2:44pm
Re: Why reflective gear costs so much?
Cadfael wrote: A lot of the stuff from H&S stores are also very fashionable and trendy.
You don't say!
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eileithyia
- Posts: 8399
- Joined: 31 Jan 2007, 6:46pm
- Location: Horwich Which is Lancs :-)
Whilst my sentiments are generally the same as those expressed above - I've already posted with respect to flourescent/reflective tabards, there are other aspects to consider.
I can't go along with the suggestion that cycle shops all rip us off. I don't think they do. I know that there are trendy, squeekily sparkling boutique type establishments, big and glitzy with piped "music" and all that, in my opinion some 10% priced above the LBSs that I use, but generally, my experience is that LBSs don't rip us off. They have to eat and live and cloth themselves (just as we all do), so they do have to make their mark-up, which is usually a standard % within any one LBS, across their range. Their "high" prices therefore only reflect manufacturers' and suppliers'prices.
It'c certainly true that some items from ordinary shops will do the job for us just as well as specialist tackle at many times the price. My example of the safety vests that I buy (above) is one, and I buy bright yellow "insulite" ski gloves from our local poundshop, and these are well warm enough for me and do the job as well as the specialist gloves in a similar performance range. We've not had real cold for several years now, but if we wanted to keep our hands warm in Arctic conditions, we'd have to spend serious money on gloves wherever we buy them, but as things are, £1.00p is better spent that £15 to £18 for something with similar performance, even if they don't last as long. I don't think that the £18 gloves would last 18 times as long as the poundshop gloves. The poundshop gloves last me a winter, with last year's being used as "first reserve" when the "first team" are in the wash. Has anyone had specialist cycling gloves to last them 18 years?
However, I do very much support specialist cycling clothing in general, in situations where they do the job better than general clothing. Rear pockets, vents in various places, breathable fabrics, bits of reflective, safety colours, washability, correct cut for the purpose, waterproof where we need it yet breathable where we don't need it to be impervious. these are all worth paying for to me, and most of the decent tackle does last a goodly time.
It's true that specialist clothing is available from some sources, at very cheap prices. For example Liddle and Aldi, and whilst the gloves and safety vests are ok, the cycling tops don't last me a summer.
Just as an aside, I've found Liddle's ski socks the perfect company for my Plusses
We take our pick and we make our choice, but I certainly don't identify with the comment that bike shops rip us off, because my LBSs don't - and neither do Spa, nor GB Cycles, nor Mike Dyason, nor.........
JohnW.
I can't go along with the suggestion that cycle shops all rip us off. I don't think they do. I know that there are trendy, squeekily sparkling boutique type establishments, big and glitzy with piped "music" and all that, in my opinion some 10% priced above the LBSs that I use, but generally, my experience is that LBSs don't rip us off. They have to eat and live and cloth themselves (just as we all do), so they do have to make their mark-up, which is usually a standard % within any one LBS, across their range. Their "high" prices therefore only reflect manufacturers' and suppliers'prices.
It'c certainly true that some items from ordinary shops will do the job for us just as well as specialist tackle at many times the price. My example of the safety vests that I buy (above) is one, and I buy bright yellow "insulite" ski gloves from our local poundshop, and these are well warm enough for me and do the job as well as the specialist gloves in a similar performance range. We've not had real cold for several years now, but if we wanted to keep our hands warm in Arctic conditions, we'd have to spend serious money on gloves wherever we buy them, but as things are, £1.00p is better spent that £15 to £18 for something with similar performance, even if they don't last as long. I don't think that the £18 gloves would last 18 times as long as the poundshop gloves. The poundshop gloves last me a winter, with last year's being used as "first reserve" when the "first team" are in the wash. Has anyone had specialist cycling gloves to last them 18 years?
However, I do very much support specialist cycling clothing in general, in situations where they do the job better than general clothing. Rear pockets, vents in various places, breathable fabrics, bits of reflective, safety colours, washability, correct cut for the purpose, waterproof where we need it yet breathable where we don't need it to be impervious. these are all worth paying for to me, and most of the decent tackle does last a goodly time.
It's true that specialist clothing is available from some sources, at very cheap prices. For example Liddle and Aldi, and whilst the gloves and safety vests are ok, the cycling tops don't last me a summer.
Just as an aside, I've found Liddle's ski socks the perfect company for my Plusses
We take our pick and we make our choice, but I certainly don't identify with the comment that bike shops rip us off, because my LBSs don't - and neither do Spa, nor GB Cycles, nor Mike Dyason, nor.........
JohnW.
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FredSmith
Cycle Clothing
Can I suggest you take a look at www.cycleclothinguk.com
They seem to have lots of Hi Vis stuff.....and othe cools items.
Ladies and kids options too.
FredSmith
They seem to have lots of Hi Vis stuff.....and othe cools items.
Ladies and kids options too.
FredSmith
Re: Why reflective gear costs so much?
thirdcrank wrote:Cadfael wrote: A lot of the stuff from H&S stores are also very fashionable and trendy.
You don't say!
Okay... I admit some of it is NOT trendy!
Re: Why reflective gear costs so much?
Cadfael wrote:thirdcrank wrote:Cadfael wrote: A lot of the stuff from H&S stores are also very fashionable and trendy.
You don't say!
:lol:
Okay... I admit some of it is NOT trendy! :lol:
Could start one though.........