Re: New £13k Specialized audax bike
Posted: 12 Oct 2020, 7:03am
May one pay by instalments over several years? Like buying a car, where one does not own it at the end?
Discussion boards hosted by Cycling UK
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/
mikeymo wrote:Oh, I get your drift all right. You don't like rich people spending large amounts of money (that they don't deserve) on things, so you describe them as "status symbols".
speedsixdave wrote:Bmblbzzz wrote: veblen
Not come across the term before but a quick google reveals a most useful concept and name for it. Thanks Bmblbzzz!
The utility cyclist wrote:Bonzo Banana wrote:The gains on expensive bikes are so ridiculously marginal and the risk of theft is super high and the cost of maintaining them is super high. Ultimately a slightly fitter rider on a low end Claris road bike will beat a less fit rider on a top end £13k bike. You buy a Ferrari car you get a Ferrari engine you don't fit it with a 50cc moped engine in it which can be the case when a rich less fit middle age man splashes out on a high end bike.
It's all marketing nonsense anyway, Specialized import such bikes from the far east to promote their engineering status plus they sponsor events so that the Specialized brand is desired. I don't think Specialized has really made anything themselves, I'm pretty sure even their early bikes were imported from Japan. You can see Specialized mountain bikes being made in a recent fuji-ta video. The same factory is used for many low end brands. I've got a cheap Muddyfox sports direct road bike that came from the same factory, no doubt it hasn't got the butted tubes of the Specialized entry level road bikes that are made there but they will be manufactured by the same people to the same overall quality, only the components will vary and my cheap Muddyfox bikes sports a decent freehub/Claris drivetrain with brifters and dual pivot brakes, it's probably just a kg heavier than the entry level Specialized road bike because of a lack of frame tube butting.
You can see the same Muddyfox model of bike as mine up against a high end carbon fibre Boardman bike here. Also the Muddyfox bike only has a 12-25 cassette so bear that in mind when you see the results. I'm sure a 11-32T cassette would have made a significant difference to the results.
Ultimately its a silly money purchase in line with a gold plated McClaren. You'd have to be an amazing cyclist for the tiny gains to make sense and such bikes sell in ridiculously low numbers, probably 10,000 entry level Specialized bikes are sold for every one of these.
I think the chances of lower end bikes are more susceptible to being stolen in all honesty.
Cost of maintaining isn't very high - what's with using the word 'super'?? My own Dura Ace shifters haven't missed a beat in 5 years, carbon cranks still bob on as are all the carbon components including carbon rail saddle. The high end Enduro BB has lasted same, only big ring, chain, brake pads, bar tape have been replaced. Even the rear tubular is still going okay, I've done about 10,000 miles on it.
Some people report having 50,000 miles on their Dura Ace 7900 shifters.
I think people who don't buy high end have little idea as to running costs, sure if you do a lot of miles it's going to cost more but very high costs only occur if you damage your bike and/or components
It's nothing like a gold plated Mclaren and it isn't a silly money purchase, only people making comments like that are 'silly'
Jamesh wrote:10k for a pro race bike is about right 3k for a paint job more debatable.
GCN did a video on pro race bike prices.
canyons a bargain!!
https://youtu.be/DNV2psLKy0A
thelawnet wrote:
Bmblbzzz wrote:thelawnet wrote:
I wonder what caused the stagnation after WWI? I'd imagine it was down to changes in race format but I don't have any idea what. The far less dramatic flattening in the last couple of decades I'd put down to the post-Armstrong effect. The 70s also look fairly lacking in improvement, but the results are more widely distributed there.
Brucey wrote:IIRC derailleur gears were not used in some prestigious races (such as the TDF) all through the 1920s. There was also a distinct lack of men of professional cycling age in many countries; WW1 had a devastating effect. Another effect was that about 1930 better quality steel tubes for bicycle frames became more widely available.
It is an interesting graph but I wonder what races are included in the data set?
cheers
Bmblbzzz wrote:I wonder what caused the stagnation after WWI? I'd imagine it was down to changes in race format but I don't have any idea what.
cycle tramp wrote:The utility cyclist wrote:So you don't have any experience of high end bikes so go with the stupid comments, how very typical of some forummers. Things they don't understand or have zero experience of and go in just to make troll comments to antagonise and insult.
Er... since you've asked..so far I've ridden racing up rights, folders, shoppers, traditional roadsters, expedition rated tourers, 2 and 3 wheeled human powered vehicles, used hydraulic brakes, roller brakes, drum brakes, coster brake, rim brakes (vee, capiller, roller cam), single speed, fixed wheel, three speed hub, nu-Vinci hub, rolhoff hub, deraileurs (1x5; 3x7; 4x7), lighting wise; dyno-hub; bottle and battery...
..I've cycled with road going cycling clubs, undertaken timed events, been on social rides, night rides,undertaken day rides, weekend rides, moving on touring, loaded touring, commuting and shopping..
...I have been cycling for some time. Perhaps enough to know that the quality of a bicycle ride is down to so many factors, the route you take, how you feel on that day, the company you may travel with, the weather, how the bike fits you, how other road users treat you, the quality of the road surfaces, the views, the smells you encounter on the way, the pub or cafe you stop at, those random, but good surprises on your journey.
Anyone can attempt to sell you any bicycle at any price - it's the open market after all, but to proclaim that you will have a better experience on this bicycle simply because it costs more seems rather dismissive of the fittness and bike handling skills of the rider and the whole experience which is travel.
The utility cyclist wrote:So you've no experience of high end bikes as I said
roubaixtuesday wrote:mikeymo wrote:Oh, I get your drift all right. You don't like rich people spending large amounts of money (that they don't deserve) on things, so you describe them as "status symbols".
Quite bizarre.
I said the exact opposite of that - that I don't have any problem with people spending their money on such things.
As to status symbols - you're seriously saying there's no such thing? Seriously??
Very odd.
roubaixtuesday wrote:If someone is buying it purely as a status symbol, why worry, it's far less damaging than other status symbols like fast cars/mansions/ first class fights etc.