W
Werehatrack
Guest
On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 01:10:22 GMT, "Pete" <[email protected]> may have said:
>
>"Rick Onanian" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>> Why are road bikes so much more expensive? More precision machining and workmanship, and exotic
>> materials required?
>
>Image.
Yes, but it's actually *fashionable* image that's driving the price issue.
In the early '70s, when road bikes were All the Rage, and the mtb wasn't even a gleam in a
marketer's eye, cheap road-pattern bikes were plentiful...and just as crummy as the Mall-Wart mtbs
that are being pumped out today. Now, however, the mtb is fashionable and the road bike is out of
favor, so the cheap-bike makers are concentrating on the mtb, and inexpensive road bikes are
correspondingly scarce. In the late '60s and early '70s, *good* road bikes were still pricier than
the mass-market versions, just as good mtbs are significantly higher by comparison to a Mongoose
today. The level differentiation wasn't as large in those days for a variety of reasons; there
weren't as many cutting-edge tech improvements on the market, there wasn't as much competition for
the lower-end market, and there weren't as many sweatshop manufacturers in the game at the low end.
(But I'll admit that the snob factor probably plays a part in some of the road bikes, owing largely
to the existence of high-profile events like the TdF and its more colorful participants.)
Frankly, I think that there's an undermarketed design halfway point (in the form of the hybrids)
that would please more people in the long run, but until that's a fashionable product, it won't get
much attention from the buying public. More people buy image than reality, and right now the image
the American public wants is the bike equivalent of the 4WD SUV, not an analog of a Ferrari. And, to
be honest, I think more people among the general public are likely to be *happy* with an mtb than a
road bike even after they've had it a while, so I don't really have a problem with this.
BTW, I will note that when I was downtown yesterday, there were three bike messengers dropping stuff
off at the post office. All three were on mtbs. I asked one of them if he'd tried riding a road bike
on the job; he said he'd started on one, but had swapped because the mtb was a better fit for the
short dashes, potholes, curbs, and his back. The fact that some of the people who ride for a living
tend to favor the mtb may be adding to the public's perception of that design as being not just
appropriate for everyday use, but desireable.
--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.
>
>"Rick Onanian" <[email protected]> wrote
>
>> Why are road bikes so much more expensive? More precision machining and workmanship, and exotic
>> materials required?
>
>Image.
Yes, but it's actually *fashionable* image that's driving the price issue.
In the early '70s, when road bikes were All the Rage, and the mtb wasn't even a gleam in a
marketer's eye, cheap road-pattern bikes were plentiful...and just as crummy as the Mall-Wart mtbs
that are being pumped out today. Now, however, the mtb is fashionable and the road bike is out of
favor, so the cheap-bike makers are concentrating on the mtb, and inexpensive road bikes are
correspondingly scarce. In the late '60s and early '70s, *good* road bikes were still pricier than
the mass-market versions, just as good mtbs are significantly higher by comparison to a Mongoose
today. The level differentiation wasn't as large in those days for a variety of reasons; there
weren't as many cutting-edge tech improvements on the market, there wasn't as much competition for
the lower-end market, and there weren't as many sweatshop manufacturers in the game at the low end.
(But I'll admit that the snob factor probably plays a part in some of the road bikes, owing largely
to the existence of high-profile events like the TdF and its more colorful participants.)
Frankly, I think that there's an undermarketed design halfway point (in the form of the hybrids)
that would please more people in the long run, but until that's a fashionable product, it won't get
much attention from the buying public. More people buy image than reality, and right now the image
the American public wants is the bike equivalent of the 4WD SUV, not an analog of a Ferrari. And, to
be honest, I think more people among the general public are likely to be *happy* with an mtb than a
road bike even after they've had it a while, so I don't really have a problem with this.
BTW, I will note that when I was downtown yesterday, there were three bike messengers dropping stuff
off at the post office. All three were on mtbs. I asked one of them if he'd tried riding a road bike
on the job; he said he'd started on one, but had swapped because the mtb was a better fit for the
short dashes, potholes, curbs, and his back. The fact that some of the people who ride for a living
tend to favor the mtb may be adding to the public's perception of that design as being not just
appropriate for everyday use, but desireable.
--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.
