Joe Leineweber
I would like a refund on my entry fee to the National Championships for CX
last winter due to snowy and icy conditions in the city of Bend...AND GO!
On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 9:21 AM, Don Vizzini wrote:
>
>
> ------------------------------
> From: donvizzini@hotmail.com
> To: brian.p.johnson@gmail.com
> Subject: RE: [OBRA Chat] The story behind the "cost" of bikes
> Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:35:20 -0700
>
> Did your Dad teach how to tell a story Like that? Because, "that's
> actually the best one so far" 'Really is'!
>
> I Admit- Its twisted to think about motor passing behind a motor scooter
> that cost 1/2 the price of the bike I'm chasing it with!
>
> *"I'm still buying another
> LandShark"*
> ------------------------------
> To: blueheron@mail.com
> From: brian.p.johnson@gmail.com
> Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2010 23:42:04 -0700
> CC: obra@list.obra.org
> Subject: Re: [OBRA Chat] The story behind the "cost" of bikes
>
>
> In the great town of Portland, with all it's bike racers, enthusiasts,
> mechanics Bike builders, etc, there has to be someone out there who can
> explain why a high end Downhill Mountain bike costs the same as a new 450
> EXC, race ready KTM Motocross bike. We have been bad mouthing the Auto
> industry and it's egregious business practices for years, In my opinion the
> bike industry is now doing the same
> The price of bikes, bike parts,clothing, accessories, yada, yada, yada is
> rediculous..
>
>
> It's pretty easy to answer, actually. Well maybe depending on who you ask.
> Certainly bike builders and mechanics, racers and enthusiasts will give you
> part of the story (or some theories). But the sales people, marketers, and
> brand managers will tell you the other part.
>
> Sure-- part of the price is to cover the costs of designing, making, and
> selling the bike. But the number on the price tag has very little to do with
> the "worth" of the bike.
>
> Let me interject this: You can buy a perfectly serviceable single-speed
> Mongoose-branded bicycle from Wal-Mart.com for a paltry $149. It likely
> rolls out of the same factory that produces more desirable blingle-speeds.
>
> Back to price tags-- those really are just little stories about how much
> we'd like to have the bike. They tell others how much money we had to spend
> on the bike. The price tag (and the headbadge) tells a story about how
> dedicated we are to our particular pursuit, be it cyclocross or touring or
> downhilling.
>
> How about Surly bikes? No-nonsense, right? Things are so boring looking
> they should be cheaper'n dirt, yeah? They SHOULD be cheap. But if they were,
> no one would buy them, not even the retro-hipsters that don't care about
> Trek or Lance (or at least pretend they don't).
>
> Wait-- did I just propose that a cheap Surly wouldn't sell? Well, at least
> not to the people that Surly wants to sell to. Surly wants folks that want
> to spend a fair amount of money trying to make people believe that style and
> image aren't as important as function. But they also want people to know
> that they know you know. About the whole "I don't care about style and
> carbon" attitude.
>
> Huffys and their ilk outsell any other kind of bike. But wait-- that just
> proves that cheap bikes sell! Yes they do-- to a certain customer that is
> after a "disposable" bike. And when that disposable bike breaks down, the
> owner is the type of person who would just go buy another at Wally's instead
> of exclaiming "Damn-hell-- I just spent $1800 on that thing?!"
>
> Prices, above a certain point (cost recovery plus a modest profit, what
> ever that might be) are just a work of wild-ass fiction.
>
> Back to your comparison between a tony bike and a motorcycle. Think about
> it for a few minutes. When someone pays more for a bicycle than the price of
> a motorcycle, what story does that tell? I'm not blowing smoke here-- this
> is the truth. There IS a story there.
>
> And that is why bicycles cost so much.
>
>
> Cheers!
> Brian J.
>
>
>
> * * *
> My father asks : "Do you live here or ride bikes?"
> http://liveorridebikes.blogspot.com
>
> My life as a Crossniac:
> www.crossniacs.com
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> The New Busy is not the too busy. Combine all your e-mail accounts with
> Hotmail. Get busy.
> ------------------------------
> Hotmail is redefining busy with tools for the New Busy. Get more from your
> inbox. See how.
>
> _______________________________________________
> OBRA mailing list
> obra@list.obra.org
> http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
> Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org
>
>