Mountain bikes - why are some so expensive?

sj999

I bought a Kona about 8 years ago for £250. Its got a lot of gears, front suspension and an aluminum frame. It's been used for commuting, left all day in a train station car park (where someone nicked the seat bolt), kept outside in the rain, and used on and off road a lot. Its still going fine, gears are all working but wheels are slightly buckled.

You can spend £1000's on a bike, so why are they so expensive and is it worth paying the extra?

photome

Why does an aston martin cost more than a Jag

Kona,s are great and if yours is still in good condition (get some new wheels) why are you contemplating buying another bike.

they also sell well on ebay

If you only need a bike for commuting then £300 is enough

Tobster86

Bought a Ralleigh on ebay for £40 three years ago. It's a 15 speed. God knows how old it is.

Completely adequate for my two mile commute. A more expensive, lighter bike would only make the ride less of a work-out.

red_eye

sj999 wrote: »

I bought a Kona about 8 years ago for £250. Its got a lot of gears, front suspension and an aluminum frame. It's been used for commuting, left all day in a train station car park (where someone nicked the seat bolt), kept outside in the rain, and used on and off road a lot. Its still going fine, gears are all working but wheels are slightly buckled.

You can spend £1000's on a bike, so why are they so expensive and is it worth paying the extra?

comes with better kit and a frame that is not a shared with other brands

the forks on your 250 bike are probable elastromer on a £500 bike they will be air or coil on a £1000 they would have rebound and compression adjust

custardy

sj999 wrote: »

I bought a Kona about 8 years ago for £250. Its got a lot of gears, front suspension and an aluminum frame. It's been used for commuting, left all day in a train station car park (where someone nicked the seat bolt), kept outside in the rain, and used on and off road a lot. Its still going fine, gears are all working but wheels are slightly buckled.

You can spend £1000's on a bike, so why are they so expensive and is it worth paying the extra?

well you have obviously never ridden high end bikes
better equipment,design,materials,lighter,stronger and on and on.
Why did you buy a £250 bike instead of a £70 one?

real1314

custardy wrote: »

well you have obviously never ridden high end bikes
better:-

equipment - In what way? Does it change the ride that much?
design It 'looks' nice you mean? ,
materials Why is one material better than another? If the both work, they both work
lighter This is the only point I can see here that makes sense
,stronger Steel is pretty strong, but heavy. Do many components of a £250 bike spontaneously break?

and on and on.
Why did you buy a £250 bike instead of a £70 one?

Surely the main driver is weight. People like having a lighter bike = speed.
Other than that, it could be that:-
the suspension is smoother?
the gear change is slicker - less chance of the chain slipping mid-change?

it gives them something to brag about? :cool:

rxbren

its all down to frame design/material, then onto the components cheap bikes are just that, the cheapest frames- also heavy and components not made to last if riden hard i borrowed a friends £500 scott bike and after two weeks of just riding to and from work and a coupe of rides around a lake i pretty much had to rebuild it as the cheap components they used didnt hold up to well, the bottom bracket fell apart, brake line connections failed and leaked and the gearing needed constamt adjusting.
it wouldnt have been too bad if it was riden hard/jumped but the only off road it saw was the grass across his garden
at the end of the day you get what you pay for and the high end bikes use the most upto date components and materials all top of the range bikes (except full on downhill bikes) are seriously light weight

londonTiger

there are bikes that cost more than cars, there are bikes that cost more than houses (Olympic bikes cost over a million £).

As you go up the scale in price the improvements will be less obvious. a hobby rider will not be able to tell much difference form a £1000 bike from a £1500 bike, but someone whose amn enthusiasts and/or cycles professionally will be able to notice the difference.

red_eye

real1314 wrote: »

Surely the main driver is weight. People like having a lighter bike = speed.
Other than that, it could be that:-
the suspension is smoother?
the gear change is slicker - less chance of the chain slipping mid-change?

it gives them something to brag about? :cool:

different materials work but they all have advantages and disadvantages, it all affects how the bike will ride

high end suspension is miles better then the low end stuff with it being adjustable you can set it up how you like it, you really need to get out and ride a high end bike

rxbren

to be fair the difference between a £1000 and a £1500 bike will not be alot i had an orange ms ilse years ago. i had the entry level bike iirc at the time was around £1100 that was with xt components and v brakes, the same bike with xtr components and hope hydraulic brakes was over £1500

custardy

real1314 wrote: »

Originally Posted by custardy
well you have obviously never ridden high end bikes
better:-

equipment - In what way? Does it change the ride that much?
design It 'looks' nice you mean? ,
materials Why is one material better than another? If the both work, they both work
lighter This is the only point I can see here that makes sense
,stronger Steel is pretty strong, but heavy. Do many components of a £250 bike spontaneously break?

and on and on.
Why did you buy a £250 bike instead of a £70 one?

Surely the main driver is weight. People like having a lighter bike = speed.
Other than that, it could be that:-
the suspension is smoother?
the gear change is slicker - less chance of the chain slipping mid-change?

it gives them something to brag about? :cool:

design isnt (just) about looks
design dictates how the bike fits,rides,accelerates etc
steel is strong. yup. however a well designed steel frame with quality tubing will give a strong but compliant ride.
materials 'working' is to a point. a basic scaffold pole bike functions.
theres no X is the best and Y is crap
change gears on a low end bike and then jump on a high end groupset equipped bike. night and day
eg my sram mid ranged commuter works and changes gears fine.
my XT/XTR equipped MTB simply flows through the gear changes. its a different animal altogether
same with the basic hydro discs vs my utter indulgence Hope X2s(yes there is some blig factor in there