Paradoxes abound in the cycling press these days. On the one hand, the last twelve months have seen the news about bike brands like WiggleCRC, Planet X, Orange Bikes, and Islabikes going to the wall. Brands, distributors and shops have piles of unsold stock and have resorted to deep discounting, sometimes as much as 50%, to move product.
On the other hand, questions like “Why are modern bikes so expensive?” and “Are bikes more expensive than they used to be?” are being discussed on cycling podcasts.
So which view is the right one? Everyone agrees that the bike industry is in turmoil. Manufacturers with new releases in the pipeline are striving to empty warehouses by selling old stock at cost or even below it. By the same token, as soon as manufacturers get new models, they will bring the prices to more stable levels so they can start making some money again.
One way to look at the price of bicycles over the past ten years or so is to see how closely aligned bike prices are with the inflation rate. In the UK, the inflation rate between 2012 and 2024 was 37%.
Over that period the Giant TCR price went up 50%, from £1,999 to £2,999. The Specialized Tarmac went up 62.5%, £2,000 to £3,250. The Trek Madone, however, went up a whopping 160%, from £3,000 to £10,200. If the price of the Madone had tracked the inflation rate, it would cost £4,106 in 2024.
The Giant TCR and the Specialized Tarmac cost more today than their inflation-adjusted price. Not by much, though. The 2024 price of the Trek Madone, on the other hand, is eye-watering.
Inflation Calculator courtesy of bankofengland.co.uk
My experience of price drift can be seen in what I paid for the two Ti frames I bought from Alchemy and what they charge for a Ti frame in 2024. I paid $2,400 for a Ti frame with carbon seat and chain stays and an EDGE 2.0 road fork in 2011. In 2015, a Ti frame and ENVE fork cost me $3,750. Alchemy sells its Atlas All Road Ti frame and carbon fork today for $5,500.
Like prices in the UK, Alchemy’s prices for these frames have increased faster than the US inflation rate. The US inflation rate between 2012 and 2024 was 35.2%.
Over that period, the Alchemy Ti frame went up 129%. If the price of the Alchemy Ti frame had tracked the inflation rate, it would cost $3,244 in 2024. It is selling at a premium of $2,256. Interestingly, a 56cm version of the Atlas All Road Ti frame is on sale on the Alchemy website for $3,500.
There is no doubt that bicycles are more expensive to manufacture today than they were in 2012. Raw material and labour costs have increased. Freight and insurance costs have increased. A frame with internal cabling is more expensive to manufacture. Disc brakes are more expensive than rim brakes. Bike components like electronic groupsets cost more than mechanical ones.
It is also clear that manufacturers have significantly increased the prices of their high-end bicycles. The Trek Madone referenced above is one example. These bikes are skilfully marketed. “You too can ride the exact bikes that the best riders in the world use at races like the Tour de France.” These superbikes grab the lion’s share of media coverage. Much more so than lower-spec bikes.
It stands to reason that the average cyclist feels that bike prices are getting out of hand. That is certainly true of the type of bicycle most prominent in the cycling press. The bicycles that Tadej Pogačar, Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Vingegaard race on.
A closer look at the full range of bikes from big manufacturers reveals cost-effective options for cyclists who do not want the lightest frames and the latest components. The chart below shows the cheapest offering within each model family. The cheapest bicycle in the Trek Emonda line, for example. There are, of course, better-specced and thus more expensive bikes within each model range.
The Giant Contend and the Trek Domane AL 2 Rim are on sale for less than $1,000. These 8-speed bikes are likely to appeal to beginner cyclists only.
The reasonably specced bikes, by which I mean sold with Shimano 105 group sets, start at $1,800 for the Giant TCR Advanced 2 Pro Compact 2 (discounted online from $2,500). At $5,400, you start moving into composite frames, like the Giant Propel Advanced. This bike comes with a SRAM Rival eTap groupset, which makes it a good value.
Of course, the sky is the limit when it comes to superbikes. The Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL8, and $21,900, is a case in point. You can buy a new car for less than that.
The paradox of deep discounting, including two-for-one offers, existing side-by-side with superbikes costing tens of thousands of dollars, looks to continue. It remains to be seen how long the bike industry will struggle with the post-COVID downturn in demand. It also remains to be seen how long consumers will continue to support ever-increasing prices.
In the meantime, there are bicycles for all budgets.
Old Roots, New Routes 