High end road ( super ) bikes are getting a bit pricey
Discussion
Dizeee said:
I picked up an Emonda SL6 at Pearsons this week. It felt half the weight of the Canyon I turned up on.
I've got the 2015 Emonda SL 6. It's a lovely bike. Far more than I'll ever realistically need, but hey? I'd have happily bought the SL 5 with 105 groupset, but it was only available in "GREEN!" So I spent a chunk more to have Ultegra and beautiful red paint.I can't say that I'm an expert on road bikes, and I'm no reviewer. But I'd tried a couple, including an ever-so-twitchy Cervelo (S2?) a few times. Also in the running were a heavily discounted Bianchi being sold on eBay, but by a shop in Wimbledon, and a Storck from Boutique Cycles on the A30 near Hook. I wasn't even interested in the Trek to be fair, having gone to Pedal On in Tadley to look at a Cannondale. Having talked about my riding style/habits, and what I wanted from a new bike, with the guys in the shop, I was strong-armed into at least test riding the Emonda. I can see why the shop were so keen to push me toward it, because within a couple of laps around the block it had pretty much sold itself to me. I have other bikes, and I love riding them, but no other bike I've ridden has the all-day "ridability", stability, comfort, handling, etc in one package. Plus it still looks great and makes me smile inside when I get it out for a ride.
Having said all that, though, while it is an expensive bike (or at least it was for me), I'm not sure that an SL 6 really qualifies as 'high end'. For that I think you'd need to look to the SLR series, with hydraulic discs and Di2/eTap? And if I was edging into that territory, then I think the Domane would edge it for comfort and versatility.
From my own experience living here in Switzerland, the purchase of expensive 'high end' bikes is the norm. The purchasers are usually either the Swiss themselves or the expats on a big wage in or around Zurich/Zug or Geneva. the logic for the natives buy high end is 'buy once, buy well, look after it and have it for 10-12 years..'. I sometimes go cycling around the zug lake at lunchtime and see older retired guys who are cycling around in their 'early 90's TdeF pinarello' which probably would have cost todays equivalent of a very high end bike, but these bikes are very well maintained, spotless and were probably bought with the intention of keeping it for life. Younger Swiss cycling folk would have the same basic idea when purchasing a bike, albeit with a shorter lifespan in mind for the machine, say 10-15 years. I know a few guys in our club for example who would have some of the first carbon bikes from around 2001 or so with Dura race groups or campy and even now the guys would not have any real intention of changing them. So the logic is, CHF 12,000 is alot to pay for a bike, a hell of alot, BUT if you hold on to it over the course of 15 years or so, then it may be worth the investment if it can handle the mileage and it is well maintained.And if it continues to work and the enjoyment is there with it then so what.
The 'expat on a big wage' is usually the one whose 2-3 year old S Works or Team Sky replica Pinarello gets posted on ricardo (the swiss equivalent of ebay between october and march for half the price paid initially) as they want the newest high end machine. Thats fine too its their money and they only have to justify it to themselves ultimately. I myself have a Cannondale Super Six Evo that i bought new in 2014 for CHF 7,000.00 or so. I have no real intention of selling it in the next few years as Ive made a promise to myself to keep it at least 10 years or so and having ridden subsequent models have found there to be little or no difference between it and what has come subsequently. Its a rim brake model and having also a CX bike with disc brakes (new ultegra ones fitted to replace the clarks ones originally fitted - waste of money) I struggle with the arguments of disc over rim brakes. i think with rim brakes if you have something like Swiss stop brake blocks and are gentle enough with the braking and modulating you will have no problems stopping. I think alot of it is hype, like 29 and 27.5 over 26 in the context of mtb. Arguments drummed up to 'tell us what we need'.
The 'expat on a big wage' is usually the one whose 2-3 year old S Works or Team Sky replica Pinarello gets posted on ricardo (the swiss equivalent of ebay between october and march for half the price paid initially) as they want the newest high end machine. Thats fine too its their money and they only have to justify it to themselves ultimately. I myself have a Cannondale Super Six Evo that i bought new in 2014 for CHF 7,000.00 or so. I have no real intention of selling it in the next few years as Ive made a promise to myself to keep it at least 10 years or so and having ridden subsequent models have found there to be little or no difference between it and what has come subsequently. Its a rim brake model and having also a CX bike with disc brakes (new ultegra ones fitted to replace the clarks ones originally fitted - waste of money) I struggle with the arguments of disc over rim brakes. i think with rim brakes if you have something like Swiss stop brake blocks and are gentle enough with the braking and modulating you will have no problems stopping. I think alot of it is hype, like 29 and 27.5 over 26 in the context of mtb. Arguments drummed up to 'tell us what we need'.
BeirutTaxi said:
So essentially there is no point in owning anything other than a £1k BTWIN Ultra?
Or on the other hand, 'Pedal Powered' has just received a large delivery of sour grapes
It doesn't need to be the BTwin Ultra necessarily, but in essence your statement is true. For most of us, and our capabilities, we don't need anything much more expensive than that really. Or on the other hand, 'Pedal Powered' has just received a large delivery of sour grapes
But in the same way, most drivers don't really need much more than a Focus/Astra TDi, and plenty of people find that their ambition exceeds their ability in those every day of the week.
In the same way that buying an Ariel Atom, a GT3, or a 458 won't make you a better driver, buying a Pro Tour Team level road bike isn't going to turn you into a race winner if you lack the legs to push it along. But if you can afford it, then why not? I'd buy a more 'flash' car, and a house bigger than I'd ever need if I could. But those things are out of reach for me, so I bought more bike than I'd ever need instead, because at the time I could just about afford/justify it to myself. But even if I was unfeasibly wealthy, I think I'd struggle to convince myself that a really high end bicycle would be a good idea...
rastapasta said:
From my own experience living here in Switzerland, the purchase of expensive 'high end' bikes is the norm. The purchasers are usually either the Swiss themselves or the expats on a big wage in or around Zurich/Zug or Geneva. the logic for the natives buy high end is 'buy once, buy well, look after it and have it for 10-12 years..'. I sometimes go cycling around the zug lake at lunchtime and see older retired guys who are cycling around in their 'early 90's TdeF pinarello' which probably would have cost todays equivalent of a very high end bike, but these bikes are very well maintained, spotless and were probably bought with the intention of keeping it for life. Younger Swiss cycling folk would have the same basic idea when purchasing a bike, albeit with a shorter lifespan in mind for the machine, say 10-15 years. I know a few guys in our club for example who would have some of the first carbon bikes from around 2001 or so with Dura race groups or campy and even now the guys would not have any real intention of changing them. So the logic is, CHF 12,000 is alot to pay for a bike, a hell of alot, BUT if you hold on to it over the course of 15 years or so, then it may be worth the investment if it can handle the mileage and it is well maintained.And if it continues to work and the enjoyment is there with it then so what.
The 'expat on a big wage' is usually the one whose 2-3 year old S Works or Team Sky replica Pinarello gets posted on ricardo (the swiss equivalent of ebay between october and march for half the price paid initially) as they want the newest high end machine. Thats fine too its their money and they only have to justify it to themselves ultimately. I myself have a Cannondale Super Six Evo that i bought new in 2014 for CHF 7,000.00 or so. I have no real intention of selling it in the next few years as Ive made a promise to myself to keep it at least 10 years or so and having ridden subsequent models have found there to be little or no difference between it and what has come subsequently. Its a rim brake model and having also a CX bike with disc brakes (new ultegra ones fitted to replace the clarks ones originally fitted - waste of money) I struggle with the arguments of disc over rim brakes. i think with rim brakes if you have something like Swiss stop brake blocks and are gentle enough with the braking and modulating you will have no problems stopping. I think alot of it is hype, like 29 and 27.5 over 26 in the context of mtb. Arguments drummed up to 'tell us what we need'.
I completely agree with your/the mindset.The 'expat on a big wage' is usually the one whose 2-3 year old S Works or Team Sky replica Pinarello gets posted on ricardo (the swiss equivalent of ebay between october and march for half the price paid initially) as they want the newest high end machine. Thats fine too its their money and they only have to justify it to themselves ultimately. I myself have a Cannondale Super Six Evo that i bought new in 2014 for CHF 7,000.00 or so. I have no real intention of selling it in the next few years as Ive made a promise to myself to keep it at least 10 years or so and having ridden subsequent models have found there to be little or no difference between it and what has come subsequently. Its a rim brake model and having also a CX bike with disc brakes (new ultegra ones fitted to replace the clarks ones originally fitted - waste of money) I struggle with the arguments of disc over rim brakes. i think with rim brakes if you have something like Swiss stop brake blocks and are gentle enough with the braking and modulating you will have no problems stopping. I think alot of it is hype, like 29 and 27.5 over 26 in the context of mtb. Arguments drummed up to 'tell us what we need'.
The issue is with mtb the manufacturers have realised they can now build in obsolescence.
I can see this trickling slowly down to road; new wheels in 5yrs time? Sorry they are all bolt through sir, no standard QR wheels anymore.
The cynic in me says they'll go from 12mm to 15mm to 14mm QR etc to build in churn.
..only my opinion but it's already happened in mtb.
Sa Calobra said:
I completely agree with your/the mindset.
The issue is with mtb the manufacturers have realised they can now build in obsolescence.
I can see this trickling slowly down to road; new wheels in 5yrs time? Sorry they are all bolt through sir, no standard QR wheels anymore.
The cynic in me says they'll go from 12mm to 15mm to 14mm QR etc to build in churn.
..only my opinion but it's already happened in mtb.
Can't see this happening to be honest. There's no real chance of road wheel sizes changing on the whole for most bike frames, and thru-axle diameters are fairly standard, most are 12mm. Plus, half decent wheels come with hubs that can be adapted for different sizes, like my Zipp wheels for example.The issue is with mtb the manufacturers have realised they can now build in obsolescence.
I can see this trickling slowly down to road; new wheels in 5yrs time? Sorry they are all bolt through sir, no standard QR wheels anymore.
The cynic in me says they'll go from 12mm to 15mm to 14mm QR etc to build in churn.
..only my opinion but it's already happened in mtb.
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