27+ wheel and 148 axle standards: Are we being taken for a ride?

[Nick]

Bike Mag have a great article on the coming 27+ wheel and 148 axle standards here.

 

They also made this video:

[gummibear]

I'm riding what i have until the wheels fall off  

[dirtrider]

Screw it .

[GoLefty!!]

Double screw it. Riding what I have till the wheels fall off. All this "innovation " just makes my hobby more expensive.

[sadamhussein]

Mountain biking is becoming a moneymaking industry of note!

When compared to things like cars, prices have far overtaken the rate of inflation over the years. Yes mountain bike technology has improved in leaps and bounds, but so has everything in else a consumer can buy.

 

It is a well known trend that when things become mass produced, prices come down.

 

NOT so with Mountain bikes.

 

Mountain biking is a thousand times more popular than when i started back in 1990. Bikes are mass produced in Taiwan, yet comparatively speaking, prices have not come down at all, and have in fact escalated.

 

The prices for an entry level bike in the last five years have doubled. Compare a 2010 Merida Matts 500 (R5,000) to a 2015 Silverback Sola (R10,000). Nothing much has changed, and name another popular consumer product that has doubled in price in the last five years - my samsung A3 is better than my previous SIII Mini from 3 years ago and it costs less.

 

A well known marketing strategy is to increase the price so consumers think it's better.

BMW did this in the 80's when sales were down. by increasing the price they started selling cars again.

 

It's a vicious cycle, because as long as people are prepared to pay, they will keep upping the prices, and  companies have realised that people are willing to pay more for that perceived "edge". I really want to see the same rider do a few laps on a 120k Specialized, and then on a 10k Silverback without being told the specs on the bike.

 

Manufacturers are continually stimulating the market by introducing the next big "must have".

First it was 29" wheels, then fatbikes, after that 27.5", and now plus sizes. it is ridiculous!

The industry is running away with new seemingly better technologies that will be redundant before the end of the year. I know at least 3 guys who bought and sold again their fatbikes in less than three months because they realised it's a gimmick.

 

Stuff you mountain bike industry, stop telling me my brand new bike is not good enough any more when it's only three months old!

Stop telling me I need three different bikes to do what my one bike can do.

Stop hiding behind "technological advancement" when it's plain to see to someone with a bit of technical know-how that nothing has changed other than being sugar-coated in shiny anodized, stealthy matt black, or wider, narrower, bigger, then smaller packaging.

 

Enough!

Edited April 23, 2015 by sadamhussein

[NicoBoshoff]

As I posted elsewhere the market seems out of control.  New "enduro" bikes emerging every freakin week, with no indication that there's even a market for all this new choice.

 

The Plus size tyres thing to me seems a gimmick.  The Sherpa makes sense I suppose, but I'm pretty sure you could do that on a 29' platform as well.

 

The 148 hub standard however does make some sense, if the promised benefits are true.  Then again, how many times have you gone on a ride thinking "Dammit if only my rear end was stiffer".  Face it, 99% of us don't know and don't care.  This just serves to make you feel "left out" so you abide and buy buy buy. 

 

I for one will ignore this wave.  However, when I am in the market in a few years (oh, what? is he actually going to ride one bike for 5 years???? Gross!) for a new bike I will consider what is the latest tech then and see what is sensible and affordable.

 

Till then, the wheels of my bike go round and round.

[Shebeen]

seems to be a common theme

 

http://nsmb.com/dont-blame-bike-industry/