pink poodle
気が狂っている男
Shipping at $1400? I'd be taking a holiday and bringing it back.
yuley95
soft-arse Yuley is on the lifts again
I honestly don't get where the money goes. I understand R&D costs $$ and that carbon costs $$ and i get they have a brand to maintain but what the absolute fuck?Yeti SB160 frame only price here $7790
My alloy Kavenz using off-the-shelf tubing (ands some CNC’s bits and pieces) weighs less for a full build XL with coil shock and solid components than the large size carbon wizardry Yeti with an air shock that Pinkbike tested. So you’re not paying for a magic mix of strength and lightness.
The Kavenz is even rated cat 5 for DH while the Yeti is rated Crack 1 for chainstays (thats probably an unfair hangover from SB66 days).
I reckon their infinity link is pretty cool and seems to work well but it just adds maintenance and any performance gain is marginal so you’re not really paying for that. At the end of the day, all you‘re paying for surely is the Yeti logo.
Jpez
Down on the left!
You wasted all those words and then answered your own question.
pink poodle
気が狂っている男
Too many brands are trading on the legacy of their handmade gourmet days but are now cookie cutters mass produced shit.
birddog69
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Unfortunately, all too true.
Asininedrivel
caviar connoisseur
I think I've said this before but basically carbon requires a shitload of hours to lay into moulds and therefore costs a lot in labour. It's why every carbon manufacturer on the planet has been desperately shipping around for the cheapest labour costs - and why even China is seen as too expensive when places like Vietnam can offer workers for half as much. Add in price rises, fuel, shipping going f***ing mental in the last couple of years, more fuel, materials shortages, commodities prices (blah blah blah) and honestly it's not surprising to see these kinda price hikes. It's gonna be across the board very soon except for maybe brands like Canyon that have volume / economies of scale etc.
But hey, more excuse to buy a new bike right now right? You're basically saving money.
What is interesting about all this is it may shine more focus on in house manufacturing like your Kavenz (yay!) which could be the mother of all silver linings and also carbon manufacturing alternatives like what Guerilla Gravity is doing.
Jpez
Down on the left!
It’s pretty revealing don’t ya think that GG can produce carbon frames in the USA and sell them for a fair chunk less than a Vietnamese made Yeti.
I’m sure they’re a great bikes and ride awesome but my feeling is they are taking the piss and selling a cool looking sticker with a bike attached.
yuley95
soft-arse Yuley is on the lifts again
Yeah, I hear what you’re saying re the cost of carbon and I guess my point is what you finished with. It seems carbon is no longer worth the premium (or even any premium) when you can get a nice alloy frame or rev’d frame both cheaper and lighter.
I seriously looked at Last with their Coal frame that comes in really light for an enduro rig but the geo/kinematic weren’t exactly what I was after.
Like you say - at this price for carbon it might really open up the market to smaller players doing interesting things.
Asininedrivel
caviar connoisseur
GG's Revved process basically involves eff all labour time compared to traditional carbon lay up - hence cheaper. Although even they've gone up by 20-25% in the past year - you could get a frame from them for about $4k a year or so ago.
My main point is a Trek Slash frame was the same as an SB150 / Megatower / Ripmo / whatever a year ago, so my bet is this will not be a "boutique" price gouging thing - they'll all be doing it.
caad9
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Will be an interesting ‘watch this space’ on the bicycle industry over the next 12 months. I feel like anyone entrenched in the industry would want to have made the most of their record profits as it’s going to be tough going from here out.
People will always be able to afford nicer (more expensive) bikes than me and I’m 100% ok with that, I’m there for the experience, not the logo.
I just can’t see how pedal powered bikes can continue to sell at higher prices than motorbikes - it’s absurd.
Mr Crudley
Glock in your sock
Quick, someone call the MTB marketing departments.
It is prime time for a new and hopefully incompatible wheel, hub or maybe we can go for BB and headset standards. Throw in the usual moar percentage rigidity and performance figures and just sit back and let the bank accounts fill up.
Jpez
Down on the left!
Yeah but what are Yeti, BadSanta, Trek, really??
providing that is superior for all that extra hard earned compared to GG’s process. Hopefully we’ve seen the top of the arc in bike (over)prices and consumers get better switched on to smaller brands putting out equally solid products for less which seems to be slowly happening.
And I think you could safely say Yeti has moved beyond ‘boutique’ even if no one wants to say so. They’re no Canyon but they are a long long way from Kavenz as they once were.
The Duckmeister
Has a juicy midrange
Where is the spew emoji?
The Duckmeister
Has a juicy midrange
The Gr. A version without the ridiculous flares was even sexier.But you missed the best one!
Asininedrivel
caviar connoisseur
I was all set to get a Gnarvana frame until the pipeline of shit @komdotkom experienced soured me on the idea. Can't say I've seen that level of misalignment on any of the above brandsYeah but what are Yeti, BadSanta, Trek, really??
Still waiting for Intense to wake up and realise there's a market for them to get back into in house alloy frame manufacturing again (beyond prototypes).
Jpez
Down on the left!
I found GG’s response much more troubling than than the fault. Hope they took some lessons away from that public thrashing. But yes not good.I was all set to get a Gnarvana frame until the pipeline of shit @komdotkom experienced soured me on the idea. Can't say I've seen that level of misalignment on any of the above brands
Still waiting for Intense to wake up and realise there's a market for them to get back into in house alloy frame manufacturing again (beyond prototypes).
Intense. Could never look past the garish color schemes . There was a black Spider a while back with subtle copper accents of logo. That was a pretty bike.
Asininedrivel
caviar connoisseur
Yeah Intense paint jobs tend to either look fantastic or OTT garbage. Nothing in between. Can't go wrong with any of the naked alloy ones though. Or this:
leitch
Feelin' a bit rrranty
As someone who went through 3 warranty Spider frames back in the day trying to get one that was welded up straight enough that the wheels were actually aligned, gotta say I disagree with you on this
Stredda
Runs naked through virgin scrub
I can see where some of the cost comes into mountain bikes compared to say dirt bikes and that would be making a similar product (like wheels, brakes, frames and suspension) perform to a high standard with the same function while being so much lighter. You look at any part of a factory dirt bike and compare it to the equivalent MTB product and you'll see how much more work goes into making that part that does the exact function so much smaller and lighter. A dirt bike brake lever for instance is a simple cast aluminium lever the MTB one is more precise and stronger for its weight and size. You don't see any fancy carbon or ultra-thin alloy dirt bike frames, they don't need to keep the weight down as much so there's just some hydroformed tubing mated to larger cast sections. Economics of scale is a factor too; Yamaha would sell more dirt bikes that Giant would hight end mountain bikes.
There is certainly also a factor of "they'll buy it anyway" that goes into MTB pricing especially with boutique brands like Yeti though.
Asininedrivel
caviar connoisseur
Ha! My alloy Spider frame had a misaligned rear triangle too! Let's be friends.As someone who went through 3 warranty Spider frames back in the day trying to get one that was welded up straight enough that the wheels were actually aligned, gotta say I disagree with you on this
Despite that, given bikes are emotional purchases there's something about those welded alloy frames that just makes me wish they'd make more of them. Maybe I'm a slow learner.