5 ms·

Some niche markets are irrationally expensive e.g. bicycles.

by epx 5y ago

tachyonbeam 5y ago
I was shocked when I started shopping for an electric bike, to see that in my city, there are multiple bike shops selling e-bikes from 5K to 15K a piece. I'm surprised that these businesses can all survive, because the median income before taxes here is about ~62K. I mean who's actually buying this? But I guess if you're selling 15K bikes, you only need to sell about two a month to pay the bills.
- andromeduck 5y ago
  I used to hear it described as the rich white people sport.
- mc32 5y ago
  15K is decent motorcycle, very low end car territory already. That's exorbitant.
  - defterGoose 5y ago
    Heck no, you can get very reliable used cars for $5k. 15k gets you into a reasonably well used BMW (not that thats a sweet spot of value or anything.)
- hellbannedguy 5y ago
  They are all over Marin County, CA. And I'm jealous. I wish I had a high end electric bike, but my patched together Zapp bike is kinda ok for now. If I was younger, with money, and connections; I would be all over manufacturing electric bikes. These high end bikes are basically motorcycles. They look fun, and practical. Right now they are not regulated, and I hope it stays that way. They have given out of shape, or disabled, people a way to get out in nature. I do see a lot on Craigslist though. I have a feeling, my wealthy neighbors buy them, but were never bicyclists to begin with. The minute I see one at my price point ($500 used), I'm buying one. Oh yea, cops in my county have become revenue collectors. They harass anyone out after 10 pm. They pull over people at random for no reason. I think they assume everyone drinks like they do? They seem to be leaving electric bicycles alone--for now? My dad bought his first Zapp bike because he was tired of being pulled over in the Richmond District in San Francisco, by cops looking for an marginal DUI. The Zapp bike made his life less stressful. The price point of the nicer bikes needs to come down though. Even if I had 5-15 grand that I could blow, theft is still a concern.
  - tachyonbeam 5y ago
    Yeah I used to have a decent ebike I bought for 2K, and even at that price point, I didn't bring it anywhere that I couldn't keep a constant eye on or bring inside. With a 15K ebike, you need insurance.
- sensitive-ears 5y ago
  Cheapest ones (new) around me are 2k. For the people buying it, yeah, it's a lot of upper class people, but also a lot of people using an ebike to replace a second car, which works out way cheaper in insurance/fuel/maintenance/etc.
762236 5y ago
They are expensive for rational reasons. What is irrational is thinking that an expensive bike makes you fast. My old self on a $11k bike has no chance of keeping up with my current self on a low-cost bike. If I were to occasionally race (too dangerous), an expensive bike wouldn't compensate for my lack of tactics and strategy.

Some niche markets are irrationally expensive e.g. bicycles.

by epx 5y ago

Some niche markets are irrationally expensive e.g. bicycles.

I was shocked when I started shopping for an electric bike, to see that in my city, there are multiple bike shops selling e-bikes from 5K to 15K a piece. I'm surprised that these businesses can all survive, because the median income before taxes here is about ~62K. I mean who's actually buying this? But I guess if you're selling 15K bikes, you only need to sell about two a month to pay the bills.

andromeduck 5y ago
I used to hear it described as the rich white people sport.
mc32 5y ago
15K is decent motorcycle, very low end car territory already. That's exorbitant.
- defterGoose 5y ago
  Heck no, you can get very reliable used cars for $5k. 15k gets you into a reasonably well used BMW (not that thats a sweet spot of value or anything.)
hellbannedguy 5y ago
They are all over Marin County, CA. And I'm jealous. I wish I had a high end electric bike, but my patched together Zapp bike is kinda ok for now. If I was younger, with money, and connections; I would be all over manufacturing electric bikes. These high end bikes are basically motorcycles. They look fun, and practical. Right now they are not regulated, and I hope it stays that way. They have given out of shape, or disabled, people a way to get out in nature. I do see a lot on Craigslist though. I have a feeling, my wealthy neighbors buy them, but were never bicyclists to begin with. The minute I see one at my price point ($500 used), I'm buying one. Oh yea, cops in my county have become revenue collectors. They harass anyone out after 10 pm. They pull over people at random for no reason. I think they assume everyone drinks like they do? They seem to be leaving electric bicycles alone--for now? My dad bought his first Zapp bike because he was tired of being pulled over in the Richmond District in San Francisco, by cops looking for an marginal DUI. The Zapp bike made his life less stressful. The price point of the nicer bikes needs to come down though. Even if I had 5-15 grand that I could blow, theft is still a concern.
- tachyonbeam 5y ago
  Yeah I used to have a decent ebike I bought for 2K, and even at that price point, I didn't bring it anywhere that I couldn't keep a constant eye on or bring inside. With a 15K ebike, you need insurance.
sensitive-ears 5y ago
Cheapest ones (new) around me are 2k. For the people buying it, yeah, it's a lot of upper class people, but also a lot of people using an ebike to replace a second car, which works out way cheaper in insurance/fuel/maintenance/etc.

762236 5y ago

They are expensive for rational reasons. What is irrational is thinking that an expensive bike makes you fast. My old self on a $11k bike has no chance of keeping up with my current self on a low-cost bike. If I were to occasionally race (too dangerous), an expensive bike wouldn't compensate for my lack of tactics and strategy.