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UFO · 07-04-2014, 12:12 PM

Bikes are expensive because a)small market/demand = small volume and b)people are willing to pay that much.

I would also wager that the technology crammed into a mountain bike suspension fork or shock is more expensive and/or advanced than what you'd find in a car or motorbike. It needs to be scaled down and overengineered to work in a much smaller package, work efficiently because there is no motorized engine powering the vehicle, and also needs to be lightweight because of the same reason.

As for shop profit margins, shops would be happy to make 30% on a high end bike. Usually MSRP is around 30% mark-up on shop cost, and rarely do bikes sell off the floor at full MSRP. BUT there are also only so many people who are willing to throw that kind of money down. Shops rely on low end/cheap bikes where margins can be 50%, parts and accessories where typical retail mark up is double, and service/labour, to keep the lights on and pay the leases and salaries.

07-04-2014, 12:12 PM	#33
UFO I heart Revscene.net very Muchie Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Van, BC Posts: 3,666 Thanked 728 Times in 435 Posts Failed 33 Times in 19 Posts	Bikes are expensive because a)small market/demand = small volume and b)people are willing to pay that much. I would also wager that the technology crammed into a mountain bike suspension fork or shock is more expensive and/or advanced than what you'd find in a car or motorbike. It needs to be scaled down and overengineered to work in a much smaller package, work efficiently because there is no motorized engine powering the vehicle, and also needs to be lightweight because of the same reason. As for shop profit margins, shops would be happy to make 30% on a high end bike. Usually MSRP is around 30% mark-up on shop cost, and rarely do bikes sell off the floor at full MSRP. BUT there are also only so many people who are willing to throw that kind of money down. Shops rely on low end/cheap bikes where margins can be 50%, parts and accessories where typical retail mark up is double, and service/labour, to keep the lights on and pay the leases and salaries.