Bicycles are a great tool to improve fitness and get around town if you don’t have a car.
With many cities looking to encourage their residents to use bicycles more often by installing more bike lanes, you may have considered getting one.
However, after seeing the prices for a bicycle, you may start to second guess your decision.
Just why are bicycles so expensive anyway?
Why Are Bicycles So Expensive? (10 Reasons)
Bicycles can start as low as $100.
However, as you start to look at more advanced bicycles used for performance or mountain riding, you’ll find that prices can rise to as high as over $3,000.
The materials used, production costs, and a company’s main customer group all determine how expensive a bicycle becomes.
Let’s look at these factors in more detail.
1. Expensive Material Costs
One of the biggest reasons bicycles are expensive is because of the materials used in their production.
Depending on the bike in question, the brand, and its purpose, a bike may use any number of materials.
Those materials, regardless of what they are, tend to be on the pricier side to source.
One of the most common types of materials used in bicycles is carbon steel.
This is a high-tensile type of steel that is primarily used to make the bicycle’s frame.
It’s long-lasting and incredibly tough. It’s ideal for mountain bikes or show bikes because the rider often puts a lot of wear and tear on the bike.
Mountain bikes, in particular, drive over potholes, land on hard rocky surfaces, and generally undergo a lot of strain.
Without the right kind of frame, the bicycle could end up snapping or breaking.
Chromoly is another material used in the production of bikes.
This is another type of steel that has the advantage of being extremely lightweight.
It’s often used in performance bikes since it can withstand a lot of wear and tear while still being lightweight.
Aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber are also often used.
Since it takes a good deal of money to source and use these materials, companies have to sell bikes at a high price to cover the cost.
2. Handcrafted
Another big reason why bicycles are so expensive is that a large portion of their production is by hand.
While companies do use factories to produce certain parts of a bike, ultimately, it’s a human worker that puts it all together.
They also put the bicycle through a series of quality tests.
Handcrafting a product is more expensive than an automated product for a few reasons.
The first is that it means you’re paying a human worker.
If it’s a totally automated process, the company doesn’t have to worry about paying machines.
Human workers require fair wages and benefits.
The best biking companies employ highly skilled bike makers.
These are the individuals who have experience putting together bicycles.
They know when a bike is ready for the showroom and when it needs more work.
Another reason handcrafting bicycles is expensive is that it takes time.
The benefit of an automated process is that the factory can spit things out quickly.
Since it produces things quickly, the company can sell its products on a mass scale.
That isn’t the case with bicycles. It takes longer to put a bike together by hand.
Since it takes longer, that means the worker gets paid more before the product goes up for sale.
It also means the company isn’t making any money on it while the product is in the workshop.
As such, to make up for the time and smaller number of products, the company has to sell its products at higher prices.
3. Low Production
Bicycles are also expensive because they aren’t produced on a massive scale like other products.
Bike companies don’t mass-produce their products.
That’s because the demand isn’t quite there for such a large scale.
That’s especially true for certain brands that only make bikes for certain target groups.
Bicycles tend to last a long time.
As long as the owner takes care of them and isn’t too hard on them, a bicycle could easily last someone’s lifetime.
As such, they don’t often need to buy another bicycle.
At most, they may need a few parts replaced over time.
The frame, itself, lasts for years.
Since the company can’t expect a large volume of repeat buyers, they need to get the money they can on the first sale.
That means they sell at a high price.
This also means that when demand does surge for bikes, the prices are also going to be high.
When an area pushes for a reduction of carbon emissions, for example, a lot of people tend to get interested in bicycles.
Bicycles can replace cars for some people who live in cities.
To protect the climate, there may be a sudden rush in demand for bicycles.
Since the companies only produce so many in a year, they’re unable to meet demand.
Whenever demand is higher than supply, the price of the product increases.
If you want a specialized bike for a certain purpose, you’ll find the prices are even higher.
The production of specialized bikes is extremely small which drives up the price.
Since there are only a few of those particular bikes for sale, you’ll need to pay a premium price.
4. Innovation
Competition between different bicycle companies is fierce.
Each company is always trying to produce the next best thing to attract bike enthusiasts to them.
That’s because the only way to get repeat buyers is to give them a new bike that offers new solutions to problems that they might have.
For example, someone who rides a bike in the mountains might desire something stronger.
Their bike is still functioning, so they’re not in the market, but if they learn about a new bike that has even greater strength than their current one, they might change their mind.
This is especially common in the performance market.
Bicyclists who compete in races need lightweight bikes that help reduce drag on the road.
It gives them an edge since they don’t need to use as much energy to gain speed and maintain it.
Since they don’t use as much energy, they can expend a bit more to go faster or hold onto it until they need it to blast past a leader.
To encourage repeat buyers, bike companies have to research.
They need to develop new methods of making bicycles.
This usually means they’re in the lab and trying to find new materials.
They don’t want to reduce tensile strength, but they do need to make steel lighter.
The company that comes up with the newest innovation tends to get the most customers.
Since it’s a race to innovate the next best thing, bike companies tend to put a lot of funding into their research and development departments.
They try to rush their engineers and designers into finding the next best thing.
The more money that the department has, the faster they can work and start prototyping and testing new things.
Since the bike company takes on more costs for research, they have to cover those costs with high bicycle prices.
5. Marketing Costs
Another main factor that contributes to the cost of bicycles is marketing costs.
Because competition is fierce between bike companies, each one needs to find a way to stand out.
They do this through marketing.
Some might choose to partner with bicycle racing legends.
Others may instead focus on the performance of their bicycles.
However they do it, bike companies spend a good amount of money on marketing.
Marketing plays an important role in selling a bicycle because it gets your product in front of the eyes of people who have an interest in buying a bike.
Even if they choose not to buy a bike until several years later, your marketing matters.
Customers may still recall a company if the commercial stuck with them.
Marketing also helps a bicycle company explain why its products are better than the competition’s products.
When customers have plenty of choices, the company has to prove to them why they should choose their product over another’s.
Marketing is the best way to do that.
Marketing isn’t always cheap either.
A lot of companies will air commercials during sporting events because people who have an interest in fitness tend to watch sporting events.
The problem with running a commercial during a sporting event is that it’s an expensive time block.
Sporting events bring a lot of eyes to a certain network.
As such, the demand for a time block to run their ad is usually quite high.
With high demand and low supply, the price is quite high.
Bike companies have to cover those costs with the revenue earned from selling bicycles.
To ensure they have enough, they sell their bikes at high prices.
6. Shipping Costs
Bicycles are expensive because they’re expensive to ship.
If the company doesn’t cover shipping itself, you can expect to pay a high shipping fee.
There are a few reasons why shipping bikes are so expensive.
The first is that bikes are heavy.
Even lightweight bikes are pretty heavy.
Most carriers charge by weight.
The heavier something is, the costlier it is going to be to ship.
That’s because it costs the carrier more to move heavy objects.
Another reason shipping bicycles is expensive is because they’re large.
The carrier gets paid per product that they transport.
Since bicycles are large, they take up a lot of room on the truck.
The carrier isn’t able to move as many items because of how much space the bicycle takes.
To ensure transporting the load is still worth it, the carrier puts a high shipping price on the bike.
This impacts the price of the bike because you’re paying the expensive price of the bicycle, then also paying the expensive shipping fee.
That’s why being able to buy a bike in a local shop and transporting the bike home yourself is the cheapest option.
Of course, that isn’t always the option.
You may end up ordering a bike that isn’t in stock in the store.
As such, the shop has to have it delivered.
The shipping fees they need to pay will likely get added to the final price of the bicycle.
Thanks to shipping fees, bicycles can become quite expensive.
7. Brand Names
Another big factor that influences the price of a bicycle is its brand.
Certain brands of bikes sell their products at higher prices than others.
Even if it’s the same bicycle, certain brands could charge a higher amount for it.
That’s because brand names tend to be more trusted in the market.
Brands do a lot of marketing to build up a reputation that they sell high-quality and reliable products.
Customers trust them.
Lesser known brands or generic brands don’t have that trust.
They haven’t established themselves enough yet.
Due to the high price of bicycles, a customer is more likely to buy a bicycle from a brand they know and trust than a brand they’ve never heard of before.
Even if that bicycle is more expensive, it’s seen as less risky to the customer.
They know that they’re spending their money on a high-quality product.
Brand names greatly influence how expensive bicycles can become.
8. Performance Bicycles
Bicycles are expensive when they’re built for performance.
Most athletes buy performance bikes.
Whether they race, undergo marathons, or take part in any other competition that involves a bicycle, they’re looking for the very best in performance bikes.
If you’re not an athlete, you may find that performance bicycles are extremely expensive.
They’re expensive for a few reasons.
The first is the limited market.
Only a few people need high-quality performance bicycles.
These are the individuals who compete on a local, national, and worldwide scale.
There aren’t that many people like that compared to the rest of the population.
Since there’s such a small market, the bike company has to make it worth its while to produce the bicycle, so they sell it at an extremely high price.
Another reason is the amount of production and research that goes into performance bicycles.
These are the bikes that tend to use the latest materials and technology in the industry.
Those features don’t come cheap.
If you want to get a performance bicycle, you can expect to pay an expensive price.
9. Customization
Bicycles can also become quite expensive when you customize them.
While bicycles, on their own, are expensive, when you choose to customize your bike, you immediately raise the price even further.
There’s no shortage of things you can do to a bike to customize it.
From something as simple as its paint job to something more advanced like braking technology, the sky is the limit.
Customization is expensive because it requires the manufacturer to spend more time on your bike.
It might use more materials which adds to its manufacturing costs.
It also means the company has to pay its workers more since they’re spending more time on the bike.
Customizing your bike makes it even more expensive.
10. Target Audience’s Wealth
A final reason why bicycles are expensive is because of their target audience.
While families and individuals might buy a bike, a lot of companies target their bicycles toward those who make a high income.
It’s not unlike selling golf equipment to wealthy individuals because a lot of wealthy people play golf.
A lot of wealthy people also bike.
Since bicycle companies know that their target groups earn a certain income, they can sell them at higher prices.
They know that their primary customers can afford the purchase.
Conclusion
Bicycles are useful modes of transportation for those who live in cities, those who compete, and those who like to bike in nature.
However, depending on your needs, you may find that certain bikes are quite expensive.
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