BIKE INDUSTRY MILKED THE GOOSE

Over the past few years the bike companies have milked the golden goose to death, selling NZ$10K - $15k bikes to clueless numpties by convincing them cycling is all about having a flash bike. But it never really was, and that lie is slowly taking them down.

 Despite clearance sales of up to 30% off, high end bikes are still sitting unsold on shop floors for upwards of NZ$10k, but who on earth is spending that much on a bike in a recession?

Specialized Turbo Levo SL Expert 2025

 

Last year big companies like Trek and Giant announced massive production cut backs, along with half price sales, but they still just couldn't move all the unsold bikes.

Part of the reason for this, that is seldom mentioned, is that in the real world, if the ride was say up to the top of a 500m hill, and then back down again, a hardtail XC bike would only be about 1 min slower than a big flash freeride rig coming down, but would easily be 15 mins faster going up, so would be 14 mins faster overall in an actual ride.

"You’ll be blown away by it’s unmatched combination of flawless handling, capability, and “2 X You” amplification that gives you the Power to Ride More Trails. Compare it to anything out there, with a motor or without"

OK...well it's not quite cheaper, but this example makes the bike prices look pretty stupid - A 2025 Yamaha YZ250 retails for NZ$14,899 - and a motorcross bike has thousands more parts than an MTB, and weighs around 100kg, so costs vastly more to manufacture. 

 

 In terms of development the latest $12k mountain bikes are basically only at the point MX bikes were at 30 years ago, but without a motor.