As part of testing for our upcoming Bike of the Year awards, I get to test lots of the latest bikes, at a wide range of prices, though admittedly they are all geared towards the higher end.
It feels like an inevitability that bikes are expensive. Although I don’t like the fact they’ve escalated in price way over inflation, I don’t think that all brands are offering us any more than they did in 2010 when a SRAM Red or Dura-Ace equipped bike cost £6,000 rather than costing more than the £13,000 today.
Yes, aero has improved, gears are now electric and brakes are hydraulic. But the improvements far from justify a doubling in price.
What has come into stark contrast for me is the lack of choice from some of the biggest players. My colleague Simon von Bromley said much the same with his recent coverage of the new Specialized Tarmac SL9. Specialized aren’t offering any level of customisation, so you can’t choose your preferred bar width, saddle, or crank length. I’d argue if I’m spending five figures on a bicycle, customisation should be at the heart of the sale.
Narrow appeal
I have one bike in for testing as part of Bike of the Year. It's very light, very aero, and very well-priced. It does have a five-figure price tag but its less than direct top-level rivals. However, I simply don’t like it.
It’s all down to the handlebar. I know narrow bars are in vogue, but these take things to an extreme that for me is hugely detrimental to the overall ride quality of the bike. The bars would be illegal in a UCI race, coming in at under 28cm between the hoods. When I ride the bike holding on the hoods my knees clank into my elbows. It steers dreadfully and feels twitchy too.
With the right sized bar for me, or just a less narrow bar that flared out more at the drops, the bike would be transformed. To do that and replace the aero cockpit like-for-like would cost around £500. On a bike that costs ten grand, I don’t want to have to spend a penny more to make it fit and perform better. It absolutely should be right, straight out of the shop.
A few brands have said its down to the discretion of bike shops as to whether they’ll make the changes. That puts the financial burden on struggling bike shops rather than the massive international brands. That means shops are left with unused parts taken off the stock setups and either gathering dust or being sold off at a loss. That’s just not right, but some brands are
Brands showing the way
I’m not going to name and shame the worst offenders. I’m feeling charitable. Instead, I’d like to highlight the brands that are doing things the right way and providing us with a choice of parts.
Orbea has long had its MyOwn customisation programme. You can select your dream bike, choose the paint finish, crank length, cockpit size, disc rotor sizes, cassette, wheels and even the seatpost offset. It’s an impressive set of options that can be ordered through your local Orbea dealer or online.
Another brand offering this service is Ridley, which lets you choose custom colours, the groupset, crank length, wheels, tyres, bar and stem lengths and your saddle. You can then add a range of accessories.
The same goes for fellow Belgian Cycling Factory brand Eddy Merckx. It's new 525R race bike with progressive geometry impressed me greatly. I’m even more impressed that you can customise the final build, with the same options as Ridley.
Ribble offers a selection of wheels, bar and stem combinations, saddles, accessories, pedals, and even ceramic frame protection. The service is available across all of Ribble’s models.
Trek’s long-standing Project One offers wheels, tyres, bars, bar tape, seat posts, and even ceramic bottom bracket upgrades.
You can of course also go down the bespoke route and there are some great brands and makers doing this well across all types of race, endurance and gravel bikes.
If you’ve had a good experience from a brands flexibility on specification, let me know in the comments below. I’m happy to give kudos to brands serving customers better.
Give me more choice
I’d like to callout to the brands that currently don’t offer this level of customer service. If you want to justify the high price of bikes, then step up. We as customers need a higher level of service.
If I was ordering a new car I’d get a raft of choices on wheels, the interior, equipment, the gearbox, even the engine. New kitchens come with a myriad of options. Heck, sofas come with more options than most off-the-peg bikes.
When we are asked to pay so much for admittedly great bikes, options should be mandatory not optional.
