There is a lot of whining post Covid about bike prices. Particularly during the catchup in early 2022 when the industry was trying to adjust to shipping costs and other changes in expense. And it is true that the top of the line prices of $10,000 plus are eye popping.
But top level jewel bikes have always been expensive. And one does not need jewelry to enter the sport and have a really fun time. One does not even have to hit the performance sweet spot.
I was recently advising proselytizing someone who is MTB curious. So I looked at bikes online, purveyor of inexpensive direct to consumer bikes, for an entry enthusiast level hardtail. This Superior XP 919 caught my eye with the sub-$1,000 sale price.
This looks promising in the entry-enthusiast category. That’s my subjective concept of a bike that will serve well for someone who is athletic and plans to go on real rides. A bike that can handle intermediate to moderately advanced level terrain and speed without being unsafe. A bike that is durable enough for regular use. A bike that is even worth upgrading or repairing major components should the rider break something with crashes or impacts from enthusiastic riding.
As it happens my first MTB purchased in the late 80s is a good point of historical price comparison. I paid about $700 for it (thanks to an insurance payout for an older stolen bike). When I ran the inflation calculator I was startled to find that the ~$700 cost works out to $1,800 in 2024 dollars.
My first MTB was a Mongoose, which was a brand that was at the lower end of the market. Decent quality, but not a top level mainline brand. Shop presence was pretty good, but they were not the same cachet as Trek or Specialized bikes. That $700 was very competitive for the spec at the time, which is precisely why I bought that brand.
The inflation calculator ballparks $950 in 2024 dollars as about $420 in 1992 dollars. Bikes at that price point were not entry enthusiast. They were, to my recollections, junk. Components were not up to regular trail riding under a road racing fit rider. There were no direct to consumer brands since Nashbar was parts only and I think Performance had not started selling bikes yet either.
Bikes online lists the weight of this Superior MTB at 12.2 kg which works out to 26.9 pounds. I don’t recall the weight of my first bike but it was a steel frame and fork, steel bars and stem. My vague bet is that it was at least 30 pounds. This bike has an aluminum frame, which is now pretty much standard for this market segment. The 27 pounds is heavy compared with upper tier hardtails of today, but it isn’t terrible. For reference my dual suspension XC bike is 26.6 pounds set up to ride and I don’t think of it as ponderous.
My first MTB was equipped with Exage 500 LX parts which is probably a fair equivalent position to the Deore of today. Back then, XT was the top, Deore was the second rank and Deore LX was third, leaving the Exage 500 LC at fourth tier. This bikesonline deal is spec’d with full Deore (with SLX derailleur upgrade) drivetrain which sits in fourth rank, but XT is pretty much the same as it was in quality and XTR sits above. This bike is modern, 12 speed 1x, has Deore disc brakes (manufacturers sometimes downgrade brake spec to hit a price point) and has an air spring version of the Judy fork. This latter is likely to be a lot more functional than the coil spring version. Much better to adjust for rider weight and riding style. The fork even comes with remote lockout!
Naturally my first bike came without suspension or disc brakes since those hadn’t been brought to the consumer market yet. When the first Rock Shocks came out in the early 90s, they cost around $350 which pushes the like-like comparison price upward by quite a bit. Old school cantilever brakes were not fantastic. The Exage ones left me wanting more power, as I got to riding in groups and racing. I recall upgrading to XT levers, and soon the brakes themselves, as my first upgrades back in the day. Modern discs are better than similar component level cantilevers were. Clipless pedals for MTBs weren’t invented yet either so the fact it came with pedals is only a minor difference- modern platform pedals are cheap.
The only slight downgrade in spec are the hubs which come from a “non series”, aka lower than Deore, level. They are, however modern Boost (width) spec. This means wheel upgrades would be easy. The hubs are Shimano. They will last.
I’ve had experience in the parking lot test of a friend’s Deore spec full suspension bike. I also run the Deore brake on the front of my hardtail at the moment. This level of component is very, very good stuff. Sure, my current XT components are better, especially the disc brakes. But Deore is really quite functional and a new entrant to the sport would have no complaints. My original thumb shifter, cantilever brake Exage 500 LX bike worked great for the time, but I bet shrink wrapped NOS of that equipment would lose handily in a performance comparison with current Deore.
Of course modern bikes have tubeless compatible 29” wheels which have advantages.
This package is a clear demonstration that modern bikes offer can a lot more performance versus the same approximate market position bikes of 30 years ago. And at half the price in constant dollars. Even the MSRP of $1,300 for this XP 919 would be a relative bargain compared with the $1,800 2024 dollar equivalent of my first MTB.
This does rely on the direct to consumer model and/or lesser known brands being equivalent to Mongoose of the past. I looked at some seeming competitors from Specialized and Trek and found a lot of down-spec on parts, higher prices or both.
I’d have to go back and look at some old MSRPs for the upper two tiers of MTB back in the day. My recollection that $2,000 would not have been unusual for a “good” bike matches pretty well with what the $5,000 in adjusted dollars buys today.
When someone whines about the prices of bikes and accuses companies of Covid gouging, it’s hard to nail down a point of reference. The cost of motorcycles is popular but that seems ignorant of scale to me. The cost across the entire market, particularly as benchmarked to direct-sales is argued. Of course if you wonder why a direct sales bike is cheaper than a big brand…buy the cheaper one!! Steep single year increases are a potential concern but this complaint is dumb if you have paid the slightest bit of attention to supply chain problems and shipping costs. And the warehousing costs during the 2022 glut may have been the industry’s mistakes but they are real nevertheless.
I’ve tried to explore a single reference point to cost here, the historical cost of a similar tier of bicycle. At the tier which, IMNSHO, people can have a lot of fun enjoying the sport. A tier which they might never have any desire or need to leave.
And in this analysis, MTBs are more affordable than they were back in the Golden Age of Mountain Biking.
Related: The Superior XP 929 is listed for $1,400. It has essentially the same build on a carbon frame, coming in at a claimed weight of 11.7 kg (25.8 lbs).
Sun Dappled Forest 