Well fortunately you have other options besides Zipp. This thread is a bit like saying why is this Louis Vuitton suitcase so damn expensive?

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

Simple economics of price elasticity.

They can charge that much because if someone wants to spend $500 on wheels, they can charge $800 and that same person will most likely buy them.

Because cycling is the new golf. The companies charge as much as the market will handle...and people keep buying the $3K wheels, so it's a vicious circle of ever increasing prices.

Too bad I can't go to Costco and get Kirkland aero wheels. They too would be made in China, but I could buy them in bulk.

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we live in strange times where narrative has way more impact than utility or truth...
-SteveMc

because people will pay. that's why.

I agree that this is definitely a sport in which people will buy things that are expensive just because they can, but then also, I recently listened to this podcast and it shows just how much you can get out of some of the equipment you decide to invest in. Yes it's expensive, but I think the benefit is greater than the initial cost.
http://goo.gl/wskLs9

I'd think you'd find that the tooling is possibly more expensive for the zipps. I'd be surprised if there is as much R&D costs into developing a aerodynamic and ultra light rim, vs. a light but very rugged extruded aluminum spoked wheel. Could be different economis of scale and different competition in each market. I'd bet the net earnings per unit delivered are not as far apart as you might think on each.

A better comparison might be a Zipp 808 to carbon fiber wheels for sportbikes. A quick search says they are around $3500-5000 for a pair. Forged aluminum wheels are $2000-3000 per pair. I think that's still more than zipps.

Motocross wheels would be more like comparing a top of the line DH wheelset.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

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No offence to motocrossers, but their wheels don't have nearly the technology that a bike wheel has. A motocross wheel isn't nearly as focussed on weight (yes there are weight concerns, but not to the extent of a bike wheel), so there is less engineering involved. bike wheels, at least high end wheels are engineered closer to the bleeding edge so more design time goes into them. No aero concerns with a motocross wheel (no testing). Supply volumes are pretty low with tri wheels, especially at the high end, so more engineering cost gets spread across fewer wheels, making each wheel more expensive.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Isn't that a weird little podcast? Informative, but odd. Like the robot voice doing the intro ("tri-ath-uh-lon") and the odd mannerisms of the host. That being said, I think there is some useful stuff there.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

To more efficiently separate triathletes from their $.

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float , hammer , and jog

Triathlon is a niche sport with highly technical requirements. The result is high upfront costs (R&D, tooling, testing, etc.) and relatively small production volumes to amortize these over.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Two Words: Flo wheels.


http://www.flocycling.com Read their story where they asked "why are rims so expensive?" Zipp and HED are not liking these guys.

Well.. people pay for it.. but its also about cost, the quality level and tolerances. Most bicycle stuff is pretty way over the top in quality, compared to what is "needed".