I have been thinking about what the economy is going to do to the sport of Triathlon. My thoughts are the people that can afford the high end bikes and equipment are most likely still going to be able to afford the sport or will just not upgrade as much. What really got me thinking is the entry level triathlete. We see them riding mountain bikes, old steel road bikes and anything else they can afford or barrow. I bought and sold over 100 new old stock tri bikes last summer. I sold most of these around $750. This is about half of the cost of an entry level Tri bike for 2009. There is a huge market out there for a bike in this price range. I would love to see someone take some of the frame updates we see in the high end carbon fiber bikes and introduce them on an all aluminum frame. Sure you’re going to have to compromise in some places like components and the profit to sell a bike in this price range would be low.
So here’s the challenge, do you think someone could mass market a true Tri Bike for $750? Aero bars, bar end shifters, tri geometry…
Of course, but you’re looking at an aluminum frame and no name components. If the company had enough pull, they might be able to negotiate bottom of the barrel Shimano components and wheels. Look at the Felt S32 and even the S22 - they come with decent components and really the only complaint was the cockpit. These sold for $1400 and $1700, approximately. Cut corners on the manufacturing and lose the carbon seatposts and seatstay, lose the carbon aero fork, etc. I mean, there are road bikes that retail for $800 so it makes sense that you could do a tri bike for that with the proper geometry.
But at that point, it would cost the manufacturer more than consumers would probably buy into the concept. The secondary market for bikes is almost as strong as the primary market - and if the wealthy are willing to upgrade every few years, or seasons, that means a bike that would normally retail for several thousand dollars now it up for sale. Granted, it may not be for $800, but you get a lot for what you end up paying. Likewise, even an entry bike like an S32 has a secondary market - and resells closer to what a new “cheap” bike would go for. I’m rambling at this point, so I’ll stop.
A tri bike should actually be slightly cheaper to produce since STI is more expensive than bar end shifters. I’ve always thought that tri bikes tend to be over priced because it’s a bit of a “sucker’s” market out there but I’m not sure how much of a market there is for entry level tri bikes. Most people would rather race on a road bike with clip-ons rather than buy an entry level tri bike.
My wife’s first road bike was an aluminium Giant OCR with Sora components. She raced it for her first couple of years and had lots of AG wins and podiums in local area sprints. If I remember right the original price was about $750 ten years ago. No reason an entry level tri bike equivalent could have not been offered. Some companies have offered lower priced tri bikes in the past. Another solution would purchase a Leader frame off ebay and build up a bike.