Wretched Excess

I received my Colorado Cyclist Catalog this week and while leafing through it yesterday morning I came across the new Shimano Dura Ace Di2 electronic shifter upgrade. While I have read some positive reviews on this new product I was still totally bowled over by the price tag for this kit which consists a set of shifters, a battery and a front & rear derailleur. Listed at nearly $3300.00 I have to wonder how much better this innovation may perform compared to the mechanical counterpart which costs about $1000.00.

Seeing this product and its exorbitant price tag made me think a bit more about something that has been troubling to me for some time – the unbelievable increase in the cost of bike gear. Looking through this same catalog I saw $2000.00 wheel sets from Mavic and $6000.00 frame sets from Time. Doing some quick math in my head it seems it would be easy to pay over $14,000 for a full bike from these guys.

If you put together a bike this expensive is there any way you could hop on it for a spin around town without a pair of $500.00 bike shoes, a $250.00 helmet, a $300.00 jersey and a $250.00 pair of shorts?. Oh yea, I almost forgot about that pair of $250.00 sunglasses. That’s almost $1600.00 in gear! Do the products that carry these high price tags perform noticeably better than their lesser priced counterparts?

This isn't a criticism of Colorado Cyclist. I like this company and have purchased quite a few items from them over the years. Besides, I’m sure other mail order vendors offer products along these same price lines.

I’m not sure if customer demand for new innovations are fueling these high prices or if the component companies themselves are simply pushing the price envelope year after year in an effort to see how much money they can charge for the latest gram-saving widget. Regardless of the reason I better get used to the bike I’m riding now because I surely don’t see myself being able to afford an upgrade any time soon.