After looking at Blue Lug and other bike accessories websites I got to wondering who all buys this expensive stuff? I mean they are all still in business so someone is buying from them.
So I figured I’d just ask y’all.
by tr00th
After looking at Blue Lug and other bike accessories websites I got to wondering who all buys this expensive stuff? I mean they are all still in business so someone is buying from them.
So I figured I’d just ask y’all.
by tr00th
43 Comments
ortho bars.
SON XS and SON 28 Dynohubs. Quality over quantity
Right now I’d say it’s my Brooks B17 saddle. Think it was $175.
Wheels or cranks
Velocity Aileron Clydesdale wheels with all the spokes. Bulletproof wheels for bikepacking.
On any bike? A high end fork and carbon wheels on my enduro bike.
That counts for this sub? A Berthoud saddle or an Alfine hub I guess?
Brooks C19 carved is pretty expensive (£100), but I got it in the work scheme so it’s basically 2/3s of that. At retail, that cost more than the frame (£60). Fork was £70. Tyres were about £17, but they retail for £75 a pair.
Overall the sunk cost of the bike is high, given the cost of my time and tools and whatever… But I reckon you couldn’t sell it for more than £200, if that.
I think I spent like $80 on a Wolf Tooth narrow wide chainring. But it’s awesome I love it
Who buys it? Japanese urbanites who can spend car money on not a car, Bay Area tech people who lie and say it’s family money because that’s less shameful than admitting who they work for, and bike shop employees who found a reliable way to turn employee discounts into clout.
I had some Ultradynamico Cava tires once at €80 per. Boy was that ever stupid. Goofy tread that felt awful in corners, loaded up with mud, and wore through in a season. Switched back to Gravelking slicks as God intended.
A Chris King blue headset on my 91 Trek 6000. Overkill but it was a dream bike build so I went for it.
definitely the wheels.
touring wheels 250 eur each
Son 28
Most of the components on my bike cost more than the bike itself.
I had a Brooks B17 Ti reskinned with an ochre top for about $230. I dont think Ti/ochre was ever a stock config and the Ti/black ones go for about $240 on ebay, so who knows maybe mine is worth $241.
wheels – ck classic hubs with velo orange voyager rims
i work in a small bike shop, not blue lug, but a miche german one, and we literally sold 6k€ road bikes because some rich guys walked by the window and liked the color. hes got 3 road bikes, but if youve got so much money, you cant even spent it fast enough.
i would bet that guy would ride a full paul/king/son/xtr xbike with titanium lowrider thst costs as mich as 80% of xbikes if he was into it.
dont get me wrong, i would do the same, but im poor. but i can get behind that idea 100%
Sturmey Archer 5 speed igh w/coaster brake. Was around $400 with the upgraded shifter. Threw it on a $15.99 thrift store Giant Farrago.
Total dollars spent was the Brooks saddle. Dollars as a % of what would have been good enough is my shimano sis and brake cable housing in red. I think that was ~$75 and I could a gotten away spending $15 to match the color or $0 to use black cable I bought in bulk 20+ years ago
https://preview.redd.it/mby4r7ydxmmg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0fdfeb846feab509339d01de07cbe1f900911293
On this one, I sprang for the WI headset in pink and the black and pink matching cranks. Woof. What a bill. Recovered the stolen one so the new cranks went back in the parts bin. Actually, the Saint brake is ridiculous too. Whole bike is stupid. Glad she came home.
https://preview.redd.it/o679p14oxmmg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=998ea8c5827fcde37f01bec580525706bf95fb18
Innicycle headset!
On each of my bikes the dynohub is the most expensive single component
Someone gave me a Selle SMP seat. Would never spend that money myself, but it is a really nice seat
SON dyno hubs on my disc bike and Paul touring cantis on my commuter. Decided to splurge on the SON hubs, and the cantis were a very kind of gift from my partner.
SimWorks Getaround CrMo Handlebars. Next up: Stridsland Bullship Bars
Entire bike: £90
Mudguards: £75
Bell: £22
Special shout out also to my Avid Arch Rival V brakes (used, £50), Nitto top cap (£14), blue Hope headset spacers (£12.75) and bottle cage bolts (£4.99).
Me 🤣
(Oh you mean bike parts… The hand built DT Swiss wheels on my daily)
New Aluminum 700c wheels in place of cheese steel 28″
Wheels for sure, but I don’t count those because it’s actually an assembly of various components. For me, it’s probably a custom titanium bar.
The frame or the wheelset, i usually pay ~100€ for either.
But its hard to determine value, like my 26″ carbon vitus that i daily, is totally impossible to find. I have not seen another one. So its kind of priceless for me. All other parts in any of my bikes i can replace with money.
Got a deal on a Trust The Message fork after they shuttered. Originally the MSRP would have been $2400, but only spent $300 on it. The guy that sold it found it inside an auction “unable to deliver” pallet from USPS. Couldn’t beat that deal as I found it looking for 2nd hand forks on Marketplace.
A Nitto lugged seat post. I think it was like $130 from Blue Lug. I like the two screw setup that it uses and it was less than twice the price of the other Nitto one with two screws. And it will last longer than I will.
The most expensive? The Rohloff speedhub I just picked up yesterday.
I’ve built a few bikes with Shimano internally geared hubs ones over the years so I thought I’d try this one for my latest build.
I designed the frame myself! I’m building my perfect bike!
A Rohloff hub on my trekking/travel hybrid.
On the topical (for this sub) bike, a period-correct XT NOS wheelset I paid 150€ for.
Wheels and cranks. Rear wheel is a Rohloff with a belt drive with Andra 40 rims. I haven’tdared going for carbon rims. Yet. Cranks are eewings.
Some super weird JIS square taper ITA threaded bottom bracket that was 40 or 60€ or something. Ridiculously expensive for a square taper bb but it was the only available option.
my handelbars for 1k inr. i haven’t changed much since i bought the bike its plenty fun enough and… im broke.
Chris King headset.. why? Donno but would do it again in a heartbeat 😎
I got my Surly Disc Trucker frameset from Blue Lug, cost about €700 but hit closer to a thousand with shipping and import duties to my country. The colour and size I wanted were out of stock anywhere in Europe so I was happy to order from them. First new frame I’ve ever bought so it was a pretty big deal for me. Parts-wise the most expensive single piece I’ve ever bought is probably my 2×12 GRX crankset, for over 2000 NOK. Got most of the rest of the groupset on UK ebay for a little under £400.
When I was starting the DT build I thought “this is my first from-the-frameset build and I finally have a good job, I’m ready to ball a bit.” Then I went on the Chris King website to look at headsets and decided immediately that I’m still far off balling that hard.
Forks. The right fork can be expensive. And cranks. The right cranks can be expensive. And headsets. The right headset can be expensive. Oh, and brakes. The right brakes can be expensive. Tires. The right tires can be expensive. You know what is surprisingly cheap though? The right derailleur. I’m always shocked how cheap a nice rear derailleur can be.
Rohloff hub on the cargo bike.
Paul canti brakes and levers. Let me tell you, they’re pretty but I wish I wouldve just thrown some Deore V-Brakes on there.
I still have a sticker from my 2019 EWS season on my bike. I’d say I spent about 25k to get it…