Is the price of parts putting you off?

[Tootyred]

I've noticed a slight lethargy in myself of late, a slight dwindling of my interest in all things retro; so as Christmas is very much a time for a heady mixture of excesses and introspection, i put my mind to "why"....

The conclusion I've drawn is that its the price of parts, essentially turning an accessible and enjoyable pastime into a bit of a pit of gloom.

The typical scenario plays out thus.....

Me " oh, there's they bit i need on ebay, cool its 99p......oh, ok its now gone up to £15, but only 3 bids.....fine"

Inner self " Two years ago that never would have got to £15, let alone with 4 hours to go......you know there will be more bidders.....just look at the watchers!"

Me "Thats ok, i will keep an eye on it......oh.....£26, hummm, well it is a bit i would like.

Inner self " Don't be a c@€k, you dont want to pay that for it, just bloody forget it, that's ridiculous, if every part is twice the price you can't afford the whole project, just bin it.

And I do. The feeling im essentially somehow being robbed at every turn is kinda taking the fun out of it rather.....

So, im opening the doors to the group therapy session......or is it just me!

 

[FluffyChicken]

absolutely, and you've only been here a year or so and prices were very high then.
Think of the rest of us, joined before it was fashionable and only a handful of flippers aiming for high money, well pretty much granniegear with the outrageous prices we all used to jest and laugh at.

The sort of outrage when you had to spend over the odds with £55 for some Judy forks just because they had a very long 1" steerer you needed for a project. Costing more than the mint condition 98 and 97 Judy SL's you bought a few months before.

Now that's nowt compared to what people are asking for them some knackered worn ones. All these new comers are prepared to pay for it, you see few of the older members around here now. New bikes parts are not costing much more.


or it could be you're waiting for some nob to get his arse out of the chair and check some hub seals.

 

[Tootyred]

I may only have been on here a year or so, but ive been buying parts since the 80s for projects.

The last 2/3 years.....and i know there are various reasons ( fashion, covid, brexit, boredom, a population with excessive time / thoughts of morbidity)....things have gone nuts! Its one of the reasons i stopped being a lurker and joined as it seemed people were a bit more realistic on pricing here...( plus i had run put of local mates still interested).

For years a decent xt m732 mech was £15.....all day long.....sounded reasonable......now.....

You could very well argue that its great that people want to be involved and its bred new life into the retro world, but its also killing the old ones off.

Frankly...im not rich enough to play it anymore. I could downgrade my expectations and build with lesser kit, but why would i want to go backwards from my position of 35 years ago! There's no fun or aspiration to be had on that road for me.

The plus is im lucky to have my unicorn, and a couple of other great bikes.....and yes that makes me feel bad for complaining, but.....

 

[markoc]

I know what you mean. It is kind of off-putting, but I think the "retro KULT vintage!!!" trend on ebay will wane once the novelty wears off. Those parts will find their way back onto the market and prices will reset.

I've just sold some Pace forks on ebay for £65. Admittedly they needed elastomers, so I think it was a fair price. Granniegear has had some identical ones (with good elastomers) up for a good couple of months asking £300. If someone is daft enough to spend that then it's up to them - there's far worse things they could do with their money.

While I'd say GG was a chancer, they recently had something I really needed and had been searching for ages - so I paid (slightly) over the odds at the time for a mint chainring. Similar ones are now £10 more.

Its the collision of Market forces meeting supply and demand. Preaching to the converted - people got bored over lockdown and this became a good hobby - particularly when the backside fell out of the bike industry and new parts/bikes were just unavailable. Having spare time back reignited my love of tinkering - so I expect the same to be true of others.

I wince now at some of the things I've either given away, or sold for bobbins/postage. But that was a fair price at the time so I can't knock it. This has always been a hobby that paid for itself to a greater or lesser extent.

My next build is going to be something that the parts are much more readily available for, and focusing on the midrange of STX/STX RC which IMO was a bloody good groupset and goes a treat on a nice steel frame. Going to spend my time polishing up and refurbing tarnished cheaper kit rather than chasing the elusive NOS BNIB RETRO KULT VINTAGE 111!!! megabucks part. Think I'll get more pleasure from it too.

 

[d8mok]

You do understand inflation don’t you?

Happens on used goods just the same as new ones. And I’d argue that as time passes the used items are getting rarer and harder to find.

I still think it’s the best bang for buck hobby there is. Ignoring crazy NOS stuff and Granniegears prices.

 

[Tootyred]

Going to spend my time polishing up and refurbing tarnished cheaper kit rather than chasing the elusive NOS BNIB RETRO KULT VINTAGE

Completly with you there, its the way ive always gone.

But even that seems hardly worth the effort when people are asking a min of £50 for a dead, scale incrusted, dented m730 chainset.

Ive caught myself physically gulping reading some of the build threads of late!

 

[Tootyred]

Inflation is not the same as a gold rush..

But yes, i totally agree that maket forces drive everything.

Still sad that many old hand will be left behind in the stampeed.

 

[Tootyred]

At the end of the day, being harsh, its just hard cheese on my behalf.

Ive been priced out and im pissed about it.

Still going to enjoy watching the builds, but.....its a bit like sport...if you can no longer play, watcing looses something too.

 

[FluffyChicken]

You do understand inflation don’t you?

Happens on used goods just the same as new ones. And I’d argue that as time passes the used items are getting rarer and harder to find.

I still think it’s the best bang for buck hobby there is. Ignoring crazy NOS stuff and Granniegears prices.

but it's not general inflation. £55 in 2013 is only £66 in 2021, prices are much higher than general inflation.

 

[d8mok]

why choose 2013 and £55 out of interest?

Let’s do it on a part? Let’s say a XT rear mech? Run of the mill item. Pick a model? And pick a year which you know a price you paid for one? And then compare that to today.