Prices early 90's

[MatBH5]

Re:

Great thread... i suspect there are many magazines around with full lists, but from personal experience. A 1991 Kona Fire Mountain with 300LX, quickly added some Deore thumb shifters, was about £350... swiftly followed a year later by a ‘92 Orange Prestige with Xc Comp microdrive at £799!
Did my GCSE’s in 1992, rode to a few exams on the Orange.

 

[M-Power]

Re:

I remember doing a big organised ride in Llanwrtyd Wells upinto the hills in the very early 90s and being amazed by the turnout of exotica. Good riders on them too. I dont remember any Kleins but plenty of top end steel, 1/2 doz Merlins but plenty of Marin Titaniums.

 

[Duxuk]

I bought a Diamondback Sorrento in September 1992 which was reduced from £299 to £199 to make way for the '93 model. Bargain! By '94 I was happy to pay £525 for a Raleigh MTrax Ti2000. It had the new STX groupset but still 7 speed. It had a 42 tooth big ring rather than a 48 tooth on the Diamondback but still with cantis. I bought a Rockshox Quadra 10 at the end of '95 for £150 and it transformed the bike and my riding. Next new bike was a Marin Rift Zone in early '97 for £1050.
It's good to have been born in Yorkshire. You remember all the prices!
It seems like the rate of price rises has fallen substantially since I wouldn't expect to pay more than £2000 for a similar full sus. now.

 

[d8mok]

Re:

In 1996 I my dad got me a 95 RTS 3 for my 11th birthday in the sale at £550 which was reduced from I believe around £1k.

Over the next couple of years it was upgraded, and then a frame swap in 98 to a Zaskar LE for £400 frame only. And in late 99 I got my Spooky which ive still got which was £500 frame only. Bombers were about £300 a pair from memory and a decent set of wheels and Hopes were about £400 -500.

 

[TSC.]

Re:

Very interesting to put the 1990 prices into this calculator to adjust for inflation: http://www.in2013dollars.com/1990-GBP-in-2018

My 1989 Kona Fire Mountain was £350 - the calculator has that today as £789.

My 1993 KHS Montana Team was £1250, that's coming up as £2525 today.

 

[xxnick1975]

My first was a Carera Waikato in the Halfords sale, I think 229.99

Though I was getting a Suntour x1 equipped bargain, how wrong was I!

 

[M-Power]

Re: Re:

Very interesting to put the 1990 prices into this calculator to adjust for inflation: http://www.in2013dollars.com/1990-GBP-in-2018

My 1989 Kona Fire Mountain was £350 - the calculator has that today as £789.

My 1993 KHS Montana Team was £1250, that's coming up as £2525 today.

Excuse the aside. The early 90s was the time when ultra cheap Chinese catalogue bikes came out. Littlewoods & Halfords TV ads offering front sus bikes for £99 etc and the race to the bottom began :facepalm: This was bad news for decent bike shops as punters tried self assembly with a monkey wrench and hammer. Then they dragged it in on a busy Saturday morning demanding it be set up properly there and then. Argued over the cost (cor thats 1/2 what the bike cost mate ) and usually left in a huff. The mechanics were always glad to be shot of these over tightened cross threaded rounded off bolt jobs.

 

[TSC.]

Re:

Oh god yes! We had SO many of those bikes come into our shop to be 'fixed'. People would be furious when we told them we couldn't fix them without replacing parts, like the brakes made out of plasticine.

 

[pazaudi]

If memory serves, my 1993 Kona Lavadome was £525.

 

[greencat]

I think my 1991 Saracen Sahara was £299. I remember being shocked at that being pretty much the entry price for a vaguely capable mountain bike (I'd got the bug from riding an absolutely horrible Emmelle Silver Challenge) ie index shifting, 21 speed, chromoly frame, cantilever brakes and alloy rims. I destroyed most of the 200GS groupset within 6 months and replaced it with a mix of DX & XT. I particularly remember those early rapidfire shifters being complete garbage. I went to thumbies and didn't look back until the early 2000s. The Sahara was replaced a year or so later by a Kirk with 400LX IIRC (which I think cost around £400).

Early entry level mountain bikes were very poor value for money IMO.