Doctor Morbius

A non-proprietary road bike for $12,500.00. Who are they trying to kid?

https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear...alized-aethos/

Except for the weight, I don't see anything too fantastic about it at all. Couldn't the 18 pound version cost about $2,500?

I'm sorry. I really like road bikes - and I like them simple and non-proprietary, just like this - but this price is ridiculous.

GlennR

My 2015 Emonda SLR with Zipp 303s, pedals, 2 cages and Garmin mount is 14.6# so I don't find it's 14.5# anything unusual. The only thing proprietary is the seatmast.

rubiksoval

It's a boutique bike for a niche market.

Just like an expensive watch, or wine, or car, etc. Way, way more examples of this outside of cycling than in.

So, no, it hasn't really "come to this." It's not like you can't buy a $2000 carbon bike if you wanted to, probably just a couple of lbs heavier, too.

Of course, I think it'd be a lot more interesting to take a light frame and weight weenie it out part by part yourself, but not everyone has the time or knowledge for that.

Sy Reene

It's a pretty hilarious concept.. basically strip away everything they've told you over the last few years that you want to look for in a bike, and market this as special. This bit in the article sums it up:
"Five years ago, the Aethos would have just been a Tarmac."

Lemond1985

:barfs:

datlas 

Pass

WhyFi

So don't buy it.

MoAlpha

Nice bike; too bad it's "not for racing." The fawning, illogical, copy is the funniest part.

Andy Somnifac 

I've never understood why people seem to think that all products should appeal to them. There are plenty of insanely priced cars, watches, houses, wines, electronics, etc. that don't deliver much more than a reasonably priced alternative.

It's easy enough to move on and buy what you're willing to pay for. They don't make the reasonably priced alternatives disappear.

Kimmo 

Then why stick with the UCI-mandated double diamond, when better ideas were around twenty years ago?

For twelve and a half k US, I'd want pretty much the best money can buy, minus that 0.2% another ten k would get you. You listening, Zipp? It's 4001 time.

WhyFi

Yup.

I worked in high-end audio for a long time. One thing that I found was that people that complained about price had some kind of appreciation for what a product was, what it did, what made it special, etc. What they didn't have was a grasp on the kind of work and attention to detail that it took to get it there. People that truly don't get a product usually don't kvetch about it - they just shake their head and move on.

indyfabz

"but is simple and user-friendly in a way modern road bikes haven’t been for years."

Guess my 2016 custom ti road bike isn't modern.

DeadGrandpa

I don't see anything about it being "gravel specific".

DeadGrandpa

Deleting duplicate post.

mstateglfr 

I dont see anything about it being tricycle specific either.
This isnt a gravel bike.

mstateglfr 

The frameset alone is $5200 and the frame in size 56 weighs 585g.
That frame weight really is the only special thing about this bike compared to a lot of other quality bikes.

Its funny to me- I love the aesthetics of this bike and its marketed as basic. The lines are very nice, the stays transitioning to the top tube is appreciated, and it is non-proprietary.
Its a really neat frameset, and I bet it will be short lived at that price. I cant see a 2024 model happening.

Andy Somnifac 

High-end audio is the perfect comparison. Both can be phenomenally expensive (audio more so), are full of snake oil, and the realm of marginal gains is a discussion in and of itself.

But, cool, if someone wants high-end audio, go for it. I have a pair of hand made 300B monoblocks because I wanted them, not because I think everyone needs tubes.

Rides4Beer

With disc brakes, a threaded bb, and powermeter? Prob not.

Yes, anyone can build a light bike, and people who want one, already have one. I see this bike filling two roles, one for people who just want an expensive lightweight bike and aren't going to mess with anything on it. The other being for people who are going to take that ridiculously light frame and make it even lighter.

It's not for me, I don't like it aesthetically, and I'm not chasing a super lightweight bike. If I were spending the money, it would be on an SL7, but it's good to have choices, and it's nice to see manufacturers continue to improve bikes/technologies.

Juan Foote

Lol, when I was a kid of about 15 I came into a bit of money from a relative. I wanted a really nice sound system. Went to one of the better audiophile level stores in the area and lucked up on a clerk who was on her way out the door. She hooked me up with a GREAT set of JBL monitors, and a really nice Carver amp "off the floor" for less than half of retail. She showed me a couple of other components to "go find elsewhere", so I ended up with an NAD preamp and a few other choice components. It served me well for a long time. The drawback to that being that I have never desired to pony up that manner of money for a sound system again, and nothing I have owned since has held a candle to the sound quality or realism.

I feel the same way about my bikes to a large degree in that, once I rode the really awesome Spec Roubaix my wife got for me, nothing else I have rides that well.

GlennR

My bike is far from a weight weenie. I could easily get lighter wheels and if you remove the pedals, cages and Garmin mount and it will easily drop below 14#.

Iride01 

It's quite typical to introduce things that are high tech design and materials in the upper price tiers. I actually like the looks and what I read about it. I hope they can get the manufacturing costs down to an affordable tier for me.

If you just go by price and looks you don't know much about bikes..... <grin>

Atlas Shrugged

Not sure the point of this post? The SLR frame is over 100 grams heavier alone not including heavier post and fork. The Specialized is also a Disc brake bike.

bOsscO

It's drool worthy for sure, and if I was interested in a 'forever' bike it might be on the list.
Thing I find about the big S is they do whatever they want and usually get away with it. I expect I'll probably see a few of these in person next summer.

woodcraft

And for $500, a little round non-race inspired handle bar bag.

Branko D

For me funniest thing is that they have turned not being willing to pay the production costs of doing pressfit correctly (because if they did, it would never cause issues) into a marketing advantage for frames which alone cost like 4-5K. I don't think it's a tragedy, though, more like just silly.

​​​​​Anyway, fads come and go, no reason to get worked up over it.
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