What is happening with bicycle tire prices?
 

I bought a GP5000 clincher tire a month or so ago at $47, and saw one at REI today for $82. That's a pretty significant price increase. Anybody know why prices are suddenly so high in bike tires?

Dave

82 is pretty much the going price for current GP5000s.

.

Rei tends to price things a little high, finding these around 70.00 isn't too hard most of the time, but with a little time and patience they pop up as sale items on a regular basis for 50.00. Buying from Europe can save some good money on them as well.

And its not just the price. The quality of the tires, even with respectable manufacturers, is questionable.

I had to send a new Passela tire back when I noticed its wire bead was exposed. I never saw anything like that in the old days...

You experienced success with bikeinn? Great prices listed, but I could never finalize an order. Seems like a scam to me.

One must shop sales when they happen. And they do happen.


I have successfully purchased from bikeinn in the past. 3 times (I think) with no problems. But not any one purchase over $150.

Prices went up. Seems simple enough.

I bought from them twice recently. Good prices and no problems. I found out about them because they had stuff nobody else did.

I order from Bike24 sometimes. They have doubled their shipping cost since 2022 but still come out cheaper than the place you had a problem with.

I bought stuffs from them 4 times and never had any issues. What was your specific issue?

Does anyone know why anyone keeps asking why ? :foo: :lol:

That's car tire prices. I won't spend that on bike tires unless I was a bonafide racer. The material cost, tooling cost, and perhaps even labor cost, are vastly less than for car tires. The prices are high because that's what the market will bear, and bike prices are way up, so it's not surprising that the top tire brands raised their prices. But is there in an inprovement in the technology? I don't think so. The key is if there are alternatives, that aren't functioning like a cartel to keep prices high. Elasticity in supply.

$80 car tires are more comparable with $10 bike tires.

IKR. The car tires I bought a couple of months ago were relatively inexpensive at nearly $200 each.

Basically, a little over a decade back, manufacturers began to wake up to the fact that a lot of cyclists were willing to pay ridiculous money for upgrades, or for the "latest and greatest" parts and products. Cycling went from toys and sports equipment to luxury items .... and suddenly bikes cost more than motorcycles (which are still considered transport---except for Harleys and those other big cruisers.)

We did it to ourselves. We (bike and bike parts/gear consumers) just kept paying higher prices ... and for a lot of people, paying a lot of money for a hobby wasn't evaluated as would be most purchases ... we acted as if bicycles were luxury items, where cost and value have a very different relationship (though we thought we were buying status and/or performance.) If consumers had slowed their purchasing when the prices started skyrocketing .....

Of course, inflation has also added to the cost increase .... but that is a small percentage of the increase in bike/parts/gear prices over the past decade or so.

IMO.

This conversation kind of ignores that we’re talking about high end road tires, and many more affordable options exist.

And bang for your buck. Rolling resistance, handling, puncture resistance... these tires have it all. They are flat out fast compared to cheaper options. For $40-50 bucks more, over the course of just about an entire year - to me they are worth every extra penny.

Are you certain its the exact same GP 5000 tire? They have so many different versions of them. It's not just tubeless vs tubed. So maybe some are just such a niche market they command higher prices due to production costs for the smaller market group or willingness of those niche groups to pay.

Good point. I often see the older gen versions on sale, especially in narrower width. Even see different prices with black vs tan wall versions.

Here's a wacky analogy because I'm in a wacky mood:'

Your local garbage man has probably learned over the years the exact cycles of the trash collection industry. He knows there are easy days and hard days, and I imagine he can predict them quite accurately based on a myriad of observations - the economy, the weather, the season, how the holidays and sports line up, the start of school, the length of the days - who knows what else. He doesn't tell you what the easy days are going to be, because it isn't any of your business.

So too with everything bike - it's a cyclical business. Prices and profits go up, prices and profits go down. They don't need to tell you when or why. Just like the garbage guys will grab the extra hours at the coffee shop when they know they can, the bike companies will grab extra profits when they know they can.

+1.

Gasp at the price of what you want then add to cart and go to checkout.

Tell that to the purchaser of a Cinelli S.C. in 1979 with full Super Record Group, Seta Tubulars, etc. Nothing has changed other than that, at present, we have much higher disposable income than in those magical days.

Always had good luck with them. Most orders seem to come from the Netherlands, so a bit of shipping time to be had. Definitely not a scam. In fact, I have one order from them now that arrived in Los Angeles customs, and is being transfered to USPS as we speak/post.