Pro bike costs

[uforgot]

We are in the middle of the Tour of Missouri and I'm fielding questions from students. One question that keeps coming up..."How much do those bikes cost? I bet they run a couple of thousand dollars". Well, I tell them that they are certainly more than that, but I'm not sure how much. So...anyone know how much George Hincapie's (last year's ToM winner) or any elite cyclist's bike is worth?

[tulip]

I don't know, but I would guess upwards of $10k+; more for TT bikes. But bike racers are a bit like car racers. It doesn't really matter how much the vehicle costs, it's essential for their jobs as racers. How much does a NASCAR car cost? I doubt it's a concern for the racers or their teams. Maybe that's a comparison that will click with some of your students.

[7rider]

Q:
"How much do those bikes cost?"

A: Lots.

:cool:

[VeloVT]

I think Tulip is in the right ballpark ($10,000+), but remember also that they don't pay for them.

[TrekTheKaty]

A couple months ago, we stayed at a B&B in Hermann that hosted some of the riders from last year's Tour de Missouri. He said the rider that was SECOND in the time trial, told him his bike was $10,000.

Makes that Madone look like a great deal :)

[Aggie_Ama]

I have always heard about $10k and up. Although I think Paul Sherwin likes to say they are about $20k.

[uforgot]

Thanks for the replies. I was thinking that they would be around 25k. Of course it's part of their job, and I'm not saying they shouldn't cost a lot. I'm just trying to impress upon my students how cool it is that these professionals are coming here and that they are going to see some amazing athletes and bikes!

[sfa]

Take them to a symphony concert and have them ask the players how much their instruments cost! Bikes are cheap in comparison. Many professional musicians have instruments that cost more than my HOUSE.

Sarah

[Eden]

You can pay 20K for a custom hand painted Colnago or something with a lot of cachet like that, but most racers do have something a bit less blingy ;) You can buy the same Madones that the pros use for about 9K. What you aren't getting is all the one on one attention. They might tweak the geometry if you happen to be a pro - or sometimes you'll see different bike brands, actually re-painted to look like a sponsor bike.... Not that it always happens that way. I was reading an article about one of the larger riders (I think maybe it was Thor Hushoved?) never being given a TT bike that fit properly while on one team and thus underperforming his TT's.

[uforgot]

Take them to a symphony concert and have them ask the players how much their instruments cost! Bikes are cheap in comparison. Many professional musicians have instruments that cost more than my HOUSE.

Sarah

I majored in music, percussion. Timpani are provided, but the sticks about broke me when I was a poor college student!

[Fredwina]

My Favorite story with Pro bikes involves Miguel Indurain.
A couple of years after he retired, Miguel decided he needed a new bike. He went to LBS, and ordered a new Pinarello. Things went fine until he got the Bill. He went home with a Cannondale :)

[Pyannyplayer]

On the instrument front, I accompanied the concert master of the St. Louis Symphony several years ago. Just his BOW was $85,000; seems like his violin was right around $1,000,000. Yeah. Keep that stuff FAR away from me because I'm a little clutzy...and I'm not insured.

Sure makes those bikes seem like a drop in the bucket, but what a drop!

Lorie

[celerystalksme]

it depends! depends on the team...depends personal preferences...

some pro bikes might be as low as $8K...others will be well over $20K. I'd say the starting point is around $8K and the ceiling can get silly...

[RoadRaven]

In NZ, pro/team bikes would be about $NZ 6-10,000. But then you need to add the wheels... and they will be anything from $NZ 3-7,000.

For example, a zip disc is about $NZ2800, and a Sub9 about $NZ3500

A CerveloR3 (my partners road race bike) retails for about $9000. And then on top of that you still need to buy good race wheels.

I think $US25,000 is perhaps overstating the mark. But there certainly wouldn't be much change from 20k.