There’s certainly been a lot of outrage over the price of bikes in recent years, and for sure, when the price of a new bike falls inline with a new Ducati, it’s bound to give people pause. There are more ultra-expensive flagship bikes than ever before, but are mainstream bikes more expensive in general? Not really. And in fact, you can pretty easily make the argument they’re not only more affordable, but also a lot better, and the real problem might not be with bike prices, but how the bike industry markets itself.
Yeti is also back in the XC game with the resurrection of its storied ASR nameplate, and while it sounds like a heck of a bike, it also raises some questions about the direction of mountain bike suspension in general. Do more e-bikes equal more bikes sold? Salsa sure hopes so with a recent pivot in its product range. And if you haven’t removed your crankset in a while, one listen to our PSA this week might have you heading into the garage.
You can listen on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts, or just click play below.
And while you’re at it, be sure to check out the entire Escape Collective podcast network.
Timestamps:
0:56 – Dave makes his case for why you should buy a 3D printer
4:28 – Yeti’s back in the XC race bike scene!
22:25 – Salsa is jumping into the e-bike market, and at a very enticing price point
32:17 – Bikes aren’t really more expensive than they used to be, but the bike industry sure seems hell-bent on convincing you they are
45:25 – We hate to break it to you, but your frame is anything but waterproof
51:44 – DT Swiss has some ultralight carbon fiber XC race wheels on the way
53:06 – WTB has brought back the Solano name, this time for a new short-nosed saddle
54:29 – SRAM’s wireless Blips can now be used on their own for more flexible cockpit setups
56:15 – Finish Line is cooking up a new range of hot wax and drip wax chain lubes
58:38 – Strava has some new features for cyclists
What did you think of this story?