One conversation I’ve had a few times recently, with a few different bike shop owners, is about the lack of differentiation in the road bike market over the last couple seasons. It’s not that there are no differences between the bikes on offer from the big bike companies; it’s that none of those differences amounts to much. There are no discrete features that are turning riders’ heads.
There is a positive and a negative way to look at this state of affairs. On one hand, you might say that today’s road bikes are boring. There are no really good reasons to buy a new one, and no specific bikes that are covetable at the moment. On the other hand, you might appreciate just how good today’s bikes are. It is possible (though not probable) that we’ve reached peak road bike. They’re not going to get dramatically lighter or more aerodynamic, at least not in any practical ways that make them better to ride.
Let me take a brief timeout to say that yes, of course there are covetable bikes, but that covetousness is born mainly of aesthetics, of style, and that ain’t nothin.
The shop folks I’ve talked about this with are concerned, especially for the smaller companies who have fewer marketing dollars to throw at the challenge of standing out in a crowded market. They are also worried that, in a market of homogenized products, the main differentiator will become price, which means their margins will take a hit.
Coming, as I do, from the custom bike world, there is a sense that there has never been a better time to compete against stock bikes. The big companies all have high dollar bikes now, at price points that are directly comparable to what one might spend on a custom bike. Given that equivalency, the feature set of a custom build begins to look better and better.
One thing I know, from being at this for a good long time, is that I am usually wrong. So this week’s TCI Friday wonders how I’m wrong. What is the ‘it’ road bike of the moment? Where do you think companies are successfully differentiating their new road bikes? And, just on the outside chance I’m right, when do you think road bikes stopped evolving in an interesting way?
So much sameness….For differentiation I look to folks like Mason for something interesting. The goods are there, just not from the main players with WT sleds for dentists.
I do not know what a “WT sled” is, but I am pretty sure I don’t have one. Hopefully I will not be shunned at the next dental convention.
I stopped paying attention to road bikes so long ago that I don’t even know when they stopped being interesting.