I got my P5 about 6 years ago, Dura ace but crap wheels, in the sale for about £2800 I think, and sold a few things to pay for it. That was the top end bike then, probably something like £8k now, doubt I’ll be buying another high end bike like that.
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Sram Force AXS electronic shifting. £5600. That’s ‘not bad’.
Yes.
@jorgan - 15 years ago people were still winning the Tour de France with downtube shifters whilst wearing long black socks 
10 years ago…let’s say 2011 (cos beef eater won it in 2010, or Schleck)
2011 was Cadel Evans on the Di2 equipped BMC Team Machine SLR01.
You could pick up the DA mechanical version at Evans for £2,799 according to BikeRadar.
So let’s say £4K.
Also, the Canyon CF SLX (same as what Lotto-Pharma-Omega whatever they were called!) were £2.8k new with DA.
So even ten years ago, £3-£5k was considered “a lot” for a bike.
£8.5k today was £7k in 2011.
So yes, bikes are way more expensive now.
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Just imagine how fast Jonathan Shubert would have broken the 100mile record by if he ditched his 2013 Giant Trinity and replaced it with a shiny new Cube. For sure he would have gone sub 2h30m
… or in the real world, a 2013 Giant Trinity (complete with gafa tape) is as aero as the latest £10,000 bikes
What is that Giant worth? £700-£1000 I would guess
I had an interesting chat a couple of years ago with a bloke who works for one of the big high street banks. He was setting up a new “cycle finance” division of his bank and they were going to target financing for people buying high end bikes, both directly and by white-labelling through the retailers.
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The over exposure thing is a good point. For those of us that remember when Mechellie Jones was racing, she used to slap her name on anything. The mags were full of ads that had her endorsing all sorts of stuff.
This was pre SM of course but I remember several discussions about it and she was seen as the ‘pay me Y and I’ll say Y’ triathlete.
I still can’t work out how LCB wangled a new, fully converted T6, that has to be £60k upwards.
There is also a great clip on YT where she visits Red Bull HQ, really interesting and she gives a speech to other RB athletes but begins by explaining who she is. The RB world is huge!
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Will the VW T6 not just be loaned to her for the length of whatever contract she has signed? Same as a car lease deal except for shes not the one forking out for the monthly payments.
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Ha yes, like the T&Cs spiel in car ads “you will not own the car”.
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Could be but it was fitted out in a very personalised way but I guess that could be taken out. Funnily enough, it’s that deal that sticks in my mind the most, I guess because I surf and the company was in Devon.
I couldn’t give a toss which bike she rides but FMD, that van. 
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Good point. But can you afford a £60k van either? 
Yeah, V12 is a big player in the sector - loads of tie ins with manufacturers.
Art galleries also do finance through V12, for those Koon’s pieces to stick behind your £15k bike, “…oh, that old thing…”
@FatPom - Think @sowler already said it, it’ll be a loan vehicle.
She doesn’t make much from her YT channel…
https://socialblade.com/youtube/channel/UC6PP69DCmBwMCPf9RSSTNTg
But I don’t suppose that’s the point, for her, is it?
It’s about “reach”
Whereas GCN is making some decent money.
(I only know about social blade due to some channels my daughter watches and I’m like “how the hell can they afford that?” then go check their YouTube earnings and am like “WTF am I doing net impairment loss reports for when I could be screeching around on a scooter talking in a high pitched voice and earning six figures per month?”)
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Well no but strangely, i could make a family case for the van easier than a £10k pushie. 
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I saw a clip about a guy that put some figures together for GCN. He says he got some kind of ‘cease and desist’ mail.
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What do you mean…he tried to assess their earnings and was told to pack it in?
Was it not Sean Kelly who one responded to a reporter’s question “What’s the best bike you’ve ever ridden?” with “The one I’m being paid to ride”. May not have been Sean… Point is I’d buy a super bike based on many things, looks, modernity (Di2, cables hidden, integrated storage, discs, blah blah) and the deal I could get, but could give precisely zero fcuks what Lionel, LCB et al are pedalling. I really wonder what ROI these companies are genuinely expecting from big sponsor deals.
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Something along the lines of he tried to work out earnings from YT and endorsements. (I think he was talking GCN only) and then updated to say the he’d a mail from ’ Head of Finance’ or something.
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That’s number one
But that goes with “looks”
As zero cables showing looks PENGaf 
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On a related note, this is why Russia (for example) set ups content farms for channels like 5 minute crafts
How to cook that by Ann Reardon has done a couple of videos about them
His bike with those custom rests, taped up chainring… said he needed a 70!? empty water bottle, optimised wheels and a proven frame shape I’m guessing is more aero than anything that’s actually for sale.
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