ELECTRA PRICES?

[Rat Rod]

Thought I'd take a peek at the Electra website to see if anything is being offered.

Pulled up the 3speed Ghost Rider and Rat Fink and they are both listed with an MSRP of $989.99.

For some reason I don't remember them being that expensive two or three years ago.

 

[jamesdart]

I really like electra bikes but some of the prices are insane. 2 that come to mind are that delivery and the one townie that that has like an 8 speed and brown fat franks. I think they are both close to a grand. Nice bikes but what is really there for that money?

 

[5speed]

and alot of the times they sell used for 10 cents on the dollar,but i still like em

 

[deorman]

Seems about double what it ought to be, IMO.
You can pick up some of last year's unsold pro level performance bikes for that kind of lettuce.

 

[Bicycle808]

Are Electras overpriced as in, would i drop a grand on an Electra? No, i wouldn't, so i guess i might argue that they are overpriced.

But, from a less self-centered perspective, if their sales aren't suffering, then i guess they're priced just right. I also kinda suspect that the inflated MSRP gives the dealer some wiggle-room for haggling at the end-of-season. But, for most lines of bikes, the margins for completes are pretty danged thin....

Either way, if the prices have indeed jumped, to an extent, that's true of most bicycle marques, but i think we're seeing more here as a result of the Trek takeover. Trek's got some leverage on the bike market, and they can probably find strategies to make that ambitious pricing work for them.

 

[5speed]

go figure http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/bik/5204191775.html

 

[MIGZ]

Electra has been going up slightly every year for the past 10 years. I bought my First electra a 2005 straight 8 for $580 which was a ton of money for a beach cruisers.

Do I think they are over priced, it depends? If you tried to build a similarly spec bike with a pseudo custom frame you would be at about a $1000 on the cheap side.

That being said I would rather spend $1000 on a custom than pay $1000 on a mass produced bike that may end up on CL few years down the road for 350-500 in mint condition.

I believe that the value in Electra as a brand is held by the townie, not the customs. Primary reason I say that is going into any store that carries electra and you will see 10x the townies over the attitude frames. A few years ago you would always come across attitude series electra on CL now it is very rare to see recent year models because I do not suspect that they sell well. I stopped buying electra a few years ago because I had gotten to the point where i was just buying paint jobs, they all ride the same.

That being said if someone has a sand rockabilly in mint condition call me.

 

[MazdaFlyer]

Trek company created higher prices?


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[Rat Rod]

I guess the weird thing to me is that the bikes haven't changed much at all over the years to warrant a big price increase. A couple of the models appear to be the exact same as the last 3-5 years.

I guess if they don't sell many of them they are trying to squeeze as much out of the few that they do sell. But like everyone says....they're under new ownership now.

 

[baldwooky]

I used to like them when they first started out, but yes, the price increases(were already high for a cruiser imo) and the lack of imagination and just resprays on the same frame really turns me off.

Trek is gonna trek. At least they arn't specialized?? Lol

 

[jamesdart]

I think the only one that is resonable is the basic steel cruiser. I have that and the sparker and love them both.
My friend is bugging me to sell him my steel cruiser and I just don't think I want to. I think I'd wind up buying another one. He has been trying to find a used electra and it seems like around here they still go for good money, and sell pretty fast. Every now and then something cheap pops up but it's gone within hours.

 

[pedals]

I like them and think their cool but when I see one painted and on display for orange Crush soda in my local festival foods, all I can think is too commercial for me.

 

[Rust Buzzard]

I'll chime in; I think the market is unfairly influenced by stunt pricing. If you visit the factory site in China, you will see the wholesale per item costs. The big fella in the marketplace can afford to loss leader, creating an artificial segment. The sub-one hundred dollar bikes are examples of suppressed pricing. They do not really exist. A bike that costs sixty dollars at the factory cannot be shipped, assembled and given market support for an eighty-eight dollar price point and yield a profit. The rhetoric this marketing strategy enables is based on fantasy. The eighty-eight dollar bike is a myth, like the slave labor that built them. We, here in North America, eagerly embrace the unfair advantage narrative and perpetuate it. It is easier to support the myth than it is to face the realities of the world economy. Our model does not allow reality to intrude, so actual marketplace pricing is regarded with hostility. Companies like Electra have faced economic demons but they cannot slay them. We have to do that ourselves.

 

[sfgascott]

I have about 30 bikes in my collection now. Classic American Cruisers, Dynos, Felts, and Electras. If I'm going for a ride, I tend to grab an Electra. They just ride better to me. I like the Geometry. The Cruiser frames and my Rat Fink are my go-to cruisers. I've never bought one new. About $125- $150 for a 3-speed Electra cruiser around here. Rat Finks are $400-$600 used.

 

[handyandy1100]

I am basically a tight wad and hate to spend any more money than I have to. I am a sucker for the $150 and under big box bikes. Fortunately, when I found my 7 speed Townie on FB Marketplace and it was $180, I did not pass it up. I knew enough about the brand to realize the value. It is my favorite bike to ride.
I really like the looks of the Ghost Rider and Straight Eight and all those "attitude" bikes, but cannot see why they are so much more expensive than the Townies. The frames are a little longer, but similar in shape. it can't be the paint jobs as they haven't changed much over the years.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I have a feeling that this is because they're owned by Trek, and Trek has learned about pricing from what's happening in the mountain bike industry. Prices have rocketed to the stratosphere, and profits have too! People will still pay more, despite a lack of advancement in technology. It has become a boutique market, and bikes are a luxury item.
I'm not sure where they manufacture their bikes, but steel tariffs are definitely hitting the whole bike market too.

 

[dezzie]

I think they are way overpriced plus here in the UK were paying quite a bit more, £625 i paid for my fat lux 7d, and managed to get £275 back after selling it with extras in mint as new condition, but its super basic parts and that feet forward position is useless for hills and bad knees i could go 40 miles on my 1 speed rallysport non FF, cruisers just dont sell well here, the new electric cafe looks ok but lbs said 3.5k when it gets here, i can get way better ebikes for that sorta money even build i hi power kit bike for less.