Bucking the price rises

There's still value to be found in the cycling market - you just need to look harder

- , says Warren Rossiter

We've all seen the rapid escalation of bike prices in recent years. You only need to look back through the Cycling Plus archives to see how much things have changed over the past decade.

In 2014, I awarded the £1,849.99 Cannondale Synapse Carbon 5 five stars out of five, praising its full Shimano 105 groupset, Shimano wheels and complement of quality components, which made it a superb all-round bike. It wasn't cheap, but it was very good. Today, a 105-equipped Cannondale Synapse Carbon 3 - which doesn't have a full 105 group - has an RRP of £3,200. In 10 years, the price has risen by £1,350. That's a 73% increase.

I've singled out Cannondale here, but it's an industry-wide trend - bikes have simply got much, much more expensive across the board.

Even online big-value specialists such as Canyon are affected. In November 2013, they offered the Ultimate CF SL 9.0 for £1,899, replete with a full Shimano Ultegra groupset and Mavic's legendary Ksyrium wheelset. The equivalent 2025 Ultimate would be the CF SL 7 with 105 Di2 and Shimano wheels, for £3,999. Yes, there have been improvements in tech over the intervening years and that will have had some effect on pricing, but in the case of the Canyon, more than double? It hardly seems justified.