Spotted a rip off - Post it in here!

[Mr Purple]

Come on, you know you really need a tube that costs as much as some tyres ....

https://www.bikebug.com/pirelli-p-zero- ... 260mm.html

I saw that in the e-mail this morning. Given the $7 Continental 28 Race tube weighs 105g, that's 70g lighter for $28 more. 40 cents a gram/$400 a kg.

That honestly doesn't sound as bad on a weight weenie front as I expected. There are worse bargains than that.

[MichaelB]

Pushys pushing the boundaries on pricey gimmicks
https://www.pushys.com.au/open-min-d-ro ... d-kit.html

$19,000 for a bike and you have to assemble it yourself? No.

Shimano cables are ridiculously confusing. Particularly when it seems the more expensive ones (optislick) reportedly don't last as long.

The frame/fork alone is $5,700. Makes the Llewellyn seem even more underpriced.

It is (the OPEN frames) a Vroomen creation, so hence the "oooooooo" factor ...

[Retrobyte]

Pushys pushing the boundaries on pricey gimmicks
https://www.pushys.com.au/open-min-d-ro ... d-kit.html

$19,000 for a bike and you have to assemble it yourself? No.

Shimano cables are ridiculously confusing. Particularly when it seems the more expensive ones (optislick) reportedly don't last as long.

The frame/fork alone is $5,700. Makes the Llewellyn seem even more underpriced.

It is (the OPEN frames) a Vroomen creation, so hence the "oooooooo" factor ...

If the frame/fork is $5,700, I'm struggling to see how the entire kit is $19,000.

Ballpark figures, with a ridiculous margin included -

Groupset $3,000
Wheelset $2,500
Handlebars/stem/seatpost/saddle $1,500

So far that's just short of $13,000 - where does the other $6,000 come from?

[Mr Purple]

$19,000 for a bike and you have to assemble it yourself? No.

Shimano cables are ridiculously confusing. Particularly when it seems the more expensive ones (optislick) reportedly don't last as long.

The frame/fork alone is $5,700. Makes the Llewellyn seem even more underpriced.

It is (the OPEN frames) a Vroomen creation, so hence the "oooooooo" factor ...

If the frame/fork is $5,700, I'm struggling to see how the entire kit is $19,000.

Ballpark figures, with a ridiculous margin included -

Groupset $3,000
Wheelset $2,500
Handlebars/stem/seatpost/saddle $1,500

So far that's just short of $13,000 - where does the other $6,000 come from?

Are you sitting down? A Dura-Ace 9200 Groupset is $6000.

https://www.bikebug.com/product/shimano ... c-groupset

So there's half of it. Handlebars are Beast Component Ultras at 399 euro ($600AUD) and those DT Swiss Wheels are 2650 GBP ($4650AUD).

So yes, that price is probably about right. Though in stating the component costs it does just emphasize just how generally ripped off the cycling community is going to be for the foreseeable future.

[Duck!]

Sorry for the dumb question guys (I haven't had much to do with tubeless), but what happens if you try running a regular 5000GP in a tubeless setup? Are the sidewalls too porous or something? What about if you just used a little bit more sealant in them. Just wondering if anyone has ever tried to make it work.

I am far newer to the tubeless game than many and no expert.
Yes, the entire carcass would be more porous I expect.
The main concern would be lack of seal at the bead I expect. The sealant is too far away to help and I'd be scared that even if they inflated, aren't designed to be airtight and would be more likely to "burp" resulting in a sudden loss of air pressure.
Seating tubeless tyres when you fit them can be hard with some tyres and that is with the correct bead. Probably just wouldn't seat and hold air.

Tubeless tyres have a chunkier, and more snug-fitting bead profile to ensure a proper seal with the rim. Some tyres also incorporate a latex layer within the casing, which is less porous than the normal tread/skin compound.

You probably can run normal tyres tubeless on suitable rims - it's been common practise in the MTB world for years, but pressures are lower there - however due to the looser-fitting beads you may have difficulty getting them to sit tight enough to form enough of a seal to get any air in and pop them into place.

[warthog1]

Tubeless tyres have a chunkier, and more snug-fitting bead profile to ensure a proper seal with the rim. Some tyres also incorporate a latex layer within the casing, which is less porous than the normal tread/skin compound.

You probably can run normal tyres tubeless on suitable rims - it's been common practise in the MTB world for years, but pressures are lower there - however due to the looser-fitting beads you may have difficulty getting them to sit tight enough to form enough of a seal to get any air in and pop them into place.

Thanks, you would know more than I. I have only run GP5KTL and Hutchinson Fusion5 on road. Yes the bead is tighter. I wouldn't trust the bead of tubed tyres I've used to stay in place reliably at road pressures. The fusion5 were harder to seat also even with a tubeless bead.
Have used a few on gravel some do weep a bit of fluid to start with.
I thought your typical road tyre would weep alot if you could get the bead to seal.

Edit; did a bit if a google and a few saying the bead on tubed is not designed as strong so shouldn't be used tubeless as it could unseat. Dunno.
The price of tubeless is ott at the moment. I'll just go back to tubes rather than try my luck.

[Duck!]

I've never tried de-tubing road tyres, but ran such a setup on my MTB for a couple of years (standard tyres on tubeless rims. The looser beads made seating a right pain in the bum. I had to manually push one bead up into the rim's locking bead all the way around, then while running a high-flow compressor massage the second sidewall to get a snug enough fit to slow the air egress enough to then pop the rest of the tyre in place.

Once seated they worked perfectly fine, never burped, and even from the start wept less than some "tubeless ready" tyres!

[dmwill]

Nearby shop to me posted a 2018 Felt on Facebook recently.

https://feltbicycles.com/products/fr3-d ... -road-bike

$5500!

I get that bikes are in short supply and what not, but a 4 year old bike with last generation Ultegra, alloy wheels and what could be considered some outdated tech (external cable routing, etc) for $5500 is absurd. Particularly when the RRP on a current generation TCR Disc with mechanical Ultegra, power meter and carbon wheels is $5800.

What baffles me is this shop is always flogging outdated stock at a significant price and the owner is always in the news crying about how bad the retail environment is, yet no other shop in Perth seems to be complaining, they just get on with the job and adapt.