£350 in 1991 = £750 now

[legrandefromage]

Frock ripping

 

[clubby]

Didn't realise you were in the clergy.

 

[jimo746]

Didn't realise you were in the clergy.

He's not anymore, even they have standards these days,apparently...

 

[legrandefromage]

too much spanking

 

[clubby]

too much spanking

For your tastes or theirs?

 

[clubby]

Back on topic......

I've had few 525 frames pass through, pre the CEN standard and found them to be a bit sluggish - but I think that was more to do with the laziness of the frame builder

I think that's a pertinent point. My Orange frame claims to have custom butted tubing. How much different from standard it is, is anyone's guess. Lower end frames also generally have lower end, heavier components and it's amazing how much better a bike feels losing a kilo of the wheel set.

Personally. I think we've never had it better at the lower end of enthusiast bikes (ie not counting BSOs)

 

[legrandefromage]

The safe word is bananas

Again, no rose tinted, we rode our bikes to the terrain, equipment and skills (or lack of) to the time. There was no yootoob to show off to, only your mates and maybe a bunch would meet up if you were lucky enough to live near somewhere decent.

£350 in 1991 got me that 531 Magnum tubed and lugged frame (already out of date by then), 500LX and decent enough finishing equipment. That bike did thousands of miles. Most of the time, it served as the main transport. mostly mundain trips to the shops

I dont know what I would buy now If I were in that position again. Seeing folk out on flatbar gravel bikes makes me smile though

Lout!

*incidentally, nearly 30 years on, I still have the Ging, the pedals, the rims, the front mech and the Venhill blue bolts"

""and the addidas top!""

1996 - Judy DH, Topline, Hope Ti-Glide, Azonic (not very) Shorty, Kingsbury aheadset etc, Bling! 65 mile bike ride to the campsite!

 

[Lhatch4]

My 95 Zaskar LE retailed for $2800 U.S. dollars. I just got my Zaskar LT Expert. It retails for $2100. I bought it in January for $1050 with free shipping and a free tool kit. It's a good trail bike but not great compared to others. On the other hand, its a far improvement over the top version that was available 30 years ago. Inflation from 95 to now puts that $2800 retail at $5944 today. I would say that we are doing well overall with both technology and consumer cost.

 

[Black_puma]

BTW I think modern GT bikes look great.

Only if you're referring to the GT hard tails from 2017 onwards, though.
I wouldn't mind a modern GT Avalanche/Zaskar but anything below those models are not great. The Aggressor models kind of look similar in design but not as refined.
Can't say too much about the full suspension bikes, they look alright but I haven't paid too much attention to them.

 

[Black_puma]

I’ve been tinkering recently with a modern GT Avalanche Comp with an RRP of £750

https://uk.gtbicycles.com/products/avalanche-comp?variant=47538723488041

Two things struck me, how cheap the fork was (grease-lubed Suntour) and how bloody heavy it was. Then I wondered what BITD I could get for the same money. According to the Bank of England calculator, in 1991 the equivalent value would be £350. So that’d be a Kona Fire Mountain, DB Topanga, Raleigh Apex, Marin Muirwoods etc.

So I think overall you get more for your money, 6061 frame, hydraulic disc brakes, and a suspension fork, for the same outlay for a rigid steel bike BITD. However, upgrading is more difficult as the GT comes with a QR front wheel and straight fork steerer. That rules out a lot of better modern suspension options.

Currently the GT is discounted to £490:

https://www.cycleking.co.uk/bikes/m...MI37Wu842HjAMV5qJQBh1jVAW2EAQYBCABEgJcSvD_BwE

Which would have equated to £220 BITD, which puts you into really base model MTBs. I think perhaps I was wearing rose tinted glasses when I thought it was a bit crap for the money and actually it is really quite well specc’d.

SP

I bought my first GT Timberline in 1992 for £350, so the Avalanche in that same year would have cost twice as much!
The modern Avalanche bikes are selling for around £500, which isn't bad, just a shame you'd have to upgrade the forks pretty soon as they tend to be Suntour XCM and are very heavy.