(Last updated on February 15th, 2023)
Bicycles are an amazing tool that can offer you so much. They can take you on adventures you might never have thought possible, put you into social circles with like-minded people, and even help you get to work or go to the shops. A comment we get from a lot of our readers is about the price of bikes. Some bikes can be as cheap as $100 or as expensive as $15000 in today’s market, but there’s another level very few people know about.
We are often asked about the most expensive bikes in the world, and you might be surprised as they are different from what you typically would expect. The most expensive bike ever produced actually was more of a showpiece than a usable bike. In this article, we’re going to be speaking about the 11 most expensive bikes that were made.
What Makes an Expensive Bike?
You would be surprised that the most expensive bikes are not your typical top-of-the-line mountain bikes. What makes an expensive bike is typical of the unique properties it has, such as;
How Is It Made?
Depending on how a bike is made can completely change how much a bike costs. Handmade bikes, which have hundreds of hours put into them, are very expensive. People want excellent craftsmanship when it comes to expensive bikes. Some of the most expensive bikes are not bikes that are made of valuable material but have a lot of working hours put into them.
What Materials Are Used?
Diamonds, gold, platinum, and other materials such as silver are very expensive to produce. Even though they might not be performance materials when it comes to cycling, they are sought after, and people love combining expensive materials with other things they love. This can make a bike very expensive, and you will see what we mean when we move onto the list.
Limited Editions
Bikes are typically mass-produced. When a company decides that they only want to produce limited numbers, the price starts to go up very quickly. A limited edition run might be 1000 bikes, but some companies will make as few as 10, and these bikes, because so few in number, become very expensive and actually become an investment for people that will appreciate in value.
The Bikes
Let’s talk about the bikes. We will go from most expensive to least expensive in this article, and we will speak about the value of the bike and tell you why it is so expensive.
| Bike | Price | Manufacturer | Material | Weight |
| Gold MTB | $1,000,000 | House of Gold | Gold and Diamonds | 24kg |
| Trek Madone Butterfly | $500,000 | Trek, Damein Hirst | Carbon and Butterfly | 7kg |
| 24K Road Racer | $393,000 | Rolls Royce | Gold | 10kg |
| Trek Yoshitomo | $200,000 | Trek, Yoshitomo | Carbon Fiber | 9kg |
| Kaws Trek Madone | $160,000 | Trek, Kaws | Carbon Fiber | 7kg |
| Aurumania Gold | $103,700 | Aurumania | Gold | Unknown |
| Trek Madone 7 Diamond | $75,000 | Trek | Carbon Fiber | 7kg |
| Cervelo Chrome Hearts | $60,000 | Cervelo, C Hearts | Carbon Fiber | 10kg |
| Montante Luxury | $46,000 | Montante Luxury | Steel, Gold, Crystal | Unknown |
| eRockets Electrical | $44,000 | eRocket | Aluminum | 100kg |
| Aston Martin One-77 | $39,000 | Aston Martin | Carbon Fiber | Unknown |
House of Gold Mountain Bike
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | House of Gold |
| Price | $1,000,000 |
| Materials | Gold and Diamonds |
| Weight | 24kg |
| Performance | Low |
| Amount Made | 13 |
If you have way too much money and want to spend it on a bike with very little performance, then the House of Gold Mountain Bike is perfect for you. Coming in at only a million dollars, it is extremely expensive but is made of some of the most sought-after raw materials. This bike even melted down would still have huge value.
It’s known as the Beverly Hills Fat Bike, and the attention to detail is unbelievable. The bike is made of solid 24k gold and has diamonds encrusted alongside an alligator skin leather finish. Everything on this bike is custom-made, certified, and even electroplated. This is not a bike to be ridden but to be admired as a piece of art.
Trek Madone Butterfly
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Trek |
| Price | $500,000 |
| Materials | Carbon Fiber, Butterfly |
| Weight | 7kg |
| Performance | High |
| Amount Made | 1 |
Damien Hirst made the Trek Madone Butterfly in 2009 for Lance Armstrong to race in the Tour De France. It was a fairly normal bike as far as material and performance goes, but it had one major feature that some people loved and others found very offensive. The bike was beautiful, and this Trek Madone was the bike to have that year.
What made this bike Unique was the butterflies on it. We’re not speaking about pictures of butterflies, but real butterfly wings were embedded into the frame’s design. This bike sparked controversy among animal welfare groups, and we can understand why. Selling at auction for the price of $500,000 makes it one of the most expensive bike in the world.
24K Gold Racing Bike
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Goldgenie / Rolls Royce |
| Price | $393,000 |
| Materials | Gold and Steel |
| Weight | 10kg |
| Performance | Medium |
| Amount Made | 1 |
If you want to make a bike expensive, all you have to do is include gold in the build. The 24K gold racing bike was a creation between Rolls Royce and Goldgenie. They decided they would plate a bike in 24k gold. It looks unbelievable, and the attention to detail is incredible.
The bike not only looks incredible and has a strange glow but also works like a normal bike. Weighing in at only 10kg, it’s actually very light and would give you a decent amount of performance if you wanted to take it out. Like the other gold bike on this list, it wasn’t designed to be ridden but more of a showpiece.
Trek Yoshitomo Nara
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Trek |
| Price | $200,000 |
| Materials | Carbon Fiber |
| Weight | 9kg |
| Performance | High |
| Amount Made | 1 |
The Yoshitomo Nara was a bike that again was designed for Lance Armstrong. It was made in 2008 for a Tour De France time trial stage. It was a unique design and was covered with drawings of kids wearing boxing gloves, and UFOs and the Livestrong logo was on the top tube.
It was an iconic bike and fell into the category of one-off designed bikes for a professional rider. It ended up going to auction and sold for $200,000 and still to this day remembered as one of the most unique bikes to be ridden on a Tour De France stage. We think it looks incredible and would love to have seen more made.
Trek Madones Kaws
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Trek |
| Price | $160,000 |
| Materials | Carbon Fiber |
| Weight | 7kg |
| Performance | High |
| Amount Made | 1 |
As you can see on this list, any bike associated with Lance Armstrong typically holds a lot of value, especially if it is a limited edition artwork bike. The Kaws bikes were designed with incredible artwork, and this one, in particular, was ridden on San Remo.
The bike not only looked amazing and was ridden by the legendary Lance Armstrong, but it also was a performance machine. Made of carbon fiber to be very light and blended for aerodynamics, it was a force to be reckoned with in the races. You could see it coming from a mile away. It had a hidden message on the button that said WNW meaning Winners, not Whiners.
Aurumania Gold Bike
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Aurumania |
| Price | $103,700 |
| Materials | Gold and Crystal |
| Weight | Unknown |
| Performance | Medium |
| Amount Made | 10 |
The company Aurumania from Scandinavia in 2008 released the Aurumania Gold and Crystal bike. They only ever made 10, and they came in at £103,700 each. These road bikes were 24k gold plated and covered in over 600 Swarovski Crystals. Not only that, the saddle and handlebars were coated in hand-sewn brown leather.
With this bike, Aurumania wanted to make a statement, and they did for sure. It’s not the kind of bike you will want to take out on the road. It’s more of a hang-on-the-wall kind of bike. We love how it looks and are glad they went with the classic features instead of what was modern in 2008.
Trek Madone 7 Diamond
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Trek |
| Price | $75,000 |
| Materials | Carbon, Diamond |
| Weight | 7kg |
| Performance | High |
| Amount Made | 1 |
On the surface, the Trek Madone 7 Diamond looks like a standard bike, and to the naked eye, you might not see many differences. There’s a reason it cost $75,000, and that was because it had a diamond 7 emblem set into the spoke pattern itself. It also has a 14-carat yellow and white gold plaque with Gemesis diamonds inside.
The bike was auctioned in 2005 for $75,000 at a Lance Armstrong Gala. To this day, the value has probably greatly increased and still to this day boasts excellent performance.
Chrome Hearts x Cervelo Time Trial Bike
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Cervelo, Chrome Hearts |
| Price | $60,000 |
| Materials | Carbon |
| Weight | 10kg |
| Performance | High |
| Amount Made | Unknown |
Our personal favorite on this list is the Chrome Hearts x Cervelo TT Bike. Not only does it look incredible, but it also has great performance and an element of something very different compared to other bikes on this list. It was designed to be a mix between a Harley Davidson and a performance Cervelo.
Chrome Hearts are an American luxury motorcycle design brand, and when they came together with Cervelo, this amazing bike was made. The bike had an amazing look with the leather saddle, and incredible artwork, and it was also covered in rhinestones. It not only looked fast but had a mean element to it as well.
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Montante Cicli Luxury
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Montante Cicli Luxury Gold Collection |
| Price | $46,000 |
| Materials | Steel, Gold, Wood |
| Weight | Unknown |
| Performance | Low |
| Amount Made | Unknown |
If you were in the market for an incredible hybrid-style bike and you have very deep pockets, you might have considered the Montante Cicli Luxury edition bicycle. On the surface, this bike may look basic, and as a bike, it is but the craftsmanship that has gone into this is next level customization.
The bike itself is covered in a 24k gold leaf, giving it a beautiful look, and the fenders are made of birchwood and covered in elm lacquered leaves from an Italian cabinet maker. If that wasn’t enough, the bike saddle is ball python leather, and it is covered in over 10,000 Swarovski crystals.
eRocket Electric Assistance Bike
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | eRocket |
| Price | $44,000 |
| Materials | Aluminum |
| Weight | 100kg |
| Performance | High |
| Amount Made | Unknown |
If you want the best electric bicycle on the market, then this is the bike for you. Coming in at $44,000, it’s still a costly cycle and has some incredible features. Although some might argue it is a motorbike, it’s got pedals, and the motor only works to assist you, not to do all the work.
It has a top speed of 90kph and a range of 120km and can self-charge while you are riding. It’s incredible to look at, and they state the battery will last 10+ years. We think it’s very cool and could easily replace a car or motorbike.
Aston Martin One-77
KEY SPECS
| Manufacturer | Aston Martin |
| Price | $39,000 |
| Materials | Carbon Fiber |
| Weight | Unknown |
| Performance | High |
| Amount Made | Unknown |
The Aston Martin One-77 is exactly the kind of bike you would expect to get if you asked a car company to make you a bicycle. It’s incredibly well made, very futuristic, and looks like a bike that is made for a race track. The designers had an interesting take on a computer screen and even equipped this bike with Bluetooth and Wifi.
At $39,000, it isn’t cheap, and this is more of a concept than a bike that you are going to see racing at your local track. Although one of the most expensive bikes, this would be an excellent investment for the future.
Related: How Many Bicycles Are There in the World
Why Do People Buy Crazy Expensive Bicycles?
Many people tend to buy expensive bicycles for a few different reasons. Although these above might sound like mad prices, they are typically never left unsold. This is why;
Investment
Limited edition bicycles are a good investment. If there are only 10 made of a single type of bike, there’s a very good chance that the value of them in years to come will increase in value. A lot of people now invest in ex-professional bikes to resell them years later.
Passion
If you have the money and feel passionate about a certain bike, then you could end up spending a lot of cash on it. We completely understand this and feel you can’t always put a price on something you feel passionate about.
To Show
Like with supercars, you will find many people actually buy bikes purely to take to shows. It’s an amazing scene, meeting up with many like-minded people and allowing others to see something very limited edition or unique.
Conclusion
Bikes can be very expensive machines, but this list is on another level compared to your high-end shop bikes. What makes them all very special is how unique they are and the fact they are very limited editions and made in very small numbers. We can see why people invest in them as they are a piece of history and a great collectors item.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a lot of brands of bikes on the market, and brands like Giant and Trek will offer budget bikes and very expensive high-end bikes. The most expensive brands are typically brands that custom-build bicycles for you.
There are many large manufacturers when it comes to bikes. The biggest is probably Giant, as they not only make their own bikes but bikes for other brands too. They have factories all over the world.
In recent polls, the most popular bike sold recently is the Specialized Tarmac as far as road bikes go, Specialized Epic as far as MTB goes. Other very popular bikes include Trek Emonda, Cervelo R3, and the Trek Fuel EX.
It is well known that some of the best bicycles in the world come from the Merida Factory in Taiwan. They make bikes for many of the top-end brands, and the quality is just next level.
A normal bike which is classed as mid-range would go from about $800 to $3000. This is a bike that is going to give you years of service and a very high level of performance. With bikes, typically, the more you spend, the better bike you get, and the better experience you will have while riding.
I’m Robbie Ferri, a writer from Norfolk in the UK. I love cycling, the gym, and have a huge passion for sharing my stories and knowledge to anyone with the time to read them. My main passion is cycling. I started eight years ago. In that time I have broken world records, cycled all over the world in Ultra Bikepacking races, and am lucky enough to have enjoyed some incredible times on two wheels with some incredible people. I have also worked in a bike shop and with some of the industries leading brands, not just promoting products but designing them too.
Under it all I am just someone very passionate about exploration and living a healthy lifestyle. Everything I do I put 100% into it and feel that life is for living. Never should you have a dull day.
