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lofstromc
Sep 8, 2005, 11:30 AM
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Hi,
I just moved to an area where the climbing is limited by various reasons, weather and distance primarilly...so I've been thinking of joining a gym, but can't bring myself to pay their fees to climb on plastic.
Maybe I'm cheap.
I just wanted to know if anyone feels the same and/or could suggest alternate ways to train without joining a gym.
Sincerely Missing Tahquitz, Santee, Rubidoux, Woodson, Suicide, Corte Madera, etc, etc.
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hairymonkey
Sep 8, 2005, 11:43 AM
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i would tend to agree... i find that a lot of gyms are price very highly. but climbing in dorways and small things like that gets boring after a while. if you find the right gym though, it is worth the price. unless you very creative, i think you would enjoy joining a gym (by the sound of it).
right about now i wouldn't mind paying astronomical fees for a chance to climb on some plastic. i feel deprived. :cry:
matt
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overlord
Sep 8, 2005, 11:46 AM
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that would depend on the gym in question, wouldnt it :wink:
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dingus
Sep 8, 2005, 12:00 PM
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Overpriced implies obscene profits, which I sincerely doubt.
Too high a price? For me, yes. Daily pass fees are too high and monthly commitments are recipes for injury.
I wish, price-wise, climbing gyms would cater to the middle ground too, seasonal passes, 10 visit passes at reasonable prices, etc.
The reason they don't is far fewer would buy a monthly membership if they could get by cheaper.
Now if the climbing gym had all the amenities of a full service gym, then I'd have something.
But sadly, such a gym doesn't exist in these parts. My regular gym is two blocks from my house and has a 30' cable belayed climbing wall. I don't use it much but my kids enjoy it.
DMT
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lofstromc
Sep 8, 2005, 12:52 PM
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Thanks,
All comments have been dead-on.
If my local gym had seasonal passes or even traded climbing time for assistance with large groups (scouts, parties, etc),I would probably join up with no questions asked.
Oh well. Thanks again.
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feanor007
Sep 8, 2005, 1:38 PM
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mine's free, part of being a college student :lol:
but it's only bouldering :(
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mheyman
Sep 8, 2005, 4:38 PM
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In reply to: I just wanted to know if anyone feels the same
Not me. I'd rather climb than go to a movie, and on a per hour basis it's a lot cheaper. Last night I went to gym at 6:30 and left at 10:30. Someone off the street would have paid $10. The bigger gyms in my area do charge more, but they are still not outrageous.
I must admit though that prices have been inching up as the sport has gotten more popular. There was a recent gym addition here and with it a record for most expensive gym in NJ. It's still under $20 though.
Dingus - it's a shame you do not have nicer gyms available. I don't in any way think they compare with outside, but good gyms are still very worth while.
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srwings
Sep 8, 2005, 4:55 PM
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I pay $540 every 6 months for me and my family. That seems like a lot but if I break it down to a per person-per outing it amounts to less than $2.50. To me, it's a bargain.
I think pretty highly of our local chain of gyms (Sport Rock) and while I much prefer climbing outdoors, I have no issues about being a part-time gym rat. I enjoy getting together with friends and family during the weekdays to crank on the route du jour.
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dingus
Sep 9, 2005, 1:50 PM
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In reply to: Dingus - it's a shame you do not have nicer gyms available. I don't in any way think they compare with outside, but good gyms are still very worth while.
There are two good climbing gyms in the area. They are too expensive and lack the other amenities I like in a gym, such as steam room, sauna, hot tub, swimming pools, lots of cardio machines, etc.
I think I understand the basic economics here so I'm not holding my breath for the ideal gym. For me, a trad gym is a MUCH BETTER deal on fitness.
Cheers
DMT
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acacongua
Sep 9, 2005, 2:33 PM
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They definitely cost more than non-climbing gyms. It costs me $10 to get in a gym (with own gear) and $5 to work out in a state-of-art facility (new Nautilus equip, racquet courts, very nice pool, etc.)
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saskrock
Sep 9, 2005, 11:06 PM
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Firstly a climbing gym is specialized and therefore you will pay more for this service. They are expensive to run and have a much more limited market then a normal gym. Besides climbers are usually all cheap asses and are always crying about gym prices. Gyms that offer all the other resourses like cardio, sauna.....ect like here, are not climbing specific facilities and therefore are not run the same. That said you probably would not even want to climb at such a gym, because they don't cater to climbers or generaly go out of there way for climbers.
Climbing gyms are not making millions off of Memberships, so the high prices are required to run such an operation.
Why is this even posted here anyway???
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nicklikesfire
Sep 9, 2005, 11:27 PM
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build a home gym. Say you spend 600 bucks a year on membership, over ten years thats 6,000 dollars. So build a home gym.
not to mention the time you'll save by not driving to a gym, and the fact that you can climbb for just 15 minutes if you want instead of feeling obligated to climb for a good amount of time at a gym.
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fluxus
Sep 10, 2005, 12:18 AM
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In reply to: Overpriced implies obscene profits, which I sincerely doubt.
I disagree. For me "overpriced" means that the gym is charging too much for the size and quality of their wall and routes. Its about the benefit vs the cost.
I live in Socal and would say that all the gyms I've been in down here are overpriced considering that few if any of them have a good sized lead wall, and that the course setting runs from perfectly average to fire-all-the-course-setters-on-the-spot-no-questions-asked. in addition the # of routes and bouler problems is often rather small, the the gyms often lack good training tools such as good power endurance traverses or sustained routes for doing intervals on. Finally, staff people are often hard to find and not very knowledgable. I personally think that $65 per month with a big initiation fee is a lot to pay for a product that would be considered third rate in SLC or boulder etc.
Naturally, the market here will sustain lower quality services for a higher price because this is LA.
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littlecheetah
Sep 10, 2005, 12:48 AM
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I used to climb at my university's gym which was $40.00 for a quarter pass (if you have your own gear and $70.00 to rent gear). I thought it was a good deal since I climbed 3 times a week during the winter and it was a new gym with clean holds that were consistently washed and not greasy like other gyms I've been to.
Since I recently graduated and live in the rainy state of Washington I found myself looking for another gym. The one I'm going to is about $500.00 a year which is a lot for a poor person like me, but they offer a quarter memberships in exchange for ~19 hours of belaying for groups over the quarter. I think it is a fair trade since belaying isn't that strenuous, I need volunteer hours for graduate school and I need somewhere to climb.
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roy_hinkley_jr
Sep 10, 2005, 1:35 AM
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Defintely agree. The main rock gym in this town is $45 a month, no matter that they severely restrict hours in the 5 months of "off-season," removed all of the auto-belays, don't set any long/easy bouldering routes for endurance, have a dinky weight room with out-dated gear, let rug rats roam in the bouldering areas, no discounts for using faciilites in off hours, and don't do any cross-offers with real gyms. Piss poor management.
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jred
Sep 10, 2005, 2:00 AM
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The reasons that most climbing gyms cost so much is because, a) large amount of real estate with low income, b) insurance c) route setting d) limited season, hardly no one uses a gym in the summer e) general lack of interest IE) limited membership, and of course the occasional bit of poor management and/or marketing. Most of the climbing gyms I have been involved with have only moderate incomes at best.
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vegastradguy
Sep 10, 2005, 2:23 AM
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i think my gym is fairly priced ($10/day, $12/weekends, $40/month)- it provides a great atmosphere, 30 stations with three routes each, a large lead cave and plenty of bouldering problems. everything is kept up to date as well by excellent route-setters.
its like anything else- they are providing a service. some are going to pay, others aren't. my gyms owner is not out to make a fortuner- he just wants to make enough money to be comfortable and pay the bills....and most folks who gym climb are gym rats and thats all they do. those that climb outdoors only use the gym in the off-season (which is the summer here) and when they cant go to the rock (weekdays)...and our gym caters to those folks as much as they can.
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timberly
Sep 10, 2005, 2:36 AM
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the prices might be over priced but from my gym the prices have to be high to keep the place open
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docontherock
Sep 10, 2005, 2:43 AM
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I don't think they are necessarily overpriced but some places seem more interested in the birthday party/YMCA summer camp clients than real climbers. It is distressing to go for a workout and find yourself surrounded by screaming kids and neurotic parents. I realize that kind of business helps keep a place open but the gym I am currently planning on leaving does nothing to control the situation.
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fluxus
Sep 10, 2005, 4:06 AM
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In reply to: The reasons that most climbing gyms cost so much is because, a) large amount of real estate with low income, b) insurance c) route setting d) limited season, hardly no one uses a gym in the summer e) general lack of interest IE) limited membership, and of course the occasional bit of poor management and/or marketing. Most of the climbing gyms I have been involved with have only moderate incomes at best.
The problem with your list is that almost all the issues you raise are overcome with solid managment.
The insurance issue, on the other hand, is getting really sticky and its going to take a lot of effort from the industry to deal with.
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blouderk2
Sep 10, 2005, 5:55 AM
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The gym I climb at, I think is overpriced. And the worst part about it is that it is a bouldering gym. They arn't any lead walls or TR walls. I was a member for nearly a year, but I just got so sick of spending a lot of money to pull on plastic. I rather spend it on a trad rack. Just my two cents :D
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lofstromc
Sep 10, 2005, 12:15 PM
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If I still lived in SoCal, the idea of joining a gym would be second onlty to bungee jumping with static line. With climbs year round and often times less than an hour away I would climb out doors ALL THE TIME :!:
I live in Northern VA, so climbing is limited and seasonal. I'm also cheap and nearly broke.
See you outdoors. :)
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srwings
Sep 10, 2005, 1:21 PM
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All this talk about other gyms makes me feel pretty fortunate to have a good gym less than 10 minutes away. I'm actually in a situation today where I had to bail on a trip to Franklin Gorge due to weekend work but at least I can go indoors and boulder for a few hours.
My gym peeves are pretty minor- I hate when they don't vacuum the floor. The only other issue is that they'll put up a bunch of new routes and sometimes the darn tape will start falling off within a week.
Lofstromc- you mentioned that you are relocated to Northern Virginia from Southern California. So am I. Whereabouts in NoVA are you located?
Fluxus- I'm looking forward to seeing some reviews of your and Dan's book. Is this the same Dan who put up the Sport Rock gyms in the D.C. area? I think he did a great job.
How's that for thread drift? :D
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thomasribiere
Sep 11, 2005, 8:27 AM
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In reply to: I just wanted to know if anyone feels the same and/or could suggest alternate ways to train without joining a gym.
let's move that to Tech and Train.
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