So when will todays highend kit be outdated technology?

jam1e

After reading another "what £400 bike should I buy?" thread get hijacked with the normal "£400 - for the love of god! It'll fall apart and kill you within 10 yards! Its only got el crappo groupset! for god sake man - think of your children and spend £500!" drivel I was thinking...

Taking technology trickledown into account how much would todays £400 bike have been worth say, 5 years ago given the amount of gears, the weight, and the actual quality and effectiveness of the groupset/kit? (As opposed to the model name)

I know more about mtb kit and todays LX is yesteryears XTR, todays Easton EA 30 is yesteryears EA 70 etc etc - the same must be true for roadie bikes, however that fact seems to be lost on some who think that yesteryears technology is worthless and you'll never get a "good" bike for less than £X...

People seem to be slagging off bikes that are practically identical to those they were lusting after not long ago - not for being crap but just for using older technology and then giving misguided advice.

allezscotia

I have to agree with you, i think the most important thing in buying a bike is getting the correct frame size for anybody starting out as opposed to what groupset it has.

Evolution of groupsets seems to be the same as buying a computer nowadays no sooner have you got the latest 10speed carbon all singing all dancing chainset to find that it's superceded by the announcment of 11 speed groupsets and electronic shifting.

Lets face it as well how many bikes are bought to do 15miles before the new owner decides that this cycling lark ain't for them?

The other bonus to buying a new bike is the fact that it is covered by a warranty so if the worst happens and the frame goes at least you have some comeback unlike with a secondhand bike of ebay.

I think the best thing anybody can do when looking to buy a first bike is take time to decide what they want and do a bit of research.

keef66

Me too, up to a point.

I got back into cycling in 1995 after after a 10 year lapse (bike stolen, not insured) by buying a lovely £95 "mountain bike" in a box from a local garage forecourt. Made of pig-iron, weighed a ton, things broke and fell off at very regular intervals, and it started to rust after 10 minutes. But I loved it!

When the Woolwich demutualised we got some shares, so I sold my half and went shopping in the sales. Got a rigid but very light steel framed mtb with a mix of LX / XT kit for £450. OMG! the difference was astounding, and the thing has lasted 10 years with minimal maintenance (only recently the front shifter failed; only thing I've ever had to replace)

I still ride it, but now on the road with slicks, and so I'm now lusting after a proper road bike. I need to choose carefully so it will last me 10 years at least.

Given my experience, I'm sure there is a price point I wouldn't go below. Probably £600 if it's an online purchase, or £7-800 from a shop. So Focus Variado, Cube Peloton, Trek 1.7 or Spec Allez Elite.

Mind you, I do really like the look of the carbon framed Orbeas.....

PeteinSQ

I had this exact conversation with my wife. We were wondering how long it would be before you see and old carbon fibre Cervelo with tatty electrical tape instead of bar tape locked up with a chain at a bikestand because it is so old fashioned and undesirable!

Dunedin397

I got back into cycling in 2005 after a 13 year break and I was astounded a how much bikes had moved on since I last rode.

My 2005 road bike came witth Shimano's Sora 8 speed groupset and it's worked extremely well and I've been very pleased with it. Since then 9 and 10 speed (and now 11) groupsets have appeared and whilst I'm sure it's fantastic stuff, I haven't got my money's worth out of my current groupset. (When it comes to change, I'll see how just changing to105 parts will go as I'll need to stick with 8 speed unless I change the STi levers).

My partner's 2007 road bike, at the same price as my 2005 bike, came with carbon forks, a carbon seatpost and a Tiagra rear mech to supplement the Sora groupset. So for the same money, better kit was available.

So I don't see that spending "only" £400 to £500 will buy you a poor bike. Sure, some are better than others, but they should all be sporting kit that would be middle or even high end only 5 or so years ago.

Dunedin

APIII

My first serious road bike was bought in 2002 or 2003, can't remember exactly, but it has 10 speed record. The shifters are the same as today's, but without the shorter throw (quickshift), so not much change there. The Mavic Kysriums are not as light as the current SL premiums, but again not a quantum leap. The Lightweight wheels from Carbonsports were available back then, although £500 cheaper than the current model and about 100g a set heavier. It came with GP3000 tyres, which are now GP4000s. All in all, I don't think technology has moved on a huge amount in terms of how the bike rides. They've certainly progressed in the design and implementation of carbon fibre, so today's bikes are certainly lighter, but don't fool yourself into thinking bike technology becomes obsolete overnight.

Bugly

I dont think Composite frames will have the length of life that steel frames have.

:?