The Truth About Price

Ashbeck

Grill wrote:

Ashbeck wrote:

Grill wrote:

Cycling isn't about the bike, but enjoying your time on the bike. The only reason to pay more is because said purchase makes you enjoy your time on the road even more.

Not quite true and you sort of contradict your own point.

Yes, cycling should be about enjoying your time on the bike, but the whole point of enjoying it is on a decent bike. If i gave you a rusty old steel bike with worn tyres and a knackered chain then asked you to ride 100 miles i doubt you would come back with a smile on your face.

You're getting fitness confused with aesthetics. Theres no difference riding a £5k to a £500 bike if your fitness is bad. A £5k bike isnt going to turn you into Chris Froome just because its better than a £500.

However, cycling IS about the bike because thats what cycling is. Just like F1 is about the car. If owning a slightly better bike with better gears, wheels or even paint scheme makes you feel faster and fitter then psychologically, if nothing else, it does make a difference. Why upgrade wheels if they 'dont make a difference?'

I went from a carbon £1500 Canyon to a £4k Giant propel last year and instantly gained 1-1.5mph in speed across the board without even trying. So to say the bike doesnt make a difference is plain wrong, even if its psychological, as i previously said.

Wut? There is no contradiction. Why can't I enjoy cycling on a rusty old beater? Why should cycling at 20mph be more enjoyable than cycling at 12mph? You sound like someone who is super serial about his gold sportive time.

The bike doesn't matter.*

*unless you're super serial about racing.**

**as in not sportive.***

***and even then the bike doesn't matter that much.

"You sound like someone who is super serial about his gold sportive time"

mmm that you in your profile pic?...just curious...

milemuncher1

Until you hit the (let's say for arguments sake) 3 - 5 grand, sort of level, in a manufacturers range, any price differences, will be mostly due to different group sets ( the oily bits ) finishing Kit ( the bling) and wheels. At the ( again let's say for arguements sake) up to 1K ( prime ride to work territory) level, you'll be essentially paying for some stickers, and there may be a jump in price between metal / carbon material bikes. You will see what you're paying the difference for, when you get to the higher end of the market. The exact type of materials used, and the amount of money spent on R&D, can vary a lot.For example, You could have a machine made from a Carbon / composite material, which is made in the same Mould as a more expensive bike, and may even have the same paint job, and stickers,( so astheticly is very similar) but the price differential will be down to the exact type / mix of materials, and manufacturing techniques used. If it was my money, and I was starting out in TT / triathlon, I would look for a bike model from a couple of years ago, or borrow a bike. Forget the bike snob brigade, who simply must have a 10 grand + super mega machine. Most of them probably couldn't do it justice anyway.

keef66

I think once you're spending £400-500 on a new bike, or less for the same thing second hand, you'd struggle to buy a bad one. Just make sure it fits.

If you're wanting to do well in races you need to be concentrating on training, recovery and nutrition rather than the bike. Remember a 10kg bike with a 60kg rider is 10% lighter than a 7kg bike with a 70kg rider.

earth

Rather than look at price, do some research on components. They put pressfit bottom brackets on everything from 'good value' Boardmans from Halfords all the way up to £5000 dream machines. They don't work however much they cost. It's a mine field at the moment. Cheap bikes while they have cheap components are more likely to have old fashion components which work in theory but they are manufactured badly because they are at the bottom of the price scale. Go up in the price range to £700 and you get new fashionable components but they still don't work and all the moving parts are still cheap and wear out quickly.

markhewitt1978

crankycrank wrote:

I always believe in buying something inexpensive for beginners. Put a few thousand miles on it and after getting in good riding condition, improving your skills and sorting your fit you will have a better idea of what suits you and will appreciate something better much more if you decide to upgrade. As the OP mentioned it can be hard for a beginner to tell the difference between a cheap bike and something say over 3k quid. If you decide to sell it at some point the loss in devaluation is far less as well. There is generally truth to the belief that more expensive bikes will last longer as the components are better quality/more durable and just function better as well but this doesn't mean the Carrera will fall apart anytime soon or that you can't compete on it.

True. Getting something cheap then upgrading down the line is sensible, but, you do run the risk there of it not riding very nicely, it going wrong all the time etc, and you end up frustrated with cycling in general so pack it in before you get to the 'good bike' stage.

964cup

earth wrote:

...pressfit bottom brackets...don't work however much they cost.

This simply isn't true. I've done 20,000km on bikes with press-fit BBs, without trouble. Why? Because I fitted them properly. If you don't clean the surfaces properly, use the right retaining compound and use a proper press, then sure, you may well get issues, but done right they work perfectly well. Note that I am not saying they are superior to external cups - I doubt any of us are strong enough for the increased spindle diameter to make any difference - but they're no worse, functionally.

In fact, to contradict myself, compared to external cup PowerTorque and UltraTorque they're arguably superior, if only from an ease-of-maintenance perspective.

graeme_s-2

I've been doing tris for nearly 10 years now and have seen people on all sorts of bikes, including someone doing an iron distance race on a bmx.

I've never seen anyone get laughed at for the bike they were riding.

bobmcstuff

Graeme_S wrote:

including someone doing an iron distance race on a bmx.

Presumably some sort of joke? Or as a dare??

markhewitt1978

Graeme_S wrote:

I've never seen anyone get laughed at for the bike they were riding.

Very true! All all the club rides and sportives I've been on I've seen people get compliments on their bike but never the piss taken out of them for having a basic / cheap bike. For most people the person they want to impress is themselves!

graeme_s-2

bobmcstuff wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

including someone doing an iron distance race on a bmx.

Presumably some sort of joke? Or as a dare??

Charity jobby. He did the marathon in a morph suit as well. I found it quite helpful, every time I saw him I thought to myself "could be worse..."


http://shortfatbaldsid.blogspot.co.uk/2 ... n-bmx.html

I also once did a half iron distance race where one guy did the entire thing with a fridge to raise money for help for heroes. Swam towing it in a dingy, rode his bike with it as a trailer and ran a half marathon wearing it as a back pack.

crankycrank

Graeme_S wrote:

I've never seen anyone get laughed at for the bike they were riding.

I haven't either. Oh, except for when me and a couple friends get together, get pissed and run out of things to talk about so one guy always has to nitpick about everyone's bike or there was a guy in a racing club I belonged to who had the oldest, rattiest bike and gear of anyone but he was also the fastest rider in the club so of course people had to give him a hard time. I also get people who think I'm a hard arsed cyclist (right )and start trying to apologise for what they think is their inferior bike of which I could care less and would much rather talk about their experiences with riding or anything else for that matter but there is no need to justify what bike you're riding. Whatever you enjoy riding is the right bike for you.

CStar

964Cup wrote:

Don't buy new. I built a beater based on an eBay Specialized Allez F&F (alloy frame, carbon forks) with (used) 10-speed 105, some used wheels from these forums, and a mishmash of used finishing kit. The only things I bought new were brake pads, cables and bar tape (BBB's finest cheap stuff). I think it owes me about £350. It lives on the turbo, but when I lent it to a friend a couple of years ago when his bike was off the road, he comprehensively destroyed me on every segment of our group ride. I was on a full-bling Cervelo with all the toys.

Ultimately, it's not about the bike. I would stay away from Halfords, and I'd avoid going below Tiagra for the groupset (Claris is a bit rubbish), but apart from that it'll be the legs wot win it, as the Sun might say.

I second this completely. I have a great Spec Secteur with various upgrades. Cost me £400 a couple of years ago. It's a real bitsa. The best upgrade I can do is of the engine. When that is working properly I'll see if I really need anything else. In the meantime i can still drop plenty of the AKNI's ;-)