Why buy an expensive bike?
 

ok so I am fairly new to cycling. I have only been cycling for about 6 months now and even then I haven't been riding religiously. I used to have a cheap road bike that I bought off a friend for like $50 and it was really heavy and uncomfortable and I rode it for about 4 months while I got a feel for cycling then I decided to invest in a better bike. So I bought a Specialized Allez Sport and have been riding that for a month and a half. I like it a lot more than my old bike of course but I was wondering why buy a real expensive bike like in the thousands, I understand that some people buy them to compete but I just don't see why spend thousands of dollars on a bike when you can buy a decent one for like maybe $1,500. I guess what I'm asking is why should I look forward to eventually spending a good chunk of change on a light weight bike when I have the one that I have now and it is just fine. No offense to the people that spend a lot of money on bikes but don't you think that as you get better your legs get stronger and you can push more weight?

Ride a $5k 14lb bike then judge for yourself.

Just because you can. I suggest you don't spend more than a month's salary on a bike.

this. If you can't tell the difference, then it's not worth it for you.

Because.

To some people, $3k or even $5k ain't all that much. It's only a lot of money if you have to finance it or you can't afford to replace it if something were to happen....

I say if you like the bike you're riding then stick w/ it. You don't have to go out and buy an expensive bike. I rode an entry level bike for about a year and was happy w/ it but did buy a new Madone in August. Personally I can tell a difference in the two bikes but was it necessary? No. I did it because I had some extra cash and it is something I really enjoy. Really though, the bike doesn't matter...It's all in the motor!

Yeah the other day I was at Incycle and was checking out some bike and saw an $8K bike and just lifted it and was was amazed and how light it was and actually rode it just to ride it and it is a huge difference! I hope to one day be able to buy a bike like that but I just wondered why buy it. Not that I don't want to but just curious to know why. It would also be totally awesome to compete but for now I'm just getting started and have questions that pop up in my head and signed up for bike forums so I can ask people that have way more experience than I do.

Sounds like you're regretting not spending more. I hate it when that happens.

Cool. Thanks for all the feedback guys! I just signed up for this site and already love it!

You ride an $800 bike. An average non-cyclist would consider that expensive for a bike. Why wouldn't you just ride an $88 bike from Wal-mart?

Yeah if I could afford it right now I totally would but I can't afford to spend a fortune since I'm in college and need to pay for all my other stuff that I really need. I really like riding though...it's so relaxing and fun! Specially when I ride with friends or just other riders that meet up around LA.

If you leave it stock and just put many miles on it you have spent your money wisely, few of us do, upgraditis usually strikes.
My FELT F90 cost me around $700.00, I am now up to $1500.00 total investment, I now have a very nice bike, BUt not as nice if I had walked in the lbs with $1500.00 in my grubby little hands.
So buying the expensive bike first might make sense.

Cycling becomes a passion for many and as we progress we dream, of different components, bikes, equipment. Personally I think that the real value is appreciated with time and effort as well as sacrifice. I appreciate my 7K bike because I have been working towards it for so many years and in turn loving each step along the way. If I just started with a 7K bike I think I probably would appreciate it far less. My first "expensive" bike was a white Gitane Tour de France, purchased with 450 very dear dollars in 1972. I still remember being utterly fascinated by the Hutchinson sew ups, the lightness. I feel the same way about my current, and probably last bike, a Merlin Titanium-carbonfiber Lunaris purchased 5 years ago. I love it, it's lightness, looks, feel, quietness. The smooth swish-chunk of a well tuned deraillures going through the gears. A thing of beauty uniting man with his or hers environment. Enjoy what you have, I am sure if you catch the bug you will always treasure it no matter it's replacement.

I'm going to forward this post to my wife!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

That's cool because it makes me think of how I felt when I bought the bike that I have now. I spent the money and even though I kind of felt like it was a lot of money I knew that I was going to get a good use out of the bike. And I hope build my way up to a better bike but for now I will enjoy this one!

I rode an old Trek MTB 820 all summer and put 1300 miles on it. I wanted a new lighter bike and was told by my wife that all I had to do was lose 20 pounds and I would have the same thing as a newer lighter bike. :eek::eek: Hate it when they are right. I was looking at a Trek 1.5 or 2.1/2.3 and then rode a Specialized Tarmac that listed for $2,600.00 and could pick up for 2k on special. Still the CFO put a stop to it. In all I think the most I would have spent on a bike is 2k but would have felt a lot more comfortable at $1,200.00.

However the CFO came through and showed this program we have through work. Last year we got a really nice refrigerator and a gas grill. She came home awful excited and told me bikes were on the program. Basically for a little extra hard work on upgrading customers to a better product I earn points that I can use. I am getting a Madone 6.2 and she is getting a Trek 7.7FX I have enough points to get her a Madone 4.7 but she does not want a road bike. If I wait some I will have enough to get her the 7.9FX which would be carbon. We are close enough to the same size that I may use her Hybrid as a commuter.

I'm glad you brought that up b/c that was another thing that I was kind of wondering about. If I should upgrade when I have the money from the bike I have, and if I do then how much would be the most I should spend upgrading before it's too much and I should just buy a new bike.

Ride your bike and all with become clear to you with regards to why....
+1 on upgraditis. I worked in a shop for a long time while finishing school and almost without fail the person who was really interested in cycling and wasn't just looking for a beater commuter was usually back within 6 months to a year to buy something new for or completely replace the "cheap" (750$) bikes they had purchased. So if you know you are the kind of person who likes the good stuff, and you can swing it, get the most bike you can afford. If not, get something you like, ride the hell out of it, and save your nickels and dimes for the next one and relegate the old bike for "rainy days".

For the same reason you thought spending money on your Specialized was worth it. Did your $50 pos get the job done? Yes. Does the Allez do it better? Yes. Would a more expensive carbon ride do it even better? Yes.

The point is, while the real benefits of spending over $2k become marginal, they are still there. Whether those benefits are real, perceived, or even necessary doesn't really matter if someone is willing to spend the money.

Its just like everything in life, the more expensive the better it is or thats how most people perceive things. Why buy a Rolex watch when you can get a nice Timex at Target for $30, they both tell time. Why buy a Mercedes Benz to get to work when you can get around in a Toyota Corolla, they'll both get you from point a to point b so why spend the extra money etc etc. Everything you buy has its high end and low end, its all a matter of what you can afford and what your looking for. You pay for quality and materials when your buying high end products.

performance gains per dollar spent drop off the cliff at a certain price point, and some say that price point is around $2,000. People can be sold on a lot of things though and looks and "craftsmanship" are a big part of that. Lookup Co-Motion bikes (or better yet, Vanilla bikes) if you really want to be blown away.

And keep in mind there's a religious following here on BF that insists that a Cannondale CAAD9 is all anyone really needs...

Can someone hook me up with a $5K 14 pound bike please?

More expensive bikes tend to have more appealing paint jobs. This is important because you want your bike to look the best it can when it's leaning up against your lcs (local coffee shop)

Because it's there.