smd4

That's why you need to go to a bike store. When I worked in one, I didn't make commission, so my primary goal was to speak to prospective customers and get as much info as I could, to make educated recommendations--just converse with the customer about bikes. For me, "selling" was much more a "teaching" effort, or just talking with the customer, really.

I imagine it can be a little intimidating, going into a shop with "experts" milling about, and you're the "new guy." A good shop won't talk down to you. I sort of felt weird getting my son's bike during lockdown--I hadn't looked for a bike in a shop for 30 years, so it was sort of a new experience for me. So much had changed. But, a lot was still the same. Mountain bikes with 29" wheels and "clutches" on their rear derailleurs? Hydraulic brakes? What?? But they talked me through it.

People here are much more knowledgeable on modern bikes than me, and can speak to prices. I paid $700 for my son's bike, and that seemed like a lot, but today, apparently, it isn't. But it has features that were inconceivable to me, back 30 years ago when $700 would have bought you a top-end bike.

Five years ago I bought a Toyota Corolla. Pretty much the lowest-level car at the dealership. But it had a touch screen, Bluetooth, forward-looking radar, bright lights that went on and dimmed automatically! I mean, to me...this lowly Corolla was utter luxury! It was the most advanced car I had ever driven! Such is the way of trickle-down technology.

In other words, even if you buy a cheapie bike-store bike, it's gonna have the features that top-of-the-line bikes had 10 years ago or less.