Maelochs

LOL .... once prj71 came back with that lame answer, he admitted that he was wrong, just not openly or directly. He got beat, he wasn't big enough to admit it.

More honorable to simply admit when a general statement proves to be specifically incorrect, but we aren't always at out best.

The horse is dead, Jim. Stop beating it. (I'm a doctor, not a veterinarian.)

livedarklions

Wait, you don't think "I won't answer your question because the fact that you asked the question indicates that you don't know the answer" is a good response?

Who knew?

livedarklions

Do you actually ride that De Rosa now?

Flatforkcrown

at least 3 times a week.


I have given in to a little bit of modernity… my gears click, my shoes clip in, and I have carbon bits. My tires are still glued on tho.

shelbyfv

^^^^If you passed that DeRosa on to the OP, he might enjoy riding for longer that 15 minutes.

Flatforkcrown

more likely he’d post 20 new threads about nothing, using it as justification for his troll/performance art piece.

livedarklions

I'd really like the explanation why entry level now is better than that! "Ummmmm, homina, homina" is all that comes to mind for me.

Forgot to add--that bike is a completely hottie!

livedarklions

Thread 1: Do you brush your teeth before or after a ride?

Thread 2: Small animals stuck in the spokes provide a better workout.

Thread 3: When you're riding, do you speak to a passing horse?

Thread 4: Do you need to change socks if you ride for more than 35 seconds?

Thread 5: Do pro cyclists listen to synth-pop music while they're sleeping?

Thread 6: What's the most aero way to read a newspaper while riding?

Thread 7: How long can you hold your breath?

Somebody else's turn.

shelbyfv

It's the low hanging fruit of Trolldom. Several of ours can't be more original than "What did..." "What do...." "How many...." "How much..."

Clyde1820

Pre-owned is about the only way I can see getting the quality and reliability that ~$300 used to get in the mid-'80s to mid-'90s, for commonplace MTBs.

Many of them are fairly inexpensive. In a given year, I've often seen a dozen high-quality "vintage" bikes of this sort pop up on CraigsList, PinkBike and the like. They're getting fewer and far between, but they're out there. (Heck, even saw a Rivendell Clem Smith Jr H for $500 up for sale early this year, believe it or not, with decent components, a bike that's every bit the quality of what was commonly ~$300 in the late-'80s.)

In my area, handful of years back, a decent smaller Trek 970 came up for sale. A buddy picked it up, but later sold it to me since it was too darned small for him. Cost me $100. Fully functional, operable, nothing broken, though it clearly needed a cable/brake refresh and repacking/lubing of everything. So that bike was mid-'90s Trek 970 quality for $100, completely usable as-is. But that bike, that weight, that quality of componentry would easily cost north of $800 today, if not $1K.

Rebuilding the bike, I've installed a Chris King BB, a custom wheelset (Velocity, White Industries, DT Swiss), and a re-done drive train. It's well north of $1K, in total. But mine's lighter than most, fits me better (for my purpose, a low-geared upright "city" bike) and has very high-grade components. And it's been a minor labor of love to get it into shape, to get it fitting me properly. Paid more on the wheelset than I probably should have, but it's utterly perfect and bomb-proof. Probably wasn't worth the components, given the age of the frame. But it works "right" and it's geared and fit the way I want it. Custom, for about one-third to one-fourth what a custom bike would cost. And probably far less likely to be noticed if parked amongst a dozen other bikes at the local stop-'n'-rob, as compared to the typical-looking quality "custom" bike.

shelbyfv

Classic troll thread that may outlive the cockroach! Guess the answer is still "no" and OP probably has not ridden enough to wear out his 21 year old tires.

Maelochs

Here I was thinking we needed Rydabent to deliver another thread as a holiday gift to keep us bickering through the upcoming season .... but someone has graciously resurrected this chestnut.

Someone alert the OP. We need new input!

Mark Dominck

I took my wife to the local post office one day and while sitting in the car waiting I spotted a Mountain bike sitting outside the second hand store I never owned a mountain bike so I asked him how much he wanted and he said $15 , it was missing one crank arm and needed some tires turned out to be a nice old Rocky Mountain Element from the 90s and it's been my only mountain bike so keep your eyes open boys they're more out there.

cjenrick

i hate hate.

joneblaze

It seems like old bikes were better made - a lot of the entry level made-overseas stuff I see in stores nowadays are fairly poor quality for ~$400+ asking price

Ironfish653

Easy, there, Boomer; we're going to need to see some receipts if you're going to make a statement like that.

They can make cheap bikes, and they can make good bikes. The cost of 'good' bikes has gone up a lot since 'back in the old days' and some of the 'good' bikes you remember really weren't that great.

prj71

Lol. Just like older cars were better made right?!

Maelochs

How old are you, sir or madam, to have a good idea of the quality of "older" bikes .... or perhaps more on point .... how "old" are there "better made" older bikes?

Fifty or sixty years ago you could get an indestructible tank for not a lot of money ..... better made, for sure. Nowadays, you can buy cheap crap for a lot of money.

But .... if you are smart, you can buy a cheap, simple, reliable bike today which will offer way more than that old bike and weigh a lot less. You Could spend $400 on a fake MTB with pre-broken suspension and plastic wheels which are guaranteed to survive the trip to the parking lot and not much more .... or you could buy a good simple well-made bike and ride it for several decades.

I keep sending people to BikesDirect ..... yeah, their cheap bikes are cheap ... seven-speed freewheels etc .... but solid and serious and will last forever (I did an LA to DC tour on a $500 BD bike, and Inpd, an older member now gone on, did tens of thousands of miles on almost exactly the same bike.)

You want a good cheap bike, don't go to a big-box store. if you do, spend $100 on a single-speed beach cruiser and consider it a win.

mstateglfr 

Having worked on/refurbished dozens upon dozens of bikes from the 70s and 80s, I can confidently say that the entry level bikes from back then were not good.
I would much rather have a new $600 entry level fitness hybrid from 2021 than a $180 bike from 1980. For perspective, a 1980 Schwinn Suburban cost more than that and was $196.50.




I have worked extensively on both of these specific models.

NomarsGirl

My bike is worth more than my car. Doesn't say much for my car. When I bought my bike, I really didn't feel that I needed a GOOD bike. I'm not a strong rider, but I do love riding it. Is it almost spring??

AlgarveCycling

I have 3 cheap bikes in the basement; hardly used, the youngest of which is more than 10 years old now. A 4th old bike, 21 now, is still in excellent condition - also a Giant as it happens but it wasn't cheap, even in 2000 as it was their top of the line MTB back then. The bikes look good and friends and family who visit and occasionally use them comment upon how corrosion/rust-free they are and how well they ride for trips to the beach locally. I had a cheap fixie bike when I lived in Amsterdam - about 300 euros I think. I really liked it, used it for shopping etc. Cheap can still be ok.

The common theme with all of the aforementioned long-life bikes though is that even collectively they will not have travelled more than 2500 miles in all that time and have lived in garages. Compare that to my 3 current expensive bikes that have collectively done over 27500 miles in the last 2.5 years...the MTB over far harsher terrain, raced too. The road bikes raced, trained hard with in all weather. None of my cheap bikes would have lasted this long with that kind of use and they certainly would not have been as comfortable for that use.

Cheap bikes are fun, good for many use scenarios but for heavy use or racing, lots of fast mileage, the sweet spot is on the expensive side - assuming not buying used, naturally.

Herzlos

Could be all sorts of reasons that it never got used.
I bought Trike with back bench to take my disabled kids out, they didn't like it so I sold it with maybe a quarter mile on it.
Then I bought a dual tag-along (Weehoo TWO) and whilst it got some more use I don't think I got both kids in it at the same time and sold it after doing maybe 10 miles. They loved it but it proved essentially impossible to take it, my bike, and both kids in the car at the same time.
Now I have a Burley trailer which due to various illnesses and weather has done a 1 mile test ride.
And a single Weehoo that for the same illness/weather reasons has covered maybe 10 miles.

So particularly with disabled kids, a low mileage doesn't mean it crap, it just means it didn't get used.

I love the idea of a tandom recumbent but I suspect I'll have absolutely no ability to transport it anywhere.

Rideeasy

I found a 90’s Trek 830 Antelope in a trash pile and just finished rebuilding it at a cost of $400. Just the cost of decent parts probably exceed the value…so I’ll just keep and ride my ‘new’ mountain bike.

Riveting

If you still have the original tires on it then you don't ride it a lot, which is OK, but it's why it still seems "new" to you, because it IS new, but happens to be 20 years old. From experience I know that it takes ~2,000 miles (more or less based on riding aggressiveness) to wear down a set a tires, so you've only ridden the bike <100 miles per year, on avg. Try putting 2,000 miles per year on it for the next 20 years and see if that same $200 bike is "new" then.

8 years ago I bought an entry-level hybrid for commuting for $450 at a big box store. It was absolutely great for the first 1,000 miles, but then, even with good maintenance protocols on my part, it started having shifting issues, spokes started breaking, etc.. These types of things haven't happened on a bike that I bought for $1,800 that now has 12,200 miles on it, nor did it occur on the bike that cost twice that, now with 17,800 miles on it. The amount of consistent annual mileage you plan to put on a bike plays a major role in the quality and cost of the bike you plan to get.

With that being said, a $200 bike might be great for 20 years, IF it only gets ridden 100 miles per year, not that there's anything wrong with that. But you're somewhat implying a $200 bike will last 20 years in general, and that really isn't the case if someone is putting 1,000+ miles on it per year, let alone the 5,000+ miles per year that many of us do.

In general I will say that someone buying a new bike, should be spending $1 for every 2 miles they plan to ride each year, if they want the quality and durability of the components to match their mileage, without having to consistently have the bike in for repairs multiple times per year. 1,000 miles per year? spend $500. 5,000 miles per year? spend $2,500. 8,000 miles per year? spend $4,000. You can get away with spending less, but you'll pay for it in down-time and repairs.