ARider2

Yes or no depending on personal situation.

Bikealangelo

I figured this was a question that got asked frequently, but had no idea how many responses that I would get the privilege to read through.
no, this is not a "troll thread," I am literally just SO inexperienced in this and have nobody that I know locally who can give me good answers.

I appreciate the useful info, and the few sarcastic responses gave me a good laugh too!
Sounds like the general answer is "go try a more expensive bike to feel the difference" and "to a casual rider, a cheap bike is usually fine"

GhostRider62

"Expensive" is relative and worth is highly subjective.

Some may consider $1000 cheap for wheels and not worth it.

Used bikes are better values than new $1000 bikes. If OP is looking for a $1000 bike, consider purchasing used would be my suggestion

biker128pedal

Go test ride a few at your local bike shop. I dare you. There are sub $1k bikes. Ride one then work your way up the price range.

Now I must answer your question. Yes. You will notice the difference. The price point of the performance increase may not be worth it to you but yes. You’ll buy the more expensive bike. Think each night while watching TV. Why did I spend so much. That money could have gone to new siding for the house. But. But then each time when you’re out for a ride you’ll realize why you spent the extra money. Smooth ride. Quick acceleration. Light weight climbing a hill or lifting to the roof rack. Less maintenance on the bearings. Easier shifting. Better Disc brakes prevented hitting the dog that ran out in front of you and you did not notice because your gaze was watching the oncoming car to make sure they don’t turn into you. The car the dog was running for. Pick any reason or add your own.

But whatever you do even if you don’t get a new bike upgrade your tires. And tubes unless you ride tubeless. Best bang for the buck.

MaxKatt

People rarely regret buying too much bike.

ussprinceton

mine is worth it

Iride01 

They are worth it if you know what the improvements are and what they do for you. If you don't have enough experience to tell that, then certainly they aren't doing you one bit of good.

You can enjoy and get all the benefits you need from a much less expensive bicycle.

If you have the deep pockets for it to not be a drain on your finances, then I have no issue for someone buying the expensive bikes just for the bragging rights. That helps push the just superseded technology down to the less expensive bikes faster

Polaris OBark

What does it weigh when you put the wheels on?

ussprinceton

that's what it weighs as a whole complete bike

mstateglfr 

A floppy gel Walmart type saddle cover is never worth it.

ussprinceton

this is the saddle that I use, no cushion whatsoever

ussprinceton

the Chinese gel seat cover

Polaris OBark

15.32 kg x 2.2 lbs/kg = 33.7 lbs OK, makes sense.

ussprinceton

do you need glasses? Its in lbs, not kg

Polaris OBark

That explains all of the butt-hurt.

SoSmellyAir

ussprinceton Re: posts #38 and #39, wouldn't a slightly padded CF saddle be more comfortable and weigh less than a bare CF saddle and a gel seat cover from AliExpress?

Especially when the saddle is 12 cm wide but the seat cover is 165 mm wide?

RC_Dub

Depends on your budget and how much you want to ride. Even for a 10 to 20 mile ride you’ll notice the difference riding a more expensive bike. For one, the components might be smoother. To me, a gravel bike with 38 to 42psi of air on 38mm tires is a comfortable ride. Much more than a 23mm tired with 100psi. You can forgo the carbon and more expensive components because the cheaper, lighter ones shave a little weight and they won’t make you a better rider. Spend time in the saddle and enjoy.

PeteHski

In what competition does 30g make any significant difference?

PeteHski

fify

Jughed

Define “worth it”.

For the average rider, the typical group rides, and even the best occasional climbs… anything over a 2-3k 105 equipped bike is a want vs a need or “worth it”.

So the value is found in your wants, not really what the bike will do for you.


The basic Aluminum or lower spec CF bike with 105 will allow you to ride right next to the higher dollar bikes, with very similar riding experiences, for 10’s of thousands of miles.

socalife

In its day, your Le Tour was not a cheap bike. Cheap bikes then had squashed and spot welded fork and chain stay ends and all heavy steel components. That Le Tour was better than my old Continental and would weigh less. $1000 is about the cheapest for a usuable bike that you would put real miles on these days. To me, expensive is more like $3K on up. If you ride 20 miles 12 times a month then your equipment has to be up to it. Decent riding kit alone (shoes, helmet, padded shorts, Jerseys, gloves, outer layers, computers, glasses, blinking lights, etc) gets you past $1K all by themself pretty quickly. So to answer your question, yes a new truly expensive bike will perform better than the Le Tour, especially if you do hills, but to really gain the benefits, the proper kit needs to be used a long with it. This assumes your bike is properly sized to you.

jsigone

YES....any amount of money needed to get away from down tube shifters

tomato coupe

Pigeon racing.

SoSmellyAir

Obviously, in the Weight Weenies forum.

Robert7659

I had and have a variety of bikes at different price points. Quite honestly, Shimano Claris/Sora level bikes are pretty much as good as it gets.

On my two latest bikes one has the cheapest Promax Decoder R single piston mechanical disc brakes, the other Shimano 105 hydraulic. They’re both fine.

Paying more for carbon frames is ridiculous to me. They said the same about aluminum 30 years ago, and now steel frames are a high end niche.