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Do I really need an expensive bike?

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Do I really need an expensive bike?

Old 09-20-21, 02:38 PM
  #51  
Maelochs
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Originally Posted by 777funk
I'm an occasional rider (trails mostly paved sometimes hilly terrain). I see non big box store brand bikes (Trek, GT, etc) on FB Marketplace and CL in the $75-200 range at times and when I look them up here or other places, most say... "Trash. Save your money."

I'd have to think most of these are better than my $100 new USA Huffy since they say Trek on the side.
A little bit of paint will fix that.

or https://www.ebay.com/itm/114730551921?chn=ps

Last edited by Maelochs; 09-20-21 at 02:41 PM.
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Old 09-20-21, 03:21 PM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by Alzerbster
I have as much if not more in accessories than I do my bike, and my bike was $800.
...............................................................
Yep, all that stuff adds up and it gets worse if one has several hobbies, It's all that little stuff that is "necessary".
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Old 09-20-21, 03:34 PM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by 777funk
I'm an occasional rider (trails mostly paved sometimes hilly terrain). I see non big box store brand bikes (Trek, GT, etc) on FB Marketplace and CL in the $75-200 range at times and when I look them up here or other places, most say... "Trash. Save your money."

I'd have to think most of these are better than my $100 new USA Huffy since they say Trek on the side.

Most of my problems with my Huffy are fixable (new cables, brake pads) for about $50 or less. Should I keep the Huffy or do I need an expensive bike. My requirements are:
1. Won't fall apart when riding. I'd want any injuries (God forbid) to be rider error and not mechanical failures.
2. Rides half way decent (I don't need that last 5% or maybe even 10% of ride quality, light weight, etc).

Will a cheap bike be good enough?
My experience. I have a wonderful 20 yr old Mongoose that I ride everywhere. A couple of times a few friends invited me to go with them on a local trail and I always was behind. I assumed it was being in suboptimal shape. They kept telling me it was the bike.
one day a friend let me use his fairly nice, not carbon, Trek and it seemed to be easier to pedal and moved I moved faster with less effort
I bought a mid price aluminum Trek and the difference was very noticeable. I could go much longer distances and much faster average speeds.
My recommendation is to keep your bike but look for opportunities through a friend or shop to try a nice bike and ride it for 5-10 miles. I think you will notice a significant difference ( there will be issues with seat, handlebar position etc on the first ride but they are easily solved)
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Old 09-20-21, 04:27 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by Maelochs
Say, is there a way to listen to your music online. (Sorry, I am not interested in chasing all over the internet to find a clip of a seven-year-old album.) I like big band jazz, and some improv (some "free jazz" is just random noise, to me) and I don't mind spending money on music but i won't buy something I have never heard unless I have 100 % chance of full-price resale .... so ....????
Whoops! I pasted the same link in twice. I thought I'd found one that played the album (and for all I know, there is). Leo, the English label that released this disc, is really crappy about putting things online. Not that unusual in the world of independent jazz labels.
I put this track about bicycles online, anyway.
You might find the begining and the ending upsetting, but most of it very straight ahead. A great zen story about bicycles.
And here's some live bits of the Einstein music.....not as well recorded as the album, but a zesty performance.
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Old 09-20-21, 04:35 PM
  #55  
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^ Thanks for this. I am about to go ride, but i will listen when I get home.
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Old 09-21-21, 07:45 AM
  #56  
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Need? No. Want? Always!
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Old 09-23-21, 06:16 AM
  #57  
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Old 09-23-21, 12:03 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by 777funk
Will a cheap bike be good enough?
Yes, totally. But will it be a bike that you enjoy taking out on rides? Does it lure you out the door? I've found that a moderately priced bike is the best compromise for me, personally. Enough quality and personality to still turn my head occasionally when I pass by it's stand in the house without breaking the bank and giving me buyer's remorse.

My main ride is an early 70's Stella road bike with upgraded wheels (went from stock 27" to 700c wheels build by Velocity), gravel tires (42mm WTB Resolutes fit with a bit of room to spare), singlespeed freewheel (White Industries freewheel), upgraded square taper cranks (also White Industries), and upgraded brakes (cheap Tektro long reach calipers with TRP RRL levers). I was able to slowly upgrade the bike over time, which was affordable, and in the end I have a very high quality ride that is bulletproof, comfortable, and has a nice vintage style that I enjoy. It's also fun leaving your buddies in the dust on their carbon gravel bikes while racing up a steep hill on my vintage machine [img]file:///C:/Users/brucej/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif[/img]

Maybe this helps? Maybe it doesn't. But that's my two cents.

~ Jake
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Old 09-23-21, 07:11 PM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by 777funk
I'm an occasional rider (trails mostly paved sometimes hilly terrain). I see non big box store brand bikes (Trek, GT, etc) on FB Marketplace and CL in the $75-200 range at times and when I look them up here or other places, most say... "Trash. Save your money."
Who says this? You would never guess from reading this site, but sometimes cyclists can be exceedingly opinionated and very narrow in their opinions. If you are willing to spend a little money, some used bikes are the best way to enjoy cycling for less. Each bike is going to be different .... and any $75 bike is likely to need a couple hundred (unless you can do minor work on the bike yourself) for tires, tubes, cables, maybe brake shoes, tune-up ......
Originally Posted by 777funk
Most of my problems with my Huffy are fixable (new cables, brake pads) for about $50 or less.
Expect any old bike to need this stuff.

Originally Posted by 777funk
Should I keep the Huffy or do I need an expensive bike. My requirements are:
1. Won't fall apart when riding. I'd want any injuries (God forbid) to be rider error and not mechanical failures.
2. Rides half way decent (I don't need that last 5% or maybe even 10% of ride quality, light weight, etc).

Will a cheap bike be good enough?
Whether or not Any bike will or will not fall apart has nothing to do with age or brand name. I could build a super-expensive bike badly and it would be a hazard. I can (and have) built bikes literally out of parts salvaged from the trash and rode the snot out of them safely. Your Huffy might be a decent bike which will give you years of service. Until I saw it I couldn't say.

Not sure what "rides halfway decent" means. Any bike you ride, the brakes and shifters need to work, the tires need to be straight and round, all the spinning parts need to spin and not shake ......

I have ridden a lot of very cheap bikes. My complaint with them is that they tend not to hold up to really hard use--cheap parts bend or break or won't stay adjusted. If you ride a few times a week and don't have a lot of hard impacts (which I wouldn't expect on mostly paved trails) and don't hammer as hard as you can all the time, you might get a lot of years out of a well-maintained Huffy. At the very least you should be able to ride it long enough to save up for a better bike.

Something a lot of people say here: Ride what you have as long as you can, so that you will know if you want a bike which can do more, and more of what you want it to do. If you buy a really expensive bike and ride it for casual fun three or four times a week, never go really fast for a long time, never go bashing over obstacles or trying stunts, never try to race with highly competitive people .... then you might find that you get all the joy you need out of that Huffy.

Maybe after a while you might wonder what a better bike might feel like, or wish you had better shifting and braking .... not that you need them, but you think it might be fun .... you might find that you are still riding that same amount and expect that cycling will be a part of your life for a good long time to come, so making an investment makes sense .....

So then you might a start looking at the classifieds for a "garage queen," a bike bought by a "dentist with a gold card" which has sat unused in his garage for a few years after the first three rides proved not to be as much fun as he had hoped .... or you might start looking at new bikes, and since you have year or two of experience, you can figure out what the ads mean and whether what they shops are selling might appeal to you.

I spent years riding whatever crap I picked up on the side of the road, and even though no one was ever impressed by my bikes, they were often impressed when they saw me 25 miles from home, hauling a load of camping gear on a bike most would throw away, or seeing me riding home with 80 pounds or groceries and laundry after seeing me ride to work that morning and ride home that evening.

(Of course, no one was ever impressed to see me walking him five or ten miles because of terminal bike failure.)

Cheap bikes can work, and if well maintained and adjusted, can work pretty well. The question is, can you enjoy riding the bike even though it has a "Huffy" decals ...... if not, scrape the decals off.
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Old 09-23-21, 07:16 PM
  #60  
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I've decided that I can live with my Huffy (and my newly acquired Fuji, and a few solid old European road bikes). The Huffy is still my main ride since it has the child seat attached and feels the most safe/stable at the moderate speeds I'll use it at. The rear wheel is out of round and I can't seem to get it back to shape. I may keep trying. That's harder than changing cables and pads.

A side note, I bought some cheap pads off of ebay (10 for $10 or so) and they don't stop any better than the dry rotted ones that were on there. Maybe I need expensive pads. I know nothing about brake pads. The rims had oil on them before the new pads, but I wiped them down with a paper towel soaked in gasoline and they feel dry/non slick. Still no stopping power. Probably 20-0 in about 60 feet.

Last edited by 777funk; 09-23-21 at 07:48 PM.
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Old 09-24-21, 01:45 AM
  #61  
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We have several bikes here at my home, the oldest, an MTB, is over 21 this year, still in great condition, was only ever used occasionally but was in high end in its day and still relatively lightweight and nice on the trails.
Then there are 3 MTB's varying in age from 8 to 12 years. All 3 basic inexpensive, my wife and kids old bikes, very rarely used now, just for occasional Guest use. We then have an E-MTB that my wife now uses and I have a top-of-range MTB and two high end expensive road bikes.

The difference between these bikes is very noticeable, but the 3 inexpensive bikes have lasted a good while and show zero signs of not lasting much longer. Their longevity may be due to only occasional use and good maintenance but I think they are 'tough' enough for most. For what is demanded from them, they are fine and can still be fun to ride.

The expensive machines benefit from being much lighter and, in the case of the road bikes more aero. The other differences include higher quality materials; better bearings, wheels roll longer, faster, better brakes, bikes stop much quicker, better saddles, more comfortable, equally better fit overall. My two roads bikes have done over 30 000km between them in the last 2 years and look new - sure, several new tyres, brake discs/pads and chains along the way too.

It is immediately apparent when riding one of my inexpensive bikes and then an expensive one that the expensive machine is a far better ride overall. You do go faster as a result and feel better after a longer ride; it is easier to ride, after all. It is less effort being lighter. You do gain aero advantages, you do gain braking and comfort. But... the inexpensive bikes are still fine for what they are.

Basically:
If you go on a longer ride, the expensive bike is most likely going to leave you feeling better at the end of it.
If you wanted to do a time trial from A to B, the expensive bike is most likely to give you a faster time.
If you climb steep hills, the expensive bike will most likely be easier to get to the top.
If you do mega miles or ride regularly over punishing terrain, the more expensive bikes will most likely last longer.

All of the above assumes the bikes are used for their intended terrain and maintained correctly.

Do you need that? It depends where you ride, how you ride, how often you ride, what the bike has to perform for. An inexpensive bike can be just great for most folks.

Last edited by AlgarveCycling; 09-24-21 at 02:21 AM.
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Old 09-24-21, 03:23 AM
  #62  
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Buy used
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Old 09-24-21, 02:43 PM
  #63  
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Determine where you are going to ride, what surface, etc, and then buy a nice used bike for that purpose. Have a LBS look it over. Then ride. Most of my rides are used bikes, and I ride plenty of centuries and brevets with them.
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