Seeing as you can get a pretty good bike for $200 and under, I hardly see justification in paying 1 thousand, 2 thousand or more for some "pro" bike.
I'm sure the quality is better, but really can there be THAT much of a difference? it's just a frame, chain, crank and other little parts jeese, so many answers. I don't know which one to pick ;_; I don't do any hardcore racing or offroad. Just a general "get around" bike With a higher quality frame, you will get not only higher quality workmanship, but you will get a frame that will LAST! I know of frames built in the 1980s that are still going strong. You cant say that about your $200 WalMart-FallApart frame. It really doesnt do you any good to spend a small amount of money time-after-time-after-time. Especially if you are demanding a lot from your bicycle (mileage, events, terrain).
You dont need to spend $2500.00 to get a quality frame. $1000.00 on up will do you just fine. In this case the sum IS equal to the parts. In the case of the $200.00 frame, you certainly get what you (dont) pay for. Well, for most people there is very little difference, but on the top end bikes, they are generally much lighter, made of material which may be impact resistant since the lighter the material the easier it is to break. The wheels might also be performance wheel which can cost a bit. Gears are made from high resistance material and can handle a bit of torture.
I once heard a saying from a professional cyclist and it goes something like this:
"confuscious say spend $3000 and be 6 pounds lighter or lose 6 pounds and save $3000." The answer to that question is simple. You get what you pay for. The difference is going to be in fit, there is not going to be anyone that can fit the bike to you exactly, at a Walmart. The componentry is superior in the more expensive bike and will last longer. The bike even at a lower grade can be upgraded to make it a better one. The weight factor is significant between the two. The quality of the workmanship is going to be vastly different. Overall if you don't want or don't have the money to buy into a upper level bike go to a bike shop and see what they might have as a used bike. The quality there still will be superior to the chainstore variety. The riding will be easier on you and your wallet in the long run. Talk to a few bike shop owners and see what they would recommend. The sweet spot for a good bike is 500-800 dollars. The 200 dollar bikes will break if you take them out on the trails, because their shocks are no good and they are week. More expensive bikes also have more gear ratios to choos from, and they are mor dependable.
You obviously dont go offroad much, or you would have broken your 200 dollar bike by now. It's all about meeting the buyer's expectations.
Other than ego, the justification for people to spend 4 digits of dollars for a bicycle is that they can tell the difference between the WalMart bike and the "better" ones *AND* that difference is important to them. If it doesn't matter that much to someone, then they shouldn't buy the better bike. The people on this board, me included, tend to be snobbish about the big box store bikes. That's because we are really into cycling and have lost touch with the people who just want a bike to ride around a little bit. If these people don't care that the bike is heavier than it needs to be, the shifting isn't so smooth, and if the bike won't be used so much that longevity isn't an issue, then the cheap bikes are OK for that purpose. After all, most of us started with a cheap bike when we were kids!
HTH The best way to say it is like comparing a Geo Metro to a BMW. Yes, they both get the job done but when you compare the finish, handling, quality of the parts used, etc. the difference is HUGE. I'd love to see you get on that $200 Walmart bike and come for a century ride (100 mile day ride) with me! With lots of training, you just might be able to build up the strength, but it's not going to be easy.
I can't begin to count the number of times I've hopped on my miniscule 16 pound road bike to set off for a ride--and with my music playing on my Ipod to the beat of my cadence....when I suddenly realize I've ridden 50 or so miles away from home, and yep, lost again! (Although now I've learned to always carry a GPS device--so I can find my way home without having to call my husband to come find and give a ride!)
I will admit to feeling a little sadistic watching 16 year old boys trying to catch up so they can "drop" my middle-aged butt on their BMXs. They don't stand a chance, and have no idea that it really isn't me--it's the bike!
Yes, there really is that much of a difference. I can ride twice as fast, three times as far on my light weight road bike as opposed to my ancient Schwinn--which I bought at a rummage sale almost 30 years ago for a whopping $35! I still love my old Schwinn and ride it all the time--especially in bad weather or for cruising around town.
But I bought my road bike, paying several thousand dollars for it simply because my husband was getting far too bored trying to ride with me on my Schwinn--it was just too slow for him to get a decent workout. Keeping up with me now offers him more of a challenge. My road bike also glides right up steep hills that before I had to get off and walk my Schwinn up.
We also go long-distance touring now--riding for hundreds of miles for a week or two at a time. Honestly doubt I'd have ever been able to manage it on a heavier bike.
Whether or not a more expensive bike is worth it though I think depends on how often you ride and what type of riding you enjoy doing. Riding by myself around town I never saw any benefit to paying the money for a more expensive bike either. there is definitely a big difference, the quality of course but the performance is also alott better, depends what you're buying a bike for though, if your just buying one to get around then, sure a $200 bike would be fine, but if your going to be racing, jumping, etc then spending the money is well worth it I see a lot of opinions for people that don't appear to ride much nor know anything about high end bikes or what they're made for. Those opinions would be called uninformed.
While Wal Mart does sell some very crappy bikes, they have some that are good enough quality and design for the average around the neighborhood rider. And yes some people here say NEVER get a Wal Mart bike. I don't think that's true at all. If you're looking for a good or better performing bike to fit your needs of more riding or abuse like doing steet tricks on BMX, Wal Mart type bikes will not work well or long.
I do agree with what someone said that the $500- $800 bike is a sweet spot. At that price range you can get a bike that will perform well pretty, last a long time and be light enough to rival much more expensive bikes in general. After $800 to $1500 or so the improvement in the bike is far less that going from a <$200 bike to an $800 one.
To a cyclist interested in hard MTB riding, a Wal Mart mountain bike will fall apart quickly and not shift well etc. from the start. They'd end up throwing the bike away in a month. If doing free riding, big jumps and all - they throw it out after the 1st big drop when it explodes on them.
To a kid wanting to do BMX tricks, jumps, grinding etc. A Wal Mart bike would break in weeks and it happens all the time.
To a commuter or tourist needing a realiable well designed bike, Wal Mart would be out. Who wants a poorly designed, so-so quality bike that you must rely on when your 20 miles from anywhere or need to be to work on time?
If you want to do high performance road cycling or racing - Wal Mart won't do. The cyclist needs a highly reliable and excellent performing bike with specific charteristics to be competitive.
While you don't need to blow $2000 or $8000 to do these things, a bike in the $1000 price range may be needed. If you have never done any of this then you simply don't understand the broad spectrum of cyclist needs. Granted, many people riding $2000 to $8000 bikes don't NEED them they WANT them. Wal Mart type bikes are made for kids and the occasional rider and some models they have will do that just fine. Some are not even good for that.
Heck you needs a 50 " flat panel HD TV? A 19" standard tube TV will let you watch you programs - right? Get it? Quality of parts
That may not seem like a big deal, however, here are the differences.
A $200 bike will have cheap generic parts. These parts are flimsy, and heavy, and the precision is not very acurate. This bike may last ten miles before chains start to break, or shifters stop working. Regardless, it will be heavy, and the effort needed to travel a mile will give you ten miles on a $2500 bike
A $2500 bike will have carbon components, feather-touch shifters and breaks, and will weight maybe 20 pounds. It won't break, even when run over by a car. It's wheels won't bend or need replacement, even after a thousand miles. The gear ratios will be very specific to the rider, so you'll be able to pedal the same amount, but get toyour location quicker.
Though I feel a $2500 bike is excessive, if you bike once a day, you'll want something better than $200. I think somewhere in the $400 range is good for an armature biker like myself It depends how committed you are to Bmxing or what type of riding your doing, if your really committed and you want too make a career or get really good then buy the 1 or 2 thousand bike but if your just playing around or just riding for fun get the 200 or under bike because the other bike is just lighter, looks better and has better parts on it. There IS a lot of difference. For one, walmarts bikes usually don't have different fits, which is a big deal. If your body size is different that whatever standard the bike designer thought (if they did thought a bit about it), it will likely not feel right about it.
Other, it will be too heavy. The pieces will likely not work smooth, meaning like the shifters will not shift dependably and will likely mean constant tuning. The wheels might or might not work fine, or go out of true constantly. I don't even want to go to the difference between a good fork vs a cheap one.
Walmart-like bikes will probably want to add features that make the bike sounds very high end, like have a full suspension and disk brakes and whatever, but really won't work. If they had decided to make a good hardtail with v-brakes and a decent fork they could have a good entry level, but usually they wont.
Other thing that is bad on that model is that the guys who ended up completed the build have not much knowledge on the bike, so I've seen forks installed backwards, they won't make sure cable tension is right and other things like it.
Regards on the difference, there is a big difference between a 200 wallmart special and a 400 bike shop hardtail, and big. As you start spending more money, the difference is not that high, but still there exists. So, you will notice a lot of difference between a 1,500 bucks FS and a 3,000 full suspension, but if you go to a 5,000 bike, there will not be that much difference between the 3,000 and 5,000 bike as there was from the 1,500 and 3,000. The "is it worth it" question is it's own answer. If you have to ask, it's not.
I ride 5-7k miles a year. I spend at least an hour and a half riding each day (I commute). I'll do anything I can and spend as much as I need to be safe and trouble free.
Also, when cycling is that big a part of your life you relish the feel of buttery smooth shifting, you need to have confidence in tires and components and you feel every missing ounce in the faster time it takes you to get home.
With most stuff, you don't notice when something works right--only when it breaks. But every time a part of your big bucks, work-of-art bike works flawlessly it feels like your own body has worked perfectly. i have a 1500 dollar bike and my friend was looking at the ones sold at sports authority and academy sports
and the gears on the cheap ones are made of plastic and do not change as fast as the ones on my rig
also the wheels on the cheap bike were thin and the bike was heavier than mine
also my fox fork has an option to lock out and to make it looser or tighter.... didnt see that on the cheap one there is a HUGE difference.
But to qualify that...
If you are going to ride it a couple of times in the part then leave it in the garage until you move 3 years from now - the 200 buck bike is the better deal hands down.
Now if your going to actually RIDE the bike on a regular basis, a more expensive <read QUALITY> bike is what you want.
I had this discussion with a friend and they went out and bought a cool looking full suspension MTN bike from costco. First time he took it out on the trail the front brake blew apart on a down hill and the front wheel went out of true pretty badly.
He parked the piece of crap and went out and bought something decent!
Also for 300-400 bucks you can get a very nice bike that should server all of your needs - unless you plan on hammering down Mammoth at 50 MPH in the near future. just go for the cheaper one they will both get you to your destination Well in all honesty i dont really think there is THAT much difference either. Teh only diffence is the quality and duribility of the parts. SO unless your a really experianced biker you probably wont notice it. like you said the 2,000 bike is just a better quality but i think there isnt much of a difference, its a total rip off to pay all that money. get the walmart one When I was looking to get into bicycling, I asked the same question. The major difference appears to be in the weight of the bike; a more expensive bike is made from lighter (carbon composite) materials, so you can get better performance from it. There are also some differences in the quality of the derailleurs (gears) and the brake mechanisms.
After weighing the options, I ended up getting a $250 bike from Dick's Sporting Goods. It's worked out just fine. |
