Real world benefits of a better bike?

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

OpenToSuggestions

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2006
Posts
11,365
Location
Derbyshire
Hey all.
I am a passionate hater of road cycling as imo it is both dangerous and worsens congestion. I moved to Derby 6 months ago, where there are dedicated paths on what I can only assume are old canals or railway lines. This has flipped the idea of cycling around for me so I thought I would give it a go.
For the first time ever I cycled to work one day last week and I enjoyed it. It is a little under 7m each way. It was tough but overall I think doing it once per week would do me some good.

The bike I have paid £80 for off Ebay, and it is a standard adult's hybrid bike that Halfords sell for £160.
I have no intention of buying a better bike since this one is nearly new and I have barely used it.

Colleagues buy all sorts of expensive bikes on the cycle to work schemes, most of which they rarely use.
What exactly does a £1000-£2000 bike offer? Surely me losing weight is better than buying a lightweight bike?
 
As chronic say above, you usually get a better frame and or components. Usually its down to someone wanting something nicer and theres noting wrong with that so long as you can afford it.
 
I found that I was forever buckling wheels and getting frustrated with poor brakes and running gear when I had my very cheap Halfords bike. After a year I ended up paying five times more for a commuting hybrid (£500) and still use the same bike every day over a decade later. Servicing is important too to keep everything running smoothly.

My road bike is so much faster to ride and handles loads better than my hybrid. I only use that for the weekends now - I was commuting an hour each way on my road bike at one point which was fantastic for my fitness. That was bought on the cycle to work scheme.

My advice would be to see how you get on over the summer with cycle commuting. You’re lucky to have a good route that you can ride along. You might end up doing it every day if the weather is good. If you find that you’re enjoying it, go and try out a couple of more expensive bikes and see how they compare.
 
One More Solo said:
I had a thoughtful post written when I clicked the thread title but unfortunately I just facepalmed so hard I’ve forgotten the last 10 years of my life.
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No problem.
The thread was telling the story of how with the dedicated paths near me that are nowhere near roads, that cycling has turned from dangerous to a viable commuting method.
 
OpenToSuggestions said:
The roads near me are windy 50mph zones with no chance to safety overtake. This thread isn't about this though. You're free to share comments on advantages of a pricey bike :).
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Well, it is difficult to avoid given it is how you opened the thread. It is a bit like going into the motoring subforum and saying "all drivers are inconsiderate scum who like nothing more than mowing down pedestrians and killing the planet; BTW..."

:)
 
I watched some bloke the other week on a road bike that had bent his dropped bars outwards making the bars wider, driving in the middle of the road due to puddles and avoiding the cycle path that ran parallel. It was one of those WTF moments. The queue of drivers building up behind him weren't best pleased :D
 
Lighter - easier to handle rather than making you go faster per-se
Better gears and drive chain - smoother more pleasant shifting
Better brakes - more modulation and power
better tyres - some cheap tyres are draggy and offer poor wet grip

All these things accumulate into an overall nicer experience.

That said, as with PCs or Hi-fi gear etc. you do get diminishing returns for your money once you start spending loads. For a hybrid style bike, an £800 one is going to be a lot nicer than a £200 one, but the difference between a £800 one and a 2 grand one wont be so much.

Also for many it's a hobby, some might spend thousands on fishing gear or golf clubs etc, bikes are no different
 
mrthingyx said:
Well, it is difficult to avoid given it is how you opened the thread. It is a bit like going into the motoring subforum and saying "all drivers are inconsiderate scum who like nothing more than mowing down pedestrians and killing the planet; BTW..."

:)
Click to expand...

Pretty much. If you don't want inflammatory responses, don't make inflammatory posts...
 
I think the reason people go and get expensive bikes on the scheme is that they think they are getting something for nothing obviously the bikes are cheaper through the scheme, but often this is not as good a deal as they think as the places that run the schemes are often more expensive than the exact same bike can be bought elsewhere.
Then there is the fact that it is taken out of your wages weekly/monthly so you never have the huge initial outlay to buy it.

As for the what is better about a more expensive bike, surely this question can be asked of absolutely anything you can buy, cars/washing machines/guitars/cameras/phones/etc.

as others have said above you get better components/frames etc and the law of diminishing returns is definitly rife when it comes to bikes.
It isn't uncommon to see a bike costing £3k+ nowadays.
I ride MTB and although my bike would have been around £2k new (I paid less than half of that) I feel like a poor man when I go to the local trails.
 
Ride a rusty bmx there and back for the most effort and work out.

Better more expensive bikes are easier to ride with less effort making the whole experience more enjoyable.

I bought my crux on the cycle to work scheme from Evans who had the most competitive price anyway. Depends on the scheme and the affiliations to whatever shop
 
ah Derby! used to live there (near Pride Park) more than 10 years ago. If you have access to a car, may worth explore the dis-used/converted rail way tracks near Ashborune. Full on slick tyres may be tricky but most hybrid will be totally fine:

https://goo.gl/maps/7gxhgFdyK2GgyZ6U9
There are a few car parks on the way, so you dont have to start at that end of the Tissington trail. the trail starts there and head north.

for me, an expensive bike will be more specialized in the terrain it's designed for. like road bike will be lighter, higher top speed, more gear combination with tighter gaps which results in smoother gear change. Mountain bike will also be lighter, simplier gears (single chain ring at the front but not always), more powerful/control brakes (hydraulic vs cable), fatter tyres with more grips, suspension can handle more bumps/harsher terrain. But common for all, more expensive bikes use more standard parts so when it comes to repair/maintenance, it's quite abit easier.
 
A cheap bike for me is anything around the £1k mark :p:D

A £160 'bike' isn't really, it's known as a BSO. Bike shaped object. For pootling around a park at 5mph, or doing a few miles a week it'll be OK. But start riding more, longer, faster, and a better bike becomes needed.

30+ mph downhill on wet tarmac? Yes, I'll take high spec hydraulic disk brakes over some V brakes, or even cable discs. That 600ft, 3 miles climb? Yes I'll take the 9kg bike with light wheels and a light carbon frame over the 15kg 'bike' that most people have sat in their garage. 25mph down trails with baby head size rocks, with a 100ft drop to the side? Give me £1000 suspension forks, a £300 rear shock, £200 worth of brakes, all day long!!

Not saying that people buying a £1000 bike just for commuting to work is overkill, but the chances are they're doing more than just that on them.

If all goes to plan, by the end of this summer I'll have £1400's worth of 9kg gravel bike and £5000's worth of MTB sat in the garage. Worth it? Hell yes. :D
 
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