Do people enjoy their expensive bikes more than their cheap ones?

[Globalti]

I bought myself an expensive bike as a 60th birthday present to myself after falling in love with it at the Cyclist magazine track day at the Olympic road circuit. It is a superb bike and certainly faster up and down hills and on the flat than my Roubaix SL4, which is stodgy and unrewarding in comparison. So yes I enjoy my expensive bike much more than my cheap bike.

On maintenance, all I've had to do in six months is adjust the brake cables.

 

[Drago]

No. My favourite ride falls in the middle of the price range of my bikes. Indeed, the way it feels, the way it fits me, the way it responds... all these things are perfect for me and I've ridden few bikes at any price that feel as 'nice' and enjoyable to ride.

 

[ColinJ]

If the more expensive bikes were not more fun than the cheaper ones, then why not just stick with the cheaper ones!

At anything above the price of a reasonable quality bike though the law of diminishing returns kicks in hard. A £2,000 bike might only be (say) 20% more fun than a £500 bike and a £6,000 bike might only be 5% more fun than a £2,000 one. I'm not sure exactly how you would measure that, but I'm sure that the point is clear.

If I had lots of money then I would definitely spend £2,000-3,000 on a new bike but I doubt that I would ever spend £6,000+. I would rather have the cheaper bike and £4,000 worth of cycling holidays!

 

[Drago]

An expensive Ferrari is more fun than a Mondeo, until you lose your licence, or get caught in a traffic jam, then you'll wish you were comfortably ensconced in the Ford. It's all relative.

 

[r04DiE]

Well, I had a second Claud Butler Lavante that I blinged up with some nice Aksium wheels for about 6 years and then I bought a Giant Defy 1 Disc last year and it is definitely a nicer ride and I definitely go faster. Butler was £200 I think and the Giant was £1000.

 

[screenman]

An expensive Ferrari is more fun than a Mondeo, until you lose your licence, or get caught in a traffic jam, then you'll wish you were comfortably ensconced in the Ford. It's all relative.

I got a speeding ticket 27 years ago in a Citroen BX, never got one in any of the quick cars I owned and the one you mentioned among them.

It is the mood I am in rather than the bike I am on, but I do enjoy my choices.

 

[Drago]

I wish I could even fit in a lot of Ferraris?

What about bikes that started off expensive, but were heavily discounted when you bought them? Lot of stuff that Wiggle or Evans sell ends up going out the door for barely half its original RRP. Kind of ruins any correlation between price and fun, even if there was one to begin with.

 

[subaqua]

Cheapest one was £250 , a Btwin sport1 just before the carbon forks came. most expensive is the current commuter. the commuter gets ridden most, but when the sport1 gets ridden it gives a whole load of fun . mainkly cos the lumpy commuter means i know how to use legs properly.

its great whapping past high end cannondales and specializeds on my cheap n cheery Btwin

 

[ColinJ]

What about bikes that started off expensive, but were heavily discounted when you bought them? Lot of stuff that Wiggle or Evans sell ends up going out the door for barely half its original RRP. Kind of ruins any correlation between price and fun, even if there was one to begin with.

My best bike was built up years ago from parts costing about £2,000 but you can buy similar bikes now on Evans for well under £1,000.

 

[mjr]

In order of price, where 1 was cheapest and 5 was most expensive, I think my current fleet gets ridden from least frequent to most: 52314... so no, I don't think cost to me is strongly related to enjoyment.

If I was guessing at their inflation-adjusted new prices, I suspect it's 21543... which still doesn't seem much like the 12345 I'd have if more expensive meant more fun.

 

[cosmicbike]

I love them all equally, since generally they are for different things. My cheapest road bike was also my first road bike, and is now used for winter/wet cycling so suitably mudguard equipped. My 'Summer' road bike is not my most expensive, but is great fun on dry days. In terms of cost/mile the Brompton is the most expensive, but very useful to have.

 

[si_c]

Don't have an expensive bike. My current daily ride is a £40 ebay frame with parts from the parts box, and about £40 of cables and a new rear wheel, chain and freewheel. I have lots of fun on it albeit the frame is a touch too small for me.

I will be getting a new bike at some point this year, and I expect to have fun on that too. I'm not sure that you can separate the ride from the bike, if it's a fantastic day then I can't see how you would enjoy it more on a different bike.

 

[400bhp]

Generally I like riding the most expensive bike more than the others, except if it starts raining.

 

[ChrisEyles]

I've had a few very cheap poorly made bikes (many times second handed bottom-end apollo MTBs featured quite heavily) before I got properly bitten by the cycling bug, and they certainly weren't much fun to ride or maintain... though I'd take one of them any day over no bike at all!

Of all the "proper" bikes I've owned (probably none even qualifying for mid-range, but at least they've actually been built with the expectation of the user putting serious miles on it) it's the slighty intangible "feel" of the bike that gives the fun factor, which I guess is down to the interface of frame geometry and riding style. Whacking an ultegra groupset on a frame I already like/dislike probably wouldn't make much difference to how much I enjoy riding it.