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

[Sandra6]

I started out on a £150 apollo, which I was quite happy with until I realised how much easier it is to ride a £400 specialised.
Then I got a £700 cube , which is currently my preferred bike. I do miss the apollo because it was cute - lady's step thru with a basket - and the specialised for the pannier carrying capabilities, but the cube is by far the smoothest ride.

 

[Adam4868]

I've had a caad8 that has been upgraded over the years,fulcrum wheels and 10 speed 105 gearset.This has had mudguards fitted and is my winter,take on hols bike.It takes a fair bit of hammer as I quite like the bad weather.
My good bike is a onix carbon I built up with 10 speed Ultegra and new wheels,nothing too fancy.But good enough.
I don't really prefer it to be honest,I think I prefer the cannondale,guess it's cause I'm on it more ? I don't notice it any faster/easier up hills.Nor do I think Ultegra is a noticeable difference over 105

 

[Winnershsaint]

BTW it's an R5 from the good people at Shorter Rochfords who did me a nice deal

Mine's only an R3 and I still look a nobber on that, but love riding it

 

[Lozz360]

Personally, I've never owned an expensive bike so can't really answer the OP. The bike I do own is a B'Twin Triban, which I'm very happy with. I could afford a £5k bike if I wanted; two reasons why I don't is that for one, it is very satisfying overtaking road bikes of 10 times or more the value of mine. If I were to ride an expensive bike It would be me being overtaken by bikes a fraction of the cost of mine. Not the end of the world, I know. The other reason is I can and do upgrade the B'Twin (better wheels, tyres, pedals, etc.) and that can be an interest in itself. If I were to spend thousands on a bike I would not be wanting or needing to upgrade it.

Now do I put an expensive groupset on the Triban or do I buy a new bike with the expensive groupset already on it? That could be a new thread.

 

[NorthernDave]

Short answer: Yes

Long answer:
I got back into cycling on a Boardman MX Sport hybrid (pretty much an MTB with slightly skinnier wheels and tyres) and although it has been joined by two road bikes now, it still puts a smile on my face on the right ride. It feels slow, heavy and undergeared now if I do any distance on the road, but on trails, bridleways and anywhere off road it's still great fun and reminds me that it's all about enjoying yourself, even if you are covered in mud.
The Road Comp was a revelation after the hybrid and once I'd got used to it was quickly my go to bike. I've done a couple of sportives and thousands of miles on it and it's never let me down, but it's now a winter / bad weather bike with mudguards after the arrival of...
The Pro Carbon, which is quite simply awesome. Light as a feather, with brakes that can stop it on a sixpence regardless of road conditions. My average speed / times improved everywhere I went on it and it never, ever fails to put a big silly grin on my face. It allowed me to go farther, faster and I can't wait for the better weather to arrive so I can get back out there on it. I got stopped wheeling it out of Halfords by people wanting to know all about it and where I'd bought it from - one of them refused to believe that you could buy such a bike from there!
But I do worry about leaving it anywhere, even with the insurance mandated locks, which means a bit more thought goes into where I take it.
So that's a yes as well

 

[EasyPeez]

This has been a hard question as my bikes are like my kids, I do not like any of them more than the other.

Hmmm...I know what you mean about the bikes. Personally I find it much easier to rank the kids in order of preference though. And where they are concerned, the least expensive one is the most fun.....

 

[Grant Fondo]

Honestly the best bike i ever had was a Raleigh Shopper which was lent to me for few months in Spain...i was king of the carreteras during those sunny days..my current £2k carbon bike is 10kg lighter and a marvel of modern engineering...mmmm?

 

[bonsaibilly]

Question for those who have had cheap/ budget bikes and expensive ones, do you enjoy the expensive ones more? I know one persons expensive is another persons cheap but just generally.
I've had bikes for around £200 and ones for over a grand and I would say that I've enjoyed the more expensive ones more because they fit better and generally I've had no trouble with them other than general maintenance issues.

No.

 

[marzjennings]

Yes, that's why I buy 'em. I am unashamedly a bike snob and hate buying cheap parts that don't seem to last. For example a couple years back my old (+5 years) xtr pedals were started to show a wee bit of movement in the bearings which I couldn't fix. I was short on cash and thought no worries I'll get some M424 pedals. They wouldn't be as light as the xtr's, but I'm not racing so much these days and I thought they'd be sturdy enough. Damn things died in about 2 months. Ok, I'll try some xt pedals. Well they lasted about 9 months. So ok, save some cash and then a new pair of xtr pedals. Which have now lasted about a year without any problems at all.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I own old bikes, but I have a great old bike, because a crap bike is eternally crappy, but an old bike that was once fine is still a great ride. Elegance and parsimony are my watchwords. I always buy the best I can afford, cheaper in the long run.

 

[Tin Pot]

Question for those who have had cheap/ budget bikes and expensive ones, do you enjoy the expensive ones more? I know one persons expensive is another persons cheap but just generally.
I've had bikes for around £200 and ones for over a grand and I would say that I've enjoyed the more expensive ones more because they fit better and generally I've had no trouble with them other than general maintenance issues.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEREEEERRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!

 

[Drago]

Yes, that's why I buy 'em. I am unashamedly a bike snob and hate buying cheap parts that don't seem to last. For example a couple years back my old (+5 years) xtr pedals were started to show a wee bit of movement in the bearings which I couldn't fix. I was short on cash and thought no worries I'll get some M424 pedals. They wouldn't be as light as the xtr's, but I'm not racing so much these days and I thought they'd be sturdy enough. Damn things died in about 2 months. Ok, I'll try some xt pedals. Well they lasted about 9 months. So ok, save some cash and then a new pair of xtr pedals. Which have now lasted about a year without any problems at all.

I'm still running a set of 1999 XT pedals on my 1996 Alpinestars, and they're still working very nicely. There's a thread just this week for someone asking about their newish Ultegra brifter which now doesn't work. My 1978 Elswick is on its original mass produced cheapo headset bearings. These random off the cuff examples prove there's no firm correlation between price and durability with cycle components.

 

[si_c]

These random off the cuff examples prove there's no firm correlation between price and durability with cycle components.

There may be however arguments for the simplicity and durability of components. My simplex retrofrictions are in perfect working order, there is simply nothing to go wrong with them. Not sure you could say the same about more modern components, they're clever and good, but certainly not user serviceable and durable.

 

[shirokazan]

I had an Airnimal folding bike which I took to Scotland touring

Unfortunately on the first day there was a frame failure

Cunobelin, you completed the tour on a Ridgeback...so what did you do with the Airnimal? Post it back home?

 

[ColinJ]

There may be however arguments for the simplicity and durability of components. My simplex retrofrictions are in perfect working order, there is simply nothing to go wrong with them. Not sure you could say the same about more modern components, they're clever and good, but certainly not user serviceable and durable.

I have 10-speed Campagnolo Chorus on my Cannondale CAAD 5 bike. I got over 10 years hard use from the right hand shifter before its indexing started to become less obvious (it was still working, but it had lost its strong click so I sometimes wondered if the gear change had actually happened). I was able to buy spare parts for it and there are some excellent videos on YouTube showing how to strip the shifter down and service it. It is good as new now!