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

[fossyant]

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 have 3 sets of XT pedals, and ran them daily on the commuter for over 7 years. All they needed was a very occasional grease.

 

[Blue Hills]

We just got happy on two well maybe three £3.69 bottles of wine, we could have paid £200 a Bootle, wouls wee b Any hae P er, I doobt it.

Link to the wine please.

 

[JtB]

In my opinion there's an optimal price point for enjoyment. As you move from cheap towards this optimal price the enjoyment increases as the quality of the bike increases. But then as you move beyond this oprimal price the enjoyment decreases as you become more paranoid about the bike. I don't maintain / clean my bike between each and every ride and I accept the inevitable "wear and tear" that results, but if I had an extremely "expensive to replace" group set then I'd end up not using the bike for fear of it getting dirty, hence a decrease in enjoyment. Each of us needs to decide for ourselves where this optimal price point lies for maximising our enjoyment.

 

[screenman]

Link to the wine please.

It was just a Sauvignon Blanc from Lidl, my purchasing manager informs me that it was £3.89 a bottle.

 

[marzjennings]

I have 3 sets of XT pedals, and ran them daily on the commuter for over 7 years. All they needed was a very occasional grease.

My XTs have been attached to my mtb's and had to endure desert sand, boggy mud, rock gardens, jumps, drop offs and a +14 stone cat 2 racer* for years. I've not been kind to my bikes.


*not so much the racer these days, though I still get the miles in each week.

 

[Slick]

I dunno, but I'll certainly be able to give you a definitive answer tomorrow morning when I introduce my new Genesis to the outside world, can't wait.

Mmm, still not sure, but I reckon a good fit on an old bike is better than a poorly adjusted new bike.

 

[Drago]

Thinking back, the most fun - and perhaps the most reckless danger - I ever had was as a young teenager on a special I'd built. This bike was a Raleigh Wayfarer, a 26" wheeled gents bike, with a 24" rear wheel from a Chopper, and apehanger bars. Obviously, no rear brake, but it was built from scrounged together bits and cost me nothing whatsoever, yet was probably the most outrageous fun I've had with my clothes on.

 

[Shortandcrisp]

Mmm, still not sure, but I reckon a good fit on an old bike is better than a poorly adjusted new bike.

^This.

That's my experience. Not necessarily the age of the bike, but how well it fits and how it feels. Much more important than the price imo. Had/have a Cannondale Caad10 which fitted like a glove before my accident. Much more enjoyable to ride than a Cervelo S3 I bought on a whim at 3 times the price of the Cannondale.

 

[GGJ]

I hired a Trek Madone whilst on holiday recently and was looking forward to riding a nice bit of kit. Reality set in as soon as I set of from the hire shop, the gears weren't indexed properly, the brakes were p*ss poor and the headset was loose. Back at my abode I tightened the headset then centred and adjusted the brake calipers but the chain has so much oil on it I decided to take it back to the shop to be sorted out. 30 minutes in the shop and the guy was still faffing around and when he eventually gave me the bike back he said "it's ok on the upshift but the downshift's a bit sticky"...WTF So I left with it no better than it had been to start with. Once back at my digs I decided to tackle the indexing myself and 15 minuted later it was working perfectly (and I had some very black fingers). I did a hilly 40 mile route and every time I went over a rough bit of tarmac the internal cables rattled louder than a pea in a tin drum and sounded like something was about to break or snap, the handling was not great and I never felt confident at anything over 30mph. Back home I went out on my single speed steel framed Genesis Skyline, it was a totally different ride to the Trek, smooth, silent, comfortable with impeccable handling. If only the Trek had been half as good I would have been happy. So for me the cheap single speed wins the day

 

[lazybloke]

In my opinion there's an optimal price point for enjoyment. As you move from cheap towards this optimal price the enjoyment increases as the quality of the bike increases

This sounds good to me.



I'd add that the application is important.
If I'm commuting then the best bike is one I can leave locked up without worrying. If I'm offroad I'm enjoying the air and scenery rather than tearing down a screeslope, so I don't feel the need to replace my old MTB with a modern full-susser.

It's only when I'm on my racer that cycling performance and enjoyment are closely linked. That's when I wonder what it would be like to have a better, modern road bike. I could be fitter too.

 

[biking_fox]

Not really. I think newness is probably a better indicator of enjoyment, and while new and more expensive probably correlate pretty well, it's certainly not 1:1.

I bought a new singlespeed, which is ~ 1/3 the cost of my commuter. The SS is more fun to ride for short journies, but I'll tour and commute on what's now old faithful, although I thoroughly enjoyed it when new. It's never been my fastest bike though and they were also fun!

 

[hopless500]

My most expensive bike was a carbon Giant. Couldn't get on with it and ended up hating it, and ultimately selling it.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

I like both my bikes (the road bike for weekends, and the touring bike for commuting) equally. To like one more than the other would be "bicycle abuse".
Even though the road bike costs about 80% more than the touring bike, the latter is perfectly suited for commuting, and the former ideal for riding up mountains, so they each have their own advantages.

 

[mjr]

We just got happy on two well maybe three £3.69 bottles of wine, we could have paid £200 a Bootle, wouls wee b Any hae P er, I doobt it.

Mebbe not but you might not feel you needed the alcohol intake to blot out the taste

Actually, is that why people on expensive bikes seem to thrash themselves more, trying to go fast? Trying to get to the point of exhaustion or pain so they don't remember "HOW MUCH????" every time they notice the bike?

 

[Oldfentiger]

This got me thinking, which is usually dangerous
I've been into my motorbikes for many years, and I always had sporty bikes. The last one I owned was a Ducati 996.
The 996 was the kind of machine that the faster it was ridden the more sense it made. To ride it slowly was truly awful.
The wife had a Ducati Monster, and when time for service arrived I offered to take it back to the dealer for her. The dealer was Woods of Abergele.
When I dropped the bike off I was offered a courtesy bike for the day, and I had a choice between a Yamaha FZR600 or a Triumph Bonneville.
I chose the Bonny thinking it would make an interesting change.
I spent the day puttering along at sub 50mph speeds and enjoying the scenery, which included a ride up the Great Orme at LLandudno.
I had a great day, mainly because I had no pressure to go fast. In fact it was a revellation for me.
You can argue that there's never pressure to go fast, but that's not strictly true because there's often a subconscious desire to do justice to whatever you're riding.
It's a human trait to wish for the admiration and respect of our peers, so who's going to admire the nobber dawdling along on his expensive racebike-based roadster? All the gear and no idea comes to mind.
I wonder if we feel this subconscious pressure when we're riding our carbon racebikes?
I wonder if that's why enjoy riding my older bikes just as much (or more)?

Ah well, the motorbikes are gone now, and I'm a cyclist