mark9950

What does a $4000.00 bike have over maybe a $1000.00 bike,I just dont get it,but if the difference is weight than just pedal harder and buikd your muscles.Its not like making you car lighter and more aerodynamic to get better gas mileage.Just eat a few more hot dogs.

FXjohn

You cry more when it is stolen

vitualis

Practical things:
- better frame/fork/saddle/bars --> better performance and perhaps better comfort
- better wheels --> better performance, better durability
- better drive train --> better performance, better durability

Intangible things:
- bling
- bragging rights
- overall satisfaction

Your recreational activities don't have to make sense, they should just make you happy.

Regards.

Artkansas 

Riff raff who cannot afford $4,000 bikes will be jealous.

jsharr

old nag < quarterhorse

kia < ferrari

natty light < glenlivet single malt

East Hill

How many of us have $4000 AltBikes?

East Hill

Flying Merkel

Summed up neatly in a nutshell.

I like good bikes. My personal limit for a new bike would be around $1,200. With my riding style, monies spent above that hit the law of diminishing returns. I'm happy with my 23 year old Univega Super Strada & Frankenhopper, a mix of surviving components bolted to a replacement frame.

Reverse snob-ism is worse than the good old fashioned kind. Always has the stink of jealousy lingering about. Wish buying a $4,000 bike was an option for me. I admire the technology and beauty of high end machinery of any kind.

roadiejorge 

Completely agree about the practical items, technology seeks to improve performance and while most riders don't need a $4,000 bike some may just appreciate the performance factor of the higher end drive trains and other components. The intangible reasons are all pretty trivial but if people have that kind of money to spend then fair play to them, they just need to make sure they're not getting dropped by someone on a Huffy. Cycling is great because the rider is the engine so the real bragging rights come from how you ride and not what you're riding.

Tabor

Some people have more money than they know what to do with. My Surly Pacer + full 9 speed Ultegra cost more than $1000 to build up. Does that make me a bad person?

StephenH

If you've got the money and don't need it for something else, why not buy a gold-plated bike with it?

On performance items in general, when you start getting to the better stuff, you wind up paying a LOT more to get a little more. You'd expect more of a difference between a $1000 bike and a $100 bike than between a $10,000 bike and a $1,000 bike. True of cars, watches, cameras, lots of other stuff. It'll be closer to a custom-made item, made in a high-labor place instead of China, made by people that aren't going to bother if they don't get some good income off of it, etc.

A $4,000 bike is still way cheaper than any new car sold.

Floyd

the rider is the engine so the real bragging rights come from how you ride and not what you're riding.
+1 ... course I am the one who would not spend 4 thou. unles I really,,,really wanted it.

ralph12

I wouldn't ever buy a 4K or more bike unless I was a multi-millionaire, but I actually very much support people who are well off spending as much of their money as possible.

FLYcrash

Check out the testimonials at richardsachs.com and read the thoughts of many riders who find it utterly worthwhile to spend $4K on just a steel frameset. They felt it was worth it to get an absolutely top-notch product, made by a renowned artisan to fit their measurements exactly. If I had $4K plus components to spare, I'd probably do it too.

I'm blowing my economic stimulus check on a bunch of Phil Wood and Chris King to put on the steel road bike I plan to build this fall. I'm consciously spending top dollar for top quality bearings - I have a weakness for good bearings - that are made by honest, fairly-compensated American labor.

That road bike will probably run me around $2K once it's done. And I'm just a carfree high school teacher, not a multimillionare.

At the end, I guess some of us will pay for things other than acceptable function. People will pay for beyond-acceptable function. People will pay to support skilled workers in their own country. People will pay for the warm, fuzzy feeling that one person of extraordinary skill made the product especially for them.

It might be irrational. But people do it, and I don't think it's wrong.

joejack951

I don't understand why someone would ever waste their time (and money) on building something as impractical as an alt. bike...just kidding, but hopefully you can see how this whole debate can be easily turned around on just about anything.

For the record, I do own an almost $4k bike (paid for with a well earned bonus from my employer) and it's the sweetest thing I've ever straddled. Most days I ride my $300 MTB to work though.

Flying Merkel

Let's see, $2,000 will get you a:

1) High mileage car that has a limited life span.

2) Functional motorcycle that's going to need some work.

3) A great bicycle that has a possible life span of 100 years.

Considering that I just put $60.00 worth of gas into my Camry, doesn't sound like a bad bargain.

basscadetz

https://www.vanillabicycles.com

ok im not one for spending ANYTHING on a bicycle, but DAMN these are sexy!

Allen

Had I ever married what I spent on some of my bikes would most likely have been the cause of an argument or two.

I build my bikes up piece meal, it's not as painful as coming off the hip all at once. It can take me a year or more to collect all the parts for a specific build, and the drivetrain is always the most expensive part.
What I get for my money is the exact bike I want.

mark9950

Only if you want to dump money into it for replacing worn out parts.Its not uncommon for a bb and crankset costs $1500.00,which wear out in about 7 chains(7000 miles).

dervish

if you have the extra money and ur willing to spend it on something you love, why not?

rollerdavem

I BOUGHT a $4100 bike.

A Lightfoot Roadrunner Magnum delta trike.

Why? I'm a double clyde, needed the strength.

Am I satisfied? Do I think it was worth it?

ABSOLUTELY!

Will I buy another bike that costs so much?

Well, this one is to let me exercise down to where I can use a more 'normal' bike; so I'm glad to say I probably won't NEED to buy another.

THANK GOD, because that was a lot of money and even tho I love my bike, parting with a chunk like that hurts!

RD

Longfemur

The same kind of people who ask that question probably wouldn't hesitate very long to buy the most expensive home theater system, the most expensive pro digital SLR camera, the most expensive car they can afford rather than just a basic no frills model, the most expensive cellphone, etc. If the money is spent on craftsmanship, such as the aforementioned Richard Sachs frame, or frames from other quality hand-made frame builders, I don't see anything wrong with it, simply because I'm not looking forward to the day when such builders no longer exist and all bikes come from the same factory in Taiwan. Most already do. Now, if you're talking about $4000 bikes from that same factory, well then I totally agree with you.

late

That would depend on the bike. I'd want custom as I have some fairly serious fit issues. So having your bike fit like a glove would be one thing.

Performance... there's a Roubaix in that ballpark now. I'd love to test ride it. But
what I would like is a Waterford that's a lot like my Gunnar Sport. I'd like a little
more BB stiffness, and for the wheelbase to be just a couple mm longer.

I'd also like it to look drop dead gorgeous. For that kind of money I could put
wheels on it that weigh a pound less than the ones I have.

But the choices are staggering. You could go custom carbon or get a Tarmac SL.
I have been wondering what it feels like to ride that. Too much bike for me, but it would be fun to try it once.

RoyIII

I spent almost that much on the pedal force RS2 I built, about $3800 if you consider the cost of parts I already had on hand [$1800] plus the cost of components I had to buy for the build[$2000]. It's all chorus with rol wheels and about 15 lbs., estimated. It's worth every penny, too, and the frame was half price. Oh, and it's from Taiwan - if you ever rode it you'd never disparage Taiwan again!

joejack951

Aside from the power meter cranksets (like SRM), I think the most expensive crank I've ever seen was $1000 (from Zipp) and that included a BB and a BB tool. My extremely light Stronglight carbon crankset was about $400 plus another $50 or so for the BB. Given my experience with other cranksets, I imagine I'll get at least 10,000 miles on the chainrings at which point I can replace the ones that need it (probably just the middle one for <$50) and keep riding it for another 10,000 miles. During that 10,000 mile period, I might use two chains.

If you don't approve of something that's fine; there's no need to go around making up stories about those things though.

Flying Merkel

Point is that it is economically feasible to keep a bicycle going almost indefinitely. Cars usually get junked when repairs are too expensive. My Mazda truck was junked when the main computer failed. Computer was not in production- truck is trash.

My last BB I bought was around $30.00. Last crankset was about $50.00 Not Phil Woods parts, for sure, but both are still going strong after years of hard use.