Road Cycling - Why a <$750 bike may not be <$750

Because you will eventually spend more money upgrading or replacing components over the long haul. I bought a Scott Speedster S4. The rear wheel broke spokes and is being rebuilt with less than 1000mi on it. I hope to get a better set of wheels this year, which will be a $250+ upgrade. I may target other components later - $$$.

I can't ride that bike while it is being fixed. Time off the bike is a waste too.

I do like the Scott frame, I think it will be a great platform to upgrade on.

If I were looking for a bike again, I would have looked for something with at least a 105/Ultegra mix, bombproof wheels, etc...

Initially, such a bike would cost twice as much as the Scott S4, but I would have had 3x the bike. I would also be riding it instead of being frustrated with mechanical difficulties.

Understand your frustration. I broke a lot of spokes on a stock wheelset, and a pair of Shimano 2200/CXP22's (which I thought would be a minor upgrade). Cheap spokes + machine built = bad news. Even with several LBS retension/trues, neither set could really perform as I needed. I finally landed on a pair of Mavic Cosmos (and a pair of Ksyriums for my nicer bike) and couldn't be happier.

I have to differ with your overall statement, though. In my opinion, you don't get 3x the bike simply by paying 2x as much. You can easily spend that much and still walk away with fairly low-end wheels, cheap brakes, and an aweful saddle. You can also upgrade the wheels on a bike like your Scott, install Kool-stop pads, get the fit dialed in, and keep the shifting/drivetrain fully tuned. If you do that, it'll perform 99% as well as a bike in the 'twice as much' range.

I have to differ with your overall statement, though. In my opinion, you don't get 3x the bike simply by paying 2x as much.

True, law of diminishing returns kicks in quick; spend twice as much, get 1.3 times as much bike. Spend 3 times as much, get 1.5 times as much Spend 4 times as 1.6 times as much bike, Spend 10 times as much, get 1.7 times as much bike.

the curve starts flattening at $750, becomes very shallow at around $1500, and the upslope is only marginally perceptable above $3,000.

My $800 deal of course was not actually $800, because I wanted to get some additional things to work on the bike with. However, I don't think I will upgrade anything anytime soon. But, then again the bike is a $2000 bike without the deal.

My Scott S20 came with Shimano WH-R 550s which were weak as crap...I weigh about 175lbs. and the rear spokes would creak/pop/snap like crazy on climbs. I never broke a spoke though and didn't want to take the risk of that happening when out on one of treks out into the Indiana hinterlands. I replaced them with Aksiums that I'm very happy with considering the state of some of the roads around here and the pleathora of potholes and messy chip and seal jobs.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=4385092&postcount=44

If you're a heavier rider, you should ask the bike shop to swap the stock wheels with something heavier duty before you buy the bike. They will usually do that for little or no charge. Better bike shops will even recommend this without you asking. "Heavier" depends on the type of bike you are buying.

Your LBS shouldn't have much of a problem switching most anything out on the bike. And in most cases will just charge you the difference. You can save some money that way.