Commuting - "How much did that bike cost?"

Part of my commute is via Los Angeles Subway and I occasionally get asked "How much did that bike cost?"...my pat answer is "I bought it on Craigslist for a few hundred." I commute on a 2009 Fuji Roubaix Pro that I got on sale for about $1K so it's not some crazy expensive bike but I'm not about to discuss that value of something I have with my with some random person.

How do you respond to strangers asking how much your bike cost you?

On sale at Walmart, $99.95

More than your car.

More than your car.

+ 1

I dont hide it.

I say -$5,000 in future doctor bills.

No idea, it was a gift.

"Not much."

If asked, I'll tell them flat out the bike's replacement cost.

:lol:

Im more uncomfortable telling someone who lives in my neighborhood vs a random person i see when traveling.

Didn't we just do this? anyways simple solution if you don't want to hear that question.. make your nice bike UGLY, example.
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x309/ascendingsmoke/Schwinn%20Tempo%202B/0706121756.jpg

i say what bike i dont have a bike as a peddle away

Tell 'em five thousand six hundred pennies and forty two cents! :lol:

I used to get that on the Red Line with my '98 KHS Alite 500. My answer was usually tempered by my appraisal of the asker. It varied from an honest $300 if the person seemed like someone I could talk to, to a blank "no speeka da eengleesh" stare.

"Three"

Free, but it cost me about 50 bucks to overhaul.

A marriage

Eleventy five and a few cents.

I can never understand why people feel compelled to answer questions put to them, especially when the questioner is a complete stranger.

There is no law that says you need to answer questions.

People don't get everything they ask for, including answers to their questions.

A marriage

I hope it's a very nice bike!

A marriage

That sounds expensive . . . did you get a quick release with that?

Didn't we just do this? anyways simple solution if you don't want to hear that question.. make your nice bike UGLY, example.


Ugly bikes make awesome commuters. This is my current ugly beater lock up bike, ,a 1984 Trek 720 badly in need of a paint job, which has been converted to SS commuter duty:

260223260224

Eleventy five and a few cents. . . . at Bilbo's Bike Shop.

Having lived in LA and taken the subway and the Goldline with my bike, I think your standard answer is good-- a few hundred. Nobody needs to know the real value. You have to size up the people around you and determine if they're friends, foes, or neutrals. I don't support the "just don't answer" idea because I try to avoid conflict, and some people will take stony silence as an insult. Also, some of the roughest-looking people I've ever talked to are actually really nice... so I learned I couldn't always judge a book by the cover. But you gotta protect yourself first.

I can never understand why people feel compelled to answer questions put to them, especially when the questioner is a complete stranger.

There is no law that says you need to answer questions.

People don't get everything they ask for, including answers to their questions.

True...there is no law that say you need to try to be a half decent human being capable of showing at least small amount of respect to strangers, in fact many of them encourage the opposite. Still, if a big bad STRANGER shows genuine interest in something I am doing I am more than happy to talk to them for a minute or two. I'm certainly not going to turn around and walk away. Call me crazy...

Asking strangers the cost of something first off is so gauche. It sets off big red flags for me. They don't care about the bike, they care about the money.

In your case I'd probably say, "You could get one like it on Craigslist for $XXX"

My Hard Rock was a freebie, so I have no problem discussing its price.

My Bacchetta takes more discretion. Unless I think the person is truly interested in getting such a fine machine for themselves, I usually say that Walmart has recumbents for a couple of hundred dollars. The person who actually is interested I find usually will preface that question with others, like what are the gears, how do you start from a stop, how easy is it to pedal uphill...

... so I learned I couldn't always judge a book by the cover. . .

True, but sometime the preface is in your face.


Asking strangers the cost of something first off is so gauche. It sets off big red flags for me. . .

Me too.

It kind of depends on why they are asking, so in the vein of quid quo pro just answer their question with a question. Could be they are thinking about buying a bike, or want to shop for one for someone else, or they might just be making small talk.

If they seem suspicious I just ask how much their tattoo cost, or ask if they also ride, or ask if they are interested it buying it. If they play like they are a buyer then just go into used car salesman mode and start asking what their price range is and how you might be able to help them find one.

Sometimes curious people are an annoyance, and sometimes they are an opportunity. And sometimes they have a bike at home in the garage or basement they are thinking of selling and are just trying to get an idea of what it might be worth, I've gotten a deal or two over the years that started off like this. You just never know.

No idea, it was a gift.

I love this answer.

$400.00 . . . in 1980.

(I was 16 and making $2.00 an hour, so $400.00 was a ton of money)

42

Thanks for all the fish.

I was asked this about my Brompton a couple times on the Seoul subway.

"Around one thousand, U.S.," I said, rounding down.

"How much in Korean?"

The answer is 1 million won, but I could never bring myself to utter the "m" word. It felt indecorous.

I like the idea of sidestepping the actual question and talking about the bicycle. If they keep coming back to the bike, well, "I don't know, I've put so many things on and off of it who knows?"

I usually counter with "what do you have in your golf clubs?"

No one likes to talk about that!!

No one has ever asked :cry:

Part of my commute is via Los Angeles Subway and I occasionally get asked "How much did that bike cost?"...my pat answer is "I bought it on Craigslist for a few hundred." I commute on a 2009 Fuji Roubaix Pro that I got on sale for about $1K so it's not some crazy expensive bike but I'm not about to discuss that value of something I have with my with some random person.

How do you respond to strangers asking how much your bike cost you?
People who speak English (and the same is true for a lot of other languages) may nor always express themselves to your liking. "How much did your bike cost?" could be simply an awkwardly expressed: "I really like your bike! If I wanted one like that how much would it cost me?" In my experience people don't show any interest in things they don't find attractive. And you are free to read or misread the question any way you want to.

42
So long.

Thanks for all the fish.

I bought it at a flea market, $50. It doesn't work well and has cracks in the frame. I once found a dead mouse in it. No, I'm not interested in selling it.

It's no one's business. If I'm locking up outdoors, I'm usually using this camo'd POS.

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/photo-40.jpg

People who speak English (and the same is true for a lot of other languages) may nor always express themselves to your liking. "How much did your bike cost?" could be simply an awkwardly expressed: "I really like your bike! If I wanted one like that how much would it cost me?" In my experience people don't show any interest in things they don't find attractive.

I somewhat agree.

I can never understand why people feel compelled to answer questions put to them, especially when the questioner is a complete stranger.

There is no law that says you need to answer questions.

People don't get everything they ask for, including answers to their questions.Interesting response for someone who just responded to a post put to him by a complete stranger.

Part of my commute is via Los Angeles Subway and I occasionally get asked "How much did that bike cost?"...my pat answer is "I bought it on Craigslist for a few hundred." I commute on a 2009 Fuji Roubaix Pro that I got on sale for about $1K so it's not some crazy expensive bike but I'm not about to discuss that value of something I have with my with some random person.

How do you respond to strangers asking how much your bike cost you?The mid to high end bike thieves already know the value of your bike and are unlikely to ask such a question. Homeless and quick drug thieves may not know the value, but are unlikely to go for a well locked or attended bike.

Anyone who has asked me has seemed to have a sincere interest, and has opened an opportunity for me to promote cycling and a positive view of cyclist. So I give them an honest answer to that questions and any other cycling questions I might be able to help them with.

fourty-two

fourty-two

How many roads must a man cross?

What is 6 times 9?

The correct answer is: not you business.

To friends: "Oh, (insert politician-grade drivel designed to avoid the issue). So y'know, yeah."

alternatively "I got it for 25% list price. It was a damn good buy."

To strangers: "mumblemumblemumble$mumblemumblemumble. So y'know, yeah. A pretty good price."

I usually counter with "what do you have in your golf clubs?"

No one likes to talk about that!!

$10 for the complete set of carbon fiber shaft irons and woods at a church rummage sale during the last hour of their annual 4-day rummage sale, bag was maybe $5 at a thrift shop, shoes were new and bought at a sporting goods store (Dick's) for probably less than one of the tires on your bicycle, golf balls are mostly free from walking the bushes of a local course during lunch. So, now, back to your bike ... ;)

Didn't we just do this? anyways simple solution if you don't want to hear that question.. make your nice bike UGLY, example.
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x309/ascendingsmoke/Schwinn%20Tempo%202B/0706121756.jpg

Sweet bike...how much ??


;)

A little more than my 9 mm sidearm.

I think I'd muster my best Forest Gump and say "those look like comfortable shoes"