fietsbob

the purpose of a distribution warehouse is to supply stores. they fill and ship orders to dealers, your LBS.

GrouchoWretch

Well, if you're doing long treks on trails, maybe you're on the right track with your bike choices!

fettsvenska 

If you are going to be riding some trails, a suspension fork might be right for you. However, good suspension forks are simply not available on inexpensive bikes. You may want to try to find a bike where the suspension can be "locked". This means you can sort of turn the suspension off or adjust the fork to make it more rigid as needed. But again, these type of forks cost $$$.

Regarding price...here is what I try to explain to my non-cycling friends who are shopping for a bike or want to start cycling. When I was a kid in the late 70s I really wanted a Schwinn scrambler. Scramblers were a decent quality, basic BMX style bike suitable for a kid. The price on those at the time was $200. As I recall, that was pretty typical for a reasonable quality LBS bicycle. Now, fast forward 35 years to today. Accounting for inflation, what would $200 in 1978 be worth now? If we assume about 3% (a pretty standard economic assumption) inflation the math looks like this $200 X ((1 + 0.03) ^ 35) = $562. I realize that this isn't a perfect extrapolation and that there are several arguments to be made here. However, I think that the main point still holds, which is if in 1978 the cost of a very basic bicycle was $200, you should expect to pay about 2.5 to 3 times that amount in todays dollars for a basic bicycle of similar quality.

So when someone tells me they want to spend $300 on a bicycle I just try to inform them of the type of quality they are getting, which is usually pretty poor. For someone who wants to go out with their kids and ride to the park and back, a $300 bike will work fine. For someone who wants to put in some serious miles, expect to be disappointed. Now, I'm not suggesting that you have to go off and blow $1,000+, although that certainly would expand your options. But in my opinion you don't really start getting into decent quality bicycles designed for serious mileage until you start looking in the $550+ range. Bikes go on sale just like any other consumer product, so that will relieve some of pressure on your budget.

Obviously, just my opinion.

gpsblake

I disagree. I rode my Walmart Schwinn 3,300 miles last year...... I rode a Walmart Schwinn Sidewinder from South Carolina to Abilene, TEX covering 2,000 miles. The one part that does go up after a few 100 miles is the pedals. I always end up replacing them with steel flat pedals from Western Auto. I do my own adjustments myself, most brake cable adjustments (which any bike requires). I get about 3,000 miles from a set of 26x2.1 inches tires.

Go into a LBS shop and if it is a good one, you'll see all these very expensive bicycles being repaired and tuned up, which is how they make their money, repairing your $4,000 bike. While I ride my $150 bicycle day in and day out. And when I get bored and want a new ride, I'll just donate my old one to Goodwill and buy another Walmart bike.

That system works for me. May not work for you. The important thing though is to ride and have fun.

Burton

I agree completely with your last statement. The rest not so much. Tuneups and parts are offered at fixed rates in every shop I'm aware of. It really doesn't matter how much or how little your bike cost initially or if its new or 30 years old. Some people with expensive bikes do their own mechanics too. Some people with bikes like yours bring it to the LBS.

The biggest differences between inexpensive and expensive bike is parts quality and weight which affects long term durability and performance. Long term durability isn't measured in thousands of miles, but in tens of thousands of miles. If however, your system works for you - its obviously the thing that counts.