greggt5000

I have a Trek 5000, just wondering what high dollar bike like some of you have rides like ? If I road one could I really tell a big difference ?

Thanks

Gregg

Wino Ryder

For me, the difference was between night and day. When I bought my Tommasini the bike practically pedaled itself. I was instantly four times faster, and could go four times longer than before. When ever I was riding it, all the traffic stopped, and people were thinking I was some kind of "Pro" bike rider or something. It was really crazy. There is nothing like the feel, or the handling, or the speed that an Italian bike can give you.

seriously, the tolerances were better, and it was really kind of smooth like. It kind of glided, and it was silent, much like a paper airplane in flight. The shifting was fast, and it manuevered quicker. Pretty nice really.

filtersweep

Yes, the marketing really works well, doesn't it.

As far as the ride is concerned, my Look (which in all fairness is probably more of a $4500 bike, with the good wheels on it) rides great--- but it is not all the different than riding one of my steel beaters. The difference is in the weight. Lets face it, you pay a premium for LIGHTNESS and materials, not for the ride. It is easy to build a great handling, great riding, heavy bike for little money. Also, a huge chunk of a $5000 bike is not related to the frameset, but to components and wheels. Those same parts would work well anywhere.

When I purchased my Look, it was an upgrade from an aluminum 105 level bike that didn't fit me all that well-- so of course it was like night and day when I rode it home.

Cyclaholic

A $5000 bike will make you a better climber through significant weght saving in the wallet.

I-Like-To-Bike

Rolex's look better than Timex's. Don't know how much better time they keep though. Plenty of customers fork over the dough and get what they paid for - satisfaction.

khuon

When I was growing up, my stepfather, a mechanical engineer was often fond of saying, "engineering is doing for a buck what any fool can do for a hundred." The amount of money you spend on a bike does not necessarily equate to a higher quality of ride. It does however equate to a higher quality of the marketting depertment of the company selling you the bike if they have a well engineered product. If they however have a poorly engineered product then it means that the higher selling price (assuming it actually sells) equates to them having an extremely high quality marketting department. If they have a poorly engineered product, have a poor marketting department yet are still able to sell it then they have morons for consumers and they are very very very lucky.

rmwun54

Not that much different than one that cost 1/2 the price.

Allen

I don't have 5k in my La Raza, but it's was pricey. There are 2 things about my bike that make it (to me) better than others. 1st: a steel frame and a carbon fork make for a glass smooth ride, 2nd: I have top of the line internally geared hub on it. It takes about 5 miles to become completely addicted to precise and instantaneous shifting, it's like silk.

--A

FarHorizon

Hi Gregg!

Go to a big bike shop and ask for a test ride. See for yourself!

bkaapcke

Apparently,CHEAP STILL LIVES! Stomp it out before it spreads. bk

stapfam

I have an $8,500 bike. Not your normal bike as this is at the inflated prices we have over here- Only thing is it is a mountain bike. In standard form the basic frame was exceptional. Problem was the forks, brakes and wheels. Had to upgrade them very quickly to take the all up weight of 400lbs at excessive speeds cross country.

OK- its slightly out of the norm as its a Tandem- but all bikes can do a job. It is as you get to the end of the capabilities of that bike that you have to get a better bike- Untill then- a $500 bike will ride alike a $5,000 bike. In fact if a $10 novice gets on a $5000 bike- he will probably wreck it. They are somewhere near the other end of reliability that a cheap bike has. It has to be ridden with care, you have to think about what you are going to hit with the Ultra light wheels and you have to have precision with gear changes before you start grinding the gears as you change.

Now back to that Tandem- It is strong. All tandems have to be but We can now tackle the gnarliest downhills without bottoming the suspension at the football sized rock- we can hit that rock without the wheels screaming for mercy or giving up on us and if we are lucky we can brake from 50mph on the descent before we hit that rock. Just wish we had the skill to do it.

slvoid

There is a break even point, always.
Price depends on where you get it. However, I find that anything equiped similarly to ultegra or 105 with a frame between $700-1000 and wheels around $600-800 is just about where it ends. Which means a bike in the $2500 price range. Anything above that and it's all diminishing returns.

You're better off spending the extra cash on clothes and a gym membership. Beyond that break even point, it's all you. Double the price for an extra 1-2% performance increase isn't worth the price unless you're being paid to ride.

alanbikehouston

I have a number of bikes with frames and wheels similar to the typical "entry level" road bike in the $600 to $800 range. And, I have a bike that is very similar to the Trek bike Armstrong rode in the Tour de France in 1999 (mine is a bit older than that).

What I've discovered is:

IF (and ONLY if):

1. The bike fits perfectly

2. The wheels and tires are essentially identical

3. The contact points (bar tape, pedals, and saddle) are essentially identical

4. The rider's position and set-up are essentially identical

If ALL those things are true, it is almost impossible to "feel" a difference between an entry level road bike and a "Pro" level road bike on a typical level or rolling sort of road.

Where I CAN notice a difference is on a long, very steep climb. With a 182 pound rider, and a 18 pound bike, you are pushing a 200 pound load up that hill. That same rider, with a 23 pound bike, is pushing 205 pounds up that hill. That is only about a 2% difference in total load, but if the climb is long enough, and steep enough, the rider can detect that 2% of difference.

That 2% of difference, for a Pro rider, can be the difference between finishing first and finishing last. For someone riding for recreation, or to get a higher level of fitness, that extra 2% of effort is meaningless, or a slight bonus, as it makes you work a tiny bit harder.

What is clear those is, if someone trades a $600 bike with good wheels and good tires for a $3,000 bike with good wheels and good tires, they are paying 500% more money to get about 2% more in performance.

Da Tinker

I beg to differ. While I do not have a $5K bike, I do have a very good, custom steel framed bike. It has been specifically designed for my body & the way I ride. Just the difference in the ride is worth the difference. In spite of my IF running narrower tires than my Fuji, at higher pressures, the IF rides smoother and handles better. Not neccesarily quicker, but better. The IF becomes an extension of my body.

Having said that, if a stock bike fits you well, custom bikes may be superfluous spending. That is not my case.

More money gets you better tolerances, shifters that work & last better, a ride that is more vertically compliant, with less unwanted lateral flex. Gets you finer finish & better looks, as well.

khuon

You left out one important word: can. There is no guarantee that spending more money will get you a better bike. The OP asked a very generic and ambiguous question. A generic answer is that a $5k bike can ride like crap or it can ride like the best bike ever made. But the same thing can be said of any bike at any pricepoint. The bike does not make the ride. The bike and the cyclist do. My point is that the price of a bike is not necessarily directly related to its ride quality.

Nachoman

And when you pedal to the red sea, does it part for you too?

I-Like-To-Bike

When you pay 5K, the Red Sea will come to you; bikes that cost over 5K can be riden on the Red Sea water; or at least that's what I read somewhere on the Internet, so I know it must be true.

Cyclaholic

You still come up with some funny ones, for an old guy

slowandsteady

4 times faster??? So what do you ride now, like 72 mph on the flats over a distance of 160 miles. Where do I get one of these bikes. I just did the MS150 this weekend. It took me 6 hours of riding time on each day(78 miles). With this bike I could have done it in 1.5 hours instead. What a deal!!

Portis

I'd be more interested to know what it "slept like." Since i'd likely be needing to sleep on it if I bought one. (not to mention, sleep WITH it.)

Da Tinker

Quite right & thanks for pointing out my omission.

You could put George Hincapie on my bike (since we are roughly the same build, give or take 55 pounds) and he likely would not care for the ride. It would be too stiff for his weight and have too high a position.

The best bike is the one you can afford and enjoy to ride.

merlinextraligh

There's definitely diminishing returns to spending more on a bike, and the curve starts getting very steep at about a $1000.
This what I got for $6000. (approximate because its been assembled over time)
1) Merlin Extralight Frame, light, very comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, and has lasted 8 years and still looks and rides like new.
2) 10 speed D/A. Light, ergonomically pleasing, and shifts flawlessly.
3) Zipp 404 wheels. These actually make you faster. Perhaps 1/2mph as oppossed to conventional wheels.
4) Powertap SL hub. Training tool that used correctly also makes you faster.

Is the advantage of all this marginal over a $1000 bike, absolutely. Is it nice to have if you can afford it, definitely. Is it small sum of money amortized over 8 years, and 40,000 miles? to me yes. (Perhaps not to my wife.)

HardyWeinberg

I have this mental block on putting out 4 figures for a bike and still having to deal w/ derailers. I am getting better at whacking them back into submission when they act up, but I think whatever peace I felt from a(n initially) fine-tuned machine would go away in a hurry as I had to deal w/ drivetrain maintenance. Internal hub gears, simple straight short chain (no tensioner), that is some peace of steady-rolling mind I could see paying for.

Da Tinker

Then it don't get much better than a Rohloff 14 speed hub. Only about $1K - for the hub.
https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/rohloff.html

Rowan

One way to find out... wait a couple of years until the $5,000 bike bought now is then worth $500. Then take it for a spin.

What you will then find is that all the marketing gurus and their customers will tell you that today's $5,000 bike is nowhere as good as their 2009 bike worth $8,000 in ride, handling and shifting.

There are, of course, many who ride years-old and much cheaper bikes (even steel ones!) that do everything they want them to do with the same perceived comfort and reliability that a $5,000 one could provide. Their comfort usually comes from having a thicker wallet to sit on.