Originally Posted by
joejack951
Most people getting into cycling have no clue what they want, let alone what they need. They do generally have an idea of what their budget is though, hence using that as a starting point. Luckily, unlike some hobbies, pretty much any budget will work for getting into cycling. I've set friends up with quality bikes for as little as $75 (used) and built a few of my own for, well, a lot more than that. When the budget allows it, a more durable, lighter weight, and better fitting bike can be had but not everyone who's jumping into a hobby wants to outlay so much cash before they figure out if it's really for them. With the right purchases, you can have a net gain of cash buying and selling a bike rather than losing hundreds or thousands buying brand new from the LBS then changing your mind.
A guy should feel fortunate to have a friend like you. I agree with your logic if a person goes into it not knowing what he wants. However, some of the posts in the forums have some pretty strict criteria... like the guy knows exactly what he wants. Then he puts a budget limit of about 1/3 or 1/2 of what something like that would cost new. I'm sure that you can set up a "quality bike" for $75... depending on what those qualities are. It's not going to be a new $75 quality bike.
People have ridden my bikes. They tell me how nice they feel and that they could really get into riding if they had something like I have. They ask me if they could get into a bike like my commuter/touring bike (steel rocky mountain sherpa 30 - a $2000 setup) or my road bike (cannondale synapse carbon SL2 - $3000) for a couple of hundred dollars. To be honest with them, about the only answer that I can give them is "NO" or... "YES" something "like it"... but the only similarities might be that they both have two wheels.
There is a difference between a "functional" bike and a "nice" bike. Just to be fair... all these friends of mine drive much nicer vehicles than I do (1991 toyota pickup) and I have no misconceptions that my vehicle is something like theirs... other than the number of wheels.