Originally Posted by
vkalia
I call BS on that. You posted a pretty poorly-thought out initial post, got called on it and are now trying to weasel your way out of it. First, it was beginner riders. Then it was riders who know what they want. Now it is "people who are new but know exactly what they want."
So, if I get your point: there are some people who are new to cycling but know exactly what they want and also how much it costs, but set an unrealistically low budget - and this bothers you. Are there a lot of these people in your neck of the woods, cos this sort of goes against the typical beginner profile I encounter in other rides (and what I went through myself when I got back into cycling).
There is quite a difference in being "new to cycling" and a "beginner." I would consider myself to be "new to cycling" since I first started riding as a hobby a few years ago. However, I wouldn't have considered myself a "beginner." I had learned how to ride a bicycle 40+ years prior to the time I was "new to cycling."
So yes, even though I was "new to cycling" I knew what I wanted. At that time I wanted a bike with 700c wheels, drop bars, index shifting, and something that could carry a load for comfortably for commuting. The bikes that best fit that description were touring bikes, and they seemed to cost between $800 and $1300. Yes, I could have commuted on something cheaper by spending my time looking for a used touring bike, or downgrading the specifications that I initially set out... but, eventually I would have been right back to buying a touring bike that I set out to buy in the first place.
I would dare say that 99 percent of the people posting in these forums know how to ride a bike and have ridden bikes for years. They are not beginners. The ones that are "new to cycling" are the ones that have now decided to take it up as a hobby or are planning to use bicycles in a new way to them (commuting, fitness, racing, touring, etc.)