Originally Posted by
njkayaker
- Quality of materials is not really increased beyond some price. No benefit to "expensive".
No, there are different levels. I would think there is a heiarchy something like: garden variety steel alloys, garden variety aluminum alloys, Columbus and Tange steel varieties, specific (and maybe even custom) aluminum alloys, titanium alloys, carbon fiber. The price goes up each time you take a step because the builder is after a specific set of characteristics. When you want specific characteristics, you control the quality tighter to insure that.
- Quality of manufacture, maybe a benefit to expensive.
When using metals that you have to weld, check the weld quality. When you use thinner tubes, you have to be more careful with your welding process. Compare Wal-Mart aluminum bike welds to one from Trek, Specialized, etc.
- Warranty appear to be standard for bicycles (after some low price point). No benefit to "expensive".
Cheap bikes do not have a crash clause in their warranties. As you go up the food chain, they do.
- Durability and reliability of the drivetrain. Arguable for "expensive". It appears that mostly what you get is lighter.
Yes, but there is a point at which you go from plain bearings to ball bearings. Tolerances on parts also tighten up.
- Corrosion resistance. Not increased beyond some fairly low price. No benefit to "expensive".
For example, many clipless pedals have a plain carbon steel model, a stainless steel model and a titanium model. Stainless still rusts. It just takes a while longer.
- "Resale value" generally is proportional to the amount spent. The more you spend, the more you lose on resale.No benefit to "expensive".
No, you have the pleasure of riding/owning/admiring a fine machine for that time. That and cheap bike have very little value to hold in the first place.
I won't say that you are completely wrong, but clearly there are some differences in perception.