Originally Posted by
WonderMonkey
I think part of this that you have to have a bike that you will actually ride. If you buy the wrong bike (cheaper, whatever) then you won't want to ride it and you will end up throwing your money away. So.... the bike has to be "right enough". As others have said you could probably take the money you would spend on a new bike and get a better used one.
As far as what someone else may think, make it your hobby to irritate them. Ride a cheaper bike and be happy, that would be fun. Put a bell on it... maybe some baseball cards in the spokes and say "WEEE!" a bunch when you go down hills.
Another "strike" as it were against buying a bike from a BBS is that there isn't likely to be anyone to help one in purchasing the right size bicycle or the right bicycle for their needs. And in most cases one can sadly forget about taking it back where one purchased it for service.
By buying a bike at a LBS one can take their bike in for adjustments. As most LBS' will instruct new owners to bring their bikes back in after 30 - 60 days for adjustments.
So before one goes and plunks down their hard earned money on a BBS bike they need to stop and ask them just what they expect to get out of it, and how long they reasonably expect it to last, and how often they expect to replace it.
I recently had my front wheel rebuilt at a LBS and the mechanic who rebuilt it told me that he wanted me that he wants me to bring it in after I've put 200-miles on it. So that he can adjust and retrue it.
That is service that I do not think that one can expect to receive from the BBS.