Originally Posted by
Astrozombie
From my days on the net the general consensus on everything is that ~$1000 is the sweet spot. Is a 4K really that much better? With the whole diminishing returns deal? Then again the guy in the book "It's all about the Bike!" had a custom touring steel bike built for about that much.
That $1,000 mark seems to be around the price to get a decent frame and 105 groupset. BUT to get a "Quality" bike- and not only in CF- You will be paying a lot more. There are the components for one thing. Better groupsets cost more and the lighter parts cost and they do make a difference in riding. Then there is the biggest improvement and that is in wheels. OM wheels on the cheaper bikes are nothing special. They can be improved on no end and it depends on how much you want to pay.
Not saying that the rider always warrants a $4000 bike but even the most basic of riders will feel the difference that Quality will give to a ride. Unfortunately quality does cost and does not always see an improvement in speed or stamina. Says me that went from a $600
bike to a $5,000
one and boy did I know the difference but it wasn't in speed.