Originally Posted by
acidfast7
You seem to like exaggeration:
Compare these bikes and tell me the difference over a year of commuting:
Trek FX 7.0
7.0 FX - Trek Bicycle
Trek FX 7.5
7.5 FX - Trek Bicycle
And, you must admit that saying only a big box commuter bike is available for 400 USD is crushed by the FX 7.0
I don't think that an average commute would see the difference between these bikes until the parts wore out (no difference in longevity) and those on the 7.5 were three times the price of those on the 7.0.
What I am missing here?
I suspect either of those bikes, without modifications, would add an extra 10 min each way to my commute or 20 min/day.
Why are you so concerned with the price of bikes? Who cares what people want to spend their money on? I've had cheap bikes and nice bikes. Cheap bikes are more likely to rust, don't shift as well, more likely to have chatter or some other issues with brakes. The list goes on. Of course, if you don't have an alternative, you can make do but if you're going to be on a bike 10-15 hrs/wk why not ride something you can enjoy?