Originally Posted by
MRT2
So, for $400 to $600 retail, you are getting a bicycle that will get you around town, maybe even take on a 50 or 60 mile charity ride or multi day supported tour (provided it is a more leisurely social type tour), and the components, though plasticky will likely last for many years and if they fail, replacements are cheap.
"Maybe" take you on a leisurely 50 mile ride?
Don't be so elitist when it comes to "plasticky" entry-level bikes. I've put over 6,000 all-weather commuting miles (as well as several centuries) on a big-box-store-assembled $400 hybrid bike, and I only had to have the rear wheel re-laced when a few spokes popped.
There isn't a road ride on Earth that I could do on my $4k carbon Di2 bike, that I couldn't do on that "charity ride" bike.