Don't take the attitude of a few to represent all of us.

Before I got into more serious biking, I rode a $15 ten speed I got at a garage sale and my wife rode a GS bike that I went all the way to $25 for. We had a lot of fun on these bikes. But, I wouldn't have wanted to go very far on them (I.e., I straightened the bent chain ring with a crow bar).

While riding today, I saw a young married couple on Magma's. It was pretty obvious that was what they could afford. And, guess what? They were having a lot of fun.

I never paid more than $25 for any bike prior to 4.5 years ago, and then I split for $300 which I thought was tremendously expensive. Now?? We both have road bikes and mtn bikes, and there is over $4,500 of bikes and accesories sitting in my garage as I type.

I think that many folks have to go through a biking evolution, and it would be a crime for someone to put a lot of money into a bike when they did not know whether or not they enjoyed the activity.

So, I, for one, agree with you. However, most of the advice I see in this forum is to encourage folks to use their money wisely - instead of spending $129.99 on a X-Mart bike that won't last, spend $250 on a good used or entry-level one that will.