I disagree. Sure, you can go down to Wal-Mart and buy a rideable bike for $150, but you get what you pay for. The tolerances of every component on a cheap bike will be greater making the shifting sloppy. The cheaper bike uses heavier gauge material so the welds don’t need to be as precise.

As a manufacturing engineer, I can tell you that costs are directly related to the quantity of products made and the precision of the components. Burley is a small shop that doesn’t make a lot of bikes compared to Cannondale or Trek. Try buying a car or motorcycle from a small, non mass production shop and see how the price goes up!

Look at it another way; for the price of a decent used boat or a snowmobile, you can buy a bike of the same quality that the pros ride. Try that in any motor sport! Professional race cars and motorcycles cost as much as a nice house!

My office mate was shocked at the price we paid for our tandem, but she didn’t think $20k was bad for a boat! I’ll have more fun on my bike than 90% of the boat owners out there and I pay a lot less up front and in maintenance.

A nice bike that gives you years of recreation is not overpriced at all!

-murray