CommuteCommando

@acidfast7 Not sure I actually gave a price point. My point is that initial price is not what I use as a basis for purchase decisions. My wife got a front suspension Diamondback for $100 (Guessing about 80 Euro). That bike is fine, and was a good value. It was marked down from $200 and she jumped on it quick.

Some times the lowest price is the most cost effective, but very often it is not. I paid $1600 for my current bike (Renyolds 525 frame, Shimano 105 groupset) I could have gotten great value for half that, but there is that intangible factor of personal preference.

tarwheel 

I commute on bikes that would cost $2,000-$4,000 to replace, but I lock them up with a heavy-duty U-lock and cable. My commute is 30+ miles round trip, and I ride to work about 4 days a week on average. For as much riding as I do commuting -- more than half of my total mileage -- I want to ride on a nice bike. I actually spent much less than the replacement value for my bikes because I bought most of the frames used and had them built up with parts from other bikes, or bought on sale or on-line for good prices.

In 6-1/2 years of commuting, I've never had a bike stolen or tampered with. However, one of my coworkers had his inexpensive bike stolen, using a cheap lightweight cable lock. Most thieves are opportunistic and will steal the bikes that are unlocked or secured with flimsy locks/cables that are easy to break or cut.

CommuteCommando

Yep. I heard a stat once, don't remember where, that cheap bikes are stolen far more often than expensive bikes. I see them sitting on kickstands (Comestealmestands) outside convenience stores all the time.

KonAaron Snake 

+1 -

I know I've told this story before, but my Merckx team bike was locked up in north Philadelphia for months at one point (obviously prior to my ownership)...it wasn't even an especially robust lock. We don't really have the dreaded angle grinder bike specialists - we have idiot junkies going after the weakest link.

To quote bigbossman...life's too short to ride ***ty bikes.

bent-not-broken

It depends on how well you are able to maintain your bike. I have a half dozen bikes that I picked up at garage sales and am comfortable riding on my 30 mile rt commute. Theft is no issue out here in the sticks so I ride cheap because i am cheap.

modernjess

What say I?

Assess your situation and whatever you feel is the right price to value to fun to expendable income ratio for your bike is exactly what you should spend.

It just so happens that the variables in that equation for me are pretty different than the OP. No problem. I do all types of riding beyond commuting and I spend stupid amounts of money on my bikes. I have no regrets nor do I expect or urge anyone to do the same as me. It's a life long hobby and passion that I get so much out of, and I am truly blessed to have the means and the health to do so.

ThermionicScott 

If you don't have any specific reasons for spending the extra $4500, then of course it would be wasted.

ItsJustMe

I rode a $300 bike for 9 years and 29,000 miles and liked it. I still ride it occasionally, there's nothing wrong with it. The road bike is more fun to ride but if I'd bought it first I would not have gotten in the habit of riding because the riding position is something I could not have maintained back then.

Even the road bike I only spent $800 on (at Bikesdirect). It's very nice. I call it a $1000 bike, because the same bike locally would have been about $1400 or so.

I think people are really way too picky about things.

ItsJustMe

People spend way more than that buying cars, even people who don't make that much money. It's about priorities.

I spent $2500 on bikes this year. My car isn't worth more than about $1500, and I have no intention of replacing it unless it croaks.

mstraus

Yea, its about priorities and preferences with bikes and everything else. Available money/income in some cases comes second (within a reasonable range of incomes) as some people are more inclined to spend a higher % of what they make then others. I know people who all make roughly the same amount of money, one rides a $5000 bike to work and the other and old beater he paid ~$200 for. For both of them there bike is a thing of pride, but for different reasons. This is no different then the person who leases an expensive car every three years vs the person who still drives their 1993 Civic. There is no right or wrong.

WestPablo

We here in the west are so spoiled!

To most people in this world, having either a beater bike or an old clunker auto would be a considerable step up in life.
+1

True, but some people experience great difficulty when attempting to strike a balance between ego, status, and necessity.