Cost vs. Enjoyment?
 

As I was looking at my bikes piled in the corner of my living room I noticed that when I line them up from most fun to [relatively] least fun they are also in order from least expensive to most expensive.

I wondered if anyone else has found this to be true, that the cost of a bike does not necessarily mean it will be more enjoyable to ride than a less expensive bike?

What do you think...

Gosh, I guess I know where I stand!

I have four bikes and they are all for different things, my folder for my motor vehicle (you never know when you might get a chance to ride), my "hybrid" or as She who must be Obeyed tags it The SUB (sport utility bike - it goes to grocery and to fire trails), a single speed road bike ( I live on the coast so it's kinda flat and this is a very comfortable and quick bike) but my favorite ride is my CF Campy 10 equipped road bike. It's comfortable, fast and (when I get a chance to go to the hills) is great going up and coming down. I like and enjoy all my bikes (forgot to mention the fat tired beach cruiser) but my favorite just happens to have cost the most.

The most expensive bike I ever owned, a Giant OCR carbon road bike was my least favorite bike ever. My current DIY Frankenbike is my fav bike so far!

Unfortunately, our marketing driven society seems to cherish the idea that more expensive is more fun :( I'm sure a $1000 Trek is better than a $100 Wallmart bike. But is a $5000 Trek really that much better than the $1000 one? I dropped a guy on a fancy looking road bike on Williamsburg bridge yesterday or the day before on my Frankenbike with loaded panniers.

Adam

Presently, I only have one bike, my Dakar XLT; it's a fine roller, does everything I ask of it. I'm looking at rebuilding an old HT frame into an SS, but the XLT will be #1 with me, always. The HT frame has been built up & torn down repeatedly, and may not last more than a year as an SS, dunno.

The cost basis of this thread will likely apply when I do build it; the XLT cost me close to $2K, the SS will run less than $400.

Just depends on my mood.. Some days my favorite bike is the one I found in a basement and probably have 30 bucks in to.

Horses for courses. I would not have enjoyed riding my $50 fixed gear commuter in yesterday's crit. On the other hand, I wouldn't enjoy riding my race bike in a driving raing.

You missed an option: All my bikes were acquired on the cheap. My most expensive bike currently is a ~$300 Schwinn Cutter single speed (and even that was a gift; I don't know exactly what my wife paid for it, but she did buy it new). I have several other daily riders and didn't pay for than $100 for any of them. In fact, about half were freebies pulled out of the trash.

Nope, all 7 bikes are all about the same level and each one has been treated with the TLC that home care can provide. When you start repalcing components, building wheels etc, they become very personal and unique to oneself, all just as enjoyable as the other in it's own way !:D

I only enjoy my more expensive bike because it fits (custom job with 210mm cranks.)

That being said, for short trips I prefer my cheaper bike, since I'm not worried about breaking it, and can enjoy the ride a bit more.

My favorite bike is the one that is my current project. I enjoy riding but the mechanics can be mind absorbing.

I was that guy you dropped yesterday:D (Just kidding). Did it ever occur to you that the guy was at mile 45 of a 60-70mile ride, and was just pacing himself?:rolleyes:

Few roadies ride over Williamsburg Bridge during rush hour. If this was somewhere else I might have though that. I'm sure this guy was an over-geared commuter Lance -wannabe.

A.

my rb is worth slightly less than my cx. I use the cx only when i really have to.

I get alot of this!:D.....Pacing my wife on the bike, at the end of a ride when some 10 mile wonder dude rolls by and keeps eyeballing me like I can't keep up! Sometimes Gina will say, "go ahead!". But there are some things more improtant than trying to impress another rider, like pacing your wife on a 50, 60,70, or 80 miler!:D

Lucas, was this the rider that dropped you yesterday?:D
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...treme/GG-1.jpg

As the price and value of bikes goes up- So does the quality of the components. I have plenty of bikes but staying on the road ones-

Giant OCR3- basic bike- bit heavy- and very cheap wheels that were rubbish and have been changed.

Giant FCR1 converted to Drop handlebars (The FCR is basically an OCR with straight bars) The frame is the same as the OCR- has better geartrain and components- lost 2lbs over the OCR but although the wheels were better- they are not that good.

Giant TCR-C with mainly 105 drivetrain but built up from Frame/ forks- weighs about 16lbs and has hand built wheels.

Boreas Ignis- Custom build on a frameand forks. Lightweight Aluminium and mainly Ultegra drivetrain. Components lighter and Ultegra 6600 Wheels. Just over 15lbs and rides like a dream.

I am not going to suggest that you have to have expensive bikes- but I will say that as you go up on price- the components do get better and that is what will give you a better ride. Wheels are only part of it but Ultegra parts are lighter and work better than Sora. And my Easton bars over the OM Giant are the same.

And my favourite rides do go from the Cheapest to the Most expensive. That is from $800 to about $5,000

I actually don't enjoy having a bike that costs too much money. I don't like to fret when I scratch it up, worry about having it stolen, or not want to use it because it's too mucky out. Conversely, I don't like a bike that's got parts that don't work reliably because they're just junk. The end result is that i'm personally really a fan of bikes that work without any extra strings attached.

As for the cost of my 2 bikes, hm, maybe $600 and $1700 CDN. I love them both, but they're completely different bicycles in nearly every respect, and both provide enjoyment in their own right.

Spending $1700 on a bike was also very unusual for me, and I guess in this case there could be a relation. A $500 Dahon folding bike can not bunny hop, stand and hammer or do some "serious" bike things like loaded touring or mountain biking. A Bike Friday can, which is why I spent the money. Not to get some swank sexy components, but to get a bike that did what I wanted in every way.

Yep! that was the rider that dropped me like a hot potato yesterday:D

My god, she looks tres fast!:D

I have two bikes. One is a 1994 Cannondale Killer V900 mountain bike that I have had since 1994, and still ride on very leisurely, photograph taking, nature-appreciating rides. The other is a 2007 Lemond Buenos Aires road bike.

The really odd thing is I have six wheelsets for the Lemond, and switching the wheels often almost gives me the feel of a different bike each time. The general thing I have found though, is that my most expensive wheelsets (and tires, since I put my better tires on the better wheelsets) ride much better than my cheaper wheelsets and the rides are more enjoyable and less harsher. In most cases (not all), the real expensive recreational toys are expensive because they are better engineered and perform better. YMMV

That can notat all be an accurate statement and an unfair comparison since you put the better tires on the better wheels. Maybe it is not the rims at all, but the tires. Who is to say that the cheaper wheels won't ride better than the more expensive wheels with the better tires. Plenty of riders on the forums believe tire quality has much more to do with ride quality than the rims themselves.

I have three bikes:

1) A Nishiki that is 20 plus years old. It is was STI on the down tube and basket pedals. Rode it last spring it shifted an rode fine, amazing how well it did but prefer the Cervelo.

2) A Lemonds that is 10 years old which I ride when my Cervelo is at my vacation house. It is 853 steel and rides better than the Nishiki. It is also lighter than the Nishiki.

3) Cervelo R3-SL it is one year old. It clearly ride better and is better than the other two bikes. Money and technology has it benefits

Each bike is better than the last with the carbon Cervelo a clear winner. In another ten years I hope to buy the next generation or not if carbon is the end of the line?

You could be right Beanz. I have tried the experiment of switching my tires around, and I can definitely agree with you that the better tires can and do improve the quality of a ride. I ended up with my best tires -Vittoria Open Corsas Evos- (ride quality and road feel being the only criteria) on my best two wheelsets, and I really enjoy the rides more intensely whenever I ride with those tires on my two Mavic wheelsets.

I really like/appreciate a stiff wheelset- and the Mavics are very stiff. The suppleness of the Vittoria tires (at the right pressure of 110psi front/115psi rear) combine with the Mavics to make for very enjoyable and lively rides.

Better let me use your wheelset for a month so I can verify your findings!:D

My most expensive bike is quite a bit nicer than my others...