I'm from Denver, so I'm curious: what spotty neighborhood are you talking about? I think most areas of Denver are actually reasonably safe, but a few areas are not at all safe. (One or two areas are actually a bit scary...)

Sometimes people do approach me and say nice things about my bicycle, but no one has actually asked me how much it costs. When they do strike up a conversation, I usually just say "Thank you." More often than not, the person doing the talking also has a bike, so then it just turns into a geek fest. But then, you're not talking about that, are you?

That's more than i paid for my two bikes. :) I got 'em both for free! Which doesn't reflect their real value. At the time they were given to me they each had a market value in the $75 to $150 range. Then I spent $900 converting one of them to an e-bike.

If someone asked me what I paid, i'd say they were given to me by a friend.

As long as you didn't pay 35 ducatis for it!

Every one of the statements I made is true.

I don't have a problem with telling folks the cost of my bikes, there just "entry level" road hybrids and WHEN I do tell them the reaction is the same, "$600 dollars for a BICYCLE, that's crazy!!":eek: LOL, you should see their jaws drop when I tell the some high end racing bikes are $10,000 and up, they just do the "gaping fish" look and walk away! ;)

Why am I not surprized that all of these people never listened to their mother?.......:) I don't tell strangers anything.....cops included.

I don't think I've ever been asked by anyone how much my bikes cost (commuter or otherwise), and I do have nice looking bikes...

Closest thing I've experienced was when a (presumably) homeless man asked me "is that bike valuable?" after watching me very carefully and deliberately secure the bike with a U-lock and cable. My response was "it's valuable to me, since it's how I get around."

8 cents a mile is what it costs me to ride a bike.

Having a bike that's under six hundred dollars makes me feel better than owning a bike over a thousand dollars.

You figured this out? I had put my cost per mile at about $0.12, but maybe that was high (spend too much refurbing bikes I never ride.)

I only tell someone how much my bike is worth (or at least how much I have spent on it) if they comment on how nice a bike I have... $4,000 so far... :)

It is so funny for me to read this post because the same thing happens to me here in Mexico. People are always curious to know how much something costs. It's makes very uncomfortable to discuss the price of an item that's worth someone's full year salary here. So, I always have to come up with something... "Oh, it was a present!"... still odd because they really think you're just blowing them off (like yeah right! you never looked up the price of that thing?) I still haven't come up with a diplomatic answer that doesn't sound rude.

I suspect that those who have never or rarely been asked this question ride a fairly normal bike - normal as defined by a general public awareness: "two wheels, handlebars, seat, pedals and normalish frame layout." Unless the frame is highly different in someway that jumps out visually, people tend to gloss over and not really look at what is "normal".

I am buying a long-john style cargo bike (box between rider and front wheel) to transport my three little ones...thus our family took two of them (bullitt and cetma) out on test rides on a trail in Wash DC for about 3 hours one weekend day. I can tell you that I got asked how much they cost about 6 times that short day. At least three of those times people did not know that it was a test ride rather than my bike (I think that people feel freer to ask price when something is being tested for purchase). I think that the visually different bikes probably get more comments/questions in general and that the price question is frequently one of them.

We also ride a longtail, and although there are less questions (it looks more normal and many people surpisingly don't notice it's long end at all) we still get the $$ Question. My answer to this question is still evolving, but right now it is:

"My husband bought it used on craigslist. I don't know how much they go for these days, this one my cheep-skate husband got it for a bargain after it had been on craigs for over a month and no one else wanted it. It is hard to sell used ones because they are so unusual so we were able to get it used cheap on Craigslist. I didn't ask about price or he would tell me an hours worth of details about bike parts and what they all would cost. He buys the bikes, I just ride them."

I use some version of the above all the time and it seems to work well. It lets them know they ain't going to get a good price for it and you didn't pay that much. My husband uses about the same line but inserts wife in there. He can be pretty convincing as he really doesn't know anything about the bikes, he does just ride them.

So how much did you pay for it?

Ha, as If I would answer straight. I will say that when I added up components and such I think I paid 35-40% retail for my big dummy.

Hey, the part about limited interest in odd specialty bikes was true - the seller did post it on craigs for more than a month and got no takers for it at his list price. I had no idea what I was getting until I did some research on the components. He had it built up too nice for the average craigslist user to see anything but the price (which my LBS said was fair). He came down by 30% from his asking price for me just because selling it local was easier than finding a buyer and shipping. I can't imagine trying to ship a surly big dummy.

So, my reply to the price question is rather true even if it does evade the actual price issue.

I know, I'm guilty of that myself. If I see a more unusual bike, like a recumbent trike, I have to bite my tongue to keep from asking the price. I'm less curious when it's a standard bike, even one I think is super pricey.

Anyhoo, you sound like you're knowledgable and a good sport. Welcome to LCF! :)

In my opinion, only non-cyclist/ newbie would ask such a question. In that case, a honest answer usually induce shock, judgment, asphyxiation and cardiac arrest, in that order. "$$$ for this old bike? No waayy, you are spoiled. Why don't you buy something from wallyworld? *Gasp passes out". So yeah, stay vague for the askers' benefit.

Seasoned cyclist never asks. Either he knows it costs $2239 at LBS with the early spring discount or he knows it must be...expensive.

Today a neighbor at the RV resort I live in this winter asked how much my folder cost. He said it must have cost a couple of hundred. I said I wish. Then he really wanted to know and I told him it was $600 used. He about fell over.

I don't mind answering the price question unless it somehow feels unsafe. If I am embarrassed at how much I have into bikes it is my problem.

Do you tell strangers how much your bike costs?

In the thread on the General Cycling Forum, "Face Palm - Some People Just Don't Get It”, the OP asked,

For years, I rode a steel Bridgestone RB-1, costing about $650 down from about $800 as an end-of-year model when I bought it in the early 1980’s. I came to learn it was considered a classic. After the introduction of carbon fiber bikes, I always wondered if the premium prices of CF, which I considered to be about $2000 was worth the presumed enhanced riding experience.

The Bridgestone was totaled in 2012 in an accident from which I was not sure I would ride again. Well I did, and decided to get a CF. My trusted mechanic said here’s the bike you want, knowing my riding style. Well the MSRP was $8000, but he got it for me at half off.

Now, considering the attitude most non- or occasional cyclists towards bicycles and prices, I’m frankly somewhat embarrassed to admit to paying so much, sounding like some over-the-top conspicuous consumption. Personally, I can afford it, and it was an offer I could not refuse. Cycling is that important to me and I’m fortunate to be able to continue the lifestyle, so that puts it in perspective for me.

I’m not that conversant with the technical specifics, nor may anyone asking the price, so the price becomes a common reference to tell what a fine piece of machinery it is. But I would nonetheless admit the price only to a close acquaintance in serious conversation.

RB-1.. now this a man with excellent taste. Glad to hear you're still a rider with that story!

Sidenote: I've realized I'm such a DIY/bargain hunter that I have no problem telling strange cyclists how much my bike cost just to see their jaw hit the floor at how little I tend to pay.. still don't really tell regular strangers that don't seem cyclists prices, seems pointless they won't understand if it's high or low or right on the money or the value they could get by buying one.

Person says :"nice Bike" . I say "yes, I like it."

I don't tell people ...

Why? Because I don't know what most of my bicycles cost. Some are old enough their "worth" is much lower than what I paid. And many have been built by Rowan so we'd have to go through all the trouble of adding up the price of all the bits and pieces.

Probably because you can't pick up a $7000 car and chuck it in the back of a pickup the way you can with a $7000 bike.

I haven't sold or traded a bicycle in 30 years and as long as I have a place to keep them... so, no the bike is not for sale at any price.

Quite a few people ask me about my Brompton because there aren't many of them around here and folks are intrigued by the way it folds up. I don't mind telling them, and they're always shocked by the price. At this point I like to "push my agenda" (;)), i.e., bring up how much I save by not having a car, how it keeps me fit, how it's beneficial for the environment, how it helps the local economy, and so on.

Good points in defending the cost of a bike. To add to the discussion, emphasizing the benefits to the listener, one could add, as suggested by buzzman, riding a bike frees up space on the road, and a parking space for motorists. ;)

There used to be a day when such things (like the cost of your possessions) was private. But now-a-days.... we have the Internet.

Do you tell strangers how much your bike costs?
No. I was asked this once, by my neighbor who isn't a rider, she's on a fixed budget and was looking for a way to save money one day when I was riding past. She came right out and asked how much it cost. I kindly responded "much less than your Volvo".

For the record, my bike cost me less than $500 but is worth, to me, easily over $2,000! Clearly it's how much I save on gas from March to November

I would have told her.

So, would I. Its when the bike is $10,000 I wouldn't tell.