JGM411

why spend thousands of dollars on a new bike but then turn around and change out seats, tires etc. Why would the engineers and designers put substandard parts on a bike ...OR ... why would you as a buyer change out parts before you experience the stock items.

I ask this because over the past couple months, I have grown accustomed to my stock Domane 5.2 seat. Are cyclists too finicky?











4

bt

first

krobinson103

Because as a rider I know what I like. Over many years I've found saddle/grip/gearing combos that I like. I've never seen a bike that matches exactly what I want so I either build from the frame up, or buy something close to what I like and modify it.

Jiggle

I've never done that. I always buy a frameset, then a component group, then a wheelset, then the saddle, post, stem, and bars, and put them all together in one evening while drinking some whiskey.

I don't own a single "factory" bicycle.

And then I re-adjust the shifting in the morning when I'm sober.

edit - I don't even buy wheelsets anymore. I buy the components and build my own.

JGM411

thank you...that makes sense.

datlas 

Many folks do fine with stock. But manufacturers are notoriously skimpy and/or cheap on some components. Especially tires, and second, wheels. So some riders will upgrade these right away. The added benefit is you can use the stock wheels/tires as foul weather/backup/training wheels.

rpenmanparker 

Saddles are very personal. Stock saddles are usually narrow, say 127 mm wide if you need a 143 mm saddle, you will never become accustomed to the narrow one. Same for stem length. Then some folks want cranks and brakes that match their derailleurs. Crank and brakes calipers are common areas for the manufacturer to cheap out. Hence the "need" to change those items.

wphamilton

In my opinion, many of them are.

I'd bet that most cyclists ride the stock bike, aside from pedals.

hueyhoolihan

BTW, i think a number of bike manufacturers put specific substandard parts, mostly saddles and pedals and tires on their higher priced models knowing that the new owners have a personal preferences for those items. they are essentially throw-aways.

i think they are convinced that the bike won't "show well" in the store without them nor can it be ridden, so they put them on.

rms13

This pretty much answers everything.

bt

after your first bike, you build your own.

Darth Lefty 

Looking at upgrading bikes I have, it's obvious that components sold separately are a terrible deal. Unless your desires are very specific, you are best off buying a whole bike. I might need to replace the frame on my Hardrock due to a stuck crankset; a new frame, crankset, BB, and cables cost as much as the whole bike on the used market, which makes it a write-off. You probably couldn't build a new Hardrock from parts for twice the price of the current model. Maybe the math is different if you have high end stuff.

knobster

It's pretty common for the manufactures to skimp on certain areas. Saddle, front derailleur, bottom bracket, headset and other places that the consumer doesn't bother looking at or simply doesn't know. The bikes I've bought from bike shops I rode until the parts wore out or simply didn't work for me such as the saddle. I typically don't keep bikes long enough to wear anything out so for me it's a moots point. Pun intended.

Team Sarcasm

I bet the OP wonders why people buy 70k vehicles just to mod the poop out of it...


long story short because they know what they want and have the means to get it.


Why buy a 1500$ bike when you can buy a 800$ bike to do the same thing?

Wooden Tiger

I've swapped parts for efficiency.

Alex RPD15 Wheels- Mavic Ksyrium Equipe S

Shimano 105 11-23T Cassette- Shimano Ultegra 11-28T Cassette

Factory Seat- Wife's Men's Seat off her new Specialized Roubaix

Factory Stem- Shorter Stem ("fit" issue)

Future modifications include upgrading the cheap Tektro (?) brake calipers to the Shimano 105s off my wife's old Fuji Roubaix 2.0.

I don't see upgrading the wheels as a waste of money, as I can take the wheels with me for my next bike.

10 Wheels

Crank Arms.

escarpment

^ i swear, 90% of stock cranks suck so much

Jaeger99

I'd have a pretty hard time spending thousands on seats and tires.

On he subject of seats - what works for one won't work for all. This is the reason that seats rank among the most frequent early changes following a new bike purchase. When I bought my bike, I knew right off that I loved everything but the seat. I also swapped out the tires at the point of sale because I knew I wanted smoother-rolling 25s as compared with the stock 23s. The tires cost little and the seat swap cost nothing. Well short of "thousands".

Wooden Tiger

Not sure I agree with you when you say the "seat swap cost nothing," unless of course, you already had one to swap. Saddles can get pretty pricey. I've been fortunate enough to finally find comfort with one off my wife's new bike, but her replacement was around $80-$90, and that was a "cheaper" saddle. Prior to her getting her new bike, I was shopping for a new saddle and most of them hovered in the $110-$130 range. Yes, it's a "cheap" upgrade if you'd just spent $1000s on a bike, but it's still not a cheap upgrade.

rpenmanparker 

Often you can negotiate the seat swap as part of the bike purchase. It really is necessary for the bike to fit, and that includes the right size and shape seat. So the LBSs commonly will work with you on getting the right saddle. Especially with a company like Specialized that offers a very extensive line of saddle models and sizes, there is no reason for the LBS not to trade out the original saddle for either a cheaper or similarly priced one in the preferred width and model or a more expensive one for a small upcharge.

Jaeger99

Whether you agree with me or not is immaterial. It's a fact. The LBS as willing to swap out the OE saddle for a Prologo model they had in stock. They told me to try that one out for a week, and if I didn't like it I could return it. I didn't like it. I returned it and swapped for a different Prologo model (Scratch) that I freaking loved. Many happy miles on that one. Two saddle swaps, total cost = zero.

The tires they offered at a discount as I left them with the brand new OE tires. I think it was a grand total of $50.

So that's a very, very long way from "thousands" on an immediate saddle swap and tire upgrade as suggested by the OP.

Jaeger99

Exactly correct. And during my extensive shopping, more than one bike store said "If you don't like the saddle, we'll find you one that works". Fairly common practice, in my experience.

RollCNY

There have been some interesting threads in the past, as well as some articles, on the process of how bicycle brands put together their models. IIRC, for each model, they have price points that they are targeting, leaving them a budget for frame, components, wheels, and contact points (saddle, bars). So in specifying the build of stock models, it is a give and take of dollars to meet the targets. Cranks and brakes are normally the most expensive items in a groupset, which is why you see many FSA and house brakes (or TRP). It is why you also usually see an RD go up a group, as it is typically only a few dollars difference in mid-tier RD's and FD's, so it is any easy upsell.

This practice is why most stock bikes come with fairly low budget wheels. Whey I build my bikes, usually the wheels represent 25-30% of the build price. On a stock bike, they are more likely to represent 10% of the price. I don't think that I have seen a stock bike for less than $2k with worthwhile wheels.

Now if you don't care about any of this, stock bikes represent great value. If you care, you can usually build for the same price you can buy stock, as you aren't buying any duplicate pieces.

spdracr39

Because I can.

I want my bike to hold a certain amount of "Street Cred" by Looking cool and having name brand recognizable components. It's the same reason I bought a carbon frame bike instead of keeping my good enough aluminum. Having said that I ride on a stock low end Bontrager seat because it is comfortable to me and I have no good reason to put the Fizik on yet that I already have. To enjoy a ride the bike has to be comfortable to ride and make me feel good about owning it.

I know from a necessity standpoint this is a waste of money but as I said I do it because I can.

StanSeven

Manufacturers spec out a bike with components they feel are appropriate and suited for the typical buyer. Then they negotiate with suppliers for the best deal according to what I've read and heard from knowledgeable sources, switch some based on the best deals The price is a fraction of what pay.

Some things are very personal like saddles and they expect lots of switching. That's why many low to mid range bikes have cheap saddles. Another thing is pedals and bikes just don't come with pedals at all.