Are expensive bikes worth it?

April 24th, 2007 by Tim Grahl

A couple weeks ago I attended the Trek/Gary Fisher/Bontrager product launch in Santa Cruz. It was two days long… one day was announcing the products and the second was riding the new bikes.

The second day I did my first loop on the new Gary Fisher Carbon HiFi Pro. A bike that will be priced at $6300 and weighs 23 lbs. Top of the line components on an extremely hi-tech and light frame.

But here’s my question… When do you reach a point that spending over 6k on a bike is worth it?

For matter of discussion, let’s throw out two groups of people. The serious racers that are either getting paid to race or working towards that goal and the people that will buy this bike for their local paved trails just because they have that much money.

This is a question for those that feel the pain of dropping money on a new bike for recreational riding and/or low-end racing. What kind of riding must we be doing to justify even breaking $2500 or $3000?

You see huge jumps in performance and drops in weight by jumping from $400 to $1400 to $2000, but once you start breaking that threshold your return on investment starts plummeting. Sure you get a bike that weighs less than my pug, but how much improvement does the extra three or four thousand get you?

I’ve spent a few hours on the Carbon HiFi Pro and a couple hours on a Trek Fuel and neither of the rides was enough to convince me that I needed that kind of upgrade for the type of riding I do. Sure it’s nice to ride a lighter bike that has great components, but I’m convinced that it’s a waste of money for anyone that’s not racing for pro status and podiums.

I compare it the kids in highschool that spent twice the money on the Air Jordans that they used to play pickup basketball games. It wasn’t about the performance, it was about having the coolest, most expensive toy.

If you’re a purely recreational rider like myself, don’t justify your $6000+ pricetag with all the gains in performance. Just admit you wanted the most expensive thing on the shelf and was willing to pay for that status symbol.

19 Responses to “Are expensive bikes worth it?”

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1 Matt on Apr 24th, 2007 at 11:36 am

I happen to agree with you on both fronts. My “skills” don’t really justify much more than a Huffy but I also REALLY LIKE having nice products to ride and obsess over. When people come to me asking about what new bike to buy I try to get them to tell me about their comittment to riding. Are they brand new to riding? Are they upgrading? Do they ride mainly on the road and occasionally on a fire road (like most Mercedes SUVs)? Do they ride 2 days a month or 6 days a week? Invariably I will point most to the $1500-2000 price range even though they are looking for bikes under $1000. My rational is, like yours, that by spending the extra $500-1000 up front you’ll be getting a 9/10ths bike. In other words, a bike that is 9/10ths of what the “pros” ride but at about 1/3 of the cost. By spending more you’re being a “boutique” buyer. By spending much less you’re going to get something that you will either outgrow too quickly or become frustrated with.
2 jdb on Apr 24th, 2007 at 1:45 pm

Not much to this one, especially since you’re preaching to the choir. Over a couple grand you’re only getting technology for the sake of technology (which I find soulless). The escalation of high end bike pricing has more to do with the amount of disposable cash in our affluent society. Particularly young’ish retiring baby boomers inspired by Lance and looking for a fun (and elitist) version of the sport. I suspect there are also legions of kids living at home as young adults. Most spend their cash on street cars like the WRX, but a few drop mega bucks on mountain bikes instead.

But I also see a blessing in disguise. You may be aware of a flourishing custom frame and fabrication culture as evidenced most readily at the NAHBS in San Jose. When a cyclists wants something “special”, they may decline the computer perfected techno bike priced at six grand and instead have a custom fit frame hand-built to their exact specification by an artisan here in the USA (at half the cost of the techno bike, complete). So our affluence is finally trickling down to local craftsmen who are arguably more deserving of the income than Trek, Specialized and their manufacturing conglomerates in SE Asia…
3 Rob L on Apr 24th, 2007 at 4:37 pm

Choir here also. I shopped around a tonn and got an end of season deal on my current rig, but I could never really imagine dropping more than 1500 to 2000 on a new bike. And I’ve seen some pretty sweet deals just by waiting till the end of model season and swooping in on something. I took out osme nice 06 giants and a fisher before I left CA for that neighborhood that had been marked down 500-700 already.

I did see some people out on those nice ultimoney rigs but not many west coast. Most people I saw riding were riding good solid middle of the road deals (including a couple pro riders, a SC VP, and a WTB president).

Admittedly a friend of mine did just get a friend hookup on a very nice last year street carbon bike worth $4k with about 5000 miles of racing on it just rebuilt for free. damn sponsered riders spending all our hard earned and spent money

My next bike (FS?) is definettly going to be a 29′r. Probably from fisher and I bet I’ll spend 2k or so on it. Who knows. But yah 6k is a bit stupid to shave lbs. Maybe I guess if your already as light as you can go, but what real difference does 1lbs, 2lbs 3lbs make to a mtn bike XC/whatever racer?
4 nathan on Apr 24th, 2007 at 10:19 pm

ebay yo, ebay. caveat emptor though. do your homework. you can fine some darn good bikes for a song.
5 Chris on Apr 24th, 2007 at 10:34 pm

Holy Shamollies,

2K on a bike. I drive a car daily that is probably worth less than that (1996 VW Golf). And I make above the median income for my state. If I told my wife I was gonna spend 2K on a bike….ha ha ha that is laugh. I have about 550.00 in my Redline Monocog 29er, and that is with a change of pedals, saddle, and grips. The bike fits better, and rides better than my 1996 Cannondale F700 that cost me 1300.00 when I bought it. I was single and stupid when I bought that bike on my first credit card. I bought the bike way too small because I got talked into buying an MTB that was too small by a very good salesman. Anyway, that is my fault. My point is that you really don’t need to spend 2K on a bike to have a good time. I really like the recurring statement that I have heard from some good riders that losing 10lbs of body fat is worth more than spending the money to shed 5lbs off your bike.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I really would like to have a nice custom or semi costom 29er frame built up some day. And I plan to do some bling type upgrades to my Redline. But you are not going to catch me spending more on my bike than it will cost me to finish my Bachelors Degree. There is a LBC in our area that has a couple of bikes on the floor worth 5-6K and I often walk by them and laugh. But I suppose if you make 200-300K or better a year, then a 6K bike is no big deal to you!

In the end, I guess I don’t get the bike bling thing because I have embraced the bikes are for both fun and transportation.

Peace out

Chris
6 jason on Apr 25th, 2007 at 12:09 am

The technology will trickle down though in time which is nice. I guess if everyone is happy where the technology is, then it would be pointless but as humans its natural to want to improve.

While the margin between a 2k bike and a 6k bike is a lot of money, and the returns negligible (especially in a XC bike) for average joe’s, similar is every other choice in life that you make every day. (generic vs. name brand , hundai vs lexus, etc)
7 mf'r on Apr 25th, 2007 at 10:09 am

I think when you get to a certain level of experience and you’re dealing with full suspension bikes, you are able to feel the difference in the more expensive products. However, there are limits to this. Suspension is a good example. I can definitely tell the difference between shocks and forks as the price tag goes up. I just sent my shock to PUSH because they offer an upgrade that is valuable to me. An example where there are limits is drivetrain. Look at SRAM X.0 versus X.9…the difference is insanely small and the price difference is big. Not worth it, in my opinion. Other stuff like carbon seatposts and bars seem silly to me also…you’re paying twice the price to shave a tenth of a pound.

But there’s on other factor to consider…the coolness factor. I’m not talking about status here…cause I don’t know that many mountain bikers who are truly into status (but I certainly know roadies like this). After you spend years in this sport, I think some people (like myself) just like the cool stuff. Hope brakes are a good example…a solid product that looks very cool and performs great. Worth the extra money over say an avid mechanical? Probably not, but who cares?

Every time my wife asks me if I NEED to make a certain bike related purchase, I always reply “of course not! I WANT it.” We all NEED very little, but this sport is my passion and my hobby, it’s not about being practical all the time.

Nobody needs a $6k bike, but if you’ve got the means, go for it.
8 Rob L on Apr 25th, 2007 at 10:45 am

Yah as a previous poster said about earningn oh say 100K or much less 2 or 300k I’d definetly probably not bat an eye at dropping 6k. As thats like 25k a month before taxes. Even at 120k saving 1k for 6 months is a pretty small sacrifice. It’s all about what the economy of the system will bear.

And yah roadies do seem to be a bit more status focused than most mountain bikers I’ve met. And I’ve known a bunch of roadies.
9 BearSquirrel on Apr 25th, 2007 at 12:36 pm

$900 I-9 wheelsets will not make you any faster than a XT/Mavic setup. It does increase your “bling” factor. If that’s what you’re in it for … power to you. There is nothing wrong with spending a lot. The problem is putting down people who do not.
10 Forrest Gladding on Apr 25th, 2007 at 6:32 pm

I use to race alot and then I started racing singlespeeds. My singlespeed cost about 400 bucks to build up and I love beating guys on 5 grand bikes. I do have a 3 expensive bikes. I hammer them with a rigid singlespeed. You should see the look of someone I pass on the downhill on a singlespeed and they are fully suspended. I guess they are not getting the 5 grand out of their bike.
11 tonythetiger on Apr 25th, 2007 at 7:11 pm

lawl, the only jordans seen on my local court growing up were bought from a chinese guy on canal st

imo, and this goes for anything not just bikes, if you can afford it and you are going to use it why not spend the money. when i was a kid i drank old e but now i drink duvel because i can aford it. do i have to drink good beer to get drunk? no but it sure is tasty!
12 Ian on Apr 26th, 2007 at 2:09 am

I bought a 3000 dollar bike about 6 weeks ago, the most expensive bike i’ve bought for sure. it weighs in at about 30 pounds. but then again, it’s suppose to take me from Amsterdam, to North Cape, Norway, Down to Gibraltar, Spain, then back to Amsterdam. i’m rocking the rohloff drivetrain. i just wanted a bike i didn’t have to worry about and that needed minimal maintenance. i guess it all just depends on what’s important to you. my bike doesn’t have bling factor. it looks like butt. but it’s great to ride it really feels like i’m driving a landrover, specially when i have about 65 pounds of gear on there. it’ll get me around europe, no problem. goes back to the saying that a “poor man can’t afford to buy cheap tools!” but then again i’m going to be riding 7 days a week for a long time. this will be my only mode of transportation…
13 Rob L on Apr 26th, 2007 at 7:46 am

Ian - IN this case your reasoniing makes total sense, if I was doing hardcore enduro or extreme racing I’d damn well want something very reliable under me. What does kill me about most of these bikes is that for all the money your pumping into say XTR or X.0 components or whatever, they really only are lighter than say LX or X.7 grade components with a minor upgrade of quality for the huge price jump. Can’t say I know much about Rohloff.

On that note this bears more thinking as my wife wants to ride this crazy 8-10 cabin to cabin trail ride in the Rockey’s next year maybe. Good luck and have a good ride!
14 Grant on Apr 29th, 2007 at 9:44 pm

I think the psyche that ponies up for a Hummer, Escalanche, etc. is the same that plunks down $6k for a bike. I don’t understand it at all except to say that to some degree we’re all like crows gathering shiny things for our nests. What’s the point? Who knows. Just that old acquisitive human nature.

I’m not immune. That top of the line Kona Kikapu looks like a mighty fine ride for a marathon or endurance race. Somebody stop me.
15 Karl Etzel on May 1st, 2007 at 12:39 pm

Couple of thoughts I’ll add, have been through this discussion myself many times…

1) If you make enough to drop $6K on a bike, you probably work a lot of hours. So you like those few hours you do get on a bike to be maximal pleasure. Really nice gear, that works perfectly, is a pleasure. This is a tradeoff I’ve made myself over the last few years, as I have accepted a career & lifestyle that leaves me 6-8 hours a week on the bike. When I was a grad student riding 20-25 hours/week I did not care as much about top shelf gear.

2) The pleasure per $ for bikes is still phenomenal compared to other things you could buy. My favorite car would cost me over $100K (Porsche 911 Turbo). My favorite wine, $60 per bottle. So, I drive a used Saturn, typically drink $6 bottles of wine, and I have mostly top of the line gear on the bikes. I think this gives me max satisfaction while leaving the retirement account intact.

But the main thing is, whatever you have on your bike, just be thankful for good health and the opportunity to ride!

Cheers,
Karl
16 Rob L on May 1st, 2007 at 12:51 pm

1 - There is a truth to that in that it is all relative to time vs money vs life/etc.
2 - Yah I agree about the car stuff I could spend several small fortunes on cars. On the other hand I do buy the occasional bottle of $60 wine and really enjoy it So for now I’m saving slowly again for a nice bike by say next year sometime with a goal of around 2-3K saved.

Totally agree iwht the last part and I learned that during my surf days, any okay day out doing something fun beats the hell out of any day at work.
17 David on May 11th, 2008 at 11:50 pm

Defintely not!!!

Expensive bicycles are not worth the money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You have to ask yourself if you are going to get a thousand dollars extra enjoyment!!!!

Remember Pro’s have sponsors but you do not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is a no brainer!!!!!!!!!!!!!
18 CandoGuy on Jun 28th, 2008 at 1:44 am

I just hate to see bikes costing that much. I paid $2k, 3 years ago for a top of the line cannondale mountain bike, and now a new cannondale moto starts at $4k for the low end model? $6.5k for top of the line. Doesn’t seem like it is following the trends of inflation. This goes for all bike companies. Is the technology all that different from a few years ago, that it has to cost 2 to 3 times as much? Are they trying to turn mountain biking into an elitists sport like road biking? Don’t get me wrong, I know I could smoke most of the guys on the $6k bikes based on the fact that I ride 40+ hours a week, but it doesn’t seem like they care about the serious rider. Only racers and people with deep pockets are being catered to. I’m looking for a new bike next year, but $3k to $4k for an entry level bike? Come on! Maybe if they had some re-sale it wouldn’t be so bad, but they don’t, I could probably get $800 for my bike now, even though with upgrades I spent about $2700 on it.
19 Generic Viagra on Dec 9th, 2011 at 6:08 pm

Pay for a bike is worth depending what are you going to do, like me.. i do downhill and is worth pay $3000 for a bike because i need the best parts because i don’t wanna die, going down in a hill…

Are expensive bikes worth it?

19 Responses to “Are expensive bikes worth it?”

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