What's the difference between an expensive bike and a cheap bike?

Question

I recently bough the cheapest bike I could find at $53. It's an adult sized bike that says "Mt Fury" or something. I hear of bike costing 200-300 dollars. What are the benefits of these bikes. My school campus is VERY hilly, and I get tired easily going up hill. Could it be because of my bike?

Answer 1

There are cheap bikes and there are inexpensive bikes. Cheap bikes are simply made out of the least expensive parts that can be put together. They use cheap steel or aluminum and have heavy wheels, shifters and components without the benefit of durability, reliability or function. They are usually sold at department stores and are put together by an employee with no concept of cycling. Inexpensive bikes offer good value and performance by approximating the best at a small fraction of the cost. These would be entry-level to mid-level bikes that benefit from assembly by trained bike mechanics and are usually sold at bike shops and reputable online stores. You can expect a cheap bike to last a year at the most (with lots of problems) while an inexpensive bike will give you thousands of miles of usage.

Answer 2

The biggest and most noticeable difference between a Wal-Mart bike and a bike shop bike is the weight. Generally, the lighter a bike is, the more expensive it is. There are frames and wheels made from carbon fiber that weigh only a few pounds. A top-of-the-line carbon fiber bike will run $3000 or more. I've seen some as high as $8000.

Another difference is the components. Although some cheap bikes may say they have Shimano components, there are 4 or 5 levels of quality within the Shimano line. And the cheap bikes have the cheap components.

The extra weight will slow you down on the hills, but the rider has as much to do with the ride as the bike. I'm sure if I swapped bikes with Lance Armstrong, he could still smoke me on the hills. If the hills are giving you trouble, you might want to invest in a good bike, but you also might want to do some hill training as well.

Answer 3

MBR did a test last year. They took a budget bouncer, about £60 to Coed e Brenan (Big Welsh Mountain area for bikes). The first thing was the weight. Many budget bikes use heavy steel and lots of it. They also found that the suspension was not that good. The rear shock would give you a kick in the rear whenever you went over a bump. They also found that, after only a couple of miles, that they had to set the bike up again and the whole trip was then tinkering with the bike to get it to work.

Overall they found that it was hard work and, because the components kept falling out of true, etc. It was uncomfortable and possibly dangerous.

What you are paying for, when you spend a lot of money on a bike (Double your estimate for entry level) is suspension that works smoothly, gears that click into place when asked, ligtweight frames, etc. Basically, it is like anything. You get what you pay for. If you only want to pootle down the shops, $50 is fine. But if you want more performance you have to pay for it.

Luck

Answer 4

Many in this forum would consider a $1000 bike a cheap bike

The main difference is that the cheap ones; ware out very quickly, components bend and break, Gears don't change as well, they are heavier, they are slower, replacement parts are hard to come by and they are generally a bit of a pain to ride.

If you get the chance ride a good bike you will notice the difference.

Cost is a very strange thing. People spend thousands of dollars on their cars each year (purchase price rego insurance fuel maintenance the latest accessories). Many baulk at paying $500 for a basic bike with reasonable components. The bike will be cheap to maintain and give many many hours of enjoyment as well as offering an alternate method of getting around that helps you stay healthy and doesn't pollute. It will probably pay for itself in saving.

Go figure

Answer 5

Bike Ramps At Walmart

Answer 6

basically, the cheap bikes are crap. they are made from cheap quality frames and materials and they fall apart and come out of tune easily. the more expensive the bike, the better quality parts, more precise the shifting, better suspension, strong frames, and best of all, they get lighter! i wouldnt even waste my time with a bike that was less than $100.

there are things to understand in why bikes can get so expensive.

1.) frames use proprietary technology for each brand name. the suspension designs are different and give a different feel for each bike. the frames are not just a bunch a aluminum tubes welded together. my Specialized Epic for example, uses M5 manipulated aluminum alloy to achieve a strong frame design that weights half as much as any chain store bike, which can weigh on average 10lbs. my epic weights in at about 6.4lbs.

2.) better parts. you'll find a huge difference in using an outdated Falcon derailleur on a $50 bike and an SRAM X0 carbon on a $3000 race bike. every part is designed to work together. the suspension becomes more fluid and responsive and wont bottom out easily. shocks uses advanced technology valves, specific to each brand, which allow the shock to function a certain way under certain conditions. huge difference from an elastomer and col fork on a walmart bike.

thats just the beginning. you could use a $300 bike to get around town and will do fine unless you like jumping off everything and riding through every puddle on the street.
i have a $4000 mountain bike that i use for XC racing. its got a shock with a "Brain" that locks out the shock when im riding a smooth trail and activates by itself when it hits a bump. my 27 speed drivetrain shifts like a ferrari F1 and my tires ($45 each) keep me stuck to the earth.

the use of carbon fiber in bikes has also become increasingly popular in high performance bikes. it much more expensive because the aerospace Co's like Boeing buy out huge contracts for their plane and us little guys have to buy 150% more because less is available.
______________________________________________
if you get tired from going up hills on campus, it could be from not being in shape or having a heavy bike. a good bike should be less than 30lbs. every pound makes a difference. you can accelerate, slow down, and climb hills faster and easier because you have less weight to haul around.

Answer 7

Quality ! Anything from Walmart / K-Mart / Target are JUNK ! Cheapest road bike will run you at least $500...Mountain bike maybe $300,and that's bottom end entry level bikes.

Answer 8

There are bikes like Armstrong's cost is thousand or more.
Money buts you the best and lightest metal. The bike can weigh about couple pounds where the cheap on weighs 15 lbs so money talks and cheap walks. Better gears tires etc etc.....but are you capable of performing better or is it worth it.

Answer 9

There are bicycles made for many different things.

Bicycles are made for climbing mountains on trails,
Bikes made for road biking with traffic,
Bikes made for riding on tracks.
Bikes made for going down ski slopes,
Bikes made for strolling on the beach,
Bikes made for cross country riding, (traveling 100s of miles)
BMX and Trick bikes made for ramps, and driveway riding.

cheap= no good
expensive= to much money
inexpensive= good, and not to much money.

Answer 10

the weight, the material that its made of, the components its everything is just better better feel everything