For a casual rider, does price matter when buying a new bike? Is a $500 bike half as good as a $1000 one?

Question

There is a wide array of prices at my local bike shop. While I realize that the $80 Walmart bikes are low quality and not worth the cost, I've found decent looking bikes for about $500 at my local shop. Is there a noticeable increase in quality from the $500 bikes to a $3000 or $4000 bike, and for the casual rider is it worth the cost?

Answer 1

Bikes improve rapidly for your money at first, ie. $80 doesn't
buy much bike $ 500 will buy you a very good bike but at the
high end improvements are smaller and smaller for more and more money. is called a diminishing return.A really good shop
will get you a reasonably priced bike that fits your riding and
you if you can figure out what you want.

Answer 2

No. I don't think it's worth to spend lots more for casual riding. There is a point where it is. A 80 buck bike will not last and will ride like a hog. But after 300 bucks, you start seeing some nice bikes with V'brakes and decent components.

If you start riding more often, or if you start going into mountains, maybe that's when you should start looking at over 500 bucks.

There is a curve of diminishing returns, moneywise. A 400 bike will be a lot better than a 150 bucks, but a 1000 bike will be like the same difference between the 400 and 150, only the difference is 500 bucks. As you start looking at better bikes, the difference is not as noticeable, and you'll likely need to have more time riding to notice it.

What you get for more money are components that will likely last longer, perform better. If you're not riding on rocks and roots, you will not likely notice a big difference between a fork on a complete 500 hardtail and a fork that cost 500 alone.

Answer 3

theres a huge difference if your an avid rider. If you ride a bike a few times a year, there really is no need for you to spend gobs on a bike. id still recommend you buy a basic brand name bike, because the maintenance is going to be far less, and youre going to get a better bike. a casual rider is not looking for speed, is not looking for technical handling, is not looking for the bikes weight, and probably couldnt tell the difference between the shifting of a $200 carbon fiber/titanium rear derailleur and a $10, steel rear derailleur .
Like most people who buy a mountain bike from walmart, they are never going to take it off the pavement... a $90 full suspension bike is going to feel the same to them as a $3500 trek.
You can get a great bike for $500. Youre going to get maintenance free components that will last for years, youre going to get an aluminum frame that will never rust, youre going to get a warranty, and if you decide later that you want to start riding more, youre going to get a bike that can be upgraded.
I think the best bikes for the money come from Jamis. They can offer bikes for prices that make every other brand speechless.
For example.
The $485 jamis cross country 3.0
RST Gila T7 fork, full shimano deore rapid fire, Weinmann wheels.
The $459 Trek 4700.
Insync grind fork (much lower quality then the Gila), shimano acera/avilio, alloy wheels.
Shimano components:
Mountain Bikes Road Bikes
XTR-Best Dura-Ace-Best
Deore XT Ultegra
Deore LX 105
Deore Tiagra
Acera Sora/2200
Avilio
Altus

Answer 4

The best bike is one that you're comfortable on, and you enjoy riding. You can certainly get this for $500 or even less. For a casual rider, I usually recommend staying under $1000.

You do get lighter weight and better performance on a more expensive bike, but that can be lost on a non-competitive rider or one who is not a high mileage junkie. If you're a casual - couple hours on a weekend, a few rides during the week - type of rider, get the bike that makes you happy. One that you feel good on, and one that doesn't break the bank.

Answer 5

The Walmart bikes are not bad for a casual rider. One of the factors is material, my bike weighs 40 pounds. You can get a decent aluminum bike weighing 25 or so pounds for $350 or so. If you want to go down to 15 pounds, you can get a Titanium, but the price will be $2000+.

Answer 6

It is not, those expensive bikes are for specialized riding eg. downhill riding, or street bikes. If you want an all around good bike, don't blow your life savings, get one that will suit your needs, the people at the bike store will help you in your prchase, just make sure they do not get commission, and try to pressure you into an expensive one.

Answer 7

there is not much of a differents from a $500 bike to a $1000 one. just what is made of and who made it. some thing the bike is made of makes it lighter. so they charge more. and other things like that.

Answer 8

buy a cheap one and ride it for 3 months sell it on
then get a $500 and you'll see yes its better but not $400 better.....
you'll certainly learn about maintenace