Overheard at the shop
Woman: "I'm old enough now that I really think I deserve a good bike that I'll ride forever."
Geno: "How much are you looking to spend?"
Woman: "Around $300."
Geno: Sigh
See now, that's what Dynacraft has done to bicycling. Because shiny, brand-new Magnas and Verticals and Nexts round up to around $300 at K-Mart and Target, people think they can get a good bike at just about any price.
My view: "A good new bike that I'll ride forever" and $300 are mutually exclusive. You have to pick one or the other. A bike you'll want to ride forever is, in my view, priceless. But since you and I don't have a bottomless wallet, you and I'd expect to pay at least $500, and we'd brace ourselves for around $1000. Even then, we'd have to shop smart. Lady, for $300 you will HATE your bike, and never ride it. Wasted money.
For the record, the woman liked what she saw in the rocking new Swobo Otis. But it was twice as much as she expected to pay. For a good new bike. That she'd ride forever. She should follow her instinct and her nose, not her price point.
What do you think the minimum price is for a new bike that you'd ride forever?
2 comments:
Those pieces of WalMart crap cost $300?
Anybody who expects a bike to last the rest of their life is kind of deluded.
Want a cheap but good bike? Buy a Swobo or a Surly (or whatever) and treat it right and accept that it has a finite lifespan and that shit happens and when it reaches the end of it's usable life be grateful for it's years of service and go buy another one.
With gas prices the way they are now it only takes a season or two of riding when you can (at the most) before the bike pays for itself. The cost per mile for the bike becomes insignificant after a very short time.
And paying $300 dollars for a disposable piece of crap or paying $666 for a Steamroller, that should be a total no-brainer.
You could get a decade or more out of the Steamroller. You'd be lucky to get a few weeks out of a WalMart bike if you rode it hard.
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