The Question: How to determine how much to spend on a new bike? Saw this on Duathlon.com Form. One response was to calculate the green’s fees you be saving for several years and that would give you a formula for how much to spend on a bike. The only rule I can think of is don’t spend more on your bike than you do on your car. Nothing is worse than seeing a road biker drive up in a pinto with a Seven on the roof. Any ideas?
Here is the post below:
"Over a pint of Yards beer ( a local brewing in Philadelphia) I was thinking…
What is the formula to figure out how much to spend on a new bike?
Engagement Ring, House, Apartment, and Cars all have detailed formulas to help you spend more then you should on each product. What about bikes?
One friend suggested, “What is the limit on your credit card?”
This discussion was started (with a few pints) because a friend suggested going QZ on the ring and using the savings to buy myself a sweet new ride. He reasoned I would be riding my bike longer then my new wife to be? I am not sure what he was referring to but the thought of a new bike sounds appealing.
Regardless, If I spend $35-$40K on a car, $250K on a house, how much should go to the bike? "
you should spend as much as your other habits you would be doing instead would cost over the life of your bike, and also the cost of how many doctor visits and ailments you’ll avoid by being healthy and riding a bike.
I had a motorcycle that I sold because I wasn’t riding it and was riding my bike just as much and just as far. Cost of motobike + insurance + gas + jenny craig + therapy for being a miserable sack and sitting on my ass = treat yourself to a really nice bike.
Triathlon is expensive, but it costs the same or less than the fatass stuffing his face with cheetos sitting in his boat watching you swim in the lake or sitting in his car and honking at you cuz you’re not far enough over on your bike, cuz his medical bills, food, and boat/car payment is pretty steep.
I personally don’t want to spend a lot on a bike until I can ride it fast! I love passing people on $3k bikes when I have a $300 bike. So basically I won’t spend the $$$ until a) I switch to longer tri’s or b) I get fast enough to compete.
Let me preface this post by saying I love fancy bikes (almost) more than life itself. However, it really is the motor and not the machine. With a few exceptions, such as a good aero position, little that you will spend money on will make you appreciably faster.
But I’m sure you know this, so if you’re just looking for justification to spend heaps of money on a nice bike then how about: Your bike shouldn’t be so expensive that you can’t replace it every two years. Because you know you’ll want to replace it within two years when the lure of new tech beckons…
I went with the “amortorized cost method.” Come up with an amortorized cost per year using the expected life of the bike.
By this method, my new Trek 5200 is only costing me 68 cents per day -or- one trip to the office vending machine. It cost less than I spend on cable tv, cell phones, and a host of other of life’s necessities that I don’t even really think about. Heck, my bike “cost” 3 times LESS than my wife spends getting her hair cut.
Basically, bikes really are cheap in comparison to many other of life’s joys as long as you ride them for a few years and don’t buy too many at once. The only hurdle is that you generally have to pay for it in the first year of use.
PS - The engagement ring formula is important. Definitely make sure your bike cost less than your wife’s engagement ring. Don’t buy a cheaper bike, just bite the bullet and get a bigger ring. And don’t buy an expensive bike right before a birthday or anniversary or you will have effectively doubled the cost.
PS - The engagement ring formula is important. Definitely make sure your bike cost less than your wife’s engagement ring. Don’t buy a cheaper bike, just bite the bullet and get a bigger ring. And don’t buy an expensive bike right before a birthday or anniversary or you will have effectively doubled the cost.
Of course you guys know that the engagement ring “formula” was devised by deBeers (or a marketing fim working for them).
The price of bikes and what to spend is always a vexing question. At first thought, spending $2,000 or more on a bicycle seems absolutly crazy and ones thoughts would be in line with about 99% of the population on this issue. However, a good bike will last for years and has many positive benefits.
The other side of the issue is the relative value that you get for a bike these days - which is I think very high. The trickling down of technology and other issues that have driven down the cost of manufacturiing but maintained or increased quality, have ended up delivering great bikes at reasonable prices. A $2,000 bike today, is roughly the same bike that was being raced in the Tour de France only a few years ago!
Now you can go completely nuts with the bikes in the upper end and on all kinds of wiz-bang accesories and parts, but I think that the point of diminishing returns is reached somewhere between 2 - $3,000
So, set a budget. Find a good shop. Get the best fit on the bike that you can. This last point is very key and should be your guiding light after establishing your budget because that is the one variable between the top brands - they have different ideas on this.
Nothing is worse than seeing a road biker drive up in a pinto with a Seven on the roof.
Not sure I agree. . .seems to me this type of guy’s got his priorities sorted out just fine. . .if anything, ditch the car transport entirely and make the bike your main source of transportation. . .There’s always cabs for dragging you and your bike case to the airport on your trip to Kona. . .
Regardless, If I spend $35-$40K on a car, $250K on a house, how much should go to the bike? "
To my mind, if you are going to make your bike purchase decision based on some amount of $ then you are missing the point. . .Its the ultimate poser thing to do. “Well, I can’t very well be seen with a Cervelo One mounted atop my BMW 530, can I?” POSER!
There is no formula. . .that’s a frat-house way of making life’s decisions. No appreciation of life’s subtleties.
Of course you guys know that the engagement ring “formula” was devised by deBeers (or a marketing fim working for them).
That is the glass half empty way of looking at it.
I prefer to think that the guys at DeBeers were looking out for me and my long term interests by coming up with their formula that made sure I was not going to screw up and be forever limit my bike choices. Here’s to you boys whomever you are . . . .
I back into the money issue. In other words, I absolutely must love my bike. I will not buy a bike I’m going to work that hard on and not love it.
So, my recommendation would be to find the bike FRAME you love, then, and if it is too expensive to finish off, build it in stages. Ride your old bike until it’s finished.
But, never, never, never buy a bike you don’t absolutely love.
“Not sure I agree. . .seems to me this type of guy’s got his priorities sorted out just fine. . .if anything, ditch the car transport entirely and make the bike your main source of transportation.”
You may have something here! When you consider the impact of the increase in fuel prices, it makes spending some money on a fancy bike all the more attractive.
Not really sure what was harder, the new bike purchase or the engagement ring. My advice is to buy the bike first, otherwise you will have another person deciding how much to spend for you.
Don’t know the source, but I’ve heard that one rule of thumb is to spend half your yearly mileage on a bike. So if you ride 3000 miles a year, $1500, for example.
That only works (maybe) at today’s dollar values. . .what about when you’re still only riding 3000 miles a year and that $1500 will barely get you a K-Mart Huffy?
What is this TSR I hear people referring to? Is there a Mr Tibbs involved? Is he the guy I saw standing on a sand bar in the middle of a river last night? Has the IRS looked into the activities of TSR? ?
From there you get the best bike for the cash you can depart with.