What's the difference between a ~$1000 and a ~$2000+ bike?

Triathlon Forum
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I am trying to increase my knowledge of bike. I’m currently reading through a repair manual and taking my bike a part and cleaning it. Pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, back to the original question, besides the “price tag”, what are some differences between a ~1000 and a $2000 bike (we’ll say they’re both new). Obviously I am asking because I am considering the purchase of a bike or at least considering planning a budget for a new bike. If you say terms like “aerodynamics”, “quality”, etc … please explain a little bit what exactly you mean by those terms.

Thanks in advance.

Any descriptions/article via web link are also appreciated.

Edit: Changed $500 to $1000

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$1500

Duh ;}
.

3

Are you kidding? What is the difference between a Yugo and a BMW!

4

What are you still doing in the office? I thought that from your post a while back that you leave the office early on Friday?

5

I’m fealing guilty - so I’m working hard here on slowtwitch , reading a book and staying late till 4 p.m.

I’m sooooooooo board (sp?)

86 minutes to go

6

Are you kidding? What is the difference between a Yugo and a BMW!

Sorry. Not kidding. I should have guessed the answer would be something like “everything. that’s the difference.”

I guess I am trying to figure out exactly what you pay the extra money for … lighter weight, sturdier material, smoother gearing, more aerodynamic frame, etc … and trying to gauge how much “each improvement” is really worth (to me) in dollars.

Does that make more sense?

7

IMO, at $500 you are starting to get into some pretty low quality (for racing) in general. Probably the geometry is going to be a lot more upright as well because people in that price range probably aren’t looking for much more than something to ride on the ole bike path with i.e., aero doesn’t matter at all. If you want to race, I would set the low end closer to $1000.

8

A great quote that applies to bike stuff is “Strong. Light. Cheap. Pick any two.”

The cheap bike is probably strong, but not light. The expensive bike is probably strong and light.

This applies to the frame and basic components (handlebars, seatpost, etc.) The drivetrain components (including wheels) not only do you get strong and light, but you also get more precise.

9

I’m sure there’s no particular bright line rule as to what features show up in what price range, but at $500, you’re going to get low end components from the makers who are not Campy or Shimano. In other words, the best component you have on there will likely be Tiagra, at best. Frame material will be heavier and with no to minimal aeroness.

My first bike was a Trek 2000, a lower end Trek Road bike. I love the bike, but it weighs a ton, and came with Tiagra/105 components, Tiagra hubs (which aren’t that great), and no-name alloy brake calipers. And it cost me $1100. Now, imagine what you’ll get for $500.

I would imagine you could put together a decent racing bike for $500 (excluding wheels) if you go for used components, purchased on eBay.

10

1000 to 2000

Not much… A little weight. Maybe some ego?

#1- get a bike that fits you well (means a helluva lot more than a few grams)

#2- Invest in the engine

#3- Get a $5000 bike and go like hell… :slight_smile:

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I have a $700 bike and a $1200 bike, and the differences are: lighter frame on the more exensive bike; better components - 105/tiagra versus sora. (As it turns out the $1200 bike was my first one and I have since ugraded it to ultegra across the board.)

I think I see what you are asking… but you need to bump the prices. :wink: I myself am curious as to what the difference between a similarly equipped Litespeed Solano and a Litespeed Vortex, for example. At that range, all I can think of is labor costs for hand-welding the frame.

12

When I bought my first racing bike 14 years ago, the shop said to “buy a really good frame, you can always upgrade parts later”. So I bought the top of the line Trek 2300 (carbon tubes) and 105 and Ultegra mix. Later I added DA stuff to get better shifting and lighter weight.

13

For example, in looking at the Felt S32

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/feltS32.shtml

The price tag is ~$1200 … and, I’m not sure how bikes work, but I am assuming they’re like cars … with 06’s coming out, the 05’s will have an even lower price tag.

So, would spending double the amount ($~2500) really buy me anything significant in upgrades, or would I need to spend more ($4K-$5K) to really notice the difference?

I guess what I am asking, is (IYO) spending an extra $1K-$1.5K “worth it” in terms of the bike quality that you get?

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"#1- get a bike that fits you well (means a helluva lot more than a few grams)

#2- Invest in the engine

#3- Get a $5000 bike and go like hell… :slight_smile: "

Dead nuts on… fit and fitness rule the day. Everytime the gear wonk in me starts drooling over the latest feather weight, carbon fiber bike with sexy lines (Scott Plasma comes to mind) I ask myself if - insert your favorite pro rider here - could beat me on it if he was riding my current bike. Invariably I turn around and go for a hard ride figuring it’s a better investment.

That being said… $1000 jump buys you lighter frame, maybe with some aerodynamics and your components will be more refined with better bearings and improved tolerances for smoother action and increased life.

15

The two bikes that I ride the most are a Trek 5500 frame w/ Ultegra and a bottom of the line Trek 1000 that I ride back and forth to work but also end up doing a lot of training rides on during the week. The Trek 1000 cost me $504, I bought the 5500 frame and put parts on it but if I had to put a price on the 5500 it would probably be $2500+.

Now for the differences. The 5500 is a lighter frame, has lighter components, lighter wheels, better brakes, 9 spd. The 1000, as mentioned, is bottom of the line, sora shifters, 8spd, heavy 32-spoke wheels. Is the 5500 faster than the 1000? If it is it’s not by a lot. It’s probably faster uphill due to it’s light weight. There’s a stretch of trail and road where I occasionally test myself. Overall it’s about 3% for about 7km. My times on the two bikes depend on my fitness and not on the bike I happen to be riding that day.

Maybe there’s more of a difference with tt/tri bikes??? How much faster is a P3 than a Dual with the same wheels?

I think that the point is, as many others have said, that the engine and fit are more important than how much you spend on the bike.

16

Dude, you are over thinking the whole thing. Here is the deal, figure out your budget. How much money do you have to spend on a bike? Like another poster stated, minimum for a race bike is $1000. So next go up from there. Or better yet, since you know nothing about bikes, just start with the $1000 bike. Read slowtwitch everyday. Then 3 months later buy a P3C.

Also, do you currently own a bike? What do you like/dislike about it? Whatever bike you buy, I can almost guarantee it wont be your last.

17

For example, in looking at the Felt S32

http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/reviews/feltS32.shtml

The price tag is ~$1200 … and, I’m not sure how bikes work, but I am assuming they’re like cars … with 06’s coming out, the 05’s will have an even lower price tag.

So, would spending double the amount ($~2500) really buy me anything significant in upgrades, or would I need to spend more ($4K-$5K) to really notice the difference?

I guess what I am asking, is (IYO) spending an extra $1K-$1.5K “worth it” in terms of the bike quality that you get?

well, sometimes, there is no difference at all. by this i mean that you can have two fairly equivalent bikes, one is a great deal at $1K, the other a huge rip-off at 2k. (ok, that much of a difference is extreme, but i think we can all agree that some deals are better than others).

now, assuming that there are good deals at all prices, and you’re comparing 2 good deals:
-as people mentioned, things are gonna get lighter as you spend more. i’m not sure how much more, though. from $500 to $1000, my guess is there’ll be a huge difference. And a significant difference, i’d guess, from $1000 to $2000, although less so. Once you get to a certain weight, it’s hard to take much off, and you wind up spending a lot of money for not a lot of weight savings. If you look at Demerly’s article on cranks, he points out that the difference in weight among upscale models was less than the weight of a pair of sunglasses.

-probably the most important thing, is that if you’re willing to spend the big bucks, you get a bigger choice of frame materials. At $500, I imagine you’re only looking at steel. By $1K, steel or aluminum. At some point, probably above the 2K line, you start to get into the carbon and titanium zone, although at 2K you’re already starting to see a lot of carbon forks, seatposts, etc.

18

Dude, you are over thinking the whole thing.

Naturally.

How much money do you have to spend on a bike?

$1K - $2K

Also, do you currently own a bike?

Raleigh Technium that a brother in law gave me (he got it from a garage sale). I was gonna buy a bike back then, but then “hey, a free one. cool.”

What do you like/dislike about it?

It’s worn. There’s some rust. The frame/paint is chipping. It’s not all that smooth. But, if the bike would last, I would continue to ride it. It’d be cool to have this one hooked up to the trainer all the time.

Whatever bike you buy, I can almost guarantee it wont be your last.

Goes without saying.

Thanks for the thoughts gentlemen. I realise I asked a very generic, vague question. I’ll read up and ask more specific, relevant questions as the purchase time gets closer.

19

"I guess what I am asking, is (IYO) spending an extra $1K-$1.5K “worth it” in terms of the bike quality that you get? "
Only you can decide that.
My last big sports purchase was an outrigger canoe. Pricing went something like this:

  • $1500 for 38lbs fiberglass
  • $2200 for 28lbs fiberglass/carbon
  • $3000 for 24lbs carbon/kevlar

To me, that $1500 extra was worth it. A friend of mine bought the heavy version, as he didn’t think losing 12lbs was worth $1500 extra. Same boat, by the same builder. Why was it worth it to me? I’m already under 10% body fat, so the only place I can lose weight is in the equipment. That friend is 30%+ body fat, he can lose 12lbs cheaper and get bigger speed improvement.

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I got one of my current bikes for under $500, used off ebay. It is a great bike with a mix of Ultegra with the drive-train up-dated to 105 9 speed. It’s steel which is way under-valued in my opinion.