Sep 16th, 2009
How Much Better is Better?
The other night I had a discussion with someone about bicycles–which turned into a discussion about price. I had jokingly posted on Twitter that a Serotta bicycle would someday be mine–the eBay listing was over $6,000. The person I spoke with, an avid snowboarder, said she wouldn’t pay that much for her equipment; I told her I was joking and that I wouldn’t be paying that either, and that there’s no way a $6,000 bike was six times better than one that costs $1,000–or twelve times better than a $500 bike.
That said, there’s no question–none whatsoever–that the more expensive bike is better. It’s lighter and the bearings on the parts are smoother and in some cases better sealed. The wheels have less rotating weight. I’d love to have it.
But is it six times better than a $1,000 bike?
No way.
Better yes. That much better, no.
Although the more expensive bike may not be a proportionate improvement over its cheaper alternative… I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better.
Sorry.
My $0.02 (after taxes)
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
[...] Cents – On Wednesday I read a very short post there questioning whether a $6000 bike was really six times better than a $1000 bike, or 12 times better than a $500 bike. If you ask me, my not-so-professional opinion is that [...]
A while back, I bought a $2000 mountain bike for $1275. I got a great deal because Schwinn was going bankrupt and they were dumping these bikes. The reason I bought such an expensive bike is because I wanted the hydraulic disk brakes, which were only on the top of the line models back then.
Any way, I used to take a lot of grief from my friends because my bike was worth more than my car back then. But, eight years and three bottom brackets later I am still riding it and it is still holding up. And, since I ride it a lot, it probably only cost me a couple bucks an hour to enjoy.
Two years ago, I got the itch to upgrade. But, any bike that was even slightly better than mine cost $5000. I can’t justify that and I haven’t found what I want used. So, I’m still riding the old Scwhinn Rocket 88 disk.
The moral of the story is to buy quality when it is a good value and you will use it a lot.
[...] Cents – On Wednesday I read a very short post there questioning whether a $6000 bike was really six times better than a $1000 bike, or 12 times better than a $500 bike. If you ask me, my not-so-professional opinion is that [...]