Just how much would you pay?

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
Dingdong
Posts: 966
Joined: 22 Apr 2022, 4:59pm

Just how much would you pay?

Post by Dingdong »

I've recently been thinking about a new Gravel bike. Previously I've built my own from the frame up, and mostly (except for the wheels) specced quality second hand parts. So I reckon the most one ever splashed out on a total build is about £1200.

I'm now looking at a Focus carbon, with SRAM Rival on it for double that amount. My heart says yes, but everything else says.. Whoahhh there!

What's the most you've spent on a non electric bike, and how did you justify it to yourself, and her indoors!? :lol:
User avatar
Vantage
Posts: 3049
Joined: 24 Jan 2012, 1:44pm
Location: somewhere in Bolton
Contact:

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by Vantage »

Before the e conversion, my Spa Wayfarer self build had set me back around £1800. Can't remember if that includes the lights, racks, GPS etc. But it's been spent over months of replacements. If I included the parts that were fitted and then changed out....I don't wanna find out. :shock:
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
peetee
Posts: 4292
Joined: 4 May 2010, 10:20pm
Location: Upon a lumpy, scarred granite massif.

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by peetee »

£650. It was a self-built gravel bike with a pre-owned, unused Spa frame, new wheel parts and calipers and pre-used gearing.
AB1403E2-7CF6-46E0-B26C-982C73D22EFD.jpeg
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
roubaixtuesday
Posts: 5814
Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by roubaixtuesday »

For my 50th birthday, I treated myself to a bespoke framed 953 bike, pictured here in its natural habitat:

Bike Glaciers.jpg

The cost was comfortably double what you're contemplating. Hopefully the frame at least will last me until my demise.

Modern bikes in general are remarkably cheap for what you get, driven in recent decades by modern manufacturing and globalisation.

We may be approaching the end of the big step change in globalisation, and with a concomitant shift to more expensive tech as standard on nice bikes compared to the good old days (brifters, hydraulics, Di2) and the relative fall in the pound over recent years, the price trend may I fear have reversed.

Given that people quite happily pay far more than you're contemplating for and entire bicycle for minor differences in motor car spec from one model to the next, I'd say go for it if you can afford it!
User avatar
PedallingSquares
Posts: 548
Joined: 13 Mar 2022, 11:01am

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by PedallingSquares »

My Ti build was over £6k in 2020.Before that my Carbon build was £3.5k in 2016(sold).My FS MTB build was £4.5k in 2013 and my HT MTB build was £2k in 2011(both now sold).In between all that I've had a couple of off-the-peg CX bikes.I basically cut down from 5 to 1 bikes in 2019.
I don't have to justify anything to my wife as it's my money to do with as I please.Likewise her money is hers :wink:
geocycle
Posts: 2177
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 9:46am

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by geocycle »

There's no right answer. It comes down to how we perceive value which comes down to practical things like what we want to use it for or how long it will last, but crucially our income and how highly we place bikes in our hierarchy of needs.

Before 2006 I bought a string of Dawes hybrids and replaced them every 3-4 years giving what remained to a bike recycling charity. In 2006 I spent what seemed a colossal £1100 on a Thorn Raven and in 2018 £1800 on a Spa Ti audax. The Thorn is still used every day and has maintained much of its value (ignoring inflation of course). The Spa gets used weekly and is now probably worth less than the Thorn. Both have had regular expenditure and maintenance as parts fail or are swapped. Providing they get used I'm happy spending more on a bike that will last. With more than 100,000 km split between these two bikes I'm comfortable in justifying the expense.
Last edited by geocycle on 28 Nov 2022, 3:11pm, edited 1 time in total.
Nearholmer
Posts: 3927
Joined: 26 Mar 2022, 7:13am

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by Nearholmer »

My “proper bike” has a list price of c£2400, but I couldn’t get one new, they sold-out in a flash, so I bought secondhand “nearly new” for £1800 (actually a great deal less because I PXed my own nearly new tourer, which didn’t suit me).

I chose it for comfort and (hopefully) longevity, so while it is pretty much a steel gravel bike, it’s the converse of the carbon-speedster variants of the breed.

Thousands of pounds on a bike is a lot of money, but probably works out about the same as my other half’s gym membership over two years, and it gets a lot of use so justifiable on “fitness retention” grounds.

Would I spend more than the list price of my bike? About the only reason I can see for doing so would be to have the same thing, but custom-built to an exact fit, maybe using 853 instead of 725, but it would be very hard to justify for the incremental differences.

My shopping bike, a secondhand Pashley Parabike derivative, cost me £100 and pumping the tyres up!
Last edited by Nearholmer on 28 Nov 2022, 3:23pm, edited 1 time in total.
PH
Posts: 13106
Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 12:31am
Location: Derby
Contact:

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by PH »

My three leisure bikes would cost £7,900 to replace like for like :shock: :shock:
But the most I've spent on complete bikes was £980 for a Hewitt Cheviot in 2003 and £1,100 for a Thorn Raven in 2004.
I sold the Hewitt a couple of months ago, though there wasn't much of the original bike left. The Raven frameset was sold ten years ago, I'm still using the Rohloff and SON hubs. I don't need to justify what I spend, which is a good job because it's usually some years before I can determine if something was good value or not.
User avatar
TrevA
Posts: 3551
Joined: 1 Jun 2007, 9:12pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by TrevA »

My son in law recently bought a Marin Gestalt. Steel frame and Tiagra groupset with hydraulic brakes, for less than £1000. It’s not that light - 11.4kg but has clearance for up to 50mm tyres. He has another gravel bike (GT Grade) but the clearance on that one isn’t very good (only 38mm max) so he uses that as his winter bike.

He gets an annual bonus and tends to spend that on a new bike. He justifies the expense because his wife ( my daughter) has a horse that costs around £3-400 a month in livery, shoes, vets bills and insurance.

He also has Trek Emonda that was £3000, a Vitus Carbon with Di2 that was £2000.

I manage the light gravel that I want to do, mainly canal towpath, on my 853 Dawes Super Galaxy, bought for £325 secondhand. My most expensive purchase was my wife’s Orbea Carbon Orca that was £2000. None of my own bikes were more than £1000 and I tend to go for secondhand nowadays.
Sherwood CC and Notts CTC.
A cart horse trapped in the body of a man.
http://www.jogler2009.blogspot.com
mumbojumbo
Posts: 1525
Joined: 1 Aug 2018, 8:18pm

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by mumbojumbo »

I bought a GT Grade for my son from Cash Converters for £90 as new .It is a poor bike ,if priced new, with poor brakes ,cheap wheels and thoughtless design. At £90 it is a bargain, presumably traded in by a spoilt student.
Dingdong
Posts: 966
Joined: 22 Apr 2022, 4:59pm

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by Dingdong »

This is my latest project bike. I love Kleins because they were just so way ahead of their time (press fit Titanium bottom brackets, totally concealed cables, lightweight oversize tubing), and light, this frame tolls in at about 1350gr, including the bottom bracket, about the same as an average 2022 carbon frame. They have some great colour schemes. I paid £750 for the frame, and built it up with good used condition Campagnolo Record Titanium. I probably spent 1600 on it, all told.

It's a joy to ride, and everyone stops to come over and have a gander at it. It is very pretty!
Attachments
aHR0cHM6Ly9mc3RhdGljMS5tdGItbmV3cy5kZS9mL2NnL3AxL2NncDFoeWJucm5vYi9vcmlnaW5hbF9LbGVpbl9RdWFudHVtX1Byb19Db3JhbFJlZWZfLV8wMi5KUEc_MA.jpg
User avatar
freiston
Posts: 1504
Joined: 6 Oct 2013, 10:20am
Location: Coventry

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by freiston »

My current bike (Jamis Aurora touring bike) cost only £660 but I've spent some money on it since. Velo Orange Grand Cru Course handlebars, Velo Orange seatpost, Velo Orange stem, Dynamo front wheel, lights and Cycle2Charge USB charger, Racktime AddIt rear rack and Tubus Tara front low rider rack, SKS mudguards, pedals, saddle, wider ratio rear cassette & a rear mech to cope with the new capacity and new Tektro CR720 cantilever front brakes - all in all about another £550. There have been consumables too but I haven't counted them.

I'm currently fantasising about building a bike up from the frame. At the moment it can only be a fantasy but there is a chance I might be able to make it happen. It's an all-rounder/rough-stuff tourer based on a Spa Wayfarer frame and I currently have two ever-changing lists of components - effectively the base model and "enhanced" - so the price varies a lot. There's probably errors in my selections and the way they're added up but the base model is currently about £1840 and the enhanced version about £2260. Having a soft spot for Paul Components Klamper brakes doesn't help :oops:

If I had more money, I could probably spend considerably more but I don't think I would - I would probably spend on more bikes with more "specialisation" like something a bit more lightweight and minimalist but I reckon I'd probably spend less on such a bike because there's fewer bits to buy and, despite the Klampers, I'm not into high-end groupset stuff.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute. ;)
Manc33
Posts: 2218
Joined: 25 Apr 2015, 9:37pm

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by Manc33 »

Vantage wrote: 28 Nov 2022, 11:11am But it's been spent over months of replacements. If I included the parts that were fitted and then changed out....I don't wanna find out. :shock:
That's my situation but I did find out because I went back 12 years and found every single receipt... put it this way, there's not much change out of ten grand and yet I only have one bike, worth under two grand 😏
We'll always be together, together on electric bikes.
JohnMorgan
Posts: 111
Joined: 9 Jun 2022, 7:19pm

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by JohnMorgan »

‘Its’s not about the miles, it’s about the smiles’.

If you’re going to keep it, and it will give you a smile while you’re riding it, why not? I don’t remember any ‘last words’ being ‘I’m glad I didn’t get the best I could afford’.

So saying, the most I’ve paid is just under £1k on the ‘bike to work’ scheme, so it was more like £700, £350 if you take off the insurance paying for the wrecked bike.

My two bikes (strange, as I only have one buttock) cost £210 for the Dawes Renown, delivered, just about as new; and £90 for the Galaxy. But then, that was £160 on the road, and £300 by the time I got it how I wanted it (saddles are expensive).
User avatar
pjclinch
Posts: 5469
Joined: 29 Oct 2007, 2:32pm
Location: Dundee, Scotland
Contact:

Re: Just how much would you pay?

Post by pjclinch »

Dingdong wrote: 28 Nov 2022, 10:47am What's the most you've spent on a non electric bike, and how did you justify it to yourself, and her indoors!? :lol:
"Her indoors" tends to be "Her outdoors" and spends more on bikes than I do.

Her gravel bike, a very nice Genesis, was 2k down from 3k as it was Last Year's Colour. It's been thoroughly justified by use, including taking up cyclecross racing which has just been an all round positive physically and mentally.

My dearest one was my cargo bike, about £1600 in 2004 which inflation calculators have at about 2.7K today. It's been carting loads that would have taken a car for getting on two decades so easily paid for itself many times over. Paid similar for my 'bent tourer but that was insurance from the eejit who'd destroyed its much cheaper second hand predecessor so an easy spend.

I have a Shand Tam Rohloff or similar in mind for when I retire, about 5K. Can't justify that right now though!

Pete.
Often seen riding a bike around Dundee...
Post Reply