What difference does an "expensive" bike make?

[20130814]

Hi,

I currently ride an old Raleigh bike I bought for £40 via the For Sale forum on this site in 2018 and it still works okay. I get painful wrists and bum cycling it, and have tried many different variations to try and avoid that.

Apart from the many different routes it's possible to go down when addressing the pain issue mentioned above, I would like to get more into cycling now as my kids have left home and I have more time on my hands. I'm now 49 years old, and don't really cycle at all in the winter, but did used to do a lot of cycling up until about 2011. I used to ride nice old steel framed racers like Peugeots, Raleighs etc.

I could only ever manage about 12 to 18 mph on my regular 22 mile commute from mid Cheshire to Chester. Sometimes I'd be passed by super fast cyclists. Best one was when I was riding home with a good tailwind and was going fast (for me). A man in his 60s easily passed me riding an old tandem on his own. Ha ha...

Anyway, I am waffling.

I'd like to buy a new bike - and am in a position to be able to spend maybe £1 or £2,000 on a bike. Previously all my bikes have been used bikes and I've cobbled together parts rather than spend much on decent wheels / frame / groupset etc..

Finally my question, sorry - when I go to a posh bike shop, I get overwhelmed with all of the choices - e.g. local bike shop here:

https://www.cdbikes.co.uk/bikes/gravel- ... ike-stock/

I went in the other day, and the bikes were really beautiful... but then I wondered - what difference would it make to ride one of these top-spec bikes compared to the old run around I'm using now? Is it a case of them being more comfortable, or faster, or lighter, or all 3? I can't imagine spending that much on a bike, I think I'd be scared to use it.

But, it might help with aches and pains.

Or is a lot of it just about fashion and so on?

Also, when buying a bike that is so expensive, how does anyone know they will fit, as you can't exactly take it out for a 20 mile ride and see if it's a good fit / doesn't cause pain etc?

Sorry for the essay.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Thanks

Jim

[Mick F]

Donkey's ago, I was riding further and further to work as we moved houses and locations.
I really got into cycling rather than just a means of transport.

I went to a bike shop and bought a nice Raleigh Clubman. 531c main tubes, basic Campagnolo stuff but Raleigh chainset and stuff.
I enjoyed it a lot!

Very slowly, I modified it a bit. Better chainset and better ratios, better saddle, better pedals etc etc.
Eventually, I was at the "Trigger's Broome" situation - though still used the original frame.

Some years later, I invested in a Mercian frame-set 531c throughout and made to measure.
I transferred all the new stuff from the Raleigh, plus fitted new brakes, 'bars, mudguards and etc, then put all the original stuff back on the Raleigh frame and sold it as a complete bike.

I still have the 1986 Mercian and is still basically the same bike, and it's still a delight to ride.
I wouldn't swap it for the world.

So, basically, buy a new bike "off the shelf", then when and if you want to improve it, fit better stuff that suits you better, but sell what you don't want, or keep it to one side for future use.

[Nearholmer]

Start at £250, you can buy a bike, but ……

Go to about £500, and from a reputable make you get a serviceable bike, maybe with a bottom bracket bearing that won’t last massively long, ever so slightly clunky, but perfectly useable gears, and brakes that work perfectly but aren’t very subtle. The tyres will be fine, but not the greatest.

Go up to c£1000, and the bearings might get better, the gear-changes and brakes definitely will be, and the tyres probably will be. At this price you start to get bikes that you can really cover some miles on and use pretty hard.

Each £500 increment thereafter brings something: lighter, even better gears, really nice brakes, rock-solid construction for expeditions, that sort of thing, but the step change in “ride experience” tends to be smaller for each £500, and it becomes more and more a matter of personal fitness whether you can exploit it anyway, until you get to the difference between, say, a £4000 bike and a £4500 bike, which might be a tiny reduction in weight and air resistance that only make decisive differences over enormously long distances at very high speeds when ridden by a genuine athlete, say.

So ….. work out how you will be using the bike, what for, how frequently, how far etc and go from there. Personally, I would advise someone who is upping their cycling to go in with a bike listed c£1000-1500, ideally to buy during the winter sales when you can usually find 20-50% reductions, then to upgrade bits as they wear out if you can see gain to be had.

Unless you know enough to buy confidently secondhand, where some real bargains can be had if you find someone who “didn’t take to it” selling a barely used bike.

Fit the shop should be able to get right at the basic level, by selling you the right sized model and adjusting it to suit you, and by subsequent adjustment and small component changes you should be able to get really spot-on.

[axel_knutt]

I think you need to find the riding position that fixes your aches and pains before spending £2k on a bike, and an old hack is ideal for experimenting with. If you buy a seriously wrong bike, the range of adjustment on the saddle & bars won't be anything like enough to put things right afterwards.

I bought my Dawes Horizon when I first got interested in doing some touring instead of just local rides, and I chose Dawes' cheapest because I didn't know if I was going to stick at it, and I could upgrade like MickF has. Nearly everything has been replaced in the last 22 years, and all with better stuff than original, so I have a better bike than the Galaxy that would have been my alternative at the time I bought it.

[Nearholmer]

Good advice …… I should have said the same about understanding where the trouble is coming from before spending money.

If you posted a picture f you posed on it in riding position, someone here will probably be able to give pointers as to what might be going wrong - loading too much weight on your arms is one of several possible causes of wrist ache, for instance.

[rareposter]

First thing, as others have mentioned is to find out what the issue is with the current bike that is causing you wrist and backside pain - riding position, wrong size frame, bad set-up...? Or it could even be something like the tyre pressure being too high and causing all the bumps and vibrations to come through. Without seeing that, it's difficult to say what the issue is and how to fix it.
If you're at all unsure, a professional bike fit would probably help. They can be quite useful for at least identifying an issue down from "my bike hurts" to something much more focussed and are often worthwhile when buying something entirely new and/or when returning to cycling aftera long period of not much. Yes they're expensive but spending £300 on a bike fit and then buying a good-fitting bike at £1700, is better than spending £2000 on something that you think/hope will fit but doesn't.

You also don't say what the bike is or how old it is, only that you bought it S/H in 2018. A few more details on that would help.

And finally, the type of riding you're doing - fast road rides? mixed terrain inc gravel etc? touring (and if so, how much luggage)? more steady leisure riding?
All of those will have a dramatic impact on what you should be buying - kind of like buying a sports car and then finding out it's useless for going away for a weekend camping!

£1000 - £2000 does, as I suspect you've discovered, cover a vast range of options too, everything from entry level road bikes to very capable touring bikes and quite a lot in between - covering steel, aluminium, carbon and titanium frame options! I would agree with a lot of what Nearholmer wrote, particularly:

So ….. work out how you will be using the bike, what for, how frequently, how far etc and go from there. Personally, I would advise someone who is upping their cycling to go in with a bike listed c£1000-1500, ideally to buy during the winter sales when you can usually find 20-50% reductions, then to upgrade bits as they wear out if you can see gain to be had.

But make sure you're buying something suitable for your intended usage. Good luck!

[531colin]

I think you need to find the riding position that fixes your aches and pains before spending £2k on a bike..........

THIS!! ^^^^^^^^^^

Read my DIY bike fit piece linked below.
Sore wrists usually means too much weight on your hands; move the saddle back to fix this.

Balanced position by 531colin, on Flickr

Aim to be in balance (as above)

Sore bum....are you sitting on the bike like a sack of spuds, or are you distributing your weight between the contact points?
Over bumpy stretches, you should be able to let the bike move under you like a rocking horse as the wheels go over a bump one at a time.
Most of your weight should be on your feet; ride "kissing the saddle"....going slowly this means taking some weight on the pedal coming up; this is obviously a waste of energy, but much less tiring than being bounced around; all the power to lift you up and jiggle you about comes from your legs. (unless you are going downhill, in which case the energy came from pedalling up the hill)

"bike fitters" specialise in racing cyclists, not always applicable to leisure cycling

[JohnMorgan]

I’d spend some money on a bike fit, first. Explain that you are a ‘leisure’ rider, I’m sure they will be able to help you find the right bike, and the right set up. Good luck!

[brumster]

Decide on what tyre volume best suits where you'll be riding and likewise gear range.

[swagman]

A lighter wallet

[PT1029]

Lots of good advice upthread. No good spending a lot of money on a bike unless you KNOW what sort of bike you want/serves your needs.
Work out what sort of riding you want to do (approx distance, approx speed, road only, some bridle tracks/sustrans routes etc. Tell them you want clearance for mud guards (even if you don't want them initially, you might later, having clearance to do this makes life much easier0 and mounts for a (rear) rack - racks can be quite light these days.
Tell that to which ever shop you go to (if it is a decent shop, they should ask you this).
Fashion has sensibly changed, really thin tyres are less fashionable, less thin tyres are a lot more comfortable (less wrist ache?) and more suited to our deteriorating road surfaces
Buy a cheaper bike, say £500. Fiddle/tweek this as needed to find what position/gear ranges etc works for you. Then you'll know what you want when you buy your nice bike. Keep the cheaper bike as a spare/bad weather bike. Keep your £40 Raleigh as a pub bike.

"Only 12 - 18mph" you refer to is very respectable. I have commuted/toured for decades. Yes I can probably do 18mph but rarely do. I can do 12mph all day however.

[Audax67]

...spending £300 on a bike fit and then buying a good-fitting bike at £1700, is better than spending £2000 on something that you think/hope will fit but doesn't.

That. I had hip tendinitis after long rides for years before I got a new bike and the dealer threw in a free fit. The effect was miraculous. I have since duplicated the set-up on my other bikes and the tendinitis has never returned.

[mattsccm]

Two different issues. You can get a decent fit on a junk bike and be uncomfortable on a good one. But it may cost money if either is fundamentally wrong.
Expensive bikes, for the correct purpose for your needs,do feel nicer to use.

[JohnR]

First tinker with your current bike to establish what geometry gets you comfortable. In addition to moving the saddle, changing the handlebar stem is inexpensive and will let you find out if the new position is better or worse than previously. One of the adjustable stems may be the best starting place. Once you know what geometry works for you then consider going shopping. You may wish to consider making a trip to Spa Cycles who have numerous demonstrators which you can take out for a proper ride.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,

I think you need to find the riding position that fixes your aches and pains before spending £2k on a bike, and an old hack is ideal for experimenting with. If you buy a seriously wrong bike, the range of adjustment on the saddle & bars won't be anything like enough to put things right afterwards.
******

Bike riding position (in fine detail you need to get the waist down sorted ........then it matters less what the waist up is doing).
Its all about ergonomics and the person, rather than a state of the art new steed!

I have too very comfortable drop handle bar bikes (1983 & 1996) but my training hack which cost me £100 to buy and fit parts, and covered 5K miles on that £100, is ultimately very comfortable and I do most of my riding (99.5%) on that.
Its all about the body position...........................in particular your feet

P.S. How to go faster......................................get fitter................