Re: How much should one spend on a bicycle?

Ablang wrote:
> I know that a lot of details would factor into this, but I am
> wondering what bicycle enthusiasts consider when buying a new (or
> used) bike?
> 
> I guess I don't want to underspend and end up w/ a piece of cra*, but
> I also don't want to overspend and risk having it get stolen.
> 
> I would like to use it for daily exercise and going to the store (not
> more than 10 miles one way).
That's a rather philosophical question.

A few years back, I was going back to school.  I bought a beater for 
about $100 so I could bike to class (downtown, not the best of 
neighbourhoods).  It didn't take many trips by bike to pay for it 
(parking $5, roundtrip bus $4).  After that, everything was gravy.

The beater was okay, but not a great bike.  After commuting a lot by 
bike for several years without incident, I forked out about $500 for a 
decent new bike with fenders and a rack and panniers.  It's much more 
pleasant to ride than the beater.  It will pay for itself in a couple 
more months (parking is now $8, and bus roundtrip is now $4.50).  Then 
everything will be gravy again.

You might consider getting two bikes - one for fun rides and one for 
commuting.  Make the latter a beater and see how committed you are to 
cycling.  If you use a beater a lot, spending a bit more might be 
worthwhile.  If you don't use it much, you haven't spent much.