your Bike

googlehead

Newbie question.
Does Buying an expensive road bike really make alot of difference? my bike is cheap and i have never rode an expensive bike so i could not tell the difference anyway. it just got me thinking as I know alot of golfers who have all the expensive clubs, tiger woods shoes etc. and they still can't hit the ball.

NeilMcEoigheann

googlehead wrote: »

Newbie question.
Does Buying an expensive road bike really make alot of difference? my bike is cheap and i have never rode an expensive bike so i could not tell the difference anyway. it just got me thinking as I know alot of golfers who have all the expensive clubs, tiger woods shoes etc. and they still can hit the ball.

weight is prob the main difference, the quality of the components (smoothness of gearing and brakes) the difference is a reducing curve so the difference between a 300e bike and a 1500e bike is pretty big where as the difference between a 4000e bike and a 5200e bike is not that much.
but if you have the money by the most expensive bike you can.

Lumen

If you cycle for enjoyment and enjoy having a nice bike, then the cycling is even more enjoyable.

HTH.

Chips Lovell

NeilMcEoigheann wrote: »

weight is prob the main difference..

Stiffness too

Raam

Having a fancy badge ranks right up there also

ROK ON

Never underestimate about the tye of ego induced pleasure that a middle aged bloke can get from cycling on a shiny white carbon frame.
It's all about the bike. I may never be a top class cyclist, but damn it there is no excuse for looking bad on a bike.:D

blorg

Like Lumen I cycle a hell of a lot and so like having a nice bike (or seven.) When you break it down by the km or by the hour I probably get a good return on my bikes compared to other cyclists. I also don't drive which saves me a hell of a lot of money (I often wonder similarly as to why people would spend X on a car )

A light road bike is all around more fun to cycle. Similarly as Tonto says with stiffness.

More expensive bikes can also be more comfortable; I have ridden Trek aluminum and Trek carbon in exactly the same geometry and the carbon was a lot more comfortable, smoothing out the road a lot better.

Returns definitely diminish once you have a carbon bike with 105/Ultegra or above though... which you can get around the €1,500 mark or so. Maintenance is also very important, a well maintained cheap bike will probably ride better than a poorly maintained expensive one.

Having said that I enjoy cycling my relatively cheap fixie as much as my expensive road bike.

Caroline_ie

blorg wrote: »

Having said that I enjoy cycling my relatively cheap fixie as much as my expensive road bike.

Me too!

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

Like Lumen I cycle a hell of a lot

Just to clarify, I ride less than 200km a week. The only thing my cycling has in common with Blorgs is an excess of bikes.

Ghost Rider

I agree with most of what's been said on this so far. But it must be said that when you do splash out on your first "expensive" bike, something happens inside you. Some little creature awakes - some kind of cycling tapeworm. His hunger will only be satisfied by the constant acquisition of bike-related stuff. You fight him for a time, but then you visit this forum and you find enough like-minded enablers to give in completely.

I wish cycling were all that different from golf - for all kinds of reasons, not least of which is my desire not to develop a lily-white band across the top of my mildly-tanned forehead.

But, if I'm to be honest, when it comes to that consumerist itch - which may well be the inextinguishable hope that every little carbon gew-gaw or titanium doohickey we buy will make us just that teeny bit better at what we're trying to do - I suspect many of us are just as susceptible as our Callaway-wearing, Taylor-Made-swinging brethren.

googlehead wrote: »

Newbie question.
Does Buying an expensive road bike really make alot of difference? my bike is cheap and i have never rode an expensive bike so i could not tell the difference anyway. it just got me thinking as I know alot of golfers who have all the expensive clubs, tiger woods shoes etc. and they still can't hit the ball.

Lumen

Ghost Rider wrote: »

when you do splash out on your first "expensive" bike, something happens inside you. Some little creature awakes - some kind of cycling tapeworm.

It has nothing to do with the bike, and everything to do with this forum.

seamus

googlehead wrote: »

it just got me thinking as I know alot of golfers who have all the expensive clubs, tiger woods shoes etc. and they still can't hit the ball.

The problem with golfers is that many of them believe that your clubs make your game, so by buying a more expensive set you're instantly going to become a better golfer. My Dad is constantly giving out about this - guys who blame their club for that sliced shot, when in reality Tiger Woods with a plank of wood could have made a good shot out it.

I doubt anyone thinks that a more expensive bike will suddenly increase their strength or stamina, though there's no doubting that under the €1k mark there's a very steep improvement in your performance with the bikes, purely because the more expensive the bike, the better the geometry and the less friction you'll contend with.

That doesn't mean though that a guy on a €150 MTB with big knobblies won't kick your ass, it just means that he'd want to be a roadie on his brother's bike for the day.

Lumen

seamus wrote: »

there's no doubting that under the €1k mark there's a very steep improvement in your performance with the bikes, purely because the more expensive the bike, the more stupid you'll feel going slowly

fixed that for you

TinyExplosions

I think it's nothing to do with golf, and far more to do with cake... cycling is like eating cake. You start off with a few buns that you made as a kid, this is your first bike, and you get a taste for them, but then you want slightly better cake. You move on to something like a mediera cake -plain, but tasty (this is your first 'proper' bike, maybe a commuter). But then you realise that it tastes better with butter so you upgrade your cake... this leads to a cycle of looking for better and better cake, victoria sponges, black forest gateux etc etc etc until you're spending disproportionately larger amounts for diminishing returns of cake, but because they're custom you think it's worth it, and the cycle keeps repeating...

Enduro

It's the rider not the bike. 'nuff said

Raam

Enduro wrote: »

It's the rider not the bike. 'nuff said

What?!

Caroline_ie

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Cakes .... nom

I am a great fan of cakes too, my mother is up for the easter holiday and is bringing me some Barquettes 3 Chattons from France. ( they go hard, they're cakes )



My favourite cake is the carrot cake with cream cheese topping ... nom!

* Carrot cake = My Carbon bike
* The Barquettes = My Fixie

harringtonp

I was just about to make a similar post. Have been cycling an entry level Saracen for a few years now and its well past its use by date. Need a second bike anyway (while old one in for repairs etc) and I was wondering at what cost the larger returns drop off. Gather from responses to this thread its about 1500E. I do the odd triathlon (dont do cycle races) and bike training the last few weeks has been at about 100 miles a week.

Any recommendations for exact bikes (and costs) that would fit the bill ?

Not interest in shavings seconds off an hour spin but a couple of minutes would be substantial.

googlehead wrote: »

Newbie question.
Does Buying an expensive road bike really make alot of difference? my bike is cheap and i have never rode an expensive bike so i could not tell the difference anyway. it just got me thinking as I know alot of golfers who have all the expensive clubs, tiger woods shoes etc. and they still can't hit the ball.

Lumen

Objectively speaking, there really isn't a great deal of difference between a bike at €1000 and one at €1500.

Plastic bikes are nice, but you'd probably get the same ride improvement going from 23mm to 25mm tyres.

rottenhat

Lumen wrote: »

Plastic bikes are nice, but you'd probably get the same ride improvement going from 23mm to 25mm tyres.

Never a truer word spoken. Well, not on this forum anyway.

Raam

Lumen wrote: »

Objectively speaking, there really isn't a great deal of difference between a bike at €1000 and one at €1500.

Plastic bikes are nice, but you'd probably get the same ride improvement going from 23mm to 25mm tyres.

What about the speed? Won't someone please think of the speed?!

rottenhat

Raam wrote: »

What about the speed? Won't someone please think of the speed?!

For two tires of similar composition at the same pressure, the contact patch is the same size regardless of width, so rolling resistance is the same. I guess the 25mm might be marginally less aero, and definitively less euro.

AstraMonti

I don't think anyone from the lads in here thinks that spending money will make him a world champion. We spend money because we enjoy biking, and like every other hobby it costs when you get more inside it. I didn't need a carbon frame, i just bought it because i just wanted and because i might gain something out of it. If you are extremely happy with what you are riding, you are pushing yourself without knowing it.. and thats a plus

blorg

rottenhat wrote: »

For two tires of similar composition at the same pressure, the contact patch is the same size regardless of width, so rolling resistance is the same. I guess the 25mm might be marginally less aero, and definitively less euro.

At the same pressure though you will see no improvement in comfort Can't have it both ways. I went from 23s to 25s (at lower pressure) on my tourer and it certainly made a difference... Also went from an aluminum Trek to a carbon Trek, same geometry, both 23s, and the carbon was a hell of a lot more comfortable.

rottenhat

blorg wrote: »

At the same pressure though you will see no improvement in comfort

So far as I'm aware, the larger volume of air acts to absorb more of the shock, so there should be some improvement. Whether or not it's noticeable is another matter.

Lumen

But higher pressures (past a certain point) do not make for lower rolling resistance. It's all about the quality of the tyre.

A good 28 at lower pressure will have lower rolling resistance than a crap 23 at higher pressure.

I know because I read it on the internet.

Raam

Lumen wrote: »

But higher pressures (past a certain point) do not make for lower rolling resistance. It's all about the quality of the tyre.

A good 28 at lower pressure will have lower rolling resistance than a crap 23 at higher pressure.

I know because I read it on the internet.

Perhaps, but could you really be happy with yourself running a 28 when all your cycling buddies are on 23s?

Lumen

Raam wrote: »

Perhaps, but could you really be happy with yourself running a 28 when all your cycling buddies are on 23s?

I would if I beat them up Kippure.

that's not going to happen though

edit: tell you what, when my wife's Pashley Princess comes I'll cycle it up to Kippure and see what difference it makes

rottenhat

Raam wrote: »

Perhaps, but could you really be happy with yourself running a 28 when all your cycling buddies are on 23s?

This is the worst support group I've ever been in.

DirkVoodoo

AstraMonti wrote: »

I don't think anyone from the lads in here thinks that spending money will make him a world champion. We spend money because we enjoy biking, and like every other hobby it costs when you get more inside it. I didn't need a carbon frame, i just bought it because i just wanted and because i might gain something out of it. If you are extremely happy with what you are riding, you are pushing yourself without knowing it.. and thats a plus

I must have missed that, did you buy the parcelforce or the planet-x in the end?

I like being able to head out on a saturday and seeing the nice bikes and components. If someone isn't very good on a very nice bike, it shows quickly enough, it's not like they can just hit the throttle and let that big V8 do all the work.

Most important thing for me was size, my aluminium giant was uncomfortable because of its size. I recently did my longest ever cycle last weekend (192km, just throwing it out there ) and not once did I get the knee pain I got from the Giant that forced me off the wicklow 200 last year after 60km. I still get some neck pain, but I think that may be because of flexibility and my position on the Ridley is far more aggressive than it was on the Giant.

Bottom line: If you have the money and it makes you happy, go for it! Just remember that people may laugh if you don't have the talent to back it up, similar to wearing those orange mercurials when you can't even kick a ball :rolleyes: