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What's the difference between a $60 bike and a $500 one?

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I bought a Diamondback mountain bike for like $130 at Sports authority. I think regular price was around 200 but i got it on sale. Here it is. I'm not a serious rider and i dont need a computer on it so this bike gets the job done.
 
These days, $500 is not a huge amount for a bike. One of the biggest differences between such expensive bikes and cheap ones is the peace of mind / flexibility you have in parking a cheap bike. In every case they should be locked, but even with 2-3 locks on an expensive bike, you stand a good chance of it being stolen.

I have expensive bikes. In several stores I've been to, the staff have told me unprompted "nice bike; you're not going to leave that locked around town, are you?". I got the message. It's a real PITA with an expensive bike.
 
I am also looking for a new mountain bike - I really abuse the poor things on our rocky terrain her in the North Eastern USA. My old $1500 bike was stolen and since I am married I don't have that much to spend.

I am finding great deals on 3 year old bikes (AL. frames, front suspension forks, Shimano LX groupo) that cost $800+ new but are selling for ~$300 now. in eBay and CraigsList
 
If you ride a cheap bike a lot, or hard, expect to constantly be throwing $$ at it to keep it working correctly.

THAT is the MAIN difference between a $60 bike and a $500 bike.
 
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
If you ride a cheap bike a lot, or hard, expect to constantly be throwing $$ at it to keep it working correctly.

THAT is the MAIN difference between a $60 bike and a $500 bike.
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So it ends up paying for it upfront or via the installment/frustration plan?

 
But what if the $500 bike is made by trek with a different name on it...
It might be the same quality of the $50 Trek...
 
In brief; durability. The $60 bike will roll fine for few months, after that... sadness.

Whatever you buy; get in the big ring and hammer!:beer:
 
Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
Buy a high end used MTB for $200. Have a bike shop replace the chain & tune it up.
That's what I would do.
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Excellent idea. e-bay has some crazy-great deals, if you know what you're looking for.

FWIW. I bought a 2002 Trek 8000 SLR full XT w/upgrades for $330 via e-bay. And it's not even stolen.
 
Originally posted by: 49erinnc
Unless you're a hardcore biker who will be riding over some serious terrain, blowing several hundred on a bike is highly overrated IMO. I was in your position several months back. I opted to get a Schwinn Aluminum Comp for around $160. It only weighs about 40 lbs., has quality components and rides like a dream. I take it out on some light-moderate trails and I couldn't be happier with it. The ride is soft, the shifting is smooth and silent, the seat is very comfortable and the braking is great. Looks really sharp too (got the silver/orange trim one). As long as you take care of it and aren't jumping off a 10' drop of concrete steps, it will last you a long time.
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40 lbs!!! Holy crap!!! I picked up a used full suspension Trek for $400 that weighs about 25 lbs and can tackle any terrain you can throw at it. Even then it feels like a brick compared to my carbon fiber road bike, but I got that for long distance riding.
 
I've been using my $60 walmart bike as my means of transportation everyday to class for a year and a half and it works fine. Only thing I had to fix was the front wheel bearings. Cost me $2.
 
Originally posted by: Slew Foot

40 lbs!!! Holy crap!!! I picked up a used full suspension Trek for $400 that weighs about 25 lbs and can tackle any terrain you can throw at it. Even then it feels like a brick compared to my carbon fiber road bike, but I got that for long distance riding.
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Your dualie sub-30lb Trek was only $400? Now that's really cheap. Most cheaper dualies are all 30lb and above. Anything below 30lb gets almost exponentially expensive as you get closer and closer to 22lb, which is around the lightest you can get a dualie I think. What model is it?
 
Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
Originally posted by: Slew Foot

40 lbs!!! Holy crap!!! I picked up a used full suspension Trek for $400 that weighs about 25 lbs and can tackle any terrain you can throw at it. Even then it feels like a brick compared to my carbon fiber road bike, but I got that for long distance riding.
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Your dualie sub-30lb Trek was only $400? Now that's really cheap. Most cheaper dualies are all 30lb and above. Anything below 30lb gets almost exponentially expensive as you get closer and closer to 22lb, which is around the lightest you can get a dualie I think. What model is it?
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I got it used off of Craiglist. Its a 2001 Fuel 80(regular price was around 1200), I changed out some pieces to make it lighter. The Judy front to a SID, Carbon fiber seat post, Corvair rims to a Mavic something.

Mountain Bike, Fuel 80

Road bike, Trek 5000

 
I bought a Schwinn Voyager back in 1981 for about $450 ($50 or so was to upgrade to a Brooks leather saddle). I still have the bike and just recently repainted it due to some neglected rusted areas. It has a chrome-moly frame which is a little on the heavier side compared to newer carbon stell or aluminum frame bikes. Buy a good bike and it could last you a lifetime when cared for properly. I upgraded to a front triple crank when I was doing some riding out on the west coast, have gone through numerous tires, a new chain, cables, etc. - mostly minor stuff, in the course of riding 60K miles or so since I bought it.
And if you're going to ride it on the road get a mirror.
 
One very big difference besides the ones already mentioned is that a Walmart or equivalent bike usually has terrible assembly quality. I've seen inoperable brakes mounted upside down - amazing! And usually a bike shop will include a one year tuneup for free.
 
There is a huuuuge difference between an cheap bike and a good bike. The first thing is the weight. A couple pounds does not make a difference, but a 15-20 lbs difference is huge, it allows you to go farther and faster, let's you enjoy biking a lot more. On a lighter bike, you'll look at the hills and say, "let's go!" while on a heavy bike, it's more like, "not another hill..."

The front shock is huge too. On a rigid or a cheap shock, you get bounced around a lot more. You have to pay closer attention to all the rocks & grooves on the ground. I've got a Marzocchi shock on my bike, and rough terrains are far more smoother & comfortable. It's a similar difference between riding in a car with poor suspension versus a car with a new suspension. I can ignore small rocks and sticks on the ground, only focus on the bigger ones, which again lets me go farther and faster with less pain. I've had this Marzocchi fork for about 6 years now, and the thing is still rock solid - it's an air fork and hasn't lost any psi ever, the seals are that good.

And with the better bikes you shift faster which makes going up hills much easier. You brake quicker, which lets you go faster without worry. You also get more points of contact in the rear hub. My rear hub has 36 points of contact, which makes peddling so much smoother and easier compared to the "getting around campus" bike I had that was just 16 points of contact.
 
Originally posted by: herbiehancock
As an analogy for your question........ever heard ofa Yugo? Heard of a Honda? The Yugo's your $60 bike and the Honda's your $500 bike......both will get you down the road after a fashion, but which would you want....or trust?
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What about a $60 Honda and a $500 Mercedes?

 
It depends on how much and how hard you use the bike also. A $200 and $1500 computer won't be much different if you just surf ATOT but if you fire up a heavy graphic game and play online, then yeah, you will see the difference.
 
Originally posted by: Syringer
I'm looking to get back into mountain biking, and in the past have used relatively cheap bike that have worked pretty well for me.

However I do plan on biking pretty regularly so I do want to have the best experience possible..and was wondering how much a big difference a more expensive bike would be. Currently I'm considering this one here, which seems to have everything I need for going up those hills..but if I were to spend say $150-$200, what can I expect from it?
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How many times do you plan on riding up and down those hills?

That bike might last once or twice on a decent trail before something breaks. Hopefully you wont get hurt to bad. I'm serious, those bikes are not built to handle a real MTB trail. I once saw a walmart display MTB that had a broken fork stanchion "leg" part. The metal looked incredibly thin and weak and I could only imagine what would happen to someone riding down a mountain and having their fork snap.

Do you really want to risk your health to save a few hundred bucks? Some people here have said these bikes are fine, but I'd bet money they aren't really riding them on mountains. I see these types of bikes all the time on the street and at college, but I've never seen one on a real trail and theres a reason for that.

 
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