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

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fuzzybabybunny

Moderator<br>Digital & Video Cameras
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Jan 2, 2006
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Originally posted by: Slew Foot
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.

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?


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

How much extra did the upgrades cost? Did you get the extras used and off of ebay or craigslist?
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,572
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You can expect it to be a heavy hunk of crap that will not stand up to daily riding.

Go to a real bike store and buy a real bike.

\thread
 

Slew Foot

Lifer
Sep 22, 2005
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Yeah I got the extras used off of ebay. I think the fork was $120, the rims about $50 (new), and the seat post was $20 (new). Ok so maybe most of the upgrades were new. Ive noticed that ebay is really good for cheap sports equiptment, Ive gotten lots of stuff real cheap there. Maybe its because the majority of ebay users are fat slobs that dont exercise?

 

Koing

Elite Member <br> Super Moderator<br> Health and F
Oct 11, 2000
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Slew your bike weights 25lbs? That seems very light for a full suspension bike!

I've been reading lots about bikes as my bike was tolen a few days ago :(

Koing
 

herbiehancock

Senior member
May 11, 2006
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Originally posted by: glugglug
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?

Long answer........as was mentioned above.........materials, fit, finish, quality of components, quality of assembly, the $500 will be sized to you appropriately and the $60 bike will be a one-size-fits-all deal (as if a 5' 6" person can hope to safely or comfortably use the same size bike as a 6'4" person), and on and on.

Mountain Bike Action magazine a few years ago took a $60 Huffy down their mtn. biking test track just to see how it'd actually hold up.................and the test rider was lucky he wasn't killed. It literally fell apart underneath him. Bent wheels, broken seat post, broken handlebar, bent the fork and frame.....parts fell off.

You do get what you pay for and it isn't just for advertising in this case..............not by a long shot.

Shens!

I had a $150 huffy with duralite frame back in 1991, which got run over by a car, folding the wheels in half.

It just needed new wheels. There was no damage to the frame. The duralite really is pretty much unbreakable.

The shifters, brakes, and chain were broken off by a ridiculous storm with 18" of larger than grapefruit size hail and 110mph winds less than 6 months later though.



That article was in Mountain Bike Action in 1996.....but that was probably before you could read, so I'll pardon your ignorance on that subject.