@#$!@$# the LBS.

How about some Classic Aussie Steel, for just the price of the parts: http://www.cyclingforums.com/t403611.html

Sounds like you're in need of a bargain. If you have some knowledge base about bicycle quality, check Ebay for used bikes. For new, go here: bikesdirect.combikesdirect.comOpen ↗

Scotty_Dog said:

Sounds like you're in need of a bargain. If you have some knowledge base about bicycle quality, check Ebay for used bikes. For new, go here: bikesdirect.combikesdirect.comOpen ↗

Bikesdirect DOES look good - it's where I was hoping to order my bike from, actually. A bottom-of-the-line Trek road bike will run me $650 from the LBS, while a nearly identical Windsor Dover will run me $360. (Shipping is only $40, and I think I even get to dodge sales tax - which cuts another $35 off the cost of the Trek.)

Also, I personally would like to explain to Trek that their paint schemes are generally garish and stupid. I would like my frame in a nice red, orange, or black - I don't really feel like being a walking banner for the Discovery Channel.

One of the interesting side effects of "offshoring" bike manufacturing is that a well engineered and made bike gets more expensive. The economies of scale just aren't there when you build for a limited market. And, unfortunately, the cost of 'real' stuff really is going up. C'est la vie. bk

bkaapcke said:

One of the interesting side effects of "offshoring" bike manufacturing is that a well engineered and made bike gets more expensive. The economies of scale just aren't there when you build for a limited market. And, unfortunately, the cost of 'real' stuff really is going up. C'est la vie. bk

That's absolute BS. Offshoring manufacture does nothing for quality - or so says the plant manager for the GE Medical plant in China that makes MRI parts. There are millions of highly-skilled Chinese engineers every bit as good as those educated at many American schools, and tens of millions of highly-skilled workers performing tasks on production lines far more complex than assembling a simple bicycle.

Instead, it's demographics that killed high-quality bicycles. Due to the high cost of manufacturing in the US, making a low-quality bicycle was not much cheaper than a high-quality bicycle, so cheap bicycles simply were not availible. (Remember, once you factor for inflation, a $300 bike in 1980 would cost over $1,000 today.)

Once cheap bicycles became a possibility due to cheap Chinese manufacturing, the majority of the public - who do not appreciate the differences between a good bike and a bad one - bought them. Mountian bikes, which can be easily made out of great lumps of cheap steel, became popular, and as the demand for high-quality bicycles increased, so did the price.

Of course, the difference in price is not that big. Once you factor inflation, a bottom-rung road bike (not quite as nice as today's Schwinn Circuit) in 1992 costs about as much as a bottom-rung road bike today.

Finally, I'd like to comment on my bicycle - a Windsor Sora. It's not perfect, and I'm not entirely sure that the Schwinn might not have been the better choice. However, aside from some low-quality tires (big whoop) and a less-than-great crankset (for $360, what do you expect?), it's a pretty darn nice bike. Once I replace the crankset with something a bit nicer (likely a used Tiagra or Ultrega), it will be really very nearly as good as a $650 Trek - just at 2/3 the price.

Sounds like you're not going to be happy at all. Bikes cost money. $500.00 is a small notch above entry level. You can do really well for $1,000.00, if you don't mind doing some upgrades down the road. It's just the way it is. If you like "sweet equipment", you have only a small financial problem. Get over it. Be glas you aren't talking about buying a boat. bk

so only "snooty elitist a$$hole cyclists" enjoy and appreciate nice bikes? 🙄