The more things change, the more they stay the same, the saying goes. And so it is with the price of a new bike. They were a BIG expense for my Dad when I was a kid, and man, they still are!
I went to a local bicycle store store to see how much a couple of “entry level” bicycles would cost [their term, not mine]. When the smoke cleared, with taxes and accessories, about a thousand bucks. Hmmm. I reckon we’d be doing well if we rode them 10 times in a summer. That’s $100 a ride for the first year.
Of course, they’d need tune-ups for a second year, because the cables stretch, it seems. Averaging down the cost of a toodle through the park is not straightforward.
Nothing about bicycles is straightforward anymore. The marketing people have gotten involved, adding suspension forks, disk brakes, gel seats… and then subtracting them again to create a different line of differently priced models. The numbers of gears have multiplied exponentially, as have gear shift types and the shapes of handlebars. Bewildering.
It has been suggested that, although you pay extra, the added cost of buying from a cycling specialty store is worth it, because you will get a bike that’s perfectly fitted to your particular physique. I asked about that. “Large frame, I think, for you,” came the answer. “maybe extra-large, but not medium”. Hmmm, again. Not exactly tailored measurements.
I see now why Canadian Tire sells so many bikes. They are cheaper and constantly going on and off “sale”, which makes prices twitch spastically. I looked at one said to have a regular price of $600 but it was $300 “on sale”. Hmmm.
But the cycle stores say Canadian Tire bikes are junk, made with flimsy components that fall apart quickly. If I ignore the stores and look for a deal on Craigslist or Kijiji, how will I know whether the offering is one of the well-built ones or one of the junkers? Without a painful amount of research, I won’t.
So here’s the bottom line. I want to cycle for fun. If it’s not fun, I don’t want to do it. There’s a not-fun hurdle that I have not yet figured my way over.
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Get your old bike working well. Get a new trick seat if you need extra comfort. Much better idea than a new bike.
That could be the best solution, Brian, but I also need new handlebars and that may mean new brakes, cables and levers. The tires are over 25 years old. By the time I make all of the changes, a new Canadian tire “sale” bike might be cheaper and good enough for the kind of riding I expect to do. Or maybe a second hand comfort bike. I am going to ride my old one again this weekend and see.
Good points. I sold my old bike online, in a day, and now I’m having sellers remorse.
I like your use of the phrase “seller’s remorse”. We often hear of “buyer’s remorse” and tend to forget the other, rarer feeling. I still feel echoes of “seller’s remorse” that filled me when I watched my 1962 MGA drive off. That was over 40 years ago!