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Bikes are kind of a strange industry, at least in the US. Almost all of the big brands steadfastly refuse to embrace online shopping, so you’re paying at least
by rhinoceraptor 7y ago
Bikes are kind of a strange industry, at least in the US. Almost all of the big brands steadfastly refuse to embrace online shopping, so you’re paying at least a hundred or two for brick and mortar bike shops.
Second, cycling in the US is mostly for sport, so bike shops mostly sell road or mountain bikes, not utility bikes. And people who ride for sport are willing to spend a lot on this year’s new tech and lighter bikes.
If you want a cheap, reliable bike, buy used. Try to find an older chromoly steel mountain bike with name brand components, for example Bridgestone. It will have fender and rack mounts, and clearance for wide tires.
- narwally 7y agoI work as a bike mechanic at one of the largest Specialized dealers in the US. A couple of times a week we have people that come in with bikes they bought from direct to consumer brands and attempted to assemble themselves. People regularly make serious errors when they assemble a bike themselves, and they're often dangerous and sometimes expensive to fix. Unless you're 100% confident in your bike mechanic skills, you'll likely spend all of the money you save buying online at your local bike shop to have them fix your own mistakes.
- rhinoceraptor 7y agoThere’s always idiots, but there are probably tons of people who have BikesDirect or Canyons and just never go to bike shops because the experience is more often than not bad and/or intimidating. Even with good bike shops, the experience of simple things like buying parts really sucks. I can’t search QBP, I have to ask an employee to do it for me.