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Bikes are much easier to maintain than they have been in the past. Mechanical 1x drive trains are much easier to fine tune than anything with a front derailleur

Bikes are much easier to maintain than they have been in the past. Mechanical 1x drive trains are much easier to fine tune than anything with a front derailleur. I'll take cable actuated disk brakes over cantilever brakes any day of the year. Outboard bearing bottom brackets are much simpler than square tapered bottom brackets - I never want to see a crank puller ever again in my life. Threaded stems always felt like a kludge. Many more specialized parts of bikes: suspension (especially rear), tubeless tires, electronic shifting are optional. If you spend $10,000+ on a bike, there may be some parts that are more persnickety than others to a garage wrench turner. The one good tool to get to make things go much more smoother is an accurate torque wrench for things like bottom bracket installation. If you've got fancy carbon parts (which I do not), you need another, smaller one for smaller nm of torque(s). Also, what are we comparing bike to? They're easier than a motorcycle, and much of a motorcycle is easy enough to work on at home if you have the curiosity. What modern bike parts are (which I'll concede) in many cases are more delicate. I don't like how thin my 11spd chain is compared to the 9spd I started out with, and I don't like how sensitive to wear the entire drivetrain is either, but thems the breaks. Proper cleaning and lubing is just that much more important.

jansan 4y ago
If you spend $10,000+ on a bike Holy shit, people do this? Around here used steel frame bicycles from the 80s with a Shimano 600 are €350 if in good condition. And the fact that they are from the 80s and in good condition tells us something about maintainablility of those bicycles.
- justinator 4y ago
  In Boulder, CO (where you'll pay million+ for a starter home) I see custom titanium bikes built by local frame builders used as grocery getters, so $10,000 is not the high end here. $10,000 is what you'd see at the masters club ride if you were low rent. The used bike market here is totally nuts - I would say you could get at least 2x the price for a well maintained Shimano 600 here. There's probably an even bigger add-on to the price because it's "vintage".
- theshrike79 4y ago
  A good electric cargo bike can go up to 10k. One of those can pretty much replace a car for a family and will run practically free for a decade. You can fit two kids and groceries in it easily.
  - jansan 4y ago
    One of those can pretty much replace a car for a family When we went on our 4000km trip to southern France this summer, me and my family had to decide between our station wagon and a cargo bike. We decided on the station wagon, because we were not sure if there would be charging points every 30 kilometers along the way.
    - justinator 4y ago
      Having toured France on a bike, I couldn't remember a time when there was more than 30km between towns, so it should be theoretically possible. Although this was before eBikes took off, so I never learned the proper, French way to ask to use a plug in a civilized manner. I guess you could always stop into a McDonalds. Could bringing along an extra battery pack have been an option?
    - theshrike79 4y ago
      I'm pretty sure you don't do 4000km trips to southern France every week? You can easily rent any car you want with the money you saved by using the cargo bike for daily needs =)
- dvzk 4y ago
  $10,000+ is the price range for e-bikes and ultralight AXS/Di2 configurations. About the only aspect comparable to the €350 bike you describe is they have two vastly different wheels.
- haspok 4y ago
  Steel framed bicycles from the 80s... Sure, they are reliable, just as older diesel engines are reliable. But they are noisy, heavily polluting, and weak (I mean the diesel engines, of course!). Compare an 80s bike - no matter which discipline - to a mid-level bike today, and the difference is stunning. Almost all parts have changed significantly, and for good reason. One thing is that they are much lighter, and because of this they wear quicker. But ride a modern road bike with a carbon frame, you will never want to go back to your 80s bike, however reliable it is... Maintainability? Sure, if you have hidden cables it sucks, and press-fit BBs and headsets do require special tools - but how often do you need to service them? The parts that wear are super easy to maintain, in some cases easier than that 80s bike... btw. $10k is the "supercar" territory - just as there are people that pay $500k for a car, why is it surprising?
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    >Sure, if you have hidden cables it sucks, and press-fit BBs and headsets do require special tools Press-fit BBs are going the way of the dodo. Newer bikes have been moving to threaded BBs for years now, because of all the problems press-fit ones had.
- jjav 4y ago
  > Around here used steel frame bicycles from the 80s I mean that's not any kind of comparison. Sure, I sold my steel frame hybrid from 1992 for $120 recently, it was still a great bike. But not comparable a new bike from today. That said, the prices for new bike are insane and I don't fully understand why they are well over $10K. The prices of those other two wheelers, motorcycles, are far cheaper even though they contain far more mechanical complexity! The MSRP for a Kawasaki Ninja 400 is $4300, so how can a bicycle cost $10K-$15K!
japanuspus 4y ago
Completely agree. My childhood nightmare from maintaining my cheap commuter bike was the old crank-arm attachment system with wedges (or "cotters", I just learned [0]). I used a mallet to get them out, and with my low level of control it took a bit of luck to not bend the thread. Also, back then there was no ways to get parts: I could go to the local bikeshop, but the selection was small and the markup on spares was insane. Replacing a drivetrain (as I now do every second year) would probably cost more than a new bike. These days I can order parts and tools at incredible prices and have them delivered the next day. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotter_(pin) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotter_(pin)
- justinator 4y ago
  Never had to replace a cottered crank, thankfully - those looked primitive! Certainly a few around - always fun to revive an old rig, and single speed/fixed gears were en vogue!

jansan 4y ago

If you spend $10,000+ on a bike Holy shit, people do this? Around here used steel frame bicycles from the 80s with a Shimano 600 are €350 if in good condition. And the fact that they are from the 80s and in good condition tells us something about maintainablility of those bicycles.

justinator 4y ago
In Boulder, CO (where you'll pay million+ for a starter home) I see custom titanium bikes built by local frame builders used as grocery getters, so $10,000 is not the high end here. $10,000 is what you'd see at the masters club ride if you were low rent. The used bike market here is totally nuts - I would say you could get at least 2x the price for a well maintained Shimano 600 here. There's probably an even bigger add-on to the price because it's "vintage".
theshrike79 4y ago
A good electric cargo bike can go up to 10k. One of those can pretty much replace a car for a family and will run practically free for a decade. You can fit two kids and groceries in it easily.
- jansan 4y ago
  One of those can pretty much replace a car for a family When we went on our 4000km trip to southern France this summer, me and my family had to decide between our station wagon and a cargo bike. We decided on the station wagon, because we were not sure if there would be charging points every 30 kilometers along the way.
  - justinator 4y ago
    Having toured France on a bike, I couldn't remember a time when there was more than 30km between towns, so it should be theoretically possible. Although this was before eBikes took off, so I never learned the proper, French way to ask to use a plug in a civilized manner. I guess you could always stop into a McDonalds. Could bringing along an extra battery pack have been an option?
  - theshrike79 4y ago
    I'm pretty sure you don't do 4000km trips to southern France every week? You can easily rent any car you want with the money you saved by using the cargo bike for daily needs =)
dvzk 4y ago
$10,000+ is the price range for e-bikes and ultralight AXS/Di2 configurations. About the only aspect comparable to the €350 bike you describe is they have two vastly different wheels.
haspok 4y ago
Steel framed bicycles from the 80s... Sure, they are reliable, just as older diesel engines are reliable. But they are noisy, heavily polluting, and weak (I mean the diesel engines, of course!). Compare an 80s bike - no matter which discipline - to a mid-level bike today, and the difference is stunning. Almost all parts have changed significantly, and for good reason. One thing is that they are much lighter, and because of this they wear quicker. But ride a modern road bike with a carbon frame, you will never want to go back to your 80s bike, however reliable it is... Maintainability? Sure, if you have hidden cables it sucks, and press-fit BBs and headsets do require special tools - but how often do you need to service them? The parts that wear are super easy to maintain, in some cases easier than that 80s bike... btw. $10k is the "supercar" territory - just as there are people that pay $500k for a car, why is it surprising?
- midoridensha 4y ago
  >Sure, if you have hidden cables it sucks, and press-fit BBs and headsets do require special tools Press-fit BBs are going the way of the dodo. Newer bikes have been moving to threaded BBs for years now, because of all the problems press-fit ones had.
jjav 4y ago
> Around here used steel frame bicycles from the 80s I mean that's not any kind of comparison. Sure, I sold my steel frame hybrid from 1992 for $120 recently, it was still a great bike. But not comparable a new bike from today. That said, the prices for new bike are insane and I don't fully understand why they are well over $10K. The prices of those other two wheelers, motorcycles, are far cheaper even though they contain far more mechanical complexity! The MSRP for a Kawasaki Ninja 400 is $4300, so how can a bicycle cost $10K-$15K!

japanuspus 4y ago

Completely agree. My childhood nightmare from maintaining my cheap commuter bike was the old crank-arm attachment system with wedges (or "cotters", I just learned [0]). I used a mallet to get them out, and with my low level of control it took a bit of luck to not bend the thread. Also, back then there was no ways to get parts: I could go to the local bikeshop, but the selection was small and the markup on spares was insane. Replacing a drivetrain (as I now do every second year) would probably cost more than a new bike. These days I can order parts and tools at incredible prices and have them delivered the next day. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotter_(pin) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotter_(pin)

justinator 4y ago
Never had to replace a cottered crank, thankfully - those looked primitive! Certainly a few around - always fun to revive an old rig, and single speed/fixed gears were en vogue!