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Why am I still faster than you? (slrpnk.net)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by a14o@feddit.org to c/memes@slrpnk.net

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E: Let's all talk about what bikes should or shoudn't cost

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[-] mts711@lemm.ee 7 points 18 hours ago

Both camps are right!

Cheap bikes just don't ride nowhere as nicely nor do they last as expensive bikes do.

BUT! The worst thing about owning an expensive bike is owning an expensive bike.

It's a thief magnet and source of envy of other riders.

You really need to find a sweet spot between a quality bike and being able to leave it locked in the city without having pangs of anxiety of it being stolen.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Bike recycling is probably the answer. Cheaper, worse looking, but you can often find high quality parts and frames and repair it yourself

[-] ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 13 hours ago

My gravel bike and all the safety gear totaled $600, it is my primary transport across my mountain town. We are not the same.

[-] exchange12rocks@lemm.ee 9 points 22 hours ago

10k? 1k? What??? 😂

When I arrived in that country, I bought a 2nd hand bike, for daily commute. I overpaid. A lot.

That bike cost me 300 😅

[-] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 20 points 1 day ago

I think you're both idiots wasting money when you can get a perfectly good bike for like $200?

[-] Manmoth@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 day ago

If you are doing any serious distance and/or are older there is a noticeable difference in comfort and efficiency over $1k. I rode shitty bikes my entire life. When I hopped on a $1500 bike I couldn't believe how much faster I could go and how comfortable it was. The transfer of energy into forward motion was wild. That being said I bought my bike for $100 off of Craigslist 10 years ago.

[-] seat6@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 day ago

I actually think throwing a lot of money into a bike isn’t a bad idea. They easily last a life time; and if having a really nice bike incentives one to use it more; it’s totally worth it. Whatever it takes to keep you out of a car is good in my eyes

[-] Nimrod@lemm.ee 2 points 18 hours ago

Damn. I have been spending so much effort trying to convince myself NOT to buy a new bike. Then this guy comes along.

[-] Michal@programming.dev 9 points 1 day ago

The only problem preventing it lasting a life time is that they easily get stolen.

[-] Manmoth@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

This is more a problem of where you live.

[-] dessalines@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 day ago

Kinda sad that e-scooters (as of like 1-3 years ago), are now cheaper than a decent bike for the same price.

[-] mts711@lemm.ee 2 points 18 hours ago

Are more portable tbh. (Especially on the train)

[-] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

why am I still faster than u

I dunno, mostly strength, endurance, lung capacity, heart strength, blood pressure, weight, general outlook on life…

[-] Beastimus@slrpnk.net 4 points 23 hours ago

I love general outlook on life. Mine always peaks at about the fourth mile on a bike, and hits the lowest valley at the fourtieth mile in a car (though in a car worse means faster.)

[-] mycelium@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 day ago

I bought my bike for $800 in 2008 and it has followed me around the country. I'm hoping to add some power to it this summer, lots of life left in her!

[-] NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk 14 points 1 day ago

I knew I'd be a summer casual rider so bought a 2nd hand road bike for €300 18yrs back.

Still have it, can't justify getting a new one as it just.. works

[-] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago

I think a bike should cost $100

Mine cost like $200

Fixed speed, it's ok i guess

[-] Nimrod@lemm.ee 1 points 18 hours ago

Yo! Fellow $200 fixie enjoyer?! Where’s the fixed gear lemmy community?

[-] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 day ago

You don’t ever have to wonder if someone ~~is vegan~~rides a fixie…

[-] slappypantsgo@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago

What is the advantage of fixed speed over variable?

[-] Nimrod@lemm.ee 2 points 18 hours ago

I think of it more like vinyl. It doesn’t actually sound better, but it’s fun.

Bike moves in concert with you— legs go forward, bike goes forward. Legs go back, bike goes back. Simplifies everything, it feels more like an extension of yourself.

[-] D_C@lemm.ee 9 points 1 day ago

Not much at all, in general they are harder to ride. Especially in hilly places.
There are less gears so that aspect is maybe easier to fix. Slightly lighter due to less gears, but it is only slightly. Maybe other things?

It's a bit like iPhones of old, crossfit, and veganism. You won't ask about them but the people who use them will tell you about it anyways.

[-] slappypantsgo@lemm.ee 3 points 22 hours ago

How do you know someone isn’t vegan?

Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.

[-] emeralddawn45@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 1 day ago

Theyre a lot of fun to ride if you're not going ip and down alot. The pedals are fixed to the gear so it keeps 'pushing' your feet around if you try to stop pedaling without enough resistance, which takes some getting used to, but in general it feels like you have alot more control of the movement of the bike, especially at lower speeds, and since each pedal is always a constant amount of movement forward, it can lead to a very fine feeling of movement and control. Any of those bike dancing videos are done with fixies, as are bike polo games usually. And yeah, theyre significantly easier to maintain and fix.

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[-] Redex68@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

It's perfect if you hate yourself.

[-] Nemo@slrpnk.net 107 points 2 days ago

I refuse to believe hobbyists are spending $10K on bikes, or commuters are spending $1K.

I can barely accept that the going rate for used bikes is over $200.

[-] TonyOstrich@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

The bikes I am looking to buy for the purpose of commuting over mixed terrain is in the $800-$1,400 price range (as of last year before tariff stuff). I don't currently own a bike but I have owned and ridden a number of bikes in the past. The couple of hundred dollar bikes from like Walmart are just trash that don't hold up. They fall apart pretty quickly under heavy riding.

All of this assumes one is buying new. If we are talking used then all of the above is somewhat a moot point.

Even within new the kind of riding matters a lot. If I know for a fact that I would only ever be riding on smooth paved roads then an old fixed frame street bike with skinny tires and very basic brakes and gears would make a lot of sense. There is zero chance that bike is going to be switching between road, grass, gravel, mud, and some of the other terrain I would be commuting across though.

[-] dessalines@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Even lower-midrange level road bikes are now at least $1k. Its a ridiculous market.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 39 points 2 days ago

I couldn't believe it either, so I went to the Trek.com site.

I hate this decade.

[-] idefix@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago

Trek is really expensive. Go to Decathlon or equivalent.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Dooood! I went to the site and the first bike I see is almost $11,000.00!!

I understand that one maker might be less costly, but I'm old enough to remember when you could get a good used bike for one day's labor.

https://www.decathlon.com/collections/bikes

[-] idefix@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

Wow, the US website really pushes for the high-end bikes! In France they highlight the low-mid range (between 300 and 800€).

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 1 points 1 day ago

A 300 Euro bike is about $350.00 US. That's about what I'd expect to pay for a bike these days.

[-] idefix@sh.itjust.works 2 points 20 hours ago

Frankly, it depends how much you use your bike. I commute these days with a used 150€ bike, for which I invested 100€ in upgrades. But that's because my commute is short (5km) and because it sleeps every day in the street next to a big train station. In the past I was commuting 2*10km daily and I had a 1000€ gravel bike that never stayed overnight in the street. It was definitely much more comfortable.

I would say a 300€ is fine for daily commute under 5km, but closer to 800-1000€ is probably a good idea for 10km and above.

[-] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 2 points 18 hours ago

Thanks for the advice.

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[-] cubism_pitta@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I have a fixed gear from state that cost a bit over $500 3 years ago.

It's my beer and dinner fetching machine. I ride it everyday (the longway) to my local store for ingredients for dinner

3 years and 3000 miles later

I have had to replace 2 chains, 3 rear hubs (my own mistakes... check your lockring or blow up a hub), saddle, grips, cog, lockring, Pedals (went from flats to cages and am now on SPD), replaced original brakes with Shimano brakes and have gone through A LOT of tires.

I think I am in it at like $1500... Tools I don't want to calculate but building and truing wheels is a very relaxing thing to do

Here's a picture of it loaded up. I think that I was getting ready for a party

Its pretty anti-fixie