How much is too much?

[CharleyFarley]

As soon as you hit 9mph the dominant form of resistance when cycling is wind resistance

That's about the speed I attain on both my fat bike and cruiser. I'm not into performance, just a casual rider. I like to look around as I ride. As I ride around our county, I see things that drivers miss. We've got a new highway being built and it has overpasses over overpasses, and I like to stop and photograph it as it's proceeding.

 

[matticus]

As soon as you hit 9mph the dominant form of resistance when cycling is wind resistance

And the time you spend below 9mph tends to be the dominant factor in your overall speed.

:P

 

[matticus]

Especially the time you spend sitting around eating pasties. (And filing away receipts )

I once heard the phrase "wasting time eating". Needless to say I was horrified!

(Don't forget the time spent unpacking/packing your aero seat-pack. Or watching your buddy doing same ... )

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

With respect what do you expect from bikes sold at these prices?
.......It's impossible to make a bike of any quality for these sums.

That's why I always buy mine secondhand, apart from the fact I only want steel anyway.
Pre-virus, I could choose to spend £100 on a new BSO or not much better than a BSO, or I could buy something high quality used, maybe fit some new Schwalbe tyres, and still have change out of £100 afterwards.
A 30 year old 531 frame on a bike that once cost new the equivalent of £1,000 or more in today's money, is still going to ride like a £1,000+ machine today. OK, you may have to live with a few scratches and scuffs on the paint as it isn't factory fresh, but then I'm not overly precious about mine anyway, barring not wanting them to get nicked or badly bashed up. Once you get to a four digit price point, I really don't believe there is any meaningful gain apart from miniscule weight reductions, from going any higher than that. I'm not pro racing, so paying at least an extra £1k per pound of saved weight, is just extravagant nonsense. I could achieve the same outcome by visiting the toilet or not eating immediately before I go for a ride - or going out with an empty water bottle and only filling it from a graveyard tap when I'm actually thirsty.

 

[Ian H]

There seems to be a false assumption that 'top-end' necessarily means racing.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

There seems to be a false assumption that 'top-end' necessarily means racing.

It's not really a false assumption though. You will not find many rack and mudguard equipped touring bikes with price tags in the range of £5 to 10k!
All the expensive stuff is performance-oriented, not practicality-oriented. They don't bang on about being able to take 38mm tyres with mudguards whilst having panniers front and rear do they? All the high end stuff promotes aero performance and light weight, not long distance comfort or all-weather capability whilst carrying a load.

 

[Ian H]

It's not really a false assumption though. You will not find many rack and mudguard equipped touring bikes with price tags in the range of £5 to 10k!
All the expensive stuff is performance-oriented, not practicality-oriented. They don't bang on about being able to take 38mm tyres with mudguards whilst having panniers front and rear do they? All the high end stuff promotes aero performance and light weight, not long distance comfort or all-weather capability whilst carrying a load.

Note the word 'necessarily'. Take a look at Mason bikes (for example). Or check out custom builders such as Dave Yates and Richard Hallett.

 

[proletaratOne]

Someone mentioned horses a few posts back .I know I could do with a couple up front to help me up some of the Derbyshire hills🐎🐎🚴‍♂️

Soooo uncool

Now forever and a day when I’m on a steep climb I’m gonna be thinking how nice it would be to be hooked up to a horse

 

[Teamfixed]

There seems to be a slow down on used bikes recently. On baye for example there is a barely used Evans carbon tiagra for £400 and its been relisted. Im not saying its super duper but looks like a decent buy. Small size though.
Btw I have bikes with carbon forks but know little about carbon frames what's good and what's less so😊
I'm still trying to wear out the steel and leather haha.

 

[bagpuss]

I find that it is these 🍪🍪 that play havoc with my average speed ,but hey I own the day so its all about the ride .

 

[Lovacott]

And the time you spend below 9mph tends to be the dominant factor in your overall speed.

The fastest stretch on my ten mile commute is a downhill bit where my current speed record is 33mph.

On the flats, I'm doing about 20mph.

For the whole ride, I average 11.5mph.

 

[CXRAndy]

There are plenty of non road bikes in the £5-10k bracket. Carbon high spec MTB, ebikes, Look at Reise Muller, Stromer for expensive ebikes. Custom bikes easily £5k

 

[al78]

£10k makes my £2400 custom built bike look like peanuts. My custom bike was put together by thinking about how to construct a road bike that will stand up to a daily 20 mile round trip commute with hills in all weathers which requires minimal maintenance and has decent lighting. It came down to horizontal dropouts, Shimano 11 DI2 hub gear, Marathon+ tyres, hub dynamo, Lumotec Luxos front dynamo light, and disc brakes. It just works with only the occasional cleaning/lubrication and replacing of worn components.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

You've got Di2 shifting on a hub gear?? The mind boggles!

 

[Punkawallah]

Think it all comes down to 'smiles per mile'. No point paying lots to be miserable, give the money to me, and I'll throw buckets of water over you :-) (or is that the other forum?)