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[umiman]

I went to a bicycle volunteer community store today and managed to beat off a couple of brats to a decent used bike. $40, then I got them to install a new chain, grease everything up, new lights, new bottle holder, and a U-lock. I paid a total of $50.

The funny thing is... this $40 bike is actually nicer to ride than the old $200 bike.

[WorkerDrone]

...So besides being down 250 Dollars now, you walk away a winner?

Awesome.

[JoshuaFH]

I guess you could say you're wiser from the experience.

[umiman]

The first step to being an economist, accountant, and businessman is to learn to ignore past costs. There's no way I can get the $200 back, and it's illogical to use that value as a decision variable in a new problem.

If anything, it's just theft worth $200 of my total wealth. It would be equivalent to using the theft of a $200 television set as part of the cost of buying a new bicycle.

Not to say that I don't want my $200 back though...

[Creamcorn]

But you still got your bike stolen.

[Puck]

I lol at all the people that say 200 $ is too much for a bike.

In a way it is too much, because rule of thumb is: for that kind of mola you will get subpar parts, that will perform badly, and cost you either a lot of nerves or a lot of money in maintenance. One-piece-cranks, non-sealed bearings, and more often than not: not even properly assembled.

You basically wasted that money (unless you REALLY REALLY know what you're doing, and rip it apart and go all mad max  on that thing... and looking at this thread there arent that many serious bikers), so in that sense it is too much... Really, spend triple that amount on the bike alone, and you will save A LOT of money in the long run.  Maybe in the states it's a bit better, since most of the well established manufacturers actually come from there, so you can probably shave off a hundred bucks, but I seriously wouldnt go any lower... edit: A nice comparison for you geeks and nerds out there might be the PSU of a PC. Buy a cheap one, regret it in the long run. Buy a good one, use it for years without headaches.

Of course, this doesnt apply when you dont really like your bike, and it's just a bitch that gets used til it breaks down or it gets stolen. but the OP certainly doesnt sound like that.

edit:

just a little fyi, most (even the professional ones) bike thieves don't really go for the expensive bikes. It's a matter of looks. A lot of people that buy (stolen) bikes dont have a clue about component quality and whatnot. For instance about 3 or 4 years ago, maybe a bit more, the bikes that got stolen the most often (it's probably still that way) were full suspension bikes. No matter the quality, even the 200 buck bikes got stolen. And you could park your 4000$ road bike next to a 200 buck fully and have some chance they wouldnt even touch the roadbike, because it doesnt sell that well.

They mostly snag stuff that looks like the stuff that is "in" at the moment. Of course the above example is a slight exaggeration, but you get the idea.

The funny thing is... this $40 bike is actually nicer to ride than the old $200 bike.

Could we get sum pictures? I dont even doubt that the 40 buck bike is a decent one, maybe better than the one you got before Because buying used stuff can change the whole equasion a lot.

[chaoticag]

Since people here don't seem to bike much, doesn't the biker king's argument lose some credibility, as the bikes used don't suffer as much wear and tear?

[Puck]

Yes and no. The standard one piece cranks with bearings that are built out of seperate metal balls instead of sealed bearings you find in most cheapo bikes all over the world are THAT bad. It's not even a matter of wear and tear. Especially when you buy that bike at a not-so-serious shop or even worse, a home improvement store or a supermarket, it wont be properly assembled, means the hubs and the bearings in the steering tube and cranks (and sometimes even in the pedals) wont be properly adjusted, so you kill them with your 5 minute rides once a week, too.

edit: If, however, you properly grease em up and manage to tighten the bearings correctly (which can be hard to do for somebody that never learned how to do it) they can do a decent job, for some time. But still, the amount of maintenance/the time it takes until you need a new bike will screw over the calculation. In almost every case you're better of with a better bike, in the long run.

Even if you ride only once a week, what's wrong with a bike you can ride once a week, every week, for 10 years?

Just for the record: im a poor bastard too, and that's EXACTLY why I never would buy a cheap bike, because I know, the spending wont stop on that one, and it will most probably break down when you need it the most

[umiman]

In any case, I really like my $40 bike. It really does perform a lot better than the $200 one, though there's no shocks or anything like that.

[Puck]

Compared to the average cyclist, I think I can say I'm one of the guys that actually can make use of suspension. 1 metre drops arent scary but pure clean fun for me. (The pros laugh at such puny heights )

And even on the bike I use for such stuff, I'm planning to get rid of the suspension fork. It's a great one, too. 2001 (or was it 2000?) Marzocchi Bomber Z-1 QR20. The top of the line single bridge fork they sold back then. I specifically picked that model, because it's the last one with a bridge you can remove. Means you can swap broken parts. The newer models almost need to be replaced as a whole in case something breaks down.

On the other hand, chances are, when you manage to kill that fork, the replacement parts are probably the least of your worries, since it takes A LOT of force to break it. You probably wont ever need a fork again anyway. 

The point of all my rambling, however, is actually a completely different one. What I was getting at is the following:
even if my wrists really like the fork, I'm gonna remove it and get a rigid one. I don't want to pay for maintenance. I neither have a shop nor the tools to maintain the fork myself, I cant even change the oil. So I'd have to pay every 18-30 months to get new wotstheirname and oil. Totals at about 80 euros every time, and that's at a friends place.

Also I'm really looking forward to the plus in control I'm gonna gain. More trial style, less waaarglblaaaarg barbarian downhill style.

tl;dr: who needs suspension anyway  (especially with nokian gazzaloddi 24x2.6" tires  )

[PTTG??]

I've gotten a bike stolen.

What I've always wanted to do in your case is get a cheep bike and saw through several key beams and then cover them with a couple wrappings of paper- enough so that the bike can support it's self without significant tell-tale wobbles, but if someone was to put all their weight on the thing, it'd fold over. Paint the wrappings to match the rest, or otherwise hide them.

Chain the bike up, hidden but discoverable, with a webcam or something on it.
Not necessarily at your house, of course.

This is not a trap, of course. You where planning to use it for special effects in a music video, right? Of course.