Why Good Bikes are so Expensive

If you are new to cycling and shopping for your first bike as an adult you may wonder why a bike from a major brand in specialty retail sold at a bike shop or online is so expensive.   To get you from point A to B a new bike will cost you a lot less than a new car, but it may seem that $400 or more is still a lot to pay to own two wheels.  To get a handle on the costs it helps to know a little about the current state of bicycle manufacturing:

• Rapid innovation –Bikes have been around for over 100 years, but we are not done tweaking them yet.  New designs and components debut annually resulting in a pace akin to that of the iPhone. 
• ​Precision – Bicycle components are manufactured in weights and tolerances that are highly precise and as with any precision product, it takes more effort and cost to get that degree of performance

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• Volume – With new models coming out all the time, the work to retool and test has to spread across a relatively small amount of products.
• Testing – Any given model of bike can come in up to 6 sizes for better fit, and each of these has to be designed and tested in a lab for quality control. 

 
Given these factors, why is it that bikes from a big-box store (i.e. Walmart, Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods) can be sold for half the price of a bike from a specialty retailer?  The primary reason is cheaper components.  While the parts may be from some of the major brands like Shimano and SRAM, they are low end and some are non-standard manufactured by cutting corners to meet a certain price point.  The frames, usually come in one size per model, and are made from less expensive, heavier steel or aluminum.  This has an impact on:

• Safety - Cheaper components bend and break more frequently and you can only hope something does not fail while you are riding it
• Replacement parts - Non-standard parts means you cannot find replacements when they fail
• Assembly – The wider tolerances during manufacturing make it more difficult to assemble the bike.  Even worse, these bikes are often put together by store employees working from a manual without professional training
• Quality - Out of the box there are often issues, such as sloppy welds and poor paint jobs
• Resale value – Although all bikes, like cars, lose value once they roll out of the store, low end bikes do even worse, even when only lightly ridden
• Cost of maintenance – If you are not a little handy, you might spend more money on a cheap bike when you factor in what you will have to spend on maintenance at a bike shop
• Ride feel - The bike does not have the best feel possible on a ride; it is heavy requiring more effort to ride and the shifting and braking is labored
• Risk giving up on cycling – If you are new to cycling you may wonder what all the buzz is about when you find it--it is not much fun.  You might just give it up. 

 
Bike riding is a lifeline for many people, especially in these uncertain times, and making an investment in a ride that is  properly assembled, fits you, is easy to maintain, shifts and brakes properly, is light, smooth, and fast can bring you a lifetime of joy.  ​