Lots of talk going on lately on what's a good deal or not when it comes to cheap bikes so I'm curious. Now lets say you have the option to buy a 26" single speed cruiser that is acceptable quality (eg. built to a similar grade as a basic 40's or 50's bike). Realistically what price would you consider to be a "good" value.
How much would you pay for a new cruiser of acceptable quality?
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This is a really good question; i'd need more details before i could answer the poll, but I have paid more than $500 for a cruiser frame in the past. I can't say whether or not that represents a "good" value, and I have to add that factors such as where and how the frame was built were taken into consideration.
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Maybe it's just me, but I don't have much interest in a complete "tribute" bicycle that is only a shadow of the original. However, offer me a newly-minted frame/fork combo produced to genuine specifications and we'll talk. In this niche market, the buyer should be free to build-out the finished bike with their own choice of components--high end, low end, or middle-of-the-road. Be honest...you're only going to modify it anyway.
$600
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In the UK we pay a hell of a lot more for our bikes, sometimes double what you pay and more and have less choices for aftermarket goodies, so 600 is minimum I would pay for new, just paid £450 for my new felt and its worth every penny!
Well in my opinion I try not to spend a lot but get a lot issue is that price for parts and to completely restore a bike is way up and out there. That being said unless you have deep pockets a total bike era correct is real real expensive. A bike friend told me 2 weeks ago while I was buying a bike from him try to buy a complete as possible bike and work off from that. Refrib it restore it as long as you got time time an money. Me, personally I just do as much as I can but leave them I as much of the original condition as they should be.
Almost too vast of a question.Totally would depend on components.Sealed ?Triple trees?higher psi tires?Chromoly/high tensile steel?If we are talking a Wallymart less than $100 bucks.Micargi less than $100 bucks,Felt maybe $250.
What if you wanted a new basman to your specs or other fancy framed build, your looking at 1500 to 2k easy for something special, I myself don't have the skills to build something and weld stuff up and in the UK we just don't have the quality kits to buy nor the choices you guys have, everything is double the price so you have to really want the bike and know what expense comes with it and usually you still lose a fortune when it comes to selling on.
In My opinion, If I pay more than 100.00 for any bike. I have too much money to spend and If I do pay more than 100.00 I am paying for "COOL". Reminding myself all the time that I am buying a Bicycle nothing more. I get a lot of free bikes that people are too lazy to work on. Nice quality ones. Last year I got a bike ( I will not mention brand) for free because it had a flat tire. I was surprised when I looked on Ebay and found that some people had actually purchased the same bike used for 325.00. I may disagree with that price and would never sell mine for anything over 100.00, But that's me.
I enjoy the hobby and have fun with it. Its not a money thing for me. One time I heard the saying. "You cant buy Love" well Money does not buy my fun either.
I enjoy the hobby and have fun with it. Its not a money thing for me. One time I heard the saying. "You cant buy Love" well Money does not buy my fun either.
I guess it's all what your hoping to get out of the bike and how far your willing to go.
I think that, regardless of what money can or can't buy us, we all know that in the so-called "free market", we vote with our dollars. Personally, I don't mind spending money on quality products and better labor conditions at the point of production; if we "vote" for new sub-$100 bikes, we're voting for lower quality products and wage-slave working conditions. I'd rather support the good stuff, with my somewhat limited number of "voting" dollars...
And, yes, we're all on a budget of some sort, but I guess when it comes down to budget considerations, some of us might have thirty-five $100 bikes, while others might have one $3500 bike. Most of us on RRB fit somewhere in between, with a few outliers notwithstanding. Truth be told, anything beyond owning one practical transportation bike might be viewed by some as a "luxury", but I look at it as a fun, healthy, and modest "luxury". I make no apologies for spending a little more to get some good ol'-fashioned made-in-the-USA frames and/or components, when i can.
And, yes, we're all on a budget of some sort, but I guess when it comes down to budget considerations, some of us might have thirty-five $100 bikes, while others might have one $3500 bike. Most of us on RRB fit somewhere in between, with a few outliers notwithstanding. Truth be told, anything beyond owning one practical transportation bike might be viewed by some as a "luxury", but I look at it as a fun, healthy, and modest "luxury". I make no apologies for spending a little more to get some good ol'-fashioned made-in-the-USA frames and/or components, when i can.
The hypothetical bicycle isn't really that important. A single speed American made cruiser from around 1950 cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $343-$628 in the equivalent of today's dollars. The 9 1950s examples I have from Sears, Firestone and Schwinn average out to $482 dollars. 9 examples of the closest modern cruisers of good quality (worksman, emory, husky) I could find average out to $520. There isn't a huge difference in price between 1950 and today for a similar bike. I think that's pretty interesting. Both groups would fall into the higher end of the price chart though based on the poll results.
That's a good analysis, SSG, except that you can't actually buy a current-production Emory yet... and the ones on the site cost a load of $$$. And, of course, Husky frames are made in the ROC, with the parts coming primarily from Taiwan. But you make a good point re: the fact that seemingly comparable products have actually gone DOWN in price this past half-century... it invites comparisons of the actual quality (look at, for example, a Schwinn BB set from back then---hard as a rock--- versus the soft stuff that comes stock on the modern-day industrial bikes), but your overall point is a good one...
In a world where virtually everything has come up in price, singlespeed cruisers have actually come down, once we factor in inflation.
In a world where virtually everything has come up in price, singlespeed cruisers have actually come down, once we factor in inflation.
well, I bought a new electra sparker special. i believe that was under 600? i cant see spending a dime more. i just liked THAT bike, i really liked the way it fit me. i pretty much liked everything about it. i don't ride it as much as i should but i plan on keeping it long enough to pass down. i like most cruisers, except the stretch frames. there are only a couple other bikes i like THAT much. i like the transition klunker, the kona humhu, but i would never pay what they want for it, and some atomic cycles' stuff.
For me Bikes are toys that I love working on, playing with, and always enjoy riding every one of mine. If I want a bike to ride a bit. Does it make any difference if I am riding a "Functional" 100.00 used bike or a "Functional" 650.00 used bike. I personally feel there may be a false value in all except VERY FEW old toys. Usually this investment information on play things is provided to general public by sellers of play things. Some things are good investments and some just are spending money without reason. Beanie Babies. Great quality and investment there?
A friend of mine goes out to dinner once a week. He brags to us on spending 125.00 to 150.00 for Dinner on himself. The rest of us go out to dinner and spend 10.00 each.
Several hours later it all ends up in the same place.
This is all just my own thoughts. I don't ask anyone to tell me what I need to do, what to buy or what job I should take.
If I win or lose, I am the one responsible for my own choices.
Some of my bikes are "toys", some of them are "sports equipment", and some of them are "tools" that I use for transportation. If I'm using a bike to get to work, I don't want to explain to my boss that I'm late to work b/c my "toy" broke down b/c I didn't want to invest in a reliable machine. But, there are lots of different types of riders who ride for a lot of different reasons.
Some of us like to tinker, build, and tune as much as we like to ride. Some of us are gearheads, who get seriously jazzed by esoteric stuff, or high quality stuff, or finding ways to make things work in ways they weren't designed to work. We spend $$$ on bikes and parts b/c it's something we love to do. Money can't buy me love, but money can buy me another frame, or a killer new crankset... and maybe I'd love some new cranks. Once I install them on my bike, I can go for a ride, and i know I love riding bikes. I've never found it easy to question or criticize what others pay for their bikes, but I do enjoy helping ppl get the most bang-for-the-buck if they give me their goals and a budget.....
Some of us like to tinker, build, and tune as much as we like to ride. Some of us are gearheads, who get seriously jazzed by esoteric stuff, or high quality stuff, or finding ways to make things work in ways they weren't designed to work. We spend $$$ on bikes and parts b/c it's something we love to do. Money can't buy me love, but money can buy me another frame, or a killer new crankset... and maybe I'd love some new cranks. Once I install them on my bike, I can go for a ride, and i know I love riding bikes. I've never found it easy to question or criticize what others pay for their bikes, but I do enjoy helping ppl get the most bang-for-the-buck if they give me their goals and a budget.....
With the abundance of the 40's/50's cruisers still out there, get the real thing. For about the same price as a new good one.
Seriously, I don't have room, my old bikes are overflowing the shed out into the open air. Plenty of decent new ones on the market though, 250 and up.
I find I am a bit unreasonable when it comes to bike prices, I don't think I have paid over $400 for an off the shelf bike, but I would happily pay far more than that on parts for a bike I build myself...
Luke.
Luke.
