we ride < $100 bikes here in India, and few serious bikers at it. I am visiting one of those rare bike shops tomorrow that sell trek bikes here – http://bumsonthesaddle.com – to see some bikes. I am worried about its usage however, it is not easy to ride in Indian city traffic.

@Spork – Check out Rivendell’s Bombadil.

Here in Geneva (Switzerland)we have a HUGE problem with bikes : they get stolen all the time. This is why I seldom use mine and prefer to take the bus and walk.

Sometimes, bike would be better than walking (in my case, it would be much faster to go grocery shopping), but you’re never sure you’ll find your bike when you go out of the store …

So I don’t think I would ever buy a $1500 bike …

Helen

I got the Surly Cross Check a few years back. Best investment I ever made. Tough enough for potholes and dirt tracks, and fast enough to make even very long commutes a pleasure. I even did fully-loaded touring on it, going up and down the French Alps. For the price and versatility, it’s a tough ride to beat.

how about:

http://masibikes.com/tab4_subNav2.php

I like the CX myself, it’s similar to the Bianchi San Jose I ride to work every day. These single-speed bikes are efficient only when your terrain is relatively flat, but what a joy to ride!

LOL, I suppose in reality – you COULD use a breeding buck for transport. In fact, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if somewhere in the world they don’t 😉

I have friends who drive their goats, so why not? 🙂

I use a hybrid bike that I got custom built from a used nonprofit bike shop for under $500, which included all the accesories- lock, lights, reflectors, rack for placing bike bags on, full repair/inspection/tuning etc.

Anything more $$ and it would be worth more than my car 🙂

Want a great bike-get bent! As in recumbent. I bought a used Ryan for $400 – I can ride for hours in complete comfort. I use it for all my short errands.
“With the recumbent, people are discovering that their bicycle does not have to cause them pain.
Not at all. in fact, they can be ridden for hours and miles without ailments such as the sore butt, stiff neck, aching shoulders or numb hands that afflict the conventional bicycle rider. Instead the recumbent rider experiences far greater comfort, a better view of the world, a toning and strengthening of the abdomen. even a better sun tanning position.” http://bikeroute.com/WhyBent.php
and http://ryanownersclub.com/history/ryanhistoryrcn.htm
I will take my Ryan over a $10,000 bike.

If you want to indulge you don’t have to buy a new bike. You can spend the same amount on a good new bike as you would spend on a tricked out top of the line used bike. The vintage steel bikes from 20-30 years ago are beautiful. If I’m going to spend a lot of money on a bike, I’d rather have a handmade steel bike with decoratively carved lugs and full campagnolo components. Check out the *nice* vintage bikes on ebay.

Vanilla custom bikes.

@eofelis – I think the “parts laying around” is crucial to the economy of such a project. Component sets without a bike seems to be as expensive as the bike itself. They must be sold at list price.

It depends on usage.

Here in Sydney, I’ve got an electric bike that cost me $2000, and I just bought a second-hand but rarely used $1800 bike for $500 as backup (now used as my primary bike). These are by far the most expensive bikes that I’ve ever owned but they are good investments since I ride 33miles each day and save about $50 per week in petrol or train tickets (as well as 5 hours of commute time compared to going by train, since the stations are far from my work). I also get fit but that’s incidental; what’s not incidental though is that I love the commute, especially as opposed to sitting in a car, jammed in traffic and worrying about getting to work on time. My new bike will have paid itself off in 10 weeks.

However, when living in Denmark, London, and Victoria, BC, I preferred simple, sturdy, cheap, and ugly bikes (2nd hand bikes for $75-100), since the commute distances were usually only 2-5miles and I didn’t have to worry about getting my bike stolen.

Totally agree with the bike idea. I build new bikes and refurbish old ones for myself and others. I have an LHT for touring (awesome!) and a Soma DC for fast rides. One of my favorites is the early eighties model Trek (800). The entire Trek 800 series were very well built and should last forever if maintained. I paid $40 for this one, added a Brooks saddle, Wald Basket, some inexpensive handlebars, new tires and gave it a tune-up. It is one of the smoothest riding, strongest bikes I’ve ever owned – great for hauling groceries or cruising the boardwalk!

Hi,

surly is really an option – but a little hard to get (here in germany). I prefer handmade frames (one reason is, because I am a bit oversized). 4000$+ are frequently met for those german handmade frames. Warranty is 15 years – I was wondering if those 4000$ bikes fit into “ERE-concepts”. What do you think?

Cheers!
Ole

Im 36. Lived in many cities in the world. NEVER had a drivers license. Ive prolly saved over 200k by cycling most of my distances.

I do have a few 10grand bikes thats for sure.

The same bikes I use for commuting and racing, I have also used for touring. One is made of bamboo even.

http://www.shinola.com/shop/bicycles.html
These are some nice made-in-America bikes.