Save for your dream bike, or buy cheaper bikes often?

I’ve had some nice bikes, but I’ve never made a money no object purchase, ie browsed the internet deciding whih top of the line 3k frame i was going to buy. I appreciate some folks can do that because they can afford to, however I have always made compromises, ie last years model, been tempted by a great discount etc etc.

I could afford a ‘dream purchase’ if I saved up, but I tend to think that I’d rather have new bikes more often (i dont think I’ve had an MTB frame for more than 18 months). I certainly couldn’t afford to do that with a 5k santa cruz.

I do have a yeti ascr which is pretty much my dream xc bike, but I bought the frame second hand and the price hugely influenced the purchase. its got me thinking however, does it actually make more sense to save up for the bike you really want, rather than spend your cash regularly on bikes you like the look of, but would swap for something more desirable in a heartbeat if the opportunity arose.

My dream bike now may not be my dream bike next year, or even next month. But I’d be stuck with it due to cost invested and not admitting that the 5k purchase is no longer my dream bike. I’d just get a nice bike that I like and can afford, with an expectation I’ll probably want different new bike in a couple of year.

How about, consume less, look after the fab bike you’ve already got…? Ride often, have fun with the kit you have. I don’t think I’d buy a bike if I wasn’t hoping for at least ten years of use out of it.
Which is why I’m still riding on 26″ bikes and enjoying them big-time.

Last year’s model is no compromise, just sensible spending :).

I’ve often gone for ex-demo bikes as a way to get the best VFM and I always change parts to suit anyway.

Also riding 26″ if it was good then, it’s good now.

IME dream bikes are for dreamers who still dream about the next best bike once they’ve got what they thought they wanted.

Just get out and ride :).

Last year’s model is no compromise, just sensible spending :).

Its a compromise in that I’d rather have this years version! They are still great bikes though…

2009 I bought a custom Kent Eriksen Ti hardtail. All in I spent around £6k on it. There weren’t as many bikes floating around at £8k then as there are now so this was pretty top drawer. Did I enjoy the bike? Yes. Would I do it again? No. Time marches on. I was into all the boutique brands; Turner, Ellsworth etc all covered in XTR back then. My thinking has changed. The larger bike brands have the bigger R&D departments and it’s them that drive innovation forward. I now mostly ride a ’17 Specialized Camber Comp 29 which came with Sram Nx/Gx gearing. Albeit fairly upgraded now. Different brakes, better shifters and tyres, stem also but nothing hugely flash or blingy (x1 shifter, old formula the one brakes). Trickle down technology means it all works really well. It’s all going to get covered in mud and battered down a hill like I’m trying to kill it. Hence I don’t see the point in it anymore. Within less than two years my eyes had strayed from the Eriksen onto a Blur LTc. The same happened with that. Fully XTR, Chris King wheels, Carbon this, Revelation XXs. We’re all magpies (and consumers) that love shiney new stuff. Bike companies know this and feed off it. It’s their bread and butter. That £6k today would probably be closer to £7.5k which would get me a cracking full sus trail bike and a hardtail as well and a holiday to Tenerife to smash them down Mt Teide. I do love the Eriksen though…….

Also riding 26″ if it was good then, it’s good now.

No, because everything else gets better and your standards get higher as a result.

I’ve said this many times, but my 2007 Heihei FS race bike was as awesome as it gets, but then I was amazed to discover my parts bin rigid El Mariachi 29er was actually much better at the local rocky trails. So I replaced it and now no-one’ll buy the frame even for £60.

It’s a bike not a wife or a work of art. It’s riding bikes I love, not bikes.

always bought what bike i wanted at the time.
but 1 bike i always lusted after was a Jones. bought 1 had it for 6 month. sold it because i didnt like it at all.
it was just another bike

No, because everything else gets better and your standards get higher as a result.

My standard is enjoying riding.

Currently on a rigid singlespeed with crappy deore brakes. I like to be underbiked to challenge myself and hone my skillz.

Better kit *can* be good, but it can also make things too easy for those who like to push themselves.

it was just another bike

A valuable lesson, I think – they all are.

Rob, I’d suggest that you find some challenging trails! Try Swinley Forest; most areas are unrideable unless you’ve got fifteen centimeter shockers at both ends.

Had a dream road bike – Merlin titanium etched frame, campag Anniversary groupset. It was a work of art. So nice that I didn’t really want to use it for the riding/racing I started doing. I supplemented it with a second hand Giant TCR which I collected the day the Merlin was stolen.

The replacement was a carbon Giant Defy SL. It was a miles better bike in every way!

Time and technology moves on. But I’d have an Ibis Bow Ti tomorrow!

Rob, I’d suggest that you find some challenging trails! Try Swinley Forest; most areas are unrideable unless you’ve got fifteen centimeter shockers at both ends.

You’re a silly **** DTF! 😆 😆

I live but a short drive from the gnarfest of Swinley; the last time I went there was on a SS 4x bike with a slammed saddle – the climbs were a **** nightmare!! The flats weren’t much fun either – won’t be doing that agen in a hurry…

I’m firmly in the camp that my dream bike this week is different to next weeks. Get what you can and swap it when you want to.

Service yr dreamy Yeti and go on a dreamy XC biking holiday? Then afterwards decide whether you like riding, or ‘scoring’ bikes? Or more of one than the other? Identify the biggest ‘itch’ Do you itch to go cycling, or itch to go shopping? Once you know which one itchest the hardest then scratch that one first with the most energy/cash.

It totally depends on what you want from biking, but there’s a LOT to be said for getting a bike and then stopping worrying about what bike you want for a few years.

🙂

Im with molgrips,
Its riding bikes i love.
I enjoy a nice bike, but can also easily enjoy a parts bin special.
‘It’s not who’s going the fastest, it’s who’s having the most fun ‘

I wanted a new bike- a mojo geometron.

I couldn’t afford one so bought something else and rode that for a year.

A mojo geometron came up second hand, so i bought it at a huge discount.

It’s brilliant! One years wait dropped the price to something I was happy with.

Save up and buy second hand? It’s only new for one ride and as mtb it’s going to get covered in mud and scratched sooner than later.

Like cars- that new car smell is just money evaporating as the car depreciates 🙂

I’m of the belief that a dream bike doesn’t need to be expensive.

My T130 is just astoundigly good.. I find it hard to imagine there’s a better bike on the planet to ride than it…. But cost only £1400. I doubt there’s a bike i’d go quicker on.

Its not the case of saving as money isnt really an issue, Its more trying to justify buying an expensive bike (6k+ I consider expensive) to myself. Will it make me better and happier? I doubt it.

Getting out and riding with mates, having adventures, going new places, teaching some kids to ride etc will make you happy, a shinier bike will still be just as muddy and last years model within a few months.

Its a compromise in that I’d rather have this years version!

Not necessarily always the case – some ‘new’ versions have lower spec equipment, in order to keep within a certain price band (in the face of inflation)

A case in point was the gorgeous Trek Crossrip that I had my eye on – fabulous polished frame, with lovely anodised orange finishing kit. Didn’t buy it, because I was given a road bike, and couldn’t justify n+1, at the time. The latest models are plain black and so dull looking.
If I had the chance of a new polished one, I’d be sorely tempted.

Will it make me better and happier?

A Gucci bike doesn’t make anyone a better rider, but skilled riders can take better kit and do more with it.

Happier? Depends on your value system, but probably not for long, instant gratification and consumerism being well understood as fairly hollow ways to happiness.

i did that custom build dream bike once in 2009 with my first decent paycheck from working in africa.

do i regret it – do i hell…

it was a 6k rigid ti 29er build.

Its still my go to bike today .

Others have come and gone but that bike is built exactly how i wanted it and still good for all but about 10% of my riding.

For that 10% i bought a used ibis mojo for very cheap and its a hoot.

Would i do the massively expensive bike again …. probably but only if my current Ti frame wore out/broke.

Hmm this thread started me thinking. I don’t think I have ever paid full price for any bike I have ever had. Whatever is my dream bike of the moment, I always start with what I can afford and try and get best value for that amount.
My son has just bought an expensive carbon trail muncher which does feel better than my four year old fs. However that knowledge doesn’t stop me enjoying what I have.
Ps this does not stop me drooling over unobtainables on the internet

Better kit *can* be good, but it can also make things too easy for those who like to push themselves.

Disagree with this.

People who push themselves always push themselves. It’s what they do. Having a more suitable bike just means overall speeds are higher. For me, riding my 6″ bike means I am faster on techie bits and using a different range of skills for a different experience.

I ride all.my local trails on all my bikes, because it’s different on all of them. I’ve still got the same skill level.

My BFe 275 (old shape frame, not the new one, and on 26″ wheels) is pretty much my dream bike and came in at under £700 to chuck together from a mix of new and used parts. I’m considering having it powder coated in a louder colour but that’s all I’d change about it (at the minute!) I’ve done the expensive dream bouncy frame thing (Flare & Rocket) and ended up selling them on. Meh. Turns out I’m a cheap date 😆

I appreciate a nice bike but my average purchase is once every 6 years. ‘In between’ years and I try and ride trails around the world where I can.

I’ve done it twice, but using second hand frames and certain parts and some canny buying of stuff in the sales. I don’t see why you can’t have both a dream bike and not spend much money on it if you let someone else take the hit on depreciation.

I currently have a Transition Patrol carbon that’s built up with XX1 (which isn’t much cop), Pikes, Chromag bits and DT Swiss wheels and it’s only cost me about £1800 and should, hopefully, last me a long, long time.

I could’nt spend that much on a bike, 1)i can’t afford it & 2)i couldn’t make up my mind which was my dream bike, that changes hour by hour tbh & working in the trade means i get to ride lots of demo bikes which doesn’t help the decision making!

As above, my dream bike keeps changing!

The more I ride my cheap singlespeed commuter with mudguards, rim brakes and 32c tyres, the more I realise that all I could ever want is something identical but with gears.

Meanwhile the £2k road bike I just bought this summer and have so far done 40km on slowly gathers dust in the garage 😥

On the note of the commuter, what has made it so good is that by spending very little on it (£500 reduced to £300) I could justify spending more on all the little adjustments I wanted to make, meant I could afford posh mudguards, multiple stem and bar swaps to get the position just so, lots of different sizes of tyres until I found the perfect set, replacement brakes to cure the judder/squeel from the original cantis, etc. etc.

So the lesson I’ve learned is buy an average bike but then keep money in reserve to make it perfect over time 8)

I’m firmly in the latter camp, I’ve turned over a shocking number of bikes the last 10 years – trying to always change at marginal cost.

Tried the dream bike thing once when I had a big insurance payout. It was awesome but changing geometry and wheel sizes (and moving somewhere with more demanding riding) meant it still got replaced before too long.

Just to play devils advocate, I gained an Eastway R0 105 as a warranty replacement from Wiggle. It’s by no means my dream bike but it was what was on offer and I thought it was utilitarian enough to be a decent “club” road bike. Essentially it cost £1500 5 years ago.

My god does it ride well. It’s possible I’ve arrived at the perfect geo or something by accident but blimey it handles and climbs well and seems to go bloody fast. So much so it’s in “storage” over winter to keep it nice.

On that basis – and I’ve always lusted after an Enigma – I’m not sure I could justify a dream bike anymore, when all I really want is a bike that feels great to ride.

buy cheaper bikes often

Yes. But the “older” bikes are still o.k. after 2 years. I keep them and change stuff/modify. That’s fun as well.

With this strategy the fun is accumulating.
The newest bike I use most often. The older ones for playing and tinkering around.

Hopefully we all have one thing in common on here, we are passionate about owning and riding bikes.

Some people are passionate about cars. Some of them will buy old cars and spend their money and time tinkering and maintaining them. Some will buy expensive cars and enjoy driving them.

Each to their own. I have been in both camps at different times. Nowadays I have more disposable income and tend to buy nicer more expensive bikes.

Cycling is my one true lifelong hobby/passion so if I want a dream bike, I`ll get one.

More cheaper bikes for me. I couldn’t justify spending £4k+ on a mountain bike that I will fall off.

The nearest I got to an expensive dream bike was a Mk1 Santa Cruz Blur Carbon with XTR. It was great for a while but as I began to ride bikes with longer, slacker geometry, I found the Blur less confidence-inspring, and as I started to get into Bikepacking more, the Blur just remained hanging in the garage.

When I bought the Blur I was working in a bike shop so was able to acquire it at a bit of a discount anyway but there’s no way I’d be paying that amount of money again for one bike. I’d much rather have a few bikes that were good at certain roles.

Even my custom Ti hardtail, used for bikepacking mostly, never came close to the cost of the Blur.

Some people are passionate about cars. Some of them will buy old cars and spend their money and time tinkering and maintaining them. Some will buy expensive cars and enjoy driving them.

And some will buy cheap second hand cars and give them a damn good thrashing 🙂

Fancied those dream bikes in my younger days but now moved on and see them all as tools to do a job with. They all have quite a hard life and I wouldn’t want something I’d spent a fortune on that I was precious about (certainly not something I was riding down steep rocky trails!) Also a case of having the right tool for the job so have a few different bikes instead of one fancy do it all which wouldn’t do any of the jobs particularly well.

And some will buy cheap second hand cars and give them a damn good thrashing

That’s kind of my point (not very well made), we all love owning/riding bikes, don’t matter if its an old banger or the latest bling, whichever way you get the enjoyment out of it.

I tend to buy less often these days, but never new – just too much money to loose come selling time.

My last three bikes (£750- £1200 before upgrades) have all sold for with £30 of what I bought them for after 2 years’ use as 2nd hand bikes seems to go for less at certain times of the year when demand is much lower. I usually keep upgraded parts and move them over to the next frame/bike, selling the outgoing one as I bought it.