How much would you spend on a bicycle? (and which one?)

[GuitarStv]

I think the cut-off is a bit higher than that.  At only a mile, any bike will work fine.  At around 10 or more miles each way I'd steer someone towards a road bike.  I've commuted 11 each way on an MTB (then the same with slicks) and it is just tremendously better on a road bike.

[rothwem]

For a bike to ride to work, you ought to be looking at used bikes.  You can get a really nice 90s mtb for under $200 that will do an excellent job of getting your butt to work.  The 90s mountain bikes also were pretty good about including rack and fender mounts, as well as coming with sturdy steel frames.  Skip the suspension fork, most cheap ones are garbage and just bounce around, and the expensive ones are super expensive and massive overkill for riding on the street.

Every word of this is good advice.

Eh... I beg to differ. OP didn't mention how long his commute is, but a road bike (or even a hybrid) is far superior to a mountain bike if he wants to get to his destination quickly. If OP's commute distance is more than a mile or so one-way, I would not suggest covering this distance (10+ miles weekly, 500+ miles annually) in a mountain bike. (For someone relatively new again to biking, the OP should most likely get a hybrid to find out what he likes about biking. Road biking and mountain biking can be a lot of fun, and if he likes both he should probably get a bike for each purpose down the road.)

The 90s mtbs are basically road bikes (norba 71/73 geometry!), and if you slap some slicks on you won’t know the difference other than the fact that the bars are flat, which most newer riders seem to prefer anyways.

That’s not to say a road bike won’t work. It’s just that the 90s steel frame mountain bike is going to have wheels that won’t go out of true, rack mounts and a steel frame that won’t dent if you throw a u-lock around the top tube.  AND they’re going to be everywhere on Craigslist. While you can find a road bike with those things, they’re much more rare.

I think the IDEAL commuter bike is a touring bike of some kind, but for someone just getting into it, I think cost should be a major consideration because, let’s face it, a lot of people hate commuting to work on a bike and stop doing it after a while.

[SpaceCow]

IIRC, I paid a little over $1200 this spring for my Trek ALR 5 bike. I ride my bike 150 miles a week (mostly for fun, not travel/commuting) so I think that the cost is justified. In that price range, I think that you get a bike that allows you to ride with fast road riders without it being a serious detriment. I may upgrade the wheels in the future, but right now I am just taking the bike as a given and focusing on getting more fit. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend any non-racer to pay over $2000 for a road bike, but a lot of folks I ride with do.

My other bike is a Nashbar Sora which used to be available for $350. I use it for commuting to work and riding short trips around town. I think the Nashbar bike represents great value and would be great for mustachian transportation. Unfortunately, they don't sell it anymore.

I think the best scenario for me would be the $1200 Trek for recreational cycling, the $350 Nashbar Sora for my 13 mile commute, and a cheap craigslist mountain bike with a rack for running errands/getting groceries, etc. 

[Seadog]

+1 for buying a good used bikes. I think bikes depreciate faster than cars price wise, but slower than cars function wise, and there's no reason that if you're patient and ready to pounce, you can't find a good, used 5 yo bike for 20-30% of new, with pretty much identical performance. A semi pro golf buddy said sports equipment depreciates so fast, because in essence, the 3rd best gold club on the market is as useless as the 100th best. If you want to win, you need to get every advantage you can. Fortunately, if you're *not* a pro who races, you can get an older bike with great absolute performance for a song because you're more concerned about a bike that goes fast and is light, than the fastest bike out there period. 

(A slight aside, but in Australia, they repurpose old America's cup level sailboats for tours as once the technology improves, you can't win with them so their useless for racing. But they're also not outitted super comfortably for cruising either. But if you want to zip around at 17+ knots sailing + see some sights, a good opportunity to do so)

Learn how to do bike maintenance yourself, upgrade or adjust parts as needed, many cities have community bike shops which take donated bikes, repurpose them, resell, them, or strip parts, plus provide work space and all the tools, so check that out.

My main daily street and trail bike is a 6 yo Trek 7.5 FX which I picked up for $200 CAD last winter in the off season. Had to put about $150 into it because the non-mustachian I bought it from switched it to a single speed after breaking the derailure and not having the money to fix it, and also being eager to sell for XMas money, but given that it was apparently $1100 US new, and with $250 upgraded wheels. Easily worth $700 now if I'm patient, which would still be a steal give how it performs. I mean you can replace ball bearings, replace hubs if needed, new chains and sprockets. All cheap lightly used, and there is simply nothing like a head gasket or a blown transmission that will totally fuck a bike (short of a bent/cracked frame) you can't learn to do yourself in hours.

It's the classical used vs new debate, but there's no way I would equate even a 10 yo depreciated top end bike that's been looked after to be the functional equivalent of a mid range wal mart bike new, but I don't set the market. I suppose liquidity is the other issue as well though. Great bikes for cheap, or even reasonable prices don't show up often, and often don't last.

[triple7stash]

This thread is a perfect example of when it doubt, post it on the forums. Just bought myself a 1k commuter bike about 3 months ago (Before that I haven’t rode a bike in like 12 years -high school) and it was worth every penny. You never know when you might be feeling silly about spending or not spending when it’s really not a back breaking decision.

[powskier]

A nice bike is one that fits you well and has decent components that will perform well . A bike that works well and fits you well will make you want to spend more time on it.
It's hard if you don't know what you are looking for, it's also hard if you live somewhere where bikes get stolen. Some of us have our regular bikes and then a $100 POS if bike has to be locked up outside of a store or public area where risk of theft is high.
A frame that fits well is key and you won't figure that out unless you go to a quality bike shop with a knowledgeable sales person. After that quality drivetrain and quality disc brakes, decent wheels. I realize these are vague terms but it all depends on so much...
Maybe you should just buy a good used bike and then figure it out after a year or more, or upgrade parts as they wear out.
I would not recommend any Walmart or Costco bikes, the parts used on them will end up broken very quickly.
You should be able to find a nice new bike at a store for $600-$800 look for last years models, same or less used on Clist. Good luck.

[ca-rn]

You should buy a Raleigh 3 Speed.

Someone is sure to say this is bad advice, and if you take it you will also quickly think it's bad advice, so I need to explain why it's good advice.

You should be able to find a Raleigh 3 Speed with a functioning hub for <$200.  You will need to do things to it to make it rideable, like change the brake pads that have turned to bricks over the last sixty years so that you can stop.  Then you'll know how to change the brake pads.  You'll also learn about machined rims when you learn your wheels don't have them, making stopping a relative term.  Then you learn about wheels.  And on it will go, with every shortcoming leading to knowledge.  Keep going, and you'll make bike nerd friends who will teach you more about bikes.

The clicking from the hub on the Raleigh will never go away, and so once you're convinced of just how horrible the Raleigh is you'll buy something like a Bianchi Velope for $800 with Tiagra shifters and heavy tires, and okay wheels that won't break for at least six months.  You'll ride it and marvel at how much better it is than the Raleigh.  And one day you'll put a Brooks saddle on it because your bike nerd friends have them and insist they're amazing.  You won't know it at the time, but putting that horse saddle on your otherwise normal bike will be the moment you go over the dam.

You will upgrade.  If you're lucky, you'll stop with something like a Surly that you lovingly assemble component by component.  If you have the bug worse, you'll start ordering custom frames.  You could waste money in worse ways.

Then, eight or ten years later, you'll pull the old Raleigh out of your garage to ride on an errand.  You won't have thought much about it for years, but the minute you get rolling you'll realize that your old sub-$200 tank does basically the same thing as all the special wonderbikes that now fill your basement.  And you'll be amused at yourself, without regretting any of it.

Maybe you'll start riding the Raleigh again, or maybe you'll give it to a carless grad student who reminds you of yourself years ago.

Whatever happens, you won't regret it. 

You should buy a Raleigh, clicking hub and all.

thank you!  i read your post and it rang so true for me!

i first bought a vintage english 3 speed as my daily commuter but once any bit of rain came- no brakes, just sliding around. 

hated having to drive whenever it rained so upgraded to a real dutch Oma bicycle- handmade, 8 speeds, drum brakes, dynamo lights and heavy duty racks.   this beast glides over rough roads and glass shards and can be ridden in all weather.

it was the most i've ever paid for a bicycle and i had some serious anxiety laying out the cash but now i'm totally happy with no regrets.

to the OP- buy whatever to get a feel for your needs.  your first bike might be THE one or get stolen or the start of a string of bicycles before finding THE one or be one of several bicycles in your collection to fit the occasion. 

[julia]

I bought this Trek FX 7.1 series? for 500$ CDN about 3 years ago. It's a hybrid and has taken be across the world (literally). I cycled from Toronto to Los Angeles, across europe (Belgium to Italy (Rome)), several other shorter trips, and now takes me to and from work everyday. The front tire is still the original despite having over 11,000km on it. Incredible bike - highly recommend if you can find it!

[Cranky]

So what do you recommend for some light recreational riding around my neighborhood or on bike trails?

Not commuting, not riding in bad weather. Don't want to lean over (which was requisite the last time I owned a bike.) I am quite short.
 This is not an area where people ride bikes so much. There are no dedicated bike lanes and the weather is terrible.

I *think* there may be a dedicated bike store in town, but I wouldn't swear to it. REI is at least an hour away.

Brands and size recommendations if I'm looking at used stuff?

[Euphorbia]

I have a Specialized hybrid bike that I purchased 7 years ago for between $400-$500 at a local bike shop. Our local shop offers free tuneups if you purchase your bicycle there so you may want to check into that.  It is well worth the money to buy a decent bike, with decent gears, etc. It will last forever and save you a ton of money on gas- plus it is like a happy machine.  The end of summer is a good time to find a deal as they will be getting rid of end of season inventory.