cost of road bike vs. mtb

cyclotron

I'm looking towards getting a bike, and i was wondering whether a road bike or mtb actually costs more(for the entry level ones). i dont really have that much money to spend on the bike, so perhaps some of you could enlighten me?
i'm actually going to do more of cycling on the roads, but if a mountain bike is significantly cheaper than a road bike, maybe i'd get a mtb instead.

Chynnae

Hubby started adventure racing this year, and he wasn't sure how much he'd get into the sport, so he bought an entry level mtb. If you ask serious mtb'ers, they will say you can't get anything decent for < $4K. He refused to spend that kind of money, and got a Marin Bobcat for US$500 back in February 2003. It's fabulous value because it has front suspension, disk brakes, etc. - components that are usually only found on high end bikes. Now you *can* get ones that are a lot cheaper ($200), but I did research on epinions and those cheaper ones are for recreational biking (I woudn't race with them).

I recently bought a ROAD bike for a triathlon. The one the guy originally showed me was ~$700, and it was considered a basic, entry bike. However, if you only want one for recreational use, you may be able to pay less... but I'm not sure how MUCH less.

Chynnae

rek

If you consider a "threshold of decent quality" with regards to frames/drivetrains, a decent low-end mountain bike will cost significantly less than a decent low-end road bike.

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Peter
Cannondale Synapse Carbon Scalpel Cyclocross Ultra

Can

The cost for a new bike seems to be higher for the MTB's just because it takes more material to make them. There are of course going to be exceptions, but, on the average I would say they will cost more. As for the poster who thought that an entry level road bike is 700. That is a price taken totally "out of the blue" the amount of bikes out there for sale are vast! I bought my first road bike for 450 dollars and I have to say, it doesn't matter how much your bike weighs or what names are on it, if it fits and you are stronger you will propell your bike faster. I have personally beat people riding 17,000 dollar custom titanium bikes on my 400 dollar steel touring frame. I wouldn't shy away from one over the other just because of price. Make sure your intended uses for a new bike are realistic, then get a proper fit, and test ride models that correspond in size. Don't nit pick about price as much, there are many deals out there as well, if you spend a few hours online, you will find something =)

Jacob