Why Did You Purchase The Bike You Currently Have?

[metalmancpa]

I just recently purchased a 2015 Specialized Sirrus.

My main reason was for fitness. Although I like to ride fast, I know this bike is limiting. I can currently keep around a 19MPH average on a 20 mile ride which isn't bad. But, after competing in my first triathlon a week ago and another one next week, I know my equipment can cost a couple of miles per hour over more expensive road bikes. And that was my second reason - economics. I just don't have a grand or more to spend on a speedy road bike.

 

[Uawadall]

I have a 2013 Cannondale Synapse Tiagra(pretty sure thats what its called).Simply put, I had a budget and test rode 2 bikes that the bike shop recommended. Since I was horrible riding both, I figured i'd get this one. The other bike I tested was a Specialized Allez, my brother has one so I decided to get something different. Its a bike, it works great, I'm improving. No need to think about any other one.

If your going 19mph(even if only on flats), how is this not "fast or limiting"?Just keep on getting faster and don't think about what bike you could have had(especially if you can't spend money on it, i wouldn't be able to either). Honestly, I think people who are always on the market for a new bike or droll over carbon just need to train harder. Especially people who can improve on their conditioning, put a pro on any decent road bike and they're still a pro. Put a newbie on a 10,000 road bike and they're still a newbie.

 

[kuroba]

I have a 2014 Trek Skye, black/purple. I needed an upgrade from my then current bike (a step through). There aren't many choices of bikes where I live (road bikes, MTBs and step through are most popular) and considering my budget, the Skye was the one that fitted my needs better and I fell in love with it when I saw it at the store :wub:

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Bike or bikes? :lol:

I had a Trek 1200 back in 1996 but wanted something stiffer cause the frame was noodle. I got the 1997 Cannondale Ultegra equipped. When the components wore out on it, I got super buys on Dura Ace components so I upgraded. Runs like a jewel!

I got my wife interested in riding so she started out with a hybrid.

She picked up on it real quick then some dude wanted to sell a steel Bianchi he had hanging in his garage for years. $40. I restored it and it turned out to be a great bike. She did about 10,000 miles on it. Even after the new bike, she won't give it up.

In 1997 I thought it would be cool to get a tandem. Got one and did a few centuries on it, lots of fun!

After the wife decided she really enjoyed riding, we bought her a full carbon Trek 5.2. She has about 20,000 miles on it.

I decided to give mountain biking a try so I bought a Trek 8000.

The next 3 pics are actually the same bike, kind of. I bought a Lemond Tourmalet as a beater bike. After 3 years the frame snapped. Trek does a good job of honoring their warranty so they replaced it with a frame and fork, Lemond Chambery, partial alum and carbon mix free upgrade! That frame broke after another 3 yeas then they replaced the frame and fork again with a full carbon Madone 4.7. The original bike was $100, the replacements and free upgrades brought the bike up to about $2300.


From this

TO this and then

To this

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

My first "real" bike (not counting the cheap things I had as a kid and for commuting around campus in college) was a 1991 Cannondale SM700 mt bike I bought for fitness purposes, rode a few years, then abandoned to the garage wall for almost 2 decades. A health crisis in 2012 made me see the light and realize what a fool I was to live the typical American lifestyle - overweight, poor diet, counting things like cutting grass on a riding mower or shoveling with a power shovel/snow blower as "exercise".

Sitting in a specialist's office being told you have a potentially terminal disorder changes everything in your life in a flash. Everything.

I had a few weeks between confirmed diagnosis and start of treatment - one of my tasks was to take that bike to LBS and have it updated. Rode that about a month afterwards and had a couple of minor breakdowns like chain and tire and thought "I need a spare bike"

So I went to LBS and bought a Specialized hybrid. By then it was October ... Winters are harsh here. Wanted to keep riding - they had a fat bike on sale - Sold!

The next spring I decided it would be nice to commute by bike, but I have an office job and no place to shower - so I bought an ebike...

End of 2013 I decided to try doing a triathlon ... Bought a road bike.

Yada yada yada ... I like bikes, what can I say ...

 

[Corzhens]

WIth the sudden emergence of the e-bike, it gets me thinking if it would be better to have that instead of my usual mountain bike. What I like in mountain bike are the fat tires that easily traverse dirt roads which we have plenty in our village. But I gave away my old bike and before I could buy a new one, here's this occasional swelling on my leg, the reason why I was warned not to buy a new bike. Now, with the e-bike, I guess it is all right because my swollen leg can be relaxed and I still can have the mobility.

 

[Susimi]

I bought my bike because I fancied getting back into cycling after some years without one and I liked the look of it and like the way I felt on it.

I felt pretty comfortable on it and I loved the looks of it. After finding out the cheap price of it I bought it there and then.

 

[mpre53]

It was the best package for the funds that I had available, when I was replacing a bike that had been wrecked. And the shop had it in stock. There were no 58 cm frames left at the warehouse. Ordering one would probably have gotten it to the shop in mid-August. I didn't want to keep on riding a gas pipe Schwinn for the entire spring and half of the summer.

I could have gone with another brand, but I likely would have wound up on an alloy frame with **** wheels.

 

[gavinfree]

I recently purchased a decent mountain bike, and the motivating factor there was more of price than necessity. I now own two mountain bikes for no particular reason, but I couldn't pass on a bike being sold a few hundred bucks under retail value. I mean, I'm not a madman! To be honest, I usually do purchase bikes based upon the bike itself and how much it would make my cycling adventures more enjoyable.

 

[Froze]

I have a few current bikes, but I'll take this to mean my most recent. I got a Lynskey Peloton, which is their least expensive TI bike, because I have several steel bikes and at one time an aluminum bike and I wanted something different especially after my lower back fusion surgery. I test rode gobs of CF bikes to which none I liked, I also tested 2 TI bikes that friends of mine have a bunch of times, one was a Motobecane and the other a Serotta, I liked the Motobecane so much I that I went to order it but they were out of stock, and they promised it would be in stock in a month, 1 1/2 years went by with the same repeated promise but they didn't get them in stock so I looked elsewhere, Lynskey had a promotional sale on the Peloton so I got it. I'm glad I got titanium, it is the most comfortable bike I've ever rode in 40 years of testing and riding bikes. I also wanted titanium for other reasons; I moved from California to Indiana and I get stuck riding in the rain now so I wanted a frame that I would never ever have to worry about rust, and I didn't want to worry ever about paint, I wanted a carefree frame material that was tough yet comfortable. At least the frame is made in the USA, nothing I tested in LBS's all over Indiana was made in America in my price range, so the USA thing is good. I did some updated parts to the Peloton before they shipped it to me through Adrenaline Bikes (which were really great people as were the Lynskey people), Adrenaline simply swapped what I wanted and just charged me the difference between the stock part and updated part, really cool, I couldn't have done that with Motobecane but I would have saved a lot more money, oh well.

 

[BobCochran]

I bought my Giant FCR Alliance after a bicycling mentor suggested I give it a shot. I like the bike, I'm learning my basic cycling skills on it. I think the shop I bought it from treated me very fairly and in a friendly way. I want to become a stronger rider, a fitter person. Perhaps next year I will replace it with something lighter and better suited to full scale touring. Or maybe I'll just stay with it and try to do as much hill work as possible to help my body get fitter.

Thanks a ton

Bob

 

[DancingLady]

I was looking for a good sturdy bike that makes me feel grounded and safe. I like how my bike has a low center of gravity as it makes me feel more stable and less likely to skid. It also came with a nice rack that I attacked my baskets to. The price was also a factor as I didn't have a ton of money to spend in it and it was affordable.

 

[chong67]

I bought my first expensive bicycle two weeks ago. I got last year model Trek FX 7.4 for $699. I love it. Next time I am going to try carbon fiber.

I have been a jogger and the pounding on my feet is killing me.

 

[Damien Lee]

Well, I have several bikes but the one I use almost daily is my Cannondale Synapse which I picked up in the early part of 2012. I've always been fairly loyal to the Cannondale brand, I consider them to be among the most reliable bikes. They were hugely expensive when they were first introduced locally. But since the cycling market has grown by leaps and bounds, they are more affordable these days.

 

[moneyman]

As posters above I have had numerous bikes and the my current one is the one I preferred most. It surely takes time and riding to learn which bicycle is made for you. In addition it should be easy to do maintenance and easy to clean after a ride in dirt.

 

[doctorold]

My daily bike is my dream bike. A "multipurpose" bike custom built for me. I love to ride and it was worth every penny.

 

[Gnufrau]

I didn't. I built it. I have actually never bought a bike for myself. The trade-offs when you buy a bike (unless you buy a zillion $/€ bike, which I could never do) was really souring me to the whole idea. I was, however, able to add this bit here and that bit there, until I came up with something I could really get along with. I have 2 current builds: Mondtänzerin is my road bike, which I built as a midlife bike (sort of you guys buying a sports car to try and prove you can still handle one). So instead of going out and buying a sports car, I built mine. All of my road bikes wear Campagnolo (sorry, Shimano fans), and I generally go with Athena componentry. I got most everything on eBay, quite cheaply! The rear mech cost me $80 (shipped) for example. When you compare that to the $180 you would pay in the store. . . Yeah, I know that not all of my parts are the most current (my BB and crankset are square-taper, for example), and some of that was on purpose. The brakes I chose ('89 Athena Monoplanar) were in honor of the first Campag brakes I ever had. I went from prayer brakes (the kind where you pull the levers to the bars and say a prayer that you will be able to stop in time. That prayer is about 50% effective. . .) to the Athena's. You can see them at the top of my profile picture.
First panic-stop after that I nearly went over the bars because the braking was so much better! I learned to modulate my braking after that Much of the bike is TKO, but in places that do not matter as much, like the headset (TKO threadless with sealed cartridge bearings) where it is the bearing that make the difference, and these are good. What I plunked down good cash for was the drivetrain, brakes, wheels, and shifters. The frame was the best I could afford, and a decent carbon fork seals the deal. Oh, and she comes in at 9kg (20lbs) so I feel OK about the build. All told, I put out $1000 over the course of a year to get a bike where the groupset alone would cost me $1500. . . I feel like I got the rest for free.