The rising price of entry-level road bikes — how much does it cost to get into road cycling now vs 10 years ago?

65 thoughts on “The rising price of entry-level road bikes — how much does it cost to get into road cycling now vs 10 years ago?”

1. Work in front line health

   Work in front line health care NHS, over the past 10 years have seen my real wages srink and the cost of all things rise, bikes and kit inclulded.  Bikes and kit are now at prices that are just silly, over a £100 for bib tights, at what cost are they made for in some sweat shop in the far east!!!!  I have owned a Decathlon Triban 3 and now own a Tifosi CK3 claris £400 new old stock form ebay that I have had since 2019.  MY kit is mostly DHB – decathlon stuff and anything else I find in a sale online,  I am now in my 50s so am not fast or need all the bling, just need somthing I can push out the door and ride for a few hours a week to help with my general fitness and mental health.  I am just waiting for the market to crash (if it does?) as I have read that many bike brands have over suplied and may have to discount soon,  I could be wrong, but if that this is true, then a new cheap bike could be coming my way.

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2. While obviously wages haven’t

   While obviously wages haven’t gone up that much, broader inflation totals about 45% over the last 10 years so cycling isn’t out of line with that. And some things, like lights and relatively low-end bike clothing, are much better than they used to be at a given price point.

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3. It’s very unfair not to take

   It’s very unfair not to take inflation into account. £500 in 2015 is equivalent to about £660 now (according to the Bank of England’s inflation calculator). That means that, at £650, today’s Boardman SLR 8.6 is cheaper in real terms than 2015’s Boardman Road Sport. But you say it’s 30% more expensive.

   Wages haven’t gone up at the same rate, but that’s another story.

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   • Thanks for pointing that out,

     Thanks for pointing that out, we’ve now added some info about inflation to the closing paragraphs for context. As you’ve alluded to, whether an entry-level bike will truly cost you more now than it did in the 2010s will depend on personal circumstances.

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   • Wages have gone up more than
     Wages have gone up more than inflation since 2015.

     Real wages up about 6% over that period so for the average person some of these bikes are both cheaper in real terms and in terms of hours worked to afford one.

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     • Don’t disagree, I earned less

       Don’t disagree, I earned less than £150 a week in 2013 so an entry-level bike is relatively much more affordable for me nowadays than it was then. The idea of the article was to present the prices and allow readers to decide what it means for you, it’s very difficult to say definitively whether bikes are more expensive now compared to ten years ago and there are a lot of factors at play. 

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     • Rich_cb wrote:

       Wages have gone up more than inflation since 2015

       — Rich_cb

       You’re lucky flother chose that year!
       Most of that picture’s ‘thousand words’ are telling a much sadder story. And for younger workers, it’s worse still.

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       • That’s what a global
         That’s what a global financial crisis will do.

         We essentially traded wage/productivity growth for employment.

         Wages/productivity stagnated but there was not mass unemployment as was seen in previous severe recessions

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     • Or to put it another way,

       Or to put it another way, real wages have finally just recovered to their 2007 level. The only reason they have risen over the last eight years is because they fell so low in the first place. This is akin to saying “We’ve introduced 18,000 new police officers” whilst ignoring the fact that 22,000 have been abolished. Additionally, average wages rising does not necessarily mean the average person is better off, if 90 people earn £500 a week and 10 earn £1000 a week, when the top 10 get a rise to £2000 a week the average wage goes up but 90% are no better off.

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       • The article focussed on the
         The article focussed on the last ten years.

         Over that time real wages have risen and, as a consequence, some of the bikes are actually cheaper for the average wage earner than they were then.

         You’re correct that mean average wages can be distorted by a large increase in top earners, median averages are less affected by this.

         The wages of lower earners have actually risen faster than the overall average too. Low pay is now at its lowest level since records began.

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         • From your own source:

           From your own source:

            Over the coronavirus pandemic period, earnings estimates were affected by changes in composition of the workforce and the impact of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) making interpretation difficult; also data collection disruption and lower response rates mean that, for 2020 and 2021, data were subject to more uncertainty and should be treated with caution

           — Office for National Statistics

           Yes, low paid jobs have fallen from 27.2% in 2018 to 24.8% in 2022, according to the graph in your source. Leaving aside the fact that, in my opinion, it’s a national scandal that in one of the world’s wealthiest countries around a quarter of workers are on low wages, how much of that fall is due to the fact that low wage jobs simply disappeared during the pandemic, for example in pubs and restaurants that closed and never reopened? If the number of low paid jobs has fallen because the number of jobs available has fallen that’s hardly cause for celebration.

         • If we were discussing the
           If we were discussing the 2020 or 2021 data you’d have a point.

           We’re not.

           The 2022 data is not subject to those caveats.

           The low pay rate is the lowest ever recorded. That timescale includes 13 years of Labour governments.

           Pubs and restaurants etc are desperate for staff, hospitality wage increases are hugely above average. It’s not lack of jobs that’s driving down the number of people on low wages it’s, unsurprisingly, rising wages.

         • If the jobs disappeared in

           If the jobs disappeared in 2020 and 2021 and haven’t come back then clearly that affects the 2022 data. Yes hospitality wage increases have been usually above average between 2012 and 2022, that is primarily because the minimum wage has risen from £6.19 to £9.50 per hour. So wages have risen from totally derisory to very derisory, gain no cause for celebration.

         • If the jobs have disappeared
           If the jobs have disappeared then why are there staff shortages?

           If what you’ve suggested, without any evidence whatsoever, was true then there would be a glut of freshly laid off staff competing for jobs rather than a huge number of jobs available (vacancies at near record highs) and huge competition for workers.

           Hospitality wages are up over 50% in the past decade while inflation was just over 30%.

           It’s a strange world where increasing the living standards of the poorest paid in our society is “No cause for celebration”.

           You’re right that a lot of the rise in pay rates is directly due to government policy.

           That doesn’t change the fact that the rise is real and has driven low pay to the lowest levels ever recorded.

         • Rich_cb wrote:

           It’s a strange world where increasing the living standards of the poorest paid in our society is “No cause for celebration”. You’re right that a lot of the rise in pay rates is directly due to government policy. That doesn’t change the fact that the rise is real and has driven low pay to the lowest levels ever recorded.

           — Rich_cb

           No, I don’t think it’s a cause for celebration that we live in a country where employers are permitted to pay full-time workers £10.42 per hour, and £7.49 per hour if they are aged 20 or younger. I think that’s a cause to be scandalised.

           I’ve accepted your claim that the number of low paid jobs is at the lowest ever figure as a percentage of total jobs (although as previously, are you comfortable with the fact that one quarter of people in this country are working jobs that are classified as low paid?), you have failed to answer my question as to whether that is because wages have risen, moving more jobs from low paid to average pay, or whether low paid jobs have simply disappeared.

           The reason there are staff shortages in the hospitality industry, as any person working in that industry will tell you, is because your beloved Brexit has driven away a huge number of the temporary foreign workers who were willing to accept extremely low pay rates, long hours, poor working conditions and prospects and zero hours contracts.

         • That last paragraph is a
           That last paragraph is a tacit admission that EU membership drove down wages and working conditions. Nice of you to acknowledge that.

           The low pay rate per hour is actually 10.5%.

           The 24.5% figure is per job. So a person with 2 part time jobs may be counted twice but not actually be low paid overall.

           Not all jobs can be full time so I think it’s better to focus on the hourly figure and benefit reform to make it easier to transition from part time work to full time.

           You’ve questioned the source of the data and now you’re demanding more data. It sounds a lot like the description of sealioning which you like to bandy about.

           I’ve explained why the current jobs market does not support your little hypothesis. If you want to dig around in the stats to try and prove me wrong you’re welcome to do so.

         • But soon the India deal and

           But soon the India deal and all will be well.

           where are my brexit benefits? 

           https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1633336/boris-johnson-brexit-promises-has-brexit-happened-spt

         • Yeah, another post from

           Yeah, another post from someone bleating on about bloody Brexit.  For me it is getting like Godwin’s rule, for every long debate in an article someone on the tinternet will get to mention Brexit.  Hoo bloody rah!

           Don’t forget to also mention that anyone who voted for it was a) racist, b) thick or c) both.  That always helps to convey the approriate sense of superiority.

         • bobbinogs wrote:

           Don’t forget to also mention that anyone who voted for it was a) racist, b) thick or c) both. 

           — bobbinogs

           I don’t believe everyone who voted for it was thick and/or racist by any means. I do think that every thick racist (who could be bothered to vote/possessed the mental acuity to draw an X) voted for it though.

         • It doesn’t give me a sense of

           It doesn’t give me a sense of superiority, just a sense of overwhelming sadness.

         • bobbinogs wrote:

           Yeah, another post from someone bleating on about bloody Brexit.  For me it is getting like Godwin’s rule, for every long debate in an article someone on the tinternet will get to mention Brexit.  Hoo bloody rah!

           Don’t forget to also mention that anyone who voted for it was a) racist, b) thick or c) both.  That always helps to convey the approriate sense of superiority.

           — bobbinogs

           You don’t say “on the tinternet”.

           That initial “t” is a contraction of “the”, so “on t’internet”.

           Just saying… 

         • Tintern Abbey? Tis.

           Tintern Abbey? Tis.

         • I really hope if Tintern

           I really hope if Tintern Abbey has a wifi network, they’ve called it “Tinternet”. (Yes, I’m aware it’s a ruin)

         • it does seem like a missed

           it does seem like a missed opportunity 

           https://www.tinternvillage.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR1KW_xvzoRr_9vC0VySbbpIfi-iFUQ5Jb8TzPJPEOdQX1-u1YHLstKj95I

         • * Rushes to register domain *

           * Rushes to register domain *

         • “can U bring dogs?” the first

           “can U bring dogs?” the first ever internet post – a good place to start?

         • “Harry Kane has been sold to
           “Harry Kane has been sold to German giants Bayern Munich for £100m, in a deal that Brexiters are hailing as definitive proof that they need us more than we need them.

           The prolonged transfer saga has been completed this morning, with the deal providing a huge £100m boost to EU exports.”

         • Rich_cb wrote:

           You’ve questioned the source of the data and now you’re demanding more data.

           — Rich_cb

           Please point me to where I’ve questioned your data source or asked for more data? I’ve questioned your interpretation of the data but that’s not the same thing. The last thing I or anyone else wants is yet another cherrypicked C&P graph from you.

           In any case, as you’ve now drifted into the realms of the ridiculous – someone working a low paid part time job might not actually be low paid because they might also have a well paid part time job elsewhere, yep bet there are loads of those people – I shall leave it there.

         • Requests data:
           Requests data:
           “You have failed to answer my question as to whether that is because wages have risen, moving more jobs from low paid to average pay, or whether low paid jobs have simply disappeared.”

           Questions source:
           Highlighting that the 2020/21 data should be treated with caution even though that was irrelevant.

           Only 10.5% of jobs are low paid on an hourly rate but 25% of jobs are low paid on a per job rate. That obviously means that the issue is hours worked rather than hourly rate of pay.

           You don’t think some people have more than one part time job?

           They obviously do and if neither job was low paid per hour and total hours worked was equivalent to full time then clearly they wouldn’t be low paid overall.

         • Rendel Harris wrote:

            the minimum wage has risen from £6.19 to £9.50 … 

           — Rendel Harris

           The minimum wage is now £10.42/hour (about 62% of median earnings). It’s no fortune but it is pretty high by international standards and has helped a lot of people be better off.

           There’s obviously a lot more to how well off the lowest earners are – not least recent inflation eroding almost everyone’s position (particularly the poorest), the UK’s particularly poor wage growth and access to in-work benefits – but I think the minimum wage has been relatively successful.

   • Hate to say it, but the

     Hate to say it, but the Tories’ raising of the personal allowance and NI threshold has greatly increased the spending power of people at or near minimum wage levels. The rest of their policies have decreased it again of course, but however grudgingly they should be given some credit for that. 

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     • Personal allowance hasn’t
       Personal allowance hasn’t changed in the last 4 years.

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       • I didn’t say it had. But the

         I didn’t say it had. But the income tax personal allowance has almost doubled since the Tories came in in 2010, so that alone is way ahead of inflation. National Insurance is a bit more complex, but the lowest earners are paying less of their income on that than they were in 2010 too.

         I’m fervently hoping for the Tories to lose the next election heavily. But those policies have been good for low-paid workers’ take-home pay, and there’s no reason not to acknowledge that. I’m less happy about fiscal drag pulling more people into the higher brackets, but that affects people on £50k+ a year who are in no way low-paid workers. 

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         • The minimum wage has also
           The minimum wage has also increased hugely since 2010.

           The Conservatives can be criticised for many things but on minimum wage, tax reform for the lowest paid and pension enrollment reform they’ve made really meaningful changes that will benefit millions of people.

         • Rich_cb wrote:

           The minimum wage has also increased hugely since 2010. The Conservatives can be criticised for many things but on minimum wage, tax reform for the lowest paid and pension enrollment reform they’ve made really meaningful changes that will benefit millions of people.

           — Rich_cb

           The minimum wage has had a largely unseen knock on effect too; I work in a social enterprise and the founder/MD has always* paid £1.50-2.00 p/h above that for the staff at the lower end, his thinking is that “if we only pay minimum wage, it tells the employee that if the government allowed it, you’d be paid even less and you’re not valued” therefore increasing the minimum and the tax threshold has been good. 
            

           * long before “living wage” became a thing. 

         • All this praise for

           All this praise for Conservative policies is making me feel uneasy, so I should point out that pensions automatic enrollment was introduced by Labour under the Pensions Act 2008. It just didn’t come into force until 2012. 

         • That’s a fair comment but
           That’s a fair comment but much like with ‘Boris Bikes’ I do feel that the lion’s share of the credit has to go to those who actually implement the scheme.

         • Rich_cb wrote:

           The minimum wage has also increased hugely since 2010. The Conservatives can be criticised for many things but on minimum wage, tax reform for the lowest paid and pension enrollment reform they’ve made really meaningful changes that will benefit millions of people.

           — Rich_cb

           The Lib Dems can be criticised for shoring up a Conservative government, but they introduced tax reform for the lowest paid.

         • In coalition. They relied on
           In coalition. They relied on Conservative agreement to get the first tranche of reform through.

           It was then adopted as Conservative policy and carried on post coalition.

         • Rich_cb wrote:

           In coalition. They relied on Conservative agreement to get the first tranche of reform through.

           It was then adopted as Conservative policy and carried on post coalition.

           — Rich_cb

           Had the Conservatives won the 2010 election outright they would not have done it. Had they refused to include it in the programme of government, them the Lib Dems would not have gone into coalition with them. It was a Lib Dem policy and it happened because of the Lib Dems.

           The Conservatives saw it was popular and continued with it (which was good) and tried to take credit for it (which wasn’t good, but you’ve fallen for it).

         • The Conservatives adopted the
           The Conservatives adopted the policy post coalition and included it in their manifesto.

           They then won a majority (2015) and implemented the manifesto promise.

           It’s perfectly fine to insist on giving the Liberal Democrats credit for devising the policy and delivering the initial phase as part of the coalition but you cannot deny the Conservatives credit for the policies that came post coalition.

           You also can’t deny the Conservatives any credit for the coalition policies on tax thesholds, they still voted for those policies and controlled the ministries which implemented them.

         • It’s true, they didn’t do a

           It’s true, they didn’t do a number on it like with the AV (itself a dilution / change from AV+).

           Of course on that one you could argue that was as much political naivety by the Lib Dems.  Or alternatively not – perhaps they realised it would be torpedoed but either thought it worth a gamble or were far more interested in being a member of government than any particular policy.  Clegg did seem surprised and disappointed though.

           Credit for lots of things is difficult to assign – I didn’t know but just found out that the AV (plus) “started” from the the 1998 Jenkins Commission under a Labour government – though then blocked by lots of senior Labour types and not supported by Labour when it came to a vote.

         • Brauchsel wrote:

           I didn’t say it had. But the income tax personal allowance has almost doubled since the Tories came in in 2010, so that alone is way ahead of inflation. National Insurance is a bit more complex, but the lowest earners are paying less of their income on that than they were in 2010 too.

           I’m fervently hoping for the Tories to lose the next election heavily. But those policies have been good for low-paid workers’ take-home pay, and there’s no reason not to acknowledge that. I’m less happy about fiscal drag pulling more people into the higher brackets, but that affects people on £50k+ a year who are in no way low-paid workers. 

           — Brauchsel

           The raising of personal tax allowances happened because of the Lib Dems, not the Tories.  It was one of their coalition demands.  Don’t give the Tories the credit.

4. You could also mention the

   You could also mention the difference in price from the entry level to the ‘pro’ level compared to a decade ago. in 2013 you could get a carbon bike with DA di2 and a deep section carbon rims for around £8k-9k https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/bikes/road-bikes/specialized-s-works-tarmac-sl4-di2-review/ compared to today the like for like is around £12k RRP for the SL8. So an increase of around 30-40% over the years. 

   Most of that has been a sharp rise post Covid and Brexit. I know my bike (Trek Emonda SLR) went from costing £5500 to nearly £7000 over night due to supply chains and red tape etc caused by these 2 issues. Had we not had this double whammy I think most bikes would be much closer to the prices of 10 years ago. 

   The biggest change for entry level bikes has got to be much better finishing kit. I bought my partners son a Triban 500 Claris bike from Decathlon at xmas and that cost around £450 and has a far superior quality groupset on it than the Bianchi Via Nirone I used to ride about on in 2013. Thats quite impressive and probably worth the increase alone. The Bianchi btw cost me just under a grand. Sure, I was probably paying for the name over many other brands at the time but there wasnt much of a better bargain in that price range at the time. If you are prepared to shop around and wait there are much cheaper prices available for the out-dated stock. 

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5. Overall inflation has been 31
   Overall inflation has been 31.5% since 2014 according to the BoE inflation checker.

   In that context most of the bikes which have unchanged spec haven’t really changed price very much in real terms.

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   • Exactly this. The article,

     Exactly this. The article, while vaguely interesting, is badly flawed. It should have looked at price rises over and above inflation over a decade (not to mention other factors like Brexit, Ukraine war). The Spesh is the one that stands out there but I haven’t looked closely at how the specs compare – they may well be better now.

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     • Indeed, it would probably
       Indeed, it would probably have been good to underline the stats in each section by stating the inflation-adjusted % increase. So Boardman, zero, etc. But otherwise not a bad article. Shows that entry level bikes haven’t gone up so much. Its really obvious that high end bikes have though. Could we have an equivalent article for those, maybe? Having bought high end in 2013 and 2021, the increase is way beyond 31%. My personal opinion? Bike companies seeing what the market will bear plus richer consumers (or lower interest rates and generous cycle to work schemes – but that’s a different story ?)

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6. Interesting article, thanks.

   Interesting article, thanks.
   My sense is that general inflation has caught up with cycling, which seemed to surge during the pandemic before subsiding latterly. Prices on some Claris-equipped models were approaching £1000… I hope they didn’t sell many!

   Also as others note, few incomes have kept pace with recent inflation, so cycling really has become more expensive in real terms – just like much else.

   Lastly, a minor quible with whether “Entry-level bikes have evolved massively”. Even the following para notes that the Allez’s frame, groupset and wheels are unchanged! I think it’s more accurate to say many entry-level bikes now have cable discs…

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   • The evolution is nuanced. The

     The evolution is nuanced. The 2023 Allez has dropped seatstays and other layout configuration changes, in addition to a full carbon (instead of the alloy steerer) fork. The Claris groupset of 10 years ago is also different in many ways to that of the current genration, with wider gear ratios, bar-aligned cable routing as opposed to out the side of the shifters, and a silhouette that matches the recently superceded performance 11 speed groupsets. Some of the frames have had tweaked geometry. The move to cable actuated disc brakes also adds a small expense from the hardware changes for the frame building, and from the callipers themselves. I’ve used all 3 of the 9 speed iterations of Shimano Sora and the latest, R3000 is by far the most premium feeling and reliable of the three.

     Wheel tech trends have also changed, with rims and tyres becoming wider for increased grip and comfort. This is also prevalent on entry level bikes and on aftermarket products. I have a set of modern handbuilt wheels with alloy rims for my winter bike that are 19mm wide internally, that was unheard of 10 years ago. The most popular rim for handbuilts were Mavic Open Pros, which were 15mm wide.

     Whilst all three of the aforementioned components of the Allez are of the same level of specification, there has been product development from trickle down technology that is present in the newer model.

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     • Agree with all that, and it’s

       Agree with all that, and it’s all good.
       I just don’t think it’s “massive”.

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7. I think it’s difficult to

   I think it’s difficult to compare current models against old models, as the specs will have changed.

   My first road bike was a Decathlon Triban. 10-speed 105 with rim brakes for £600. The closest current model is 11-speed 105 with disc brakes for £850. So it’s about 40% more expensive, but it’s a better spec. For £600 you can get the next model down which has 9-speed Sora with disc brakes.

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   • They don’t make ’em like this

     They don’t make ’em like this any more 

     https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/354731626754?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D253008%26meid%3D2ac2903817ea427ea6e6377a71afe356%26pid%3D101195%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D134687206206%26itm%3D354731626754%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D4429486%26algv%3DSimplAMLv11WebTrimmedV3MskuWithLambda85KnnRecallV1V2V4ItemNrtInQueryAndCassiniVisualRankerAndBertRecallWithVMEV3&_trksid=p4429486.c101195.m1851&amdata=cksum%3A3547316267542ac2903817ea427ea6e6377a71afe356%7Cenc%3AAQAIAAABUPqB0EgCndAssfMWNy0AT0GytGzF9%252By0G%252BlcW69DgBK3Qlz4BjwJQqPkN4K8I7qz9GoVciN1QNWqyS8EeqYS8rZRsDvyvw34m3N%252FyJKokwCTIIc3RNym2SNW8ARudP72DyiwgIY0dfUnIr5%252BMZDTaotLdQN%252FD0gGHkSUC1gqFnoFK5VaqDkQYnpqILWGiMaXXSSJkb8%252BYBBb%252F6v5raXHCYNlyAscTGRzzRzT5VWuYYrS89OqjfaLF1H3z5Afy9L6UU5GkXm8uSvY%252BVC%252Fjc7eqMe7sH%252FwQR%252ByFmmS0VtmOESm%252Fa9SvFoc8dILQviaD6A9cOj1nIRboZy84xYSiqfoRhkQoNYWLb88zVdtV2SfZZULK%252B8LMM7R6EkVqbKhXJ%252Bd8HdrGFv3gF86p3IjzK8QvYtL6JGEqVuEXITo8yidTj%252BQ%252ByOZUU7DoE37vrhNPKMCag%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A4429486

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   • Can confirm the 11-speed 105

     Can confirm the 11-speed 105 model is terrific. I got mine at £720ish when it launched in 2018, but even at the current price it’s exceptional value. It’s not a “racing” bike, but clips along at a perfectly decent rate (by my standards) even when pretty heavily loaded. 

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8. “it’s complicated” seems to

   “it’s complicated” seems to be the verdict on this. 

   But what constitutes an entry level road bike? One that won’t end up in the trash would be good start. As I look at Halfords today, their cheapest is an Apollo for £285 – it looks pretty terrible, replete with thumb / twist shifters on the bars.

   If that’s your budget, then I would suggest something like this: 

   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334981039190?hash=item4dfe6d0456:g:RswAAOSwMMNkfgr~&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwGjF62dQSF5r9jUqug%2F%2BVS4%2F%2F4P7%2Bu%2BJw9%2B5qcLBXG5YhtgbNMZo5y0C6BtPr91WthqfZi1d9Ty7PMB2YgPAOoHL00VwiosFNVo0cxbjCrNilf1NHkYGso62UHZPWqwb7R%2BVv7RQvdT5SNIvAXDkPiOyskcu7Bs%2BMflPZCEhKFKdc7uEaidA5niKKrcKjgFy8gv4xo8cv1b0nqD5m9axALjON3tOw2J9FHv22%2FzXt0CxK2q1wkWFmX6Wm1vpr%2B0jnw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6yY6Ou7Yg

   (I’d want to understand why the chrome forks – pretty sure that’s not original.)

   The cheapest Boardman, which looks reasonably decent, starts at £650 + pedals.  This is the least in my view someome starting out should spend on a new-new bike; they then need to budget for some kit, accessories. 

   https://www.halfords.com/bikes/road-bikes/boardman-slr-8.6-mens-road-bike-2021—s-m-l-xl-frames-364926.html?stockInventory=undefined

   I still sense a significant gap in the market when it comes to helping people who have decided “I want to cycle” and ask “where do I start?”

   1980s Richard’s Bicycle Book canters through the main bike models around at the time and their ascending prices, gets to something like the Raleigh Clubman and drops in “just about the quality I feel is appropriate for regular riding.”

   When I was with Halfords around that same time, £99 was the entry level price for say a Peugeot racer, a Raleigh Wisp or Medale (I had one), a little less for the Raleigh Winner.

   The other issue is how well does a bike hold its value – as an anecdote/example, someone is trying to get £160 on Ebay for “my” Raleigh Medale – a pretty decent looking bike. Someone else trying for £100 for the ubiquitous Winner – there’s quite a few on of this one at different price-points: 

   https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125982506133?hash=item1d55247c95:g:j6QAAOSwHohkkGvo&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwAR64uIFGmjh4kEhPZ4BZZl5S%2BEBCPmOaQ4YB2QPr%2BHy8xH6bcSgq988T3zXHM7%2FBjA9RNR4NvsCjlwYTmp%2BPqsbJcTVXGYywN7jQUQfIF1FSLZYsK3gx%2BUE7MNUTGy7X7XtW8m8xNrhPQFAeXQIiS0%2F5kiHSPbKxbyjnG11eZTJEc5SO7N%2BW7N1mT3Vc2Tj9yaLExhLBlw2g2feGo7fX6Vry0qALlGveB%2FT1gEWoER4cDBtF5YgoGWHa4uJA6ajfw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6yvweu7Yg

   The repair cafe sometimes ask me what price to put on donated bikes we’ve refurbed  – I have very little idea at that level. I just try to keep the spend down on needed replacement parts. 

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   • The 1979 Richard’s Bicycle

     The 1979 Richard’s Bicycle Book 

     The bicycles recommended … are grouped in arbitrary price ranges of £80-100, £100-140, and £140-200. Prices will change; the idea is more to indicate what to expect in basic, medium, and high quality grades of bicycle [respectively].

      

     Dawes Galaxy Deluxe and Claud Butler Competition are given as examples of high. 

      

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   • David9694 wrote:

     The cheapest Boardman, which looks reasonably decent, starts at £650 + pedals.  This is the least in my view someome starting out should spend on a new-new bike; they then need to budget for some kit, accessories.

     — David9694

     Not sure you have to go that high, Decathlon currently have the Triban RC 120 discounted to £399: carbon fork, disc brakes and Microshift gears which in my (limited) experience more than hold their own against the lower-end Shimano equivalents.

     https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/road-bike-triban-rc-120-disc-brake/_/R-p-308064?mc=8554265

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     • Always lots to like at

       Always lots to like at Decathlon, especially if you’re lucky enough to have one near you. I’d swerve the swaged Tourney chainset and go for the Triban RC 500 at £600. 

       Shame about all the disc brakes – I guess you can’t have everything. 

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       • David9694 wrote:

         Always lots to like at Decathlon, especially if you’re lucky enough to have one near you. I’d swerve the swaged Tourney chainset and go for the Triban RC 500 at £600. 

         Shame about all the disc brakes – I guess you can’t have everything. 

         — David9694

         They do have the women’s RC 500 in a rim brake version but oddly not a male/unisex model, and the RC 120 rim brake version is currently discounted to £350 which has got to be one of the best bargains available at the moment.

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9. There are things you can buy

   There are things you can buy that are cheap or haven’t gone up in price, at least in America.  

   But you don’t need a cycling-specific jersey with the rear pockets, I never use them anyways, so I go to Costco and buy a 4-pack of 32-degree Air mesh jersey for $20, and they’re cooler in hot weather than my expensive jerseys!  I will never go back to expensive jerseys after my experiences with the two.

   Socks are another thing you don’t need to spend a lot of money on, Champion makes a 12-pack of polyester ankle socks for $17, and they work just as good as cycling ones.

   You can’t buy cheap padded shorts, I never found a cheap pair that worked well, but some might be able to make a cheap pair work; the crazy thing is, if you practice you can get used to cycling without a padded short!  Most people who go touring do not wear padded shorts due to the bulk and weight of the shorts.  Most of my riding is now done without shorts, but it took about 6 months to get used to it on long rides.

   Even seat bags have gone up, but on Amazon, there is a bag made by BV, it’s made out of the exact same materials as a Topeak Aero Wedge expandable bag; I have both and they both have lasted more than 5 years now, but the Topeak will cost just over twice as much.  The BV largest bag is the size of the Topeak medium size.

   I also watch for close-out sales, or if possible, and depending on the item, you can find refurbished stuff.  I bought a $120 Nite Rider headlight that was refurbished for just $40 from Nite Rider not from some outside source.  The other good thing about Nite Rider headlights is that they’re one of the very few lights on the market that the internal battery can be replaced by the company, which means in the long run that light will cost less money than buying a new light every time the battery no longer takes a charge.   I find tires all the time that normally sells for around $70 for around half the cost on closeout.  Even bikes go on closeout.

   Cyclists just need to be smarter today than they use to have to be if they want to keep their expenses down.

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   • froze wrote:

     Most of my riding is now done without shorts, but it took about 6 months to get used to it on long rides.

     — froze

     One imagines it takes passers-by a fair bit of time to get used to as well…

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     • Rendel Harris wrote:

       Most of my riding is now done without shorts, but it took about 6 months to get used to it on long rides.

       — Rendel Harris

       One imagines it takes passers-by a fair bit of time to get used to as well…

       — froze

       

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     • Rendel Harris wrote:

       Most of my riding is now done without shorts, but it took about 6 months to get used to it on long rides.

       — Rendel Harris

       One imagines it takes passers-by a fair bit of time to get used to as well…

       — froze

       Be careful in case a passer-by has a stroke

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       • Chance’d be a fine thing.

         Chance’d be a fine thing.

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   • Unfortunately, the BV size M

     Unfortunately, the BV size M bag is £23 and the Topeak M (both c. 1 litre) is £19.30 on UK Amazon – but it’s the sort of off-brand stuff we should all be aware of.

     It might be worth our having a thread on the wider subject.

     Cycle magazine did a feature on cheap stuff in the spring – no super-cheap padded shorts, just DHB and Galibier to avoid mega-premium prices.  On a quick Google, there appears to be a decent example from a decent range here:

     https://www.houseoffraser.co.uk/brand/muddyfox/padded-cycling-shorts-mens-636560#colcode=63656003

     https://www.cyclinguk.org/publication/cycle-magazine-aprilmay-2023

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10. against all this, the

    against all this, the Boardman SLR 8.9 available at £1080 currently is an absolute steal. Carbon frame and shimano 105 groupset. For less than I paid for carbon and 105 in 2016

    Only downside is the FSA gossamer chainset.

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