Mountain bikes have been growing in wheel size — for example, 29-inch wheels came into broad use very quickly — and in cost. It is increasingly common to see $2000-plus price tag on a large portion of most manufacturers’ portfolio. The reality is that in most cases the price tag has very little to do with your enjoyment on the trail. The $1200 bike at full retail is probably the top of the sub-prosumer bikes. You can get the “last year” bike model for that price as the top of the line pro-summer bikes are about $1700 and often discounted to $1200 during a model year change.
At the same time, those pro-summer bikes will provide you with a lot of useful exercise, keep you in good form and all this for about $4-$6 per ride if you use the bike each weekend throughout the year. So not a bad return on your investment…
I will elaborate on this tomorrow…after my Labor Day ride…