"How much did your bike cost?"

[maillotpois]

Has anyone who was clearly not a cyclist ever asked you that? How did you respond?

I ask because now I've been asked twice. The first time was maybe 5 years ago when I was on the tandem with my daughter. We'd ridden to the Golden Gate Bridge to watch the Blue Angels. A guy who was clearly not a cyclist asked me the question and I answered him honestly. We'd just gotten the tandem and I was painfully aware of what it cost. DH later chided me for telling him, saying people who didn't ride or weren't aware of the cost of bike stuff would think that was over the top.

This weekend a nice guy came up to me at the market where I was resupplying for my century ride. He said: "So how much did your bike cost?" Me: "Oh I don't know, it's old." Him: "What, like $600?" Me: "Maybe. I don't know. It's old."

I later thought that I could have said it was a gift (true), so therefore I didn't really have any idea how much it cost (not true).

How would you respond - or how have you responded - to such a question?

[salsabike]

I tell the truth, then give the person an idea of the full range of bike prices.

People have such different feelings about talking about cost. Some people feel strongly that it's all private. At least at the bike level, I personally don't care and have no problem telling people what my bike cost, just as I've never minded telling people my housing costs. I know others feel very differently.

[Pax]

I usually give either the MSRP or a range "quality road bikes can range from $400 to more than you paid for your car...this is a quality road bike".

[kelownagirl]

Has anyone who was clearly not a cyclist ever asked you that? How did you respond?

I ask because now I've been asked twice. The first time was maybe 5 years ago when I was on the tandem with my daughter. We'd ridden to the Golden Gate Bridge to watch the Blue Angels. A guy who was clearly not a cyclist asked me the question and I answered him honestly. We'd just gotten the tandem and I was painfully aware of what it cost. DH later chided me for telling him, saying people who didn't ride or weren't aware of the cost of bike stuff would think that was over the top.

This weekend a nice guy came up to me at the market where I was resupplying for my century ride. He said: "So how much did your bike cost?" Me: "Oh I don't know, it's old." Him: "What, like $600?" Me: "Maybe. I don't know. It's old."

I later thought that I could have said it was a gift (true), so therefore I didn't really have any idea how much it cost (not true).

How would you respond - or how have you responded - to such a question?

It depends on the person. If they have a nice bike, it doesn't bother me to tell them how much. If they're not a cyclist, they always gasp so sometimes I just say 'lots" and my health and fitness is worth it. Also, when someone implies that I spend too much on cycling, I ask them how much their TV cost. Most of them have those $3000-5000 big screen things. Mine is less than $400.

$3500 on a bike or $3500 on a TV. I mean really, there's no comparison.

[limewave]

It depends on who's asking.

I know people can scoff at how much is spent on a bike. If I get into a conversation with someone, I say that, in our family, we think it's important to invest in our health and our relationships. Cycling keeps us healthy and happy--it's an investment. We'd rather spend our money on bikes than on cable tv or a wii

Usually I can redirect the conversation by asking if they are interested in getting into cycling. And then I give generalizations about the price range on different bikes.

[limewave]

Most of them have those $3000-5000 big screen things. Mine is less than $400.

$3500 on a bike or $3500 on a TV. I mean really, there's no comparison.

$5,000 on a TV I can't even imagine. There's a small house I drive by everyday on my way home. I can always see what their watching because the TV is, literally, the entire size of one of the wall. It takes up the entire room. They have one couch squeezed in there with it. My eyes hurt just thinking about it.

Anyways, I could buy a couple of nice bikes for that much. Or one really nice bike for DH. If only I'd win the lottery . . .

[smilingcat]

I give them a price range from few hundred dollars to the top of the line race bike price. Reference top end bike would be Colnago equipped with Campy record. Today it would be few hundred dollars to about $8,000.

And if they are rude enough to ask how much for mine, I would tell them that they are being rude. People who are this nosey tend to get upset. But really, they are the ones who are being rude.

If on the other hand if they inquire more about why such a big difference in the price, I will stop, talk, and explain.

I do like the comparison to those awful big screen TV's costing $3-5,000.

smilingcat

[rij73]

Good thread! When I got my first bike last year (a hybrid) and told my mom that it was an inexpensive bike at $400 she almost had a heart attack! So, over the course of a couple of months I told her a lot of what I was learning about bikes and cycling. That way, a few months later when my husband and I invested in road bikes to the tune of $3700 and $1700, she wasn't toooooo shocked.

So far, only my family and cyclists have asked what my bike cost. In both cases I don't mind telling them. My family thinks I'm nuts (not just because of biking), but they can't deny that DH and I way healthier and happier than any of them. Oh, AND we have a $2000 TV which we love watching after a good bike ride.

OTOH, our car is worth about $1000 (and gets 40MPG highway), we live in a small apartment, and don't have any other extravagances (no nice furniture or kitchen stuff, etc.) It's all about priorities. Our first priority is health, our second is our movie and sports watching on tv. Other people are into having a nice car, furniture, art, big houses, whatever... Sometimes I explain it like that to my family and they seem to get it a little bit. They still think I'm nuts, though.

[maillotpois]

I like the TV comparison - good idea.

Today it would be few hundred dollars to about $8,000.

Actually, while shopping online for a bike for my sis, we found the Ferrari Pinarello - $17,000. Act now, these things are going to fly off the shelves!!

[uforgot]

I usually reply "enough" because isn't it incredibly rude to ask how much something costs? I was raised that you NEVER ask that.

Was is Dear Abby who said..."I'll forgive you for asking if you forgive me for not answering."

End of lecture.

[Grog]

I think next time someone asks me I'll say: "Well, I don't have one, but I have heard that big-screen TVs go for about the same price as my bike."

[farrellcollie]

I almost had a heart attack the first time I went bike shopping for a road bike when I saw the prices. I usually tell people about what my bike cost if they seem genuinely interested and I give them a range of what bikes can cost. I don't remember the exact price of my bike.

[KatyLady]

DH and I often think back and laugh about a time just over two years ago when we were in a LBS buying a couple of Trek 7300 hybrids. Being new to biking we thought we were splurging by buying such nice bikes. As we were making our purchase there was a lady in the shop spending around $1200 for a road bike. We were amazed that a lady who otherwise appeared to be sane would be spending so much money for a bicycle.

Wow!!! Have our standards ever changed since that day. Within three months we were riding new aluminum road bikes, which have since been replaced with custom steel (mine) and custom ti (his) road bikes with high end components. And the family grew again last week when we added a couple of touring bikes. (And I will admit to being intrigued by tandems.)

If anyone suggests we spend a lot on bicycling I quickly point out that I live a simple life style and probably spend no more on bicycles than most people do on green fees, wine, ball games, or whatever makes them happy. What I also think (but don't say out loud) is that "I'm 54 years old, I can afford a nice bike, so what difference does it make how much it cost."

[Beane]

my response would be, "why do you want to know?"

if they want to know because they like it (or just are interested) and want to buy one (whatever it is, bike or otherwise) fine, we can discuss the item and its merits, cost, etc. i would expect this would normally be a bike person and they would have some idea of bike prices. if they just want to talk about money and how much i do or don't have, well, that's not really something i'm comfortable discussing with strangers. you can usually tell when people are asking for this reason, but asking their motivation never hurts.

lately there has been so much bike theft that if a total stranger asked me that i would wonder if they were trying to case out whether they should steal my bike!

[spokewench]

I'll usually give them a range for different types of bikes and if they are really interested then, I will tell them what I paid for mine

I get a laugh right now - cause I have a scooter (chinese, used, 50cc) with a motor and everything that I paid $500 for and this is just a drop in the bucket when I compare it to the non-motorized road bikes/mountain bikes/ and even cross bike sitting in my garage!

spoke