I’ve been bike shopping lately. The truth is, those of us who love bikes are ALWAYS bike shopping. We may have the bike of our dreams sitting in our garage, but that doesn’t mean we’re not looking. In terms of bike fidelity, we’re about as faithful as a wandering dog. So yes, I’ve been bike shopping.
I have a fascination with “budget bikes.” Now the term “budget bike” continues to change throughout the years. What is a budget bike? Some articles claimed that $5,000 was the cutoff mark and any bike under that was a budget bike. Others have the number at $3,000 and so on. Truth be told, the bike I currently own is now a budget bike. I think it was $4,500 when it first came out, but I picked it up for $1,800 after it was a demo bike.
A couple of years ago, when I was ramping up to start a mountain bike club/team at the university I teach at, I was feverishly trying to buy a fleet of bikes to have on hand. With little to no budget, that meant shopping for budget bikes on my own dime. I started collecting a hodgepodge of random bikes. Interestingly, I picked up a Diamondback Sync’r. It was $1,500 brand new, and I snagged it for $750 from a friend. The only upgrade I did was throw on a PNW Components dropper seatpost.
Most of the time, the bike has lived in my office at the university, but since it’s summer, I decided to bring it home. I started taking it over to the Gateway Green bikepark over lunch breaks since it’s a 20-minute pedal from home. I have a “routine” that I do whenever I go. I hit the gravity line a number of times, loop through the woods, and then do laps at the recently reopened skills area. I’m normally there on my Banshee Spitfire, but since bringing the Sync’r home, I’ve been riding it instead.
First of all, I forgot how much I actually enjoy riding a hardtail. Sure, the componentry package isn’t top-of-the-line. However, once I start down the trail, I stop thinking about it. I find that I have the same amount of fun and enjoyment on the Sync’r as I do with my Spitfire. Just yesterday, I was thinking about this and all of the bikes I’ve owned over the years.
I bought my first “real” mountain bike in 1994. I blew out my ACL in college, and post-surgery, the doctor recommended I find a new sport that wouldn’t repeat pounding on my knee. That is my mountain biking origin story. Sure, I grew up riding and jumping janky bikes like another other kid. But this was my first mountain bike. Mind you; it was a fully rigid Diamondback OutLook. That’s why I still have a soft spot in my heart for Diamondback Bikes today.
I rode all over on that OutLook. I’m not sure we even had any designated mountain bike trails back then in Omaha, Nebraska. We rode any singletrack (hiking trails) we could find along with gravel roads. I had an absolute blast on the bike. From there and over the years, I had a revolving door of other bikes in my quiver.
Interestingly, not one bike brought me any more or even less joy while riding. I’ve had as much fun on a $400 bike as a $4,500 one. There was zero difference in the happiness it brought me. That brings me back to the topic of budget bikes.
Riding the Sync’r the past couple of weeks reminded me that bikes don’t make me happy, but getting out and riding does. Sure, I know there’s a difference between a $750 bike and a $9,000. But since I’m not clearing 30-foot gaps or racing on the EWS circuit, why do I think I need some hot commodity of a high-end bike? It certainly won’t make me happier, nor mean I enjoy riding more.
No, this is not some anti-consumerism rant. Instead, it’s a reminder of the fun we can have out on the trail regardless of what kind of bike we have … even if it’s a budget bike.
