Presenter: Expensive fancy carbon fiber mountain bikes are great. There's a lot to be said about
cheap bikes and this is why they're so good. [music]
First of all, I'll admit this isn't the cheapest bike out there. This is the Canyon Stoic
4. This comes in about 1,700 pounds but it's much cheaper than most of my bikes. It's great.
I love it. You can get this version in much more budget specs. It costs about 850 pounds, I think.
Also, look at that video I did last year with that Voodoo bike that I found for just over 300 pounds,
secondhand. You can get some great, really cheap bikes. The best thing so far about them
is they're really cheap to maintain as well. When you look at expensive bikes, you find some
components like those fancy sets, cost just as much as that bike I bought for 300 something
pounds. They're just much cheaper to maintain than fancy premium bikes. If you do ever ride
off a rear mech, your drivetrain eventually wears out, then it's not going to destroy your wallet
to replace those things. Whereas if you've got a high-end bike and you do that, then you're not
going to want to downgrade, it's just going to cost you big money. With a cheaper bike,
it might be time to start upgrading a little bit. [music]
Maybe you can afford to be a little bit less precious about it as well. Now don't get me
wrong. Most people's bikes are their pride and joy, no matter how much it costs them
but if you spend thousands of pounds just on a frame and someone throws in the back of their
van and it scratches it, then you'll probably be pretty gutted. Also, if you're going down
the cheaper and you're probably going to have an aluminum or steel frame, they just are a bit more
hard around. You can throw around a bit and you're not looking at depreciation for every little
scratch you get on that bike. [music]
Another good thing is you might be more likely to be able to lend this bike to friends. I should
say, more willing to lend it to friends because it's not worth thousands and thousands of pounds.
It's also a great excuse to give it to one of your mates who's never tried out mountain biking.
They can take it away for a spin, fall in love with it and there's less risk of them
breaking it and it costs hundreds of pounds to fix. Get someone else hooked on mountain biking
and less stress for you at the same time. Isn't that a pretty
good reason? [music]
Upgrades to a cheap bike are going to make more difference if you do it on an expensive
premium bike in the first place. Although having said that, in the last few years,
components like Shimano drivetrains and SRAM have got so much better than even the
lower end components are pretty good nowadays. Things like dropper posts, adding bigger brakes,
change things are going to make a massive difference how that bike feels. You wouldn't
get that same effect with an expensive bike. The latest and greatest suspension dampers can
only make so much difference. Those fancy colored suspension legs, stanchions and the rear shocks.
All very nice but they don't make a huge amount of difference. Something that can make a big one is
going from the cheapest basic tires, some proper good tires. Spending money on rubber can really
transform the way your bike rides. [music]
I think if you've got a more budget bike, I actually think that you
appreciate it more. Now I think back quite nostalgically to
my younger years of just having a secondhand cheap bike and I knew every inch of it. I mean, yes,
I drove over the other bikes in the videos and the magazines but I love the one I had. I really made
the most of it. When it came time to actually save up the money for a newer, more expensive bike,
I really appreciated that newer bike but there's something to be said about keeping your cheap bike
and just loving what you've got. [music]
One final thing, I think cheap bikes, especially hardtails, are a great winter
bike. Somewhere like the UK where you slay your bike through mud or winter, it can wear things
out. It actually makes a lot of sense to have a cheaper bike just to ride in the worst conditions.
Let me know your favorite things about the cheaper bikes out there.
Don't shoot me because isn't the cheapest bike out there. It's got a few upgrades as well
but it's definitely a lot more pocket-friendly than some of my bikes and I absolutely love it.
Give us thumbs up if you love your cheap bike. [00:05:04] [END OF AUDIO]