What is entry-level?

This from InterbikeTimes.com, the official blog of the Interbike Bicycle Expo:

Many bike shops have been profiting from $8,000 custom road bike sales over the last 10 years or so and can’t serve the needs of the neo-biker. I can remember my dad balking at paying the $800 for a mountain bike that the shop salesperson proposed years ago when I convinced him to try cycling. He told me that $300 was about what he wanted to pay for a bike to ride around town. We enthusiasts and industry members would consider $800 about right for an entry-level bike.

Wait! My head is still spinning from all the zeros.

Seven Cycles, seven thousand.

I am unfamiliar with any shops here in Chicago, who regularly profit from $8,000 single sales. We at Rapid Transit have had to wait about 14 years before we scored a single sale of that magnitude. However, one such sale is equal to one Saturday's worth of entry-level bikes. And, by the way, I do not consider $800 to be entry-level.

Electra Townie, about one-tenth of the above.

So what is entry-level?

It depends on who you ask. There are those  to whom even the $300 benchmark set by the writer's dad is high. Are those folks forever doomed from commuting by bike? It seems somewhat pointless to focus on terms like "entry-level" or "high-end" because those qualities lie in the eye of the beholder. So, instead, let's look what, at a minimum, must a bike have to be commute-worthy:

• Tires that hold air
• Brakes capable of stopping the bike
• Rolling in a straight line
• All parts securely attached
• A flexible, well-oiled chain
• Bearings that turn freely (in the hubs, the crank and the handlebars)
• Pedals that provide solid footing
• Front and rear reflectors (required in Chicago)
• A saddle that can be adjusted to the rider's height

Everything else is icing.

Any cruiser can do this.

Comments

[Cortney]

I got my bike at Working Bikes Co-op for $40. It is an old cruiser with coaster brakes. I spent more on the u-lock and lights than on the bike. I ride it everywhere, many miles every day with no trouble. I cannot imagine spending so lavishly on a bike!

[Justyna]

There are times when a $400, or even an $800 bike are appropriate, and, as a retailer, we certainly depend on their sales. However, we would never discourage anyone from biking just because they can't justify what some arbitrary authority considers a "good bike". I also don't really understand the term "neo-biker". You ride a bike, you are a cyclist. We have sent many people to Working Bikes, and we think they are a great resource. Long live your cruiser!

[Cortney]

Actually, while I do love my cruiser, it is really heavy and slow. I am looking into a new single speed/fixed gear for which I'll probably be willing to pay more. : D

[thePig]

Great post!
The idea of 'entry level' pricing seems a bit like cycling snobbery. I think the minimum list you have is perfect for what the majority of new cyclists need.

However, when it comes to the 'icing' I think there are two types:
1. Functional icing that will enhance the cycling experience and/or performance
2. Marketing Icing purely intended to sell more bikes (such as front forks that act as heavy springs on low priced mountain bikes).

It is the 2nd type that are of some concern and that new cyclists should be aware of when buying their entry level bike.

[hop]

I recently bought a Giant Boulder SE on sale for $279.00. If this bike is entry level then entry level is just fine. In my opinion a $300.00 these days is equal to a $600.00 bike ten years ago. In other words why by a $200.000 Ferrari when a $60.000 Corvette does the same thing job.

Hop

[Justyna]

I absolutely agree with the distinction about two different types of "icing". Some of what you get when you spend $500 vs. $279 is a lighter weight frame, considerably stronger wheels, and higher quality bearings, to name a few.
However, these things are not strictly necessary for those who simply wish to start riding. Just grab any SAFE bike you have, and ride!
In our retail experience, we find that when people get into daily urban biking, there comes a time when they want to upgrade their equipment. But I believe each person has to come to that point on their own, and retailers can do a huge disservice, and scare people away from starting to cycle, by pushing them into equipment that's too pricey.

[Rich Kelly]

Justyna-
Thanks for the thoughtful comments to my post on the BRAIN article last week. I hope I didn't come across as a snob - the neo-biker term was just me trying coin a term for the new cyclists that are coming to cycling recently due to gas prices and recent trends like fixies.
I think what I meant by what the industry considers 'entry-level' again goes to our enthusiast's point of view. For an industry member or bike shop employee who is accustomed to riding a bike from the high-end pages of the catalog (the Seven), $800 for a bike(the Electra) is in the relative range of entry-level. But, like you said, even $300 is above what many non-enthusiasts would be willing to pay. Regardless of how many zeros I may have used in my post, my point is that we need to be aware of how these, um, neo-bikers see the experience of buying a bike and what they believe their needs are. As you also mentioned, they may upgrade later once they know what it is they really need from actual experience. (As long as they didn't buy a totally inappropriate bike from a mass merchant and get turned off to cycling, right?)

[Justyna]

I understand your point of view, Rich. It's the industry that frustrates me, as well as the attitude of many bike shops. We sit around strategizing about how to turn more people into cyclists, but when they walk in the door, we practically turn them away!
The storm that you mentioned in your post is blowing new customers into bike shops who are willing to treat them like cyclists.

[Jennifer]

"2. Marketing Icing purely intended to sell more bikes (such as front forks that act as heavy springs on low priced mountain bikes)."

And some hybrids! And people wonder why I whine about my fork.

Then again, I was much happier with the maroon bike than I would have been with the navy blue bike, so maybe there was some shred of worth to it after all.