How BUDGET is TOO BUDGET for a Bike?

Through axles, hydraulic disc brakes = “upgrades” until something goes wrong with your break line or someone steals your rear wheel and you can’t get another axle for 6 months.

@PathLessPedaledTV Now that you're in Europe, maybe you can more easily review German brands like Bombtrack, 8bar, and Standert Bicycles? I liked your review of the Bombtrack Hook ADV from a few years ago. I'm not sure how Brexit might effect getting bikes for review in Spain, but British brands like Pipedream, Cotic, Fairlight, and Mason Cycles might be of interest to your audience.

I have three bikes all within the 2k – 4k range (carbon road, steel road, and steel mtb). Back in May, I bought a base model Marin DSX to use back east when visiting my parents rather than traveling with one of my bikes. Gotta say that I found hella lotta bang for the budget buck with the DSX. Most noticeably, Marin saved on the cost with the drivetrain–going with microshift. But tbh, I've become something of a fan of microshift so to me, the DSX feels like it should be worth more than the 1k that I spent.

Pretty long intro 😅 (podcast on budget bikes starts at 24:50)

1) Pros on a roll, 2) I think you are good at the video essays. Also, remember you are close to France.

The world has lived pretty well for 50 years with quick releases, thru axles are not a must. LeMond and Indurain etal didn't rip their wheels out of their frames riding QR's, so we're not likely to… and there's no weight penalty… no issue vis a vis bearings…

Poseidon ambition X6 $650 cyber Monday sale. I don’t know what sizes are available. At $1200 you can get into a “upgraded”Cannondale Topstone.

I gotta come back to this, gentlemen, I tuned in for budget v. too budget and all this camera talk is a snooze. But no worries.

Coming from 2k mtbs. I bought a Sp Sirrus X on sale new. Threw a Surly corner bar and sram cranks. Man i love this thing. Less than a grand and have a nice street gravel bike for those away from trails

I support the pro cyclist content! More of them might be gravel curious post roadies than we think!

Yokozuna's Ultimos are four piston and kinda pricey. The Motoko is the two piston that's reasonable for a budget bike.

What sort of philosophy are you digging into?

The titular subject is always a fun one to get into. Recently, I was riding my first century on a $15 yard sale touring bike. At a small town along the way, I stopped for a sandwich and a kindly old man pulled up on a lime green Surly LHT. We started chatting, and eventually got to comparing our bikes which were very similar. Triple chainring with granny gear, cantilever brakes, etc. basically identical. I told him, yeah I picked this one up nice and cheap, didn't specify the $15 number. Then the guy says "yeah me too, it was on sale for $850!" It honestly gave me the weirdest feeling and I didn't mention anything after that. I've always been one to go for barely ridden vintage bikes but I recognize that I wouldn't be able to get one for 15 bucks if people like the old man didn't buy them new.

I would say definitively that "Too budget" is when the bike or rider gets wrecked by regular use. I bought an ebike last year that didn't hold up to my heavy winter use at all. Welds rusted out, chain frozen, freewheel stuck, all bolts rusted up after just a few rides, electronics not interchangeable with standard parts. Might've been fine for someone's elderly mom who only takes it out once in a blue moon in dry weather, but I need to ride through the salty slush then leave it chained to the dumpster all day. Forgoing fenders for monetary reasons would also be "too budget" for me, or being too cheap to replace a saddle that causes a rash.

24:42 for Title topic

Gotta say I disagree on thebikesauce's take on the importance of through axles and hydraulic disk brakes.

Nice to have? Sure. Necessary? No. Not at all. Not even close.

I don't get the blame on the bike with the bad mechanical disc brakes. Sounds like a problem with those components or the setup, not mechanical disc brakes as a category.

I think the problem with inexpensive mechanical disk brakes is one of perception, not reality. Peoples' first experience with mechanical disc brakes may be with an old hand me down bike that was in need of some servicing (worn out cable housing, pads, rotors, or worse), or a cheap department store bike with a super inexpensive front disc brake and stamped steel V-brake in the rear. And their first experience with a quality bike shop bike today is very likely to be with hydraulic disc brakes. So of course they'll think, "Oh, this is great, hydraulic disc brakes are so much better, I'm never going back to mechanical!" But the problem was bad brakes in the first place, regardless of the type.

As you note, budget solutions are easier with flat bars. Avid FR-5 levers are great and cost just $20! For drop bars, you've got the Tektro RL530 at about $40, so it's not that much more. But if you want brifters, that's going to cost more. Either way, Avid BB-5 and BB-7 brakes work great and aren't very expensive. But I think by the time you add BB-7s, FR-5 levers, and cable and housing, you're about at the point that you can get a set of entry level Deore hydraulic brakes, which are probably more than enough for everyone except gravity riders and tandems in the mountains.

I like the ease of serviceability of mechanical disk brakes – but the reduction in maintenance with hydraulic disc brakes is certainly appealing, especially to those who don't do their own mechanic work. I don't think there's a compelling argument for most (non-gravity) riders for superiority of performance of hydraulic disc brakes over properly set up mechanical disc brakes – and I think humans are quite adaptable to the differences in modulation amongst difference brakes.

And similar for through axles. I think through axles are one of those improvements in bicycle componentry like 2 piece cranks versus square taper – they're better in most respects technically, but the old way actually worked fine for the vast majority of riders and riding conditions, and they don't have any real impact on actual operation of the bicycle.

Anyway, I think the biggest thing I would avoid compromising on with a rigid bike build is gearing. Having appropriate gearing will make or break a bike as much as frame geometry and body position. Areas to cut on would mostly be the items I've mentioned already. I'll take square taper over ISIS/Octalink/Powerspline any day, and if 2 piece Hollowtech II type cranks are not in the budget, square taper is great. There's lots of affordable crank options in square taper too, even in leg length appropriate short cranks. They're usually lightweight and have standard chainring BCDs. Brakes – BB-5s, Deore hydraulic, whatever. Doesn't have to be fancy. Wheels – wheelsets with Shimano M525 and M756 hubs are the gold standard for inexpensive and bulletproof hubs.