Man maths at their finest!

[Pete102]

Back in May I bought a Specialized Rockhopper from ebay, almost identical to this:



It seemed like a good idea at the time, but on closer inspection its clear it needs the following to get it anywhere near reliable:

New bottom bracket
New V-Brakes
New Cables
New Groupset (teeth are worn)
Wheels need re-truing (if not completely shot)
New grips
Probably new forks, didn't fully assess
New pedals

As you can see thats quite a major rebuild and if I'm honest it wasn't a great buy.

I've been getting itchy feet for getting a new bike but talked myself out of it on the premise that I would rebuild the Spesh. Tonight I popped ioto my LBS (J C Cooks) with a view to getting a parts quote and a parts + Labour quote.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, to get the Spesh up to any reasonable standard (Deore) it was looking like circa £300 - £350 plus labour....can you see where I'm going here...

I was having a neb around the shop and they have the new range of 2013 Cube bikes in. It was my intention to rebuild the Spesh into a hybrid to get commuting and the odd weekend excursion...enter right the Cube Ltd CLS Pro at £529.

Heres where man maths took over and I duly placed a deposit for collection at the weekend. Oops. Must admit the wife took it surprisingly well lol. Anyway its easier to ask for forgiveness than permission

So here she is, Suntour Forks, Easton Riser / Bars, Acera Groupset, Shim Hydraulic callipers / discs front and back, Schwalbe wheels. She weighs in at 13.5kg which I realise isn't in road bike territory but it isn't shabby.

[BadgerBenji]

I just wonder when they are renaming Grimsby to CubeVille.

[slomax]

the other good one is comparing bikes to cars!

if you spend £15k on a car, and run it until its worth £6k and cover 50,000 miles over 3 years, add to that fuel @40mpg at an average of 140p per litre

Fuel= £7950
insurance at £200 per year= £600
cost of car= £9000
tax at £180 per year= £540
Service/mot/spares and repairs @ £200 per year= £600
total= £18690
this equals about 38p per mile

If you spend £25pcm on the gym then this gives you a bonus of £900 over 3 years
if you spend the same amount on a bike= 38ppm + the bonus of the negated gym membership

If you cover 1000miles a year on a bike @38ppm, over a 3 year period including the gym bonus gives you about £2040 to spend on a bike every 3 years!

With the increasing cost of fuel, this also makes the bike worth more money!

Obviously the more miles you cover, the nicer you can justify your bike. If you plan on recovering some cost by selling, even better!

Edited by slomax on Wednesday 10th October 21:38

[Pete102]

BadgerBenji said:

I just wonder when they are renaming Grimsby to CubeVille.

hah, thats a very valid point. Ive had my eye on them since 2008 but never took the plunge so to speak. If you know Grimsby I did pop into Elsfal but the shop looked bare...??

[Justayellowbadge]

If I'm honest, I'd rather have the Spesh with full Deore.

[anonymous-user]

so you had a mountain bike and bought a hybrid? the cube is a nice bike but you'll struggle to do the same trails that the rockhopper could cope with.

[IroningMan]

...so now you get to slowly acquire the bits to restore the Spesh - and the tools and skills to do so into the bargain.

'Slowly' in this context means not fast enough to be noticed.

Makes sense to me.

[Mr Will]

pablo said:

so you had a mountain bike and bought a hybrid? the cube is a nice bike but you'll struggle to do the same trails that the rockhopper could cope with.

He wanted a hybrid, and was planning to turn the rockhopper in to one.

[BadgerBenji]

Pete102 said:

BadgerBenji said:

I just wonder when they are renaming Grimsby to CubeVille.

hah, thats a very valid point. Ive had my eye on them since 2008 but never took the plunge so to speak. If you know Grimsby I did pop into Elsfal but the shop looked bare...??

Been very pleased with the new one that opened on Louth Road, Cycle Mode, Cannondale, Ghost, Felt and Fondriest. Elsfal has been looking empty for a while.

[carter711]

There are few better feelings than buying a brand new bike! Nice bike make, I think you'll enjoy it.

[aka_kerrly]

Man maths fail.

You spent £525 on Cube... which can be bought for £399

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a55033/ltd-cls-pr...

For £300 you can buy a complete Deore groupset
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/tr...

and had change for a new set of Rockshox Recons £124
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/frame-forks/...

And straightening wheels can be done by you with a £3.99 spoke key.

[LighthouseTrait]

aka_kerrly said:

Man maths fail.

You spent £525 on Cube... which can be bought for £399

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a55033/ltd-cls-pr...

For £300 you can buy a complete Deore groupset
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/tr...

and had change for a new set of Rockshox Recons £124
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/frame-forks/...

And straightening wheels can be done by you with a £3.99 spoke key.

...plus VAT on the first one.. Some people prefer being able to deal with someone in person instead of the end of an email..

Could be a good reason to buy locally?

[HurryUpAndWait]

LighthouseTrait said:

aka_kerrly said:

Man maths fail.

You spent £525 on Cube... which can be bought for £399

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a55033/ltd-cls-pr...

For £300 you can buy a complete Deore groupset
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/tr...

and had change for a new set of Rockshox Recons £124
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/frame-forks/...

And straightening wheels can be done by you with a £3.99 spoke key.

...plus VAT on the first one..

Pretty sure that price include VAT, non?

[BadgerBenji]

LighthouseTrait said:

Some people prefer being able to deal with someone in person instead of the end of an email..

Could be a good reason to buy locally?

Always a good reason to use your local bike shop, it's built, no doubt includes a first free service, and usually they look after you on accessories as well. It's not easy trying a bike for size on the net.

[anonymous-user]

BadgerBenji said:

LighthouseTrait said:

Some people prefer being able to deal with someone in person instead of the end of an email..

Could be a good reason to buy locally?

Always a good reason to use your local bike shop, it's built, no doubt includes a first free service, and usually they look after you on accessories as well. It's not easy trying a bike for size on the net.

meh, thousands of people seem to manage it ok though. i know its nice to sit on bikes before you buy them but there are loads of bikes you cant buy in shops as people want to build it to their own spec from the frame up. i cant imagine ever buying an off the peg bike again. you can get enough geo data from the web to make a considered purchase, then mess about with stem length, bar height and seat position to get comfy.

bikes come pretty much built direct from the factory, all the cables and components are bolted on bar the stem and the handlebars, even the shifters are set up and indexed at the factory, they just take the bars and pedals off for shipping. the bike shop take it out of the box and fit the bars and stem, pop the wheels on and put it on display.

personally, i'd happily forgo a first free service and some accessories i dont need to save £150...

[BadgerBenji]

pablo said:

bikes come pretty much built direct from the factory, all the cables and components are bolted on bar the stem and the handlebars, even the shifters are set up and indexed at the factory, they just take the bars and pedals off for shipping. the bike shop take it out of the box and fit the bars and stem, pop the wheels on and put it on display.

If only this was true, sadly it's not, depends on the bike shop.