Just 5k? Where? That's a screaming deal.

I'm not competing in the Olympics. I'm putting in 30-40 miles of commuting/errands most days tho. 3k was worth it for all the parts and shit to make it safe and fun to ride.

Ehh, I do agree $5K is a lot, but it also comes down to using biking as transportation or exercise.

If transportation, then yeah get something cheap.

If it’s for exercise, imo it’s like building a computer, spending a grand or two can be worth it if you have the money. It would come from the “hobby budget”

the people buying 5K bikes have a lot of money. to them 5,000 is like $5 bucks to you.

among serious cyclists, they are buying bikes in the 8-10K range every other year or more. because the income of a cyclists is very high.