When I first started cycling, I had commitment issues, meaning I didn’t know exactly what I wanted, so I scoured the internet for cheap road bikes and made my purchase.  It was fire-engine red with 14 speeds, though it didn’t always shift into all of them. At the time, I thought I’d found a great deal and I went cheap to ensure I wouldn’t regret the purchase.

But that was a huge mistake.

First-off, the bike was difficult to put together. The shifting was always wonky and a couple of times I was left nearly stranded on the side of the road. It was a monstrosity and because of its excess weight, I always felt slow and out of shape. I had it for about a year before I finally stopped riding it because of frequent knee pain, something I later found out was due to the fact that the bike didn’t fit me well.

With that bike, I quickly discovered that with cycling, you get out what you put in. You can either have a junker car that’s unreliable, but saves you some cash or you can spend a little more for something that’s safe and a blast to drive. Cycling is no different.

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