24
With so many good answers I hesitate to say anything.
But, in an effort to add something useful to the conversation...
The Value Curve
Part of the reason it's hard to understand the difference between more and less expensive bikes is that you do get what you pay for, but cost increases faster than value.
What is Value?
For the purposes of this answer I'm ...
20
Simply put, what you get by paying more is better features (more gear ratios, hydraulic brakes, better suspension), less weight, and better durability and reliability.
It's pretty obvious that stronger and lighter materials cost more. Better suspension and gear trains require more sophisticated designs with more components with lower tolerances, which cost ...
18
Let's compare the specific bikes you linked: the XC 100 to the 560. The language used on the product page is quite different, because they're targeting a different audience, but we need to scroll down to see the concrete differences:
The more expensive XC 100 is roughly one kilogramme lighter. That's a bit less than a 10% weight saving, but other things ...
9
A tubeles plug will not hold in a bicycles inner tube.
A tubeless plug is a short string of butyl rubber. About 1 cm in length and 2 mm wide. To fix a punctured tubeless tyre it is pushed with an awl into the hole. Together with sealant in the tyre it is good to seal cuts of up to 5 mm.
The inner tube's walls are too thin and too stretchy to seal it that ...
8
The difference is the same as with any other consumer good like a knife, a blue jeans or a TV set:
When it is new it usually looks and feels good.
Expensive ones still feel good next year.
Even the cheapest TV will still show you all programs in color, even the cheapest jeans will cover your behind, and even the cheapest knife will cut your bread. But will ...
6
The brake cable housing is a slip fit into the brake lever barrel adjuster and cable guide bosses at various places on the frame (for the rear brake) or fork (for the front brake).
The housing is prevented from coming out of any of the mounting points by the cable having not enough slack for the housing to slide along it enough to pop out.
General process ...
6
There are several different sizes of chain based on the number of sprockets used in the rear cluster (e.g. 8-speed, 11-speed). These are 3/32" nominal width. Single sprockets for these chains are available, but can be hard to find and/or expensive. In your application you may be able to get away with a slight mismatch, i.e. using a wider chain than your ...
6
All of these are very good answers to your exact question. But lets not forget the reason you are buying a new bike. Your old one got stolen. A cheap and an expensive bike can both be just as easily stolen. As OP pays more for a new bike, the risk of having the bike stolen goes up. While it is very important to make the considerations you are for a ...
5
There are many things that cause the price to increase and give the rider a better experience.
Frame - more expensive frames will generally be lighter, transfer power better, and provide some small bump compliance to smooth the ride.
Suspension - The suspension components will be more sophisticated with more options to tune for the rider. This can range ...
5
Possibly yes it could be the bottom bracket making periodic noises.
Can also be pedals, chain sticky links, bent chainring, damaged teeth on chainring, alignment of front mech. Crack in frame, damaged seat, damaged seatpost clamp, or damaged saddle rails clamp.
One elimination technique is to figure out if the noise is timed with crank rotations, or with ...
4
A bike's crank has roughly twice the radius as the chainring. All bike chains are designed to handle a 100kg rider standing on the forward pedal. That puts a force of roughly 2kN on the chain. (This is a low boundary estimate, I think I remember reading something about 8kN breaking force on a chain once. Chains are one of the few parts of a bike that are ...
4
Presumably this is the stand you have: https://www.cube.eu/en/equipment/components/kickstands/product/cube-kickstand-cubestand-cmpt-black/
You need to determine what part of the kickstand is loose and moving when you go over bumps. You can inspect the stand, but also try dropping the bike onto it's tires from 6"/10cm off the ground. That's enough to reveal ...
3
The key measurement you need is the axle to crown length required. It's the distance from the center of the axle to the bottom of the frame head tube. The axle to crown length takes into account both wheel diameter and suspension compression distance.
Axle to crown length is easy enough to measure with a fork installed in the frame.
Don't forget to also ...
3
Given the limited info in your question, this answer has great limitations as well.
Preload adjustment is simply a mechanism that adjusts pressure on the spring coils. Increasing preload puts pressure on the spring, slightly reduces the distance between the coils, and results in a firmer/stiffer suspension. The spring, under increased tension, requires more ...
3
I-Spec-II is just some marketing hyperbole for shaping the brake levers and shifters so they fit together nicely. It does not mean you have to have matching brake and shift levers.
You probably should be able to combine M8000 levers with older XT shifters, unless the XT shifters have a shape that does not work with the levers. Comparing pictures of the ...
2
I wanted to add another point of view - your personal enjoyment / usage of the bike.
As I was in the same predicament a few years ago, I decided to get something that is cheaper but I can improve over time if needed. In the lower/mid-end bikes, there will always be compromises - you might get great breaks but a terrible fork and etc. so it's important to ...
2
The rational answer to your question is quite straightforward: check the average price of each component and this price is roughly proportional to manufacturing cost. You will have then four broad categories:
Cheap components are heavy, but nowadays they will do the job, although they may need maintenance often, and maintenance may not be straightforward ...
2
Nothing is suitable for your requirements as-stated.
30-40 pounds is 15-20 kilograms. That's like carrying two or three complete bicycles on your handlebars. The weight will decrease the quality of your steering and will pre-load the suspension at all times.
That much added weight will increase inertia, make the bars slow to turn, and once turning will ...
2
Lockout
Looking up the HL CH-389 fork shows that it can have a lockout lever, which will stop the fork being able to compress if it is on. I can't see a lockout lever in the specs or pictures of the Haro Flightline One but I may not be looking at your exact version/year.
So my first step would be to check on top of the other fork leg to see if you have a ...
1
I have no direct experience. However, I am going to guess no. Here's my rationale.
Tubeless plugs are basically coated ropes threaded onto a needle. You push the needle into the hole, then withdraw it. The tubeless plug sticks into the hole in the tire. I'd expect the sealant to be necessary to fill the gaps around the plug.
If you have a tubed setup, you ...
1
On these types of forks, the dial part will stop turning at the extreme ends (full + or full -) of the preload range. What happens is that there is an inner, 2-3 inch, threaded plastic cylinder that moves up or down on the matching threads of the outter cylinder. The top of this outter cylinder is the splined aspect of the top cap. The top of the inner ...
1
I had ,every now and then, the same creaking noise "from BB", then I happened to notice that my front wheels' spokes are loose. I tightened them all by half a turn and the creaking noise seams to have stopped. Check your spokes!
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