MY PARTNER has just spent in excess of a thousand pounds building up his new Audax bike.

He brought a lovely frame from Dawes, Reynolds 631 steel tubing and carbon fibre forks. He added a Shimano 105 group set and many other pricey components.

Admittedly, he built his own wheels, saving himself a little, although the exercise wasn’t to save money it was to get a very personal custom-built bike.

Some people would think spending that amount on a bike would be complete madness, while some would say he didn’t spend enough. But in all honesty you get what you pay for.

So when confronted with people wanting to spend a mere £100 on a bike, that is what I say to them. But really I had to do some research to justify my claim.

With my imaginary £100 in pocket, I hit the imaginary major retailers in search of my imaginary cheap bike.

First things first: if a retailer is offering you a brand new shiny steed for this amount, more than 17 per cent of your purchase cost has nothing to do with its manufacture or sale – it is value added tax, and goes straight to the tax man.

The shopkeeper will obviously want his cut too. He doesn’t work for peanuts, and probably hopes to make at least 40 per cent, so that goes into his pocket.

Much of the remainder goes on manufacture – at least 30 per cent of it as profit for the manufacturer.

The main part of the bike which has to withhold the test of time is the frame. The price of steel is obviously a stumbling block for our cheap bike makers, with iron ore producers also demanding high prices, so at least 20 per cent of the total cost probably goes into the frame design and manufacture. And don’t forget it has to be painted and have those lovely stickers on too – which could amount to a further £8.

Wheels are always pricey parts of a bike, we also need some pneumatic tyres and inner tubes or else we wouldn’t get anywhere quickly. That’s got to come to £10.

That doesn’t leave much left, and we still have a lot of bits missing from our bike. It still doesn’t have pedals or handlebars let alone brakes. Gears seem a luxury at this point and we still need to ship the thing into the UK.

I admit parting with one’s hard earned cash can be difficult, but spending a little bit more than you feel comfortable with on a new bike can bring big benefits.

Those cheap bikes will fall apart, they are heavy and uncomfortable, and, after a year, it won’t be so shiny and you won’t love it so much.

It will probably succumb to rust and end up abandoned in a city bike rack because you just can’t bear looking at it any more.

So, after my exercise, I can say with conviction you get what you pay for. Although, if you still go for the £100 bike, you get what you didn’t pay for.