You Get What You Pay For

Typically, a good town bike ranges in price from £500 to £1200. Come to think, this is pretty much the price range of any serious bike meant to be used regularly and expected to last many years, with good components made by say, Shimano, SRAM et al. Some express surprise at this expecting them to cost less and unwilling to pay such a sum.

Town bikes and urban cycling are becoming more popular; new brands are appearing with the emphasis on style, quality and equipment, indicating a growth market. Some firms have seen an opportunity to sell bikes at a much lower price range - say, £200-£300 and some of these have appeared for sale. I don't think they're a good idea, because, all other things being equal you get what you pay for, which is important with a bike intended to be used regularly as transport.

Such bikes intended for leisure use have been available for many years of course, and they're perfectly  adequate for this as they may only be used occasionally, eg weekly, and they tend to have next to no equipment (lights, rack etc) that make them useful for town cycling, because they don't really need it.

However, regular comfortable utility biking needs two things in my opinion which adds to cost: a degree of robustness and a level of equipment.

The bike will have to be made up to a standard in order to withstand everyday use. I saw a saying somewhere - think it was another blog which sums it up -  half price? Pay twice. In addition, the level of equipment all adds to the cost - it can add several hundred pounds/equivalent currency on its own. Of course if you buy a cheaper bike without it, you can add this equipment later on, however, it's likely to be a lot be more expensive if you're not in the trade, as you won't get trade and bulk discounts that the companies making the bikes will.