More money than fitness....
Discussion
Went past a reasonably sized company director type on Ride100 on something like this and it got me thinking what the ratio is of people who are buying expensive bikes and could not justify the cost.
https://www.triuk.com/products/cervelo/cervelo-s5-...
Just for the record, i would love something like this and i am sure it would help me with my fitness, however the cost is more than my two cars put together!
https://www.triuk.com/products/cervelo/cervelo-s5-...
Just for the record, i would love something like this and i am sure it would help me with my fitness, however the cost is more than my two cars put together!
My old boss was like this with his hobbies.
Walk into shop ask for the most expensive bike, camera, sporting goods etc, splash out on more kit. Massively enthusiastic for 3-6 months then get bored, flog kit for a pittance and move onto the next hobby.
Myself and others in the office benefited from his hobbies at a fraction of the price he originally paid. I made no other judgments bar for thinking that lycra wasn't a flattering material for him.
Walk into shop ask for the most expensive bike, camera, sporting goods etc, splash out on more kit. Massively enthusiastic for 3-6 months then get bored, flog kit for a pittance and move onto the next hobby.
Myself and others in the office benefited from his hobbies at a fraction of the price he originally paid. I made no other judgments bar for thinking that lycra wasn't a flattering material for him.
Where do you draw the line in what is acceptable?
IMO his money, he can do what he wants. I've been to track days with people driving GT3's. Do they need to set a certain lap time in a Carrera 2 before being justified to have a GT3? Course not!
If you take things to their logical conclusion, Chris Froome on a Triban 3 would probably beat even the mighty Dizee up Ventoux on whatever nice shiny bike he has these days. Does that mean he isn't allowed better than a triban 3? Course not!
IMO his money, he can do what he wants. I've been to track days with people driving GT3's. Do they need to set a certain lap time in a Carrera 2 before being justified to have a GT3? Course not!
If you take things to their logical conclusion, Chris Froome on a Triban 3 would probably beat even the mighty Dizee up Ventoux on whatever nice shiny bike he has these days. Does that mean he isn't allowed better than a triban 3? Course not!
I blew £2300 on a Trek Emonda. I can't climb for s
t. Oh! The irony!
It was a nice bike. I liked it, and some total tosser (or his insurance company, at least) had just lobbed the thick end of £14k my way, at the behest of my solicitor.
FWIW I could have re-framed my crashed bike, and given it a wheel upgrade, all for less than £500. Which I found out after I'd spunked the cash on the Emonda, of course...
So for the last two years there's been an unemployed waster following on behind the RideLondon event, on a bike that he couldn't afford in a month of Sundays right now. But I've done nearly 6,000 miles on it, so it's out there getting regular use. As is my (comparative bargain) MTB, on which I've covered over 1,250 miles since March this year.
'Headline' price is only one part of the buying equation. I'm doing alright on a "pence per mile" basis, I think, and with every extra mile the equation looks even better. Plus riding the bikes is good for my physical health and mental well-being. So more power to anyone who buys a bike and makes the effort. So long as you don't overstretch to the point of money problems to get what you want, ride whatever you damned well please. I frequently find myself with 'bike envy' when I find that I'm quicker than someone with a "better" bike than mine. But the flip of that is that I'm sometimes dropped on a climb by some auld fella on a vintage steel frame that he's probably had for decades. I'm certainly aware that my bike sits higher in the pecking order than I do as a rider...
t. Oh! The irony!It was a nice bike. I liked it, and some total tosser (or his insurance company, at least) had just lobbed the thick end of £14k my way, at the behest of my solicitor.
FWIW I could have re-framed my crashed bike, and given it a wheel upgrade, all for less than £500. Which I found out after I'd spunked the cash on the Emonda, of course...
So for the last two years there's been an unemployed waster following on behind the RideLondon event, on a bike that he couldn't afford in a month of Sundays right now. But I've done nearly 6,000 miles on it, so it's out there getting regular use. As is my (comparative bargain) MTB, on which I've covered over 1,250 miles since March this year.
'Headline' price is only one part of the buying equation. I'm doing alright on a "pence per mile" basis, I think, and with every extra mile the equation looks even better. Plus riding the bikes is good for my physical health and mental well-being. So more power to anyone who buys a bike and makes the effort. So long as you don't overstretch to the point of money problems to get what you want, ride whatever you damned well please. I frequently find myself with 'bike envy' when I find that I'm quicker than someone with a "better" bike than mine. But the flip of that is that I'm sometimes dropped on a climb by some auld fella on a vintage steel frame that he's probably had for decades. I'm certainly aware that my bike sits higher in the pecking order than I do as a rider...
AndStilliRise said:
Went past a reasonably sized company director type on Ride100 on something like this and it got me thinking what the ratio is of people who are buying expensive bikes and could not justify the cost.
https://www.triuk.com/products/cervelo/cervelo-s5-...
Just for the record, i would love something like this and i am sure it would help me with my fitness, however the cost is more than my two cars put together!
The difference is his cars probably cost more than 2 of your houses put together https://www.triuk.com/products/cervelo/cervelo-s5-...
Just for the record, i would love something like this and i am sure it would help me with my fitness, however the cost is more than my two cars put together!
Jimboka said:
7k is about the same as the first months depreciation on a new family car. So buy a nearly new car instead & the bike is free. Man maths at work
I saved £10k off the new (list) price of my car by buying one that was six months old.
Damn! That means I probably should have bought an Emonda SLR 10... https://roadcyclinguk.com/gear/trek-emonda-slr-10.... ...#manmathsfail
Yeah but no matter what kind of man maths these threads produce, deep down everyone knows, you do look like a bit of a shallow plonker if you're on a really awesome bike (or any sports kit really) and you're a bit rubbish at it.
Cycling seems to be one of the sports that produvpces the most obvious examples of this phenomenon. I suspect it's due to the fact that it attracts loads of forty something blokes who are having a mid life crisis.
Cycling seems to be one of the sports that produvpces the most obvious examples of this phenomenon. I suspect it's due to the fact that it attracts loads of forty something blokes who are having a mid life crisis.
Edited by el stovey on Monday 8th August 19:22
Bizarrely enough it makes quite a lot of sense to spunk money on a Cervélo S5, it will retain its value better than lots of high-end bikes.
There is no point judging people by the amount they spend on racing bikes.
You are allowed (in fact, encouraged) to judge people out on training rides with expensive deep carbon wheels, however. That's just daft.
There is no point judging people by the amount they spend on racing bikes.
You are allowed (in fact, encouraged) to judge people out on training rides with expensive deep carbon wheels, however. That's just daft.
AndStilliRise said:
Just for the record, i would love something like this and i am sure it would help me with my fitness, however the cost is more than my two cars put together!
How would it help you with your fitness? If you want to get fit ride something thats really hard work to pedal around.Part of my current fitness regime is road riding on a hilly route on an All Mountain full susser, 1x9 groupset, and dual ply downhill super draggy tyres at both ends. It's an utter b
d to grind up the hills but i reckon it takes 3 x the effort of the guy on the £10k carbon road bike so is getting me fitter.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff