solveg

One of the reasons I'm glad I found you guys is that I can actually say the words, "I got a new bike" and I will be understood. If I tell this to any of my friends, I know the conversation will turn to "what brand". On the off-chance they were to see one in a shop (not likely) or look it up on the internet, I usually say something about it being an old-style touring bike, or a 21-speed from an obscure company.

Knowing me (99 Subaru and cheap all around), they would assume I picked it up at a garage sale, or it was in the same league as those odd brands of TVs at Best Buy. The few people I have mentioned it to have gone on to tell me about a motorized bike they saw but it was way expensive at $1500, and another who literally said they thought anyone who spent over $200 for a bike was an idiot (this was said in a way that implied that they would not be offending me, since I would never do that).

My new bike is a guarded secret from EVERYONE, and I dread anyone finding out I paid that much.

Now, I did not take on debt to buy the bike. I'm comfortable with my purchase, but I'm embarrassed by it, too. Starving children and all that. These friends wouldn't blink if I spent that much on a dog, but they would be horrified I spent this on a bike. I actually feel deceitful, and I'm not comfortable about it.

So, anyone ever felt the same way? How do you handle it?

PS: Thanks for being here so I could be exuberant around someone*

solveg

Oooooh, and let's add this one for those with non-bicycling spouses: do you ever fudge your purchase amounts?

gear

When I was a young pup my father tried to give me my first lesson about earning money. He used the example of Disneyland as his model. He told me that the more I worked the more "fun tickets" I would get and I could take those fun tickets and go on some rides. You earned your fun tickets now you get to go on some rides. Enjoy them.

Mojo Slim

I don't fudge the cost TOO much, but I am quick to point out I didn't pay retail. My wife handles the books, so she knows what I spend ($74 a month average). She spends more on quilting, so I'm never in trouble. Plus, I have a $10 an hour seldom job that pays for bike parts.

maddmaxx 

That's ok. I don't understand my friends obsessions with memberships at the golf club or half million dollar starter castles either.
Somewhere there must be a forum for like minded Lexus SUV with brushguard owners.

It could be worse, lurking out there are people who don't like cats......

wrafl

I spent money on something I hardly use (sailboat) and I'm so far away from it that I now believed I should have spent the money on a nice and not quite expensive bike which I enjoy more than sailing this year. I am paying marina fee monthly while the bike didn't cost anymore after my purchase other than some cyclewear. The road, streets and paved path I ride doesn't charge me user fee and I am able to keep myself fit and good shape.

solveg

When I was working it out in my mind, I knew that 2/3 of the bike's cost was because of want, not need. That >grin<. But then I remembered that my last car check-up (100k miles) was a biggie--$2000, and that had no payoff at all that I could actually notice. This purchase, if I got the bike that was right for how I actually use it (towing giant dogs and tooling around every environment) would pay me off in so many* ways. If I got the wrong bike, I wouldn't ride it because it would hurt. So it actually made good sense to me. I'm also crediting myself $10 off the price tag for every pound I lose, $5 for each lost cholesteral, and 10 cents a mile. I should really give myself 60 cents a mile, because that's what it costs to drive the average car.

It's like when I got my car. I got the exact car I wanted, new, but also figured out how many miles I would need to keep it to justify the price. I'm now 15,000 miles past that! Guilt free spending.

freeranger

Guess I'm lucky--my wife shares my enjoyment of cycling, so no problem with the spouse. And I don't spend a lot on cycling. As for neighbors, I just don't tell them what I paid unless they ask, and none have asked yet. Most of them have an expensive "toy" of one sort or another, so they'd probably understand anyway.

BSLeVan

I see a bike as a tool that allows you to work on your passion, and we all know it's important to buy the best tools you can afford. My friends know I ride, and to them the mileage seems unreal.... but nothing compared to some of the folks here. In terms of what I ride, I don't talk with them about that. I buy pizza or donuts and drop in at my LBS or I come on-line to be with you folks. Now, we have to figure out to help you get rid of that guilt you carry around about this biking stuff.

Tom Bombadil

I have fudged the cost on a handful of purchases over the years. Not my much, but to make them more palatable to my wife. I handle all of our expenses, have paid all of our bills, put 4 children through college, and bought many things for her. So she's got no reason to grumble.

When I purchased a HDTV set, on a clearance sale for $1100 2 years ago, the subject of cost hadn't come up after a week. Then she started acting all funny about our savings. Turns out that one of my daughters had told her that such a TV would have cost $10000. So when I told her it was $1100, not only did I not get a dirty look, but I saw a great sense of relief.

I know what you mean about not telling friends what you pay sometimes. People not close to a hobby do not know what quality cost. For example, I wanted a better center channel speaker for my A/V system, one that would closely match my left & right main speakers. An audiophile knows that such a speaker can be quite expensive. I decided to go for a semi-budget speaker that had a list of $1700, which I purchased as a demo unit for only $850.

A lot of people would think paying $1700 for a single loudspeaker is an outrageous price. But within the hobby, it is kind of modest. Despite getting a great deal at 50% off, I think I fudged that one down to $500 for my wife. Even that raised an eyebrow.

cranky old dude

No. She knows exactly how much I've got invested in this hobby at any given time. I just told her that I need to get out and burn up my frustrations from my workweek of 50 to 70 hrs. per week. I can either ride the bike(s) or go back to where she found me, on a bar stool. Fortunately she prefers the bike over the Bar.

The Weak Link

We can bike if we wantoo
If ya don't get left behind
Because your friends don't bike
And if they don't bike
Well they're no friends of mine.....

europa

My Dad doesn't know I've got new wheels on the Europa
Or that I've ordered new bars for the Black Beast

Richard

CardiacKid

The last friend that asked me how much I paid for my new bike, got the response, " a little less than you paid for your golf clubs." End of discussion.

will dehne

The fact is that we are in a minority, big time.
Our friends golf, motorcycle, fish, hunt, watch sports, travel, tennis, picnic, do nothing, anything but bike.
My biking obsession is strange to them and better not discussed.
The cost of biking is of no interest to them.
Too bad but cannot be helped.

MNBikeguy

For my non biking friends, they don't ask "brand" (they don't know them); they usually ask, "How many speeds?"

Beverly

I'm not married so the price of my biking equipment only has to be approved by me The only rule I have is it must be paid in cash. My kids are through college, I've saved for retirement and don't see a problem spending money on my hobby.

Most of my friends are bikers so I'm sure they know what I paid for my bikes. My non-biking friends probably don't care about the cost of the bikes but many of them have hobbies or interests that cost about the same. I consider the money I put into biking a good investment in my health.

When I first got back into biking I couldn't imagine spending more than a few hundred dollars for a bike. My thoughts on this changed as the miles increased each year. It's easy to do 500 miles a year on an inexpensive bike but when the miles start hitting 400+ a month the better bike is a lot more comfortable. My last bike cost more than my first new car

Big Paulie

I lie a lot about the cost my bike to friends and people I meet. They absolutely would not get that I spent $2300 on a bike...let alone one that was "just" steel!

MichiganMike

My wife doesn't care how much I spend on stuff, and knows to the penny the cost of the bike I bought a few months ago. I don't really tell her the cost of the "trinkets" I have bought for it. Not because of hiding it, but to be honest with you, she isn't the slightest bit interested in anything biking.

I don't NOT tell people how much I spent on my bike. If they ask I do, but it rarely comes up in conversation. Most of my friends are co-workers, but with what I do, that means they are scattered all over the country. A few bike, and we talk about what bikes we have. A couple are getting ready to upgrade because I did and have told them what a difference it makes.

BSLeVan

Last summer my mother and father were visiting. I was working on one of the bikes on the patio when a neighbor came over and asked, "How many speeds?" Not hesitating a second, my father says, "Only one at a time". The neighbor was a little taken back until my sons both started laughing.

HopedaleHills

We have friends that the wife bikes but the husband does not. But she is not really into bikes, rides a Trek 1000 and is prefectly happy. Last time I rode with her I noticed she didn't shift for the entire ride so I tried to help her out. Neither one of them understand spending alot on a bike, but they have a $10,000 baby grand piano in their front room that no one plays. I OTOH have a cheap electronic piano I play frequently. Actually he thought that my $200 ebay Windsor was as much as you should ever pay for a bike.

solveg

Well, here's another aspect of buying:

When I was just starting to learn to use a video camera, I did't like tripods. I then bought a $14 dollar one, but as my needs progressed, it was abandoned and replaced. By the time I made my documetary, I had gone through 6 tripods, and now own the very tripod which had shocked me to begin with. I have done this expensive and wasteful upgrading frequently in my life.

crtreedude 

Some possible responses:

1. Probably less than new tires are going to cost for you SUV...
2. Why, want to buy a bike and get started being in shape?
3. Well within my comfort zone.
4. This is how I get to eat whatever I want without guilt - how much do you think THAT is worth?

On a side note - we just hired a full time mechanic yesterday. No, not to care for my bike, even I will admit to that being over the top. No, for all the equipment we have for our business, tractor, cars, ATVs, industrial weedwhackers, wood working machinary, you get the idea. He saw my bike and is all for doing maintaince on it for me. Oh how I suffer here in paradise. He is a mechanic with 35 years experience, he MIGHT be qualified to work on it...

solveg

Say, you just gave me an idea with those lovely comebacks. If anyone ever gets far enough to ask me "How much?", I'll reply "25 lbs, so far." That* will change the topic.

rm -rf

I got the (expensive for me) new bike 14 months ago. Prorating the cost, I'm now down below 40 cents a mile. It'll probably take 5 or 6 years to get down to 10 cents a mile. But then there's tires, chain, cogs, gloves, etc.

But even 20 cents an hour at 18 mph is $3.60 an hour, cheap entertainment. It's totally worth it.