StanSeven

The problem with our American way is paying off mortgages is terrible at tax time. I've known people who purchased a new and more expensive house for tax and investment purposes. If there are two people working in a family with good incomes, more than a third of your monthly payment comes back as tax time.

Stucky

What's so terrible about people squabbling over differences of opinions on an internet forum? Most people do that with their real-life friends on multiple issues...

GP

Go to weedmaps.com, enter your zip code, then click on the nearest dispensary to your house and look at their menu.

FBinNY 

Nothing at all, if that's what you want to do.

You missed the irony. The thread was about the difficulty of justifying to non-cyclists, and this thread shows that it's the same with cyclists.

In any case, I'm of a different temperament, and things like what values people assign to things and how they spend their dough fall under my "don't ask, don't tell --- don't care anyway" approach to living in harmony.

Astrozombie

And you're an "audiophile", better do some wise investing

Who cares, spend on what you want, you get the same thing with "expensive" speakers/headphones. People will listen to music that took thousands of dollars in gear to record on $20 equipment and say they "love" music???

NTM it should last you a very long time, it's not really that much money if you were to buy $1K Speakers/headphones/bicycles, but they'll still look at you funny.
(Of course if they are ever to experience any of your gear they will be blown away and never thought that was possible)
....but I still wouldn't go much north of $2K on a bike...you can get a motorcycle for that much.

k_obeastly

X2 except it's methheads here. Forget the cost, I don't even like them knowing where I live.

My brother used to be into show cars and such. Sometimes his friends would ask me how much I had spent on my paintball guns. I was not as wise at the time, but it helped them understand when I compared it to the wheels they bought for their car that they don't even drive.

AlmostTrick

I've heard this line of reasoning plenty of times but never understood it. Everyone knows how much they can get a motorized cycle for... it doesn't mean they want one.

StanSeven

And you can buy a car for the price of a good motorcycle. That logic fails.

Stucky

I look at it this way, as far as my own situation:

I can't justify having an expensive bike [even though I bought it used, it's still a lot of money for a bike] to myself nor anyone else; because if someone were to ask me [or I ask myself] "What does that bike do which a bike that cost 1/10th of it's price couldn't do?", my answer, in honesty, would have to be "Nothing".

I just like having it. It's a luxury. I don't know why it is that I choose to have a luxury when it comes to bikes; whereas I live a simple, economical life in all other respects....

I really can't rationally justify it- even to myself- so I don't expect non-cyclists to understand, when I don't even understand it myself. I am capable of affording it; I bought it; and while I do enjoy it, I also enjoyed my first road bike, which cost $300 new. So there really is no justification for me having a bike which when new, and with the upgrades it came with, cost about $5K. It's just one of those irrational things we do, "just because", but which admittedly, doesn't seem to make much sense- and I'm actually kind of glad that my friends/neighbors/relatives have no clue what my bikes are worth, because i'd feel a little silly trying to explain something to them, which I can't even rationalize myself!

Maybe it's just that we want to distinguish ourselves from bikes-as-children's-toys and Walmart-bike crowd? (As the distances we ride/time we spend/speeds we go are not readily discernible to onlookers....).[And ironically, neither is the quality and cost of our fancy bikes!]

So, in short, I think the "because I can and want to" argument is probably the most honest. It's a similar scenario to those who buy $10K wristwatches- there is no justification, other than "it's a luxury that I enjoy". And, as I explained to my 90 year-old mother, "It's my only real hobby [riding]; the only non-essential activity I ever spend any money on; and my only real luxury- so what the hey? Why not splurge and enjoy a little extravagance? -and considering that I could have these bikes the rest of my life, the cost doesn't seem all that bad." (But still, in the back of my head, I'm saying "But they still don't do anything that my old $300 BD bike couldn't do...")

Ray9

Your point is well taken and we all wish we had done things differently. However, I cannot totally deliver perfect notes from the choir. I gave up the poison and went to the church of fitness many years ago first with distance running and then, when the joints and ligaments began to howl, cycling. The cycling started in 1983 and quickly expanded to racing. Doctors informed that my heart and lungs were elite and I was doing the right thing. But alas, there is a down side. The high speeds and inherent dangers of cycling (racing) can take their toll. I have broken both my collar bones, my elbow, my leg and have sustained several head injuries. Even with a helmet the damage can accumulate. In 2008 a bike lost it's front wheel in front of me and I had nowhere to go but directly over the bike's frame. I face-planted on the pavement destroying a new pair of glasses and getting a concussion. No brain bleeding that time but a high radiation Cat scan was used. Last summer I hit my head in a crash again and a brain bleed was detected by a high radiation Cat scan. Three more Cat scans were needed to verify the bleed was gone. I am nearly 70 and my brain has had a tough time of it from cycling. Like a pro football player I could see problems as I age more.

You cannot blame yourself completely because we all have to go with what we've got. Remember Jim Fixx.

THE DOCTOR'S WORLD - JAMES FIXX - THE ENIGMA OF HEART DISEASE - NYTimes.com

Oldguyonoldbike

Well said. And if you added the cost of keeping up with a 19-year-old to the cigarettes, booze and weed savings, any bicycle out there is dirt cheap in comparison.

howeeee

I do it all the time lol and I am almost 62 years old, take an ipod with you,,,listen to rock and blues lol nothing better

GravelMN

Sorry to hear about your injuries.

There is inherent risk in doing anything, but there is much greater risk in doing nothing. Couches and TV remotes have killed far more people than bicycles.

Phil_gretz

I can identify with the sense of this thread, which is "how much is enough to satisfy?".

We just returned from ten days on a friend's sailing catamaran off the southern coast of St. Maarten, where the uber rich go to play with their yachts.

So, here's the mega yacht "Atessa IV", which anchored beside us for a few days. It's a beauty, with really modern lines and a tremendous "low to the water" feel for such a large vessel (~340 ft). It's worth an estimated $350M.



And here's Steve Jobs' yacht "Venus", which was completed after his death. It also anchored near us, and we had time to study its design in detail. Definitely reflected Jobs' simplicity and aesthetic. It cost somewhere around $130M to build, although I'm uncertain at its value.



They're both beautiful. Laying aside devaluation and the cost of upkeep, which do we prefer. My friend's $400K sailing catamaran, Atessa IV, or Venus? Which is worth what the owner spent? Answer: they're all fine. PG

AlmostTrick

Phil... Those boats are all overkill. I'm a cyclist so I'd prefer to ride one of these:

Daniel4

Many a times I thought about getting a new bike but the old ones I am using are still doing their jobs well. I won't spend that kind of money on a new bike for the main reason it'll be easy prey for theft.

Null66

I think that about a 500lb pull...

THAT's 2 for 2!
For every "age related" or "weight related" issue, the most effective treatment? More miles...

BR46

I tell them the truth on what I spent and then I tell them what they spend on smoking. After they spend $3000 a year on smoking all they have left is a pile of ashes and I still have a bike.

Ray9

She's in and she's a beauty. I put these on for pedals:



I put this computer on:



The new Dura Ace hardware has little ball bearings in the brakes and shifters. It is so cool. I won't be taking it home until the computer comes in and I get fitted.

I'll take a picture with my wife's I-pad if I can figure out how to post on it the forum. I tried to post a picture of my other bike once and it didn't work. I probably won't ride it until all the snow is gone which may not be till May. I was out in March last year and I'll be out on my other bike in March too but I don't want to get road salt on the new bike.

RALPHFELT

I just bought a brand new Pinarello. I can justify the price to myself because i can tell the diffrence. I agree what most people are saying here about comparison to ones hobbies but, what would your reply be when a person walks up and asks the same question only they dont have a fishing boat, paint ball gear, fancy car ect ect. They are just trying to get by, paycheck to paycheck. Some of us take for granted and from the readings of some posters don't seem to understand that we are very fortunate to be able to walk into a LBS, point at a 4k or 7k bike and say "I'll take that one". We are ALL one paycheck away from loosing it all. No such thing as job security anymore.

ducatisteve

This type of thing comes up in every hobby related forum, and it invariably comes down to a mix of priorities and disposible income, and it is different for each person.

Does cycling make me happy? Sure. Would a $7k bike make me happy? Of course. If it makes me happy should I buy it? Nah, not at this point for me.

I agree that many people are in the situation quoted above, but while living paycheck to paycheck is a reality for many, it is also a choice for some. My wife and I make OK money for the area we live in, definitely not above average. We have decided to sacrifice splurges like pricey meals and the $7k bikes and save everything we can (save for a modest annual vacation). While I agree that you only get one life, and it is worth enjoying, we know that if we both lost our jobs tomorrow we could survive without changing our lifestyle for at least a year....possibly 18 months. I guess for now, that peace of mind makes me happier than a bike. Now if I could put away at least 50% of my earnings, pay all my bills, and STILL have enough left over for a $7k bike? I might revisit the idea....

FBinNY 

IME things that need to be justified, usually can't be to anyone's satisfaction. Since I don't expect anyone to understand my decisions about stuff like this, I don't bother trying to explain in the first place.

If someone asks about what I spent on my bike, I keep it vague, like "It was expensive and a bit of an indulgence I treated myself too". Or "Too much, I blew my whole tax refund check on it".

I don't like to be rude about this stuff, but I've learned that giving the number doesn't do anyone any good.

GravelMN

So many jokes, so little time

Stucky

Well-said!

And I think that many of us can be happy, whether we ride a $1500 bike, or a $7K bike- as they both pretty much do the same thing. If one is in a position where the additional $5.5K is not an issue, and they'd like that $7K bike, then more power to 'em.

And even more so considering that the OP is 70 years-old.... What good is having saved and done well for one's self, if you don't enjoy the fruits of your labor/investments/wise choices at some point?

I had an aunt & uncle who, while they weren't rich by any means, got wo caught-up with saving and being miserly, that they could never bear to part with a cent. They had a few bucks, but lived like misers- and when they died, all they had saved just went to their kids; in whose lives the money really didn't make any difference. And it really doesn't matter if we're talking about tens of thousands of dollars; hundreds of thousands; or millions....the idea is pretty much the same. If you can take care of your responsibilities; and have enough to enjoy a luxury or two, and it's something that will make you happy- why not?

Booger1

$500,000 Porsche....Great to look at,can't use it on the street to it's full potential,might as well be a Yugo.....

Great bike though...ENJOY!