umd

because it's a thread on bikeforums, duh!

What else am I going to do while watching the tour this morning?

Phantoj

In real life, I have noticed:

1. Nobody cares what you're riding.

2. People who ride a lot tend to have nice bikes.

Nachoman

Newbies will have to submit their request to me in triplicate and I'll take it under submission.

VA_Esquire

why is lazyrider so annoying? he seems to be very jealous of others.

bet he is jealous of me and I am just a Cat5 =D

coasting 

hey lazy

do you patch or toss punctured tubes?

umd

One thing that is not usually mentioned in these silly threads is that it's often the extras that make an expensive bike. Many bikes are expensive because they are custom or exclusive framebuilders... others are expensive because they have high components like DA7900, SR11 or Red. Wheels add a lot too and for some a power meter. A lot of the apparent cost of my bike is wheels and power meter, the frame is just one part of the total cost. Even if I had a very cheap frame it would still seem to be an expensive bike...

bigskymacadam

lulz. not really.

Pro Tip: Don't procreate.

botto 

VA_Esquire

^ I concur. average cost of a kid from 0-18 including college is usually $300K......I can think of a better way to spend $300K in 18 years.

Lazyrider

If I am on the road and flat, I toss. If I am home an have a slow leak, I try to patch. Call me Mr. Moneybags.

Lazyrider

The reason why this topic comes up a lot (and I don't often start these threads btw), is because there is a distinct difference between people choosing to spend their money on a luxury (ie. car, watch, jewelry etc) and on a machine/tool that serves a function and is powered and controlled by the person.

This is NO DIFFERENT in my mind than someone who buys the most powerful tools (ie, Chainsaw, Bobcat etc) and cannot use it correctly. I personally exercise retraint when I engage in a new activity and see my "investment" in the sport/hobby etc in practical terms.

If you want to buy $10k in Diving equipment to use it twice and then let it rot in you crawl space, more power to you. But I think over-exuberance leads to waste in many cases. This is common sense and many of you arguing against this by saying "it is not your money" are just missing the greater point.

Yes, I can do whatever I want with my money. How about I go to the safe deposit box and take out $15k and flush it down the toilet? Please advise me on this because you guys are swaying me.

umd

Lazy, it comes up ocassionally but YOU are always the one that is the biggest whiner about it. I never said it is SMART to do it, just that it's not any of YOUR damn business to CARE.

tuxbailey

How do you draw the line? People should buy Hyundai and not Honda because Hyundai is a better value? Who can draw the line other than the person who is spending the money? For me, as long as that person is not taking the money out of MY pocket than it is cool for me. They can "indulge" however they desire, I am not going to make a value judgment whether they spend more or less.

Drag

Makes me wonder if Lazy is more of a Socialist or a Communist. Definitely not a Capitalist though. Hmm.

Well, already too much mitochondria wasted on that thought. Time to bring up the DVRed stage...

umd

Again in my opinion it is MORE indulgent to have a whole stable of bikes than one "expensive" bike. But the whole thing comes down to whether you believe that someone has to "deserve" an "expensive" bike. If you want to believe that you should have to "earn" it that's fine but it's the whole mentality of caring about whether or not someone else deserves it that is ridiculous.

As for my SCUBA equipment, obviously I wasted money. I've wasted money buying expensive things that don't get used and I've wasted money buying cheap things and having to constantly rebuy them as well. The mistake was spending any money at all on something I didn't follow through on.

coasting 

why does lazy hate freedom?

halfspeed

So, just as I suspected, this discussion is waste of time.

OTOH, buying $10k in equipment and using it is much cheaper than buying $1k, then $2, then $5k and then $10k.

botto 

so not only are you a self confessed "d!ck", you're a self confessed litter bug.

interesting.

Lazyrider

LOL,
No I am not a Socialist or Communist but I don't agree with American overconsumption either. The whole redneck ideal of "I am an American and if I want to drive my 12 cylinder gas guzzler, I can because Damn it, I am an American and that is my right".

Capitalism is a good thing, waste is not. You'll see, you'll all see and are witnessing where that is getting us. Look how obese we are, our kids are lazy and stupid compared to European countries, our health care system is ranked behind many other countries that would surprise you. The "Myth" of how great we are in the USA is being exposed.

Watching the Tour De France ride through Switzerland on sunday actually raised this topic in my house. My buddy is in Switzerland as we speak for a conference and emailed me about this same topic as well. They have a higher life expectancy, more money and universal health care. So please stop with the whole USA capitalist ideal.

bigskymacadam

Started already. Always Remember. 01/15/2009

edit: 01/20/2009

botto 

please take your wingnut theories to P&R.

thanks!

bigskymacadam

point taken

mustang1

No objection with this poster.

For the guy who turned up on his expensive bike and didn't know how to make adjustments, the group should not have waited for him regardless of he much his bike costs. The group ride is not for making free maintenance adjustments and he should have been dropped.

Cycho

I didn't read through all the responses, so I apologize if this was addressed already. In your example, you use the expressions "child" and "kids" to illustrate that a logical person would not buy their children expensive items when first starting a hobby. I have kids and whenever they get an interest in something, because I'm not independently wealthy, I have to start them off at the bottom and see if they maintain their interest. If they do, we progress from there.

However, we're talking about adults here, who are free to do with their money whatever they wish. You're comparing apples to oranges. Only the nanny-statist feels the need to be critical and wish to control the private property (money) of others, not to mention every other aspect of our lives. I just got into cycling and bought my first road bike a few months ago. I ended up spending $1,200 (not including accessories.) I wish I had $2,500 to spend on a nicer bike. At some point, I'd like to try golf. I'm not going to buy the cheapest set of clubs just because some people think that's what I should buy as a beginner. I'll spend the money on a good intermediate set and lessons. If I had the money, I would buy a top tier set and lessons.

I am of the mindset that if you're going to do something, you might as well do it right. If anything, it's more incentive to me to stick to it if I spend the money.

Lazyrider

I agree with you that buying quality is always a good idea, but over-indulgence is another thing altogether. Yes, an adult can do whatever they want with their money, but that doesn't make it logical or advisable. So it iisn't an issue of "caring" what people do with their money because some people gamble $500K in a night but that doesn't make it a good thing because they can afford it. Trust me, I come from a family of degenerate gamblers and when they say they don't care about losing big, they do.

So, if you came to this site before you purchased you bike looking for advice and I said to go for a $10k bike right out the box, would you if you could afford it? Or would you appreciate someone saying to you to keep it in the $2-3500 range which is still a substantial investment with no performance loss per se?