bikes are expensive. nice bikes are very expensive.

if you're going to go hard on your stuff and want it to last, the extra money is far better spent up front.

i own 4 bikes right now, i've owned others, they come and go, get rebuilt, get broken and fixed, changed, upgraded, etc.

i have no idea how much i've spent over the years, but it no doubt totals tens of thousands of dollars. i'm far from rich or even moderately well off, but i love riding and everything about bikes and it's where my priorities are, so i'm fine with that.

since leaving road racing behind (for now, at least), things are much cheaper.

now i covet $40 nitto B-123s, where it used to be $250 easton carbon bars.

the best pair of fixed wheels i could build for street riding pale in cost to $1500 mavic cosmic carbones (and probably even to $850 ksyrium ssc sl).

and not having to worry about carbon cranks, forks, levers, deraillers, saddles, posts, pedals, hubs and whatever else, is nice, too. (i mean, i know some of that stuff is used on the track, but not really on the streets of nyc).