I have never understood this need to be fast to own fast equipment. If you have nice equipment you'll enjoy riding it more and that's all that counts.
Look how many people own nice cars, fast cars, even though they never professionally drive them. Yet every car commercial shows the car tearing through a desert or up some crazy hill. Driving would be pretty boring if we were all relegated to a Geo Metro because that is the car best suited to our driving needs (sorry to any Geo Metro drivers out there. . .well, maybe not).