A Little story you may enjoy.

In 1994 I went on my first tour when I was 18. I had a old PoS 82 Fugly Fuji that was to small for me and weighed about 38 pounds loaded with my extra gear. The only way I was able to even get on this ride was by donating my Ham Radio services, that’s why all the extra weight.
On the second day I stopped into a rest area and got to meet my first group of "Club A$$ Holes". A group of 4 all with matching bikes and gear and definitely had more $$ than me at the time to devote to the sport/hobby. They joked and made many stupid comments about my bike and setup, similar in nature to the starter of this thread. Completely astounded that anyone would make such comments to someone that was riding on the tour to help them if they got in trouble.... Where? The MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!!!!!

I calmly thanked them for their input and told them I would keep it in mind when they broke down or got injured during the tour. They quickly shut up and promptly left the rest area.
I caught back up to them about 45 mins later as they where approaching a fairly steep overpass. Ah! time to make them humble!!! I loaded my walkman with Metallica "..and Justice for all" , cranked it up... shifted gears and passed the team going uphill.
For the remainder of the tour I was unable to even get a simple Hello from anyone from this group.

So the next time some one tries to belittle you because you have less expensive equipment.
Just reply... "Money can not buy the heart to love cycling at any level"