Don't sneer at the fat grey-haired guys on expensive bikes. I did once, and the guy pummeled me on the road. I trailed him for a mile and then gave up. I was so tired my stomach ached. Shame on me for my snobbery!

I do ride a bike to create an impression sometimes, but only to create a reverse-snobby impression. I rarely even clean my nice bikes, so they're all dirty. I ride an English three-speed to show I'm not a bike snob. My McLean has no decals, so I don't know how many people know it's a fine bike. Though I have gotten compliments from guys on the road who are riding modern, mid-level bikes who I might guess don't know one bike from the next. Maybe it's the sleek paint job that lacks decals. Or something else. I don't know.

Last year, my daily rider was a 1971 Raleigh Super Course. It's pretty ugly, and I liked it because it was a sleeper bike. It rode much better than it looked.

You know, for the shallow questions in the OP, the responses here have been very well considered and expressed!