like the saying. beauty is in the eye of the beholder. though concerning bikes theres also the functional element too.considering the madone is, actually even to my nonroadie eyes, a beautiful work of art. and to be honest for a beautiful work of art i can actually ride and not just look at 12k is a bargain. people pay millions for paintings and all they can do is look so if you look at it as functional art the price isnt that bad