I'm sure they exist, but I can think of no other commoditiies besides bike gear which are so overpayed for and then so jealously guarded against wear and tear. Leave the hardware aside for now. Why are cycling clothes so much more precious than regular clothes? Why do you pay so much for so little improvement over the middle range and then have to worry so much about how long the goods will last? Do you buy $2,000 suits and then take them to a dry cleaner that charges $20 to clean them? Not most folks. These days most folks never get our of their $20 cargo shorts. Why do cyclists pay the extreme with regard to their crap nylon shorts and jerseys and then have to tally up how many times they can wear them to not feel cheated? Blows my mind.