Originally Posted by
grolby
Doesn't sound at all like you think that's good for them. But ferchrissakes, so many things in life are a waste of money. Expensive locally-roasted coffee doesn't have any more caffeine than stale, burnt-ass Starbucks. You can get just as drunk on two-buck Chuck as you can on a $40 bottle of Cabernet from a respected vineyard. You can get where you're going in a Toyota just as quickly and easily as you can in a Mercedes. Cotton sheets will keep you just as warm as silk. But good coffee and wine taste better. A Mercedes is more luxurious than a Toyota. Silk is softer than cotton. Where any of us draws the line on any particular item depends greatly, but a nicer experience is certainly worth something.
I understand the fact that we buy what we can afford and what makes us happy, I was never contesting the premise of buying stuff we don't need. I also acknowledge that buying nicer bike bits can make you want to ride more/harder and can therefore improve your performance in 2 ways, which is also great. I'm just of the opinion (and I don't think mine is any more right than anyone else) that in the specific realm of cycling, buying bits and getting excited about the time they gain you when you aren't competing is deluding oneself. If you want to buy Enves and tell people you bought them because they look amazing, that's fine, it's your money, I just think the guy that buys them and brags that his top speed in a non-competitive sprint improved by 1 mph is missing the point of the sport. Maybe that makes me sound smug or self righteous, but this sport is what we make of it.
Also, it made me laugh that you used Starbucks coffee as your example of a low end product. I get what you're saying, but when you've lived off of craptastic instant folgers crystals for a while, Starbucks and their $3 regular coffees looks like a luxury item.
