Commonly people are worried that bike commuting presents an image of being down and out, unable to afford the basic conveniences such as a car. Which is the opposite of OP's concern.

After about 5 years of bike commuting I was pretty sure that it does present an image of someone struggling to get by, at least to a lot of people, and that I didn't care at all about it one way or another.

I'm also pretty sure that few people aside from cycling enthusiasts and bike thieves either know or care that you're riding a relatively expensive bike. A bike is a bike and a "good" one costs $250, or so I hear from time to time, so I wouldn't be concerned much about the random stranger thinking that you're flaunting your wealth with your headlights and panniers and carbon. Like as not they think you spent $300 and feel sorry for you.