Originally Posted by
wphamilton
So you guys are saying that the $6000 bikes are mostly used in races? That is surprising to me.
Where are we drawing the line for mid/high range anyway? I'd have put it considerably lower.
They are optimized for racing, no question. How they are used by doctors with money to burn... that's a different question. What money restricted amateur racers use... different question. But in the $6k range, yea, racing is the objective. And you'd be surprised how a kid can scrape together enough money to buy a competitive frameset if racing is his or her focus.
There's no "line", only predispositions and prejudices. When I was in college, I was predisposed to thinking $2k was a small fortune to spend on a bicycle. Now? Not so much. If you are simply talking about quality; a top of the line frameset (not "just as good as top-of-the-line but out the back door of some Chinese factory", but the frameset out of, say, Trek's catalog that occupies the top spot) with matching wheels, drivetrain and components will set you back about $6k.
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Cat 2 Track, Cat 3 Road.
"If you’re new enough [to racing] that you would ask such question, then i would hazard a guess that if you just made up a workout that sounded hard to do, and did it, you’d probably get faster." --
the tiniest sprinter