Originally Posted by bbbean

If you're happy with your bike, does it matter? What's the difference in a Yugo and a Rolls? A hamburger and a steak? A good massage and a great massage?

While we could list the various engineering, finish, performance, and durability gains one expects as you move up teh price ladder, the simplest and most convincing answer to the argument is to simply get down to the LBS and ride a few high end bikes. If you can't tell the difference, then you've saved yourself a lot of money and you can go on being happy with your current bike. If you can tell a difference, you'll know what the extra $$$ buys you.

Just a passing observation - I've never encountered a cyclist who claimed moral or intellectual superiority because his bike was more expensive than mine, but I regularly hear people make the argument that they are morally or intellectually superior because they spent less on their bikes.

BB