Riding is about the ride, imo. People get WAY too hung up on gear. I've found I often rider farther and faster on my steel bikes than many people I meet that have really high end stuff. I've seen this same thing guitar players, too. Many people that can barely play a few chords badly own very expensive acoustic or electric guitars. It's like they think that if they buy something really high end it will make them a better player/rider. It's a sad reality of the society we live in..