Originally Posted by
FBinNY
+1, It's always been about the ride. Bikes especially depend on the condition of the engine --- something that can't be bought. I see the "buy better to get better" attitude in all segments of sports, from biking to skiing to scuba diving (probably also golf and tennis, but I don't so I don't know). But hr attitude applies everywhere.
Knowledge, skill and experience are depreciated, and replaced with something that can be bought and sold.
As far as bikes go, my opinion and that of my small circle of riding buddies is that you buy a decent bike and put a good engine on it. You don't buy a better bike than the engine warrants.
Totally agree. And yeah, I think this attitude extends into just about every hobby. It's become pretty tedious to me, that for many folks instead of aspiring to be the best at something, they instead aspire to own the best tools needed for the job. As I often say to people, ask any Tour De France winner how they would like to be remembered - would it be for the race they won, or.. the super cool bike they rode the race on? Pretty sure we know the answer.
Nothing wrong with hi ten framed bikes. You can have just as a nice a ride on one as you can on the fastest/lightest carbon bike. Many riders do it every day.
Some nice bikes in this thread, btw. I'd happily ride many of them.