surak

On Bike Forums there are a whole cadre of people who are absolutely disgusted that anyone would spend more than they did on anything. From everyone else, there can be appreciation when they see a nice bike, sure, but envy? Nah.

I suppose it's easier to think of the bike that elicits the opposite reaction from envy, and that would be the chuckle of seeing a bike with a rider who doesn't know themselves. Don't get a bike that has a geometry requiring too much compromise to match your fit. Don't go for ridiculously deep wheels if you have difficulty handling crosswinds or are spending most of your effort struggling up climbs, or featherweight tubulars that suggests a misguided belief that you're tackling HC mountains on the regular if you JRA in plains of the Midwest where the steepest pitches are the interstate overpasses (at least that's how I remembered my childhood in Chi-town).

Or, don't care what others think and ride around happily and confidently on anything.

P.S. if you get a Creo, which is an ebike, the most likely emotion you'll evoke from others is relief when they realize its motor is how you made up for the gap in talent.