Originally Posted by
Koyote
Oh, yes, agreed. When someone comes on here to ask whether some expensive new bike (or wheels, or whatever) will make them faster, whether it's "worth it," I usually ask, "Are you racing or at least riding in a very spirited group ride?" The response is usually "No, but I like going fast" or there is no response at all -- dead silence. I'm always left shaking my head, wondering why someone would consider stretching their finances to add a fraction of a mph to their speed on the local bike path.
OTOH, if it doesn't stretch finances, they should go for whatever excites their enthusiasm, or seems to make sense (even if it really doesn't). This also includes buying new technology just because they want to give it a try.... and again, can afford it. I built up Ti bikes with electronic shifting for my wife and me during the pandemic simply because I always wanted a Ti bike and wanted to try electronic shifting, and had never had a bike with hydraulic discs. Since I was late 60s at the time, I just saw it as "if not now, when?" sort of deal. This, to me is very valid, given affordability.
As a final curmudgeonly comment, I can't make any sense of any recreational rider, even recreational racer, who buys bike equipment they have to finance. There's such good stuff nowadays at race-worthy quality at the lower tiers. I also buy lightly used cars for the same reason. But I'm an old coot so my opinions on this are irrelevant.
My bicycling philosophy reflects the above although for the most part, I get gear that is a step behind the flagship. I'm not wealthy, but at this stage of my life I know that spending $10k or even $15K (which I don't) on a durable item for recreation that is healthy and fun and with which I spend a lot time is well worth that (for me) compared to the sort of things my contemporaries buy for recreation. While any practical person would say I should probably stick with 3 or 4 steps lower
. I never buy anything I can't easily pay cash for, but also don't buy everything I can afford. Although I have a 5 year old bike, the rest of my bikes range between 15 and 30 years old. And they're still fun to ride as fast as I can.
Originally Posted by
genejockey
Feh. I only look for validation AFTER spending significant funds!
I will say, however, that there is an oft-repeated sentiment here that if you don't race, you shouldn't buy better equipment that might make you faster, which to my way of thinking is nonsensical. Wanting to go faster seems to me to be a big part of why a lot of us ride bikes.