Originally Posted by rousseau
The economic aspects you mention do make sense, and it's strange I never thought of them. My wife had indeed urged me to join a gym before I got into cycling, so there you are. I work from home, so I thankfully don't have to deal with petroleum pressure. And I think I can safely say that I don't need to sacrifice all that much for the purchase of a $400 bike, an amount which is easier to swallow than $1,000+. As a relative newcomer to cycling, I myself wasn't very comfortable spending all that much on it, never mind my wife. I'm 40, so buying a top line road bike would have smacked too much of the mid-life crisis poseur. I'll wait a year or two longer to see just exactly how much further I get into it. If it goes past the daily rides for exercise that I do now then I may consider dropping some more serious coin on a bike.
What does a gym cost per month? How often can you get to it? How many friends of the opposite sex can you get pally with? All arguments to give your wife if she quibbles about a measly $400 for what looks an excellent bike. Only thing I would get the LBS to do is retrue and tension the wheels. I never trust my own wheels for longer than a year without getting the experts to sort them out- let alone a set of wheels that I have no history of.
Looks a good buy but get ready for the Ultimate bike next year- You will want it by then so get ready with the Reasons to the wife for when that time comes.