Originally Posted by
dutret
1) Ways in which they(not just the frames) were not intended, where they will likely be destroyed and for which a different item would be more practical.
2) Pretty much
3) No but the process of doing that makes ostentation and striving for that aesthetic more or less identical.
4) They've taken something I enjoy and turned it into a show of status symbols.
If it makes you feel better I also despise the middle age guys rolling down the mup with 404s who can't glue their own tires and have to call for help when they get a flat. At least they are only spending a small portion of their disposable income on it however and 1/2 don't apply.
You
despise them? Actually, I think that's pretty pathetic. You seem to have strong feelings about people who don't match up to your ideal typical model of the authentic cyclist. Plus, your answers are illustrative. 2 and 4 are purely selfish, and 4 is just silly. Why should it bother you that other people have taken something you enjoy and turned it into a show of status symbols? Are you somehow prevented from racing at the track because someone, somewhere is doing a leg-over skid in a parking lot? Do you enjoy racing at the track less because someone, somewhere is doing a bunny hop on a track bike? Also, you don't see a contradiction in your valuing a rare and classic track frame, but then denigrating someone for valuing a rare/expensive piece of equipment?