Pricing for just my lighting setup:
SON28 hub: $275
DT spokes: $30
DT RR1.1 rim: $60
Supernova E3: $200
Lamp mount/hardware: $5
$570; call it an even $600 with a rim strip and tire. I was discussing this very concept with a serious road racer during my last club ride: You spend your money where it makes sense. As a commuter and distance rider, I spent it on an all-night lighting solution. As a racer, he spent it on carbon fiber power-meter cranks. $1500 on a complete bike is a drop in the bucket compared to what you could spend on a really serious bicycle habit. (I think the racer guy mentioned his power-meter cranks were over a grand.)
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"I feel like my world was classier before I found cyclocross."
- Mandi M.