Originally Posted by
dragonian
What precisely does that smell like? Grease?
Personally my enjoyment has been much greater from either the deal that i got on a used bike from ebay.. or from an essentially-new frame that I built up with top of the line components.. than the 1 bike i bought new from the LBS.
Well since all my bikes except for one mountain bike have been more or less built by me. I tend to not be sure of how everything is working, It's nice to just ride a bike that's all new parts so you can know how it should work otherwise you never know if it's that old derailleur, or maybe I need a new chain... Also since I've only ever used down tube or stem shifters the whole integrated thing is a bit of a first step. And since I have no relationship with an LBS (not do I intend to start one) and I don't really know anyone who rides a road bike I have no background there either.
I guess it's more of a feeling then a smell. But you can't get something as "good as new" if you don't know what new is like.