I can be guilty of splurging on tiny, almost imperceptible items that make my keepers just that much nicer.

These are just the recent ones but this has been happening since I can remember.

- New Campy SR seatpost to replace the completely serviceable Japanese one because campagnolo.
- I could have spent $5 on a new bottle cage and water bottle but I just needed to get the Zefal cage with the leather wrap and an aluminum/cork bottle for nearly 10x that.
- I once spent $50 on a campagnolo derailleur hanger claw. I needed it and there weren't any others available.
- New $30 Fizik bar tape even though the old $5 stuff was fine (if a bit cheap looking)
- Replacing steel hardware on my MAFAC Racer brakes because some of the chrome was ever so slightly tarnished.
- Campagnolo SR front derailleur and campy cable guide to replace the simplex guide and Shimano 600 arabesque FD.
- $30 fork key for my Superbe that I've never used and keep in the repair kit.

It all adds up but I can't quite stop tinkering and making it ever so slightly nicer. My wallet isn't too thrilled about it. I'm sure it will turn out nicely and if it makes me enjoy and ride the bike more then I don't mind at all.

What small items have you spent a small fortune on?

1. Brooks saddles - whether B17 or C17, why do they cost more than the bike I put them on? $90-$138 each
2. Brooks Challenge Tool Bag - half off for new, but still $50.
3. Fenders - about to splurge on a set of VO hammered fenders, $70.
4. Stronglight crank tool $50.
5. Koolstop brake pads. Since I don't ride at warp speed, I don't notice any performance enhancement. It's not like driving a new BMW for the first time and finding out the brakes really work well.
6. Garmin Edge 200 - bought 11/15 for $106, have yet to use it.

All of those expenses sound reasonable for any bike you think you're going to keep and enjoy for a long time.

Like Oddjob, I tend to collect Brooks saddles, but always at good prices. Not too much of a stretch to call them investments.

I'm guilty of doing the same thing.

Brooks Ti B17
Thomson Masterpiece seat post
Phil Wood BB (OK I bough this used but it was almost new)
Nitto Pearl Stem

You mean like this?

https://www.amazon.com/Mayer-Mill-Bra...3424755&sr=1-8

I once spent big bucks for NOS Simplex skewers,
then never put them on the bike.

Forget about all the above and just get another vintage ride.

$175 for:
Davis Components Limited (UK) 56cm Road Bike

Spur Cycles brass bell...wicked expensive, wicked cool sound.

($50 bell)

Need a seat post bolt for my new old Merckx. Don't want to spend the EBay $25 for a Campy but cringing at the thought of a generic. Decisions, decisions ....

You should get an NOS campy bolt. They hold the seatpost that much better and it says Campagnolo on it.

I do that. Sugino seat collar bolt, high end cable housings, small carbon parts (i.e steerer spacers), better handlebar tapes etc etc. and from a long time perspective I don't think it was ever worth it.

Ps. Still gonna be doing this because in a short time perspective the outcome of my bikes feels great!

You're talking about the seatpost clamp bolt on the frame right?, If that's the case, Campagnolo seatpost clamp bolts actually have a reputation of frequently snapping on riders.........
So much so that many carry spares when they ride.

usually under $20 shipped on ebay (unless your looking for honey brown).

My most recent "insignificant" purchase was an NOS French threaded JPR headset. Insignificant as I already have a JPR French threaded headset in my NOS stash.
But I try to convince myself that this last one is significant because I have not seen one like it before, and it is totally different from the one in Velobase....
But then I only have one bike that requires a French threaded headset, and it has a Stronglight A9 on it that is original to the bike and looks like it will easily go for another two decades without replacement. So I am 2 French threaded "insignificant" headsets deep, presently.

I'm working with Canadian dollars but yeah. It's too bad the 3mm tape doesn't come in honey brown.

You're right. Get a few spares while you're at it.

I'd say all points of soft contact (tires to road, saddle to butt, hands to bars, feet to pedals) are significant and deserve a splurge.

Always a tough call on tubulars. You got the riders with tricked out wheels and you can't skimp on rubber. Then have to consider how often it'll be ridden, the longevity factor. Still haven't gravitated to billboard, NASCAR graphics on new tubulars either. Hate them on vintage bikes.

You go thru the effort in small details but then those damn stupid looking sidewalls. Yuk. What else to do but hunt down pricey vintage NOS tubulars. LOL

I recently ponied up and bought JA Stein pullers for both Stronglight and TA cranks. Beautiful but pricey

I gave $20 for a pair of these. Totally insignificant but very cool!

Olmo Logo Handlebar End Plugs Bar End Caps Endcaps | eBay

Easton Haven Carbon handlebars for my mountain bike and a thomson elite stem. Totally awesome, totally unnecessary.

Vintage? I did buy a near mint 1981 super record derailleur to match the year of the frame even though I have a perfectly nice super record derailleur already on the bike. I have tended to go all out in my few restorations... Record track hubs, record no limit line seat post, early record levers.. etc...

I like good handlebar tape and saddles like the rest and good tires now too, more and more I don't mess with old tires. toss 'em, get new ones.

My recent obsession is retro MTBs, Avid ultimate brake levers, onza NOS headset, red SRP hardware, control tech brakes, syncros titanium bottom brackets. NOS black deore XT-M732 cantilevers, Race face turbine crank with syncros rings, the list goes on.... it's all just candy, totally frivolous expenditure.

Original pantograph parts tend to be quite pricey. I've purchased a few.

Then there's the whole gotta get the correct date code stuff that can really hit the wallet.

$150 for a NOS Stronglight Competition 3 arm Cotter-ed Crankset. $125 for used Simplex rings to go along with that crankset. $100 for a Simplex suicide shifter for the same French bike. It looked good though.

That is, sort of, my thrust, these days. With limited storage space, most of the bikes are gone, but I did keep a half dozen pretty special bikes. My quest is to fit each bicycle out with period and model correct components.

For example, I paid more for this rear derailleur than I pay for most bicycles...