Gotcha. TY for the clarification.

Yeah, I am going to make a CK headset necklace so people with think I am a famous bicycle rapper.

Redundant? Was your Timex a pocket watch? Or do you wear your phone on your wrist?

Social statement? Who cares what anyone else thinks? In my case, both nice components and/or watches are bought for me...not someone else.

Yeah, redundant. It's like having a pocket watch AND a wrist watch on you at the same time. What's the point, unless the watch is basically jewelry?

I wore watches my whole life until I started carrying a cell phone.

No period

My wife noticed that watches were what men look at when trying to size up the status of another man

Much like purses and jewelry for women.

I prefer shoes and the CUT and FABRIC (not label) of their suit. Both are far more personal than a watch, which can be easily swapped out to make an impression.

I go one easier and just judge them on their character.

Everything else is bull****.

I just tuck a softball in my shorts and don't care what they wear ... no $20K watch beats the Mighty Bulge.


:D

So ... I guess Chris King's jewelry line is due out next season?

, yo.

Judge? Sure.

Understand who the person actually is? Character can be just as phony as a watch or sports car. There is far more than just character to the story about a person.

We are a social species. We all care what other people think, and we depend on social cues to determine who we will interact with and how we will interact with them. In many cases, social skills directly translate to survival skills, so yes, it matters.

This is highly dependent on the experiences you've had. It's also highly dependent on the design of the part in question. Here are my experiences:

Headsets: I've never had one fail in 25+ years of riding. Then again, I don't ride in the rain and I don't weigh a lot. I have a cheap-o FSA drop in one on my road bike that has 35K+ miles on it without issue. I take out the bearings and re-grease the races where they contact the frame every year or so, they look a bit tarnished but they're fine.

Bottom brackets: I will not buy a bike with a press fit BB. I've never had a square taper or a Hollowtech 2 fail on me. I installed a $25 Ultegra Hollowtech 2 7 years ago with a $13 tool and haven't touched it since. It's silent and smooth.

Drivetrain and brakes: I only buy Ultegra and I have since the 80s. I've never had a problem. I currently have 12 year old 6600 on a road bike that's looks and works very well, I have 6800 on a newer bike that seems equally good. I had one bike with Dura Ace many years ago, it wasn't worth the premium over Ultegra IMO.

Stems, bars and seatposts. I've found the cheap alloy ones fall apart, scratch easily, seize more readily to frames and have cheap hardware. Nicer alloy bars/stems/seatposts come with better, more durable finishes and stainless hardware. Carbon parts aren't worth it at all from a practical perspective but near top-of-the-line alloy parts are worth the extra expense.

Pedals: Most cheap pedals suck, but I've had good luck with $65 VP pedals on a mountain bike. I use Shimano pedals (everything from M324s to SPD-SLs to T780s) everywhere else. Shimano M540s, for example, cost about $50 and last essentially forever.

Clothing: cheap clothing doesn't fit right, wears out and chafes the hell out of you. Expensive clothing generally lasts much longer, is more comfortable and doesn't chafe. There are diminishing returns here, though. I'd say above about $100 for a short sleeve jersey and above $175-$200 for a nice pair of bibs, things don't really get any better.

Conclusions:

Inexpensive headsets and bottom brackets work fine and last a very long time if you choose a good design.

Dura Ace isn't worth it over Ultegra, I have no idea if Ultegra is worth it over 105 because I only buy Ultegra and have for decades.

Get nicer bars, stems and seatposts if you plan to ride a lot. Not a good place to save a few bucks, IMO.

Spending more than $100 on a pair of pedals is generally a waste unless you need a particular design.

Spend good money on clothing and shoes if you ride a lot. It's worth it.

Mine tells me my power output, when there are cars behind me, and can show me maps when I have no cell coverage.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4173/...22fdae_z_d.jpg