Choose 10 or 20 forum members at random. Get some basic info about them: age, weight, fitness level. You will get a sense very quickly of the average fitness level. I really don't need to say much more than that, since we all know enough to reach a conclusion about why forum members buy higher end bikes.

Ha ha, anyone can buy whatever they want. They just won't be able to convince anyone it's because they want to save a split second for a polka dot jersey in the pyrenees.

"But most people here aren't interested in that. They want to defend spending an extra $4K to $10K. It's obvious why. They want a nicer bike. No problem with that."

Why does somebody have to defend their purchase? Who cares why they bought an expensive bike? What is it to you or anybody else? I will never understand why people get so offended by what bike somebody else buys. Does it make me chuckle when a fat fellow talks about losing weight on his bike instead of his panis? A little. Perhaps the person simply enjoys the process and is analytical for his enjoyment. Do I understand that? Maybe not. Do I care? No.
I am not a Doctor but for some reason people here always associate a Doctor as being the only person who buys Italian or boutique bikes. I did not know that they had the corner on the market or that they made the most money. Truthfully, who cares. We all enjoy bikes and different ones for different reasons. Why squash somebody's fun because you do not ascribe to their preferences?

I did get your point and it was valid. I was just making light of the analogy. And to that point, no. Lincoln is just as bad as Cadillac
I just do not like American Cars. I ride Colnago but drive a Honda so I am probably not the best person to analyze. I do not like American cars just like I do not like the big name bikes. I like boutique bikes from Germany and Italy. It is just my taste.

I think you are missing the context of the discussion altogether. No one is telling anyone else what to buy. OP wants to know what the differences are between 2k and 6K bikes. Many are arguing there is a performance advantage in saving 2 lbs. off the bike.

I am simply saying it is so miniscule, it doesn't matter for the vast majority of people.

1. most forum members ride alone.

2. most forum members don't race.

3. for the few who ride in groups, these groups are for fun group rides not races.

Buy a high end bike if you wish. Just don't attempt to disguise your desire for a high end bike with practical utilitarian reasons which don't actually exist.

I test rode an expensive italian bike with campy record, all carbon: parts, frame and fork. It was all right. Nothing special. It was super light, but didn't have any magical ride properties that I could detect. It rode like a bike. Nothing more, nothing less. I pedaled and the bike moved forward.

I had the same impression with a specialized roubaix with ultegra 11. Good bike, but it didn't shift any better than tiagra 10, nor was it noticeably more comfortable. The brake pads were softer and nicer than tektro.

The performance differences are vanishingly small. And the nuisance of babying carbon frames and parts, the noise of carbon rims/poor braking performance, and of course the expense, in addition to the complete absence of any tangible functional or performance gain made it very easy to make a decision.

Of course, this is all going to be twisted around to mean: "you are telling me what bike to buy!" Yeah, whatever, dude.

So what's my age, weight, fitness level and bf percentage? Or rpenmanparker's or bruce19's, since they posted next to me? I wouldn't be surprised if those were around 10%, but you don't really know. Just guessing.

We'll disagree on whether there is a performance gain for constant surges and sprints. I accept that you never realized a gain for those circumstances, but I take that in context with all of those who say that there was one.

By your definition, and practical utilitarian reasons, buying a bike with multiple gear ratios is simply hubris, as you could have accomplished all of that on a $250 single speed. You sir are a wastrel..

I am not offering a definition of what the "correct" purchase is. That definition as I have stated many times before, is subjective for everyone. I just don't pretend that spending $2K guarantees performance gains compared to a $250 fixie.

If you think a significant percentage of forum members are 10% body fat, that is simply absurd. Take a look at photos of people who are actually at 10% body fat.

The stronger rider prevails. A 2 lb. weight difference in the bike doesn't matter. You should know that from personal experience.

I'm well below 10% (rock climber), but I am probably one of the weakest riders on this forum, unfortunately. Losing a few lbs from my body or my bike would have pretty negligible effects on my average speed.

How do you know that? I got on a trainer for a fitting recently and was surprised to discover that after years and years of infrequent riding, my watts were above average.

Very few amateurs have their equipment paid for around here. Maybe guys riding for the national team. Are you saying the amateur riders in your area are getting free bikes? I ride with a lot of guys who don't race anymore who still are very fit. They ride with other very fit riders where getting dropped is a distinct possibility. They ride race bikes because that is what they know and are comfortable on. Many people who ride expensive because to them, $6,000 is not that big of deal. My dentist rides. He makes good money, his wife makes better money, the kids are out of the house, and he has no mortgage. Why not? What I don't get is why the hostility towards people who spent more than you did on their bikes?

The 'Puritan Ethic'; it's alive and well!!!

Yeah, I want a McLaren Venge and can't afford it and I'm mad as hell

I am a school teacher, and while I live comfortably, I do not have lots of money. I have always rode what be considered professional level bicycles. I gave up other things to be able to afford the bike things. I went years with rabbit ears instead of cable, I would do staycations on my breaks, worked part time jobs, taught music lessons. I remember being very frustrated with my Ultegra 600 friction not wanting to shift when I needed it to, I got an on campus job and did a layaway on a Trek 770 with Dura Ace SIS at Wheelsport Bikes in Spokane. It wasn't about having the coolest stuff, it was about having equipment that worked for me. Even today, my equipment choices are based on my needs as a rider and it is important enough to me to give up buying other things.

Project much? Disagreement is not synonymous with "hostility."

The sense of entitlement these days is outrageous. I have to agree with you or I am "hostile." See what I did there?

Clearly your hostile. It comes out in your writing. That might just be who you are.

Clearly you cannot tolerate disagreement. It comes out in your writing. That might just be who you are. Enjoy your colnago, brah. It's just a bike forum, no worries.

I actually ride A Modone, though the best bike I ever owned was a Colnago, mid 80's vintage. Very balanced in terms of stiffness and give, corning. I used to ride that bike down hills no hands. The weather finally got to it and it had to be put out to pasture. I loved that bike.

The way I see it is this.

You're a tightarse - didn't actually test / ride any of the high-end bikes that you seem to know sooo much about, then opted for a cheap option and vainly attempt to justify this option to others. You potter around on your bike, do not race, so obviously have a bugger all to offer when someone is asking about the dynamic / performance aspect of a bike, particularly the difference between a mid-range to high-end one. Some would say you're the fount of all velo knowledge - congratulations!

Plenty of perfomance benchmarks provided by bicycle manufacturers and independent testers on the internet - just look past the $50 frameset category and you'll find some.

Now, I'm gonna go and ride (one) of my $1500 bikes (I bought demo and/or built from framesets, so got what I wanted at a reasonable price - hardly high-end either) and be happy.

cheers

I just don't "get" that.... I rode $99 ten-speeds when I was a kid; and BSO's I fished out of the garbage when I was a young man. I didn't even know what I was doing, as far as tuning, at the time, but the crappy derailers and friction shifters worked just fine- and they certainly weren't anything near Ultegra- that would have been a real luxury.

Did Ultegra ever come in downtube friction or even downtube SIS/friction? I thought that Shimano 600 before it was changed to Ultegra.

You are right. It was Shimano 600 before Ultegra. I think that's what Colnago meant when he said Ultegra 600.

When I first got the bike I was happy with the shifting. I didn't know anything either. When I started racing, I realized all that fishing for the gear that didn't matter when riding by myself, mattered when the race was going up the road. If most of one's riding is done solo, the little things like bike flex don't matter much. For me, I could flex the frame enough to shift to the next gear. I knew it was going to be difficult to be competitive having those problems, so I got a job and paid for a new bike. Worth every penny.