Aren't you complaining about a video that says people don't need expensive bikes, because cheaper ones can also go from Point A to Point B?

Hello guitar brother,

I am a blues player, and most of my idols of old played just one kind of guitar. Some had trouble affording it too, at first, and later were too settled to change. The three kings, and many other blues pioneers, were one-p-i-s-t-o-l pistoleros.

I have lots of guitars, waiting on a custom Collings I-35LC at the moment. But after playing any for a while, no matter how good and tuneful, I want to play a different one. And as you say, any basic axe will fill the need, a Jimmy Vaugh Strat or a Robert Cray Strat, at a cost of $600, is all you need to play and sound good. So what? The pleasure of playing a Giffin or a Collings or a masterbuilt Strat is something else, and very like the pleasure of riding a top bike.

I don't make that distinction. Normally, one cares about what others think, depending on who those others are and what they mean, but in general one tends to care regardless, otherwise I would be writing this without any care for clarity, grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and I don't even know who is going to read it.

You're more likely to be writing this, using proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation because you have a sense of pride of self, not because you care what we think.

That's the crux of my complaint, there is no "needing" bikes, for most people who can watch YouTube.

I disagree with this statement, have you ever looked at Craigslist? Tons of high end bikes that have little to no miles on them from the owners, not shops.

Actually, self-confident people really don't pay much mind to anonymous folks on the internet. There is most assuredly a distinction to be drawn between how you are thought of amongst your peers and folks you actually deal with and respect, than random anonymous folks who lack any informed basis for the opinions that they spout.

Supposing that is true, aren't they closely related? One acquires proper behavior to function in a society, first and foremost, and one then derives certain pride to the extend one has accomplished it. I doubt good manners, grammar, etc. would be ever acquired to live a life alone in a cave.

The reason one cares about what others think is because others affect one's life, as one affects the life of others, in various degrees. Sorry for stating the obvious. Every time I read someone who claims not to care about what other's think, is from someone who cares enough about what others think to take the time to log into some forum and make clear to others what he thinks so others will know what to think of him. It's nuts.

From my ~16 years working in bike shops, I estimate that approximately 50% of all bikes are seldom or never ridden. Perhaps the percentage is slightly better for high end bikes, but not by much.
I have heard multiple people say "I bought my bike ten years ago and never really rode it... so I guess it's time for a new one!"

You shouldn't disagree. I REALLY don't know anyone who buys expensive bikes and does not ride them. I have no incentive to lie to you. I am not saying such people don't exist, after all this is a big and sometimes weird world.

If some rich guy buys a dream bike and discovers that he does not like the bike or riding and sells it, I can see that happening, but that is not the same as someone buying and keeping expensive bikes and not riding them, just like some guy from Baltimore I met, a businessman who had a staggering guitar collection (I met him when I sold to him one of my axes), he asked me to play it for him, to hear how it sounded, because he could not. The guy was into guitar porn, but I know nobody into bike porn like that.

You spelled Syndrome incorrectly.

Nailed it. I've only been at the shop for 15-months and that's a regular conversation starter, especially around this time of year.

A shop regular bought a Pinarello Dogma from us with all the fixings about a year ago and his Garmin odometer read 600 miles when he brought it in for his one-year service. A Felt Z-85 that we sold around the same time to local Cat 5 (now Cat 3) guy has easily north of 8500+ miles on it after about 10-months.

The FXs and other hybrids we sell are kings of the "hardly ridden, looking to upgrade" bug.

Not really. I care about opinions in THIS forum, because the knowledge basis relating to bicycles is far higher than the general public, and through my interactions on this forum I can both enhance my own knowledge, and get a more useful perspective about and from others who have an interest in cycling in common with mine, while fostering a sense of community. The point being - cyclists you actually interact with - either in person or on line - can affect your life as it relates to your cycling. Some clown with a YouTube video doesn't affect your life unless YOU choose to let them do so. My interest in such a video is analogous to my interest in what Kim Kardashian does - which is not the slightest bit whatsoever. I admit, some people DO care what Kim Kardashian does. Those people need to get REAL lives.

"If some rich guy buys a dream bike and discovers that he does not like the bike or riding and sells it, I can see that happening, but that is not the same as someone buying and keeping expensive bikes and not riding them, just like some guy from Baltimore I met, a businessman who had a staggering guitar collection (I met him when I sold to him one of my axes), he asked me to play it for him, to hear how it sounded, because he could not."

That's the longest run-on sentence I have read in a long time.

Anyone else catch a faint whiff of troll?

The truly educated, and the truly moral, behave the same whether someone is watching or not. An aristocrat is someone who steps out of the shower to take a pee.

What you do when nobody is watching is who you truly are. That guy, the unwatched guy, is the one you want to perfect, not the roles one plays, the masks one wears, according to who is watching or listening. Just my two cents.

No, I don't think they are. I spell check, and proofread what I write because I want it to be correct for me.

However, I don't because I don't like how it looks or reads.

I also don't think that is true either. How I write on an internet forum, and how it makes other think of me affects me and my life in precisely zero ways. What I think of you, based on what you write on this forum also affects you in precisely zero ways. Sure, we truly care what some others think of us, but that is limited to those people who are part of our daily lives and have an actual tangible impact in our lives.

Someone who thinks it's ridiculous that I ride a carbon frame bike, with SRAM Red, and carbon tubular wheels may be right, but it doesn't affect me. I ride it because I want to, and because I like it. It could be further argued that it's ridiculous that I also have a custom titanium frame road bike, and two cyclocross bikes, and a TT bike, and a mountain bike. Again, they could be right, but I have them because I want them, and not because someone thinks I should.

600 miles in a year is not so bad. I've seen 5-10 year old high end bikes on CL here in San Diego that clearly have no more than a couple hundred miles on them.

Having an expensive bike isn't Fred-like. Having an expensive bike and throwing on bar end mirrors or a Bluetooth speaker are Fred-like. Anyone that makes any comment about your ability vs. money spent on a bike is indeed an envious person. I would pay them no attention as the majority of fellow cyclists admire nicer bikes and strive to obtain them.

There is a point of diminished returns when buying a bicycle. If a rider is looking for the best return on their dollars, they probably have ruled out a Project 1 bike. I an not sure what the angst is all about. Buy what you are able for reasons that make sense to you. You can spend your money anyway you want.

How does that relate in any way to the clown with the YouTube video? His opinion was not based upon watching you, and it would be unchanged, were you to ride a $500 bike 50 miles a day every day of the year, or a $5000 bike that you rode once every 6 months. You are what you are, and he doesn't impact that in the slightest degree, unless YOU choose to let him. And even then, he'd be totally oblivious to having had that impact on you.

+1 /thread

I doubt the guy from the video is a clown, or in anyway inferior to any of us. His ARGUMENT is game, he should not be. You don't know him, I assume, and I certainly don't. He has done nothing wrong, he just expressed a view, with which I strongly disagree, he also happens to lack a radio voice, but that does not make him a clown or deserving scorn.

If you care about this forum posts because of their utility to you, that's fine, but behind the pseudonyms, and noms de net and the joking and mocking, we are all people, and unless provoked, there is no reason to attack anything but each other's arguments. The argument you can cut, chop, and fricasee if you want, but it is always a good idea to respect someone who is rescpectful. Of course, when someone opens fire, it's fair to return fire, but that is best not done in a moderated forum. That's what unmoderated ones are for.

I am not telling you what to do, or mean to criticize you, this is only a reply to your "Not really."

I gues Kim's husband cares about what Kim does, and I believe his life to be extremly real, and really good.

Who is this Fred guy and why do y'all keep comparing folks to him?

I'll bet my latest $950 bike that the video saved a lot of people a lot of money.

And no, I couldn't make it to the 37 minute end. Too slow. The point could have been better made in less than 5 minutes.

An error I did not make worse with the disgrace of not admitting it.