biffstephens

I just finished ordering some Super Record bits...everything but the brakes. Fed-x has my Powertap about 100 miles away "In Transit", I ride way more than I race....I see racing as a way to ride better.

I like nice bits on my bike..my car? Not so much...I put way more miles on my bike this year. The way I see it my bike should be niceer.

Treefox

I raced UK Cat 4 on a steel Peugeot frame from ~'92.

A friend of mine had a theory - if you beat someone with a nicer bike than yours, you should get to keep their wheels.

Psimet2001 

I'd be afraid to hear what the naysayers would say if they were involved in motorsports.

FatguyRacer

Pretty much the same thing. But there are cup series which are designed to promote parity, low cost and driver and car prep skills than spending. 944 Cup comes to mind. So does SCCA Autocrossing. I looked seriously into getting into 944 Cup racing and my research indicated that even that wasn't so cheap. The biggest expense, aside from travel, was tires and track time. The idea of spending several hundred dollars per event didn't quite sit well with me. Especially when I would have to finance it myself.

Bicycle racing is still a pretty cheap sport (relatively speaking) and doesn't require a huge amount of cash to be successful. Just lots of time and dedication. The best part is that even if I couldnt afford to compete, I can still ride and enjoy the bicycle any time i want. I cant do that with a race car.

mista_chewey

wouldn't that mean you're in "heaven" or equivalent now?

hammy56

To the OP...guess what, if all the Cat5ers (not to mention those who dont even race at all) stopped buying these 'unnecessary goodies', the companies probably wouldnt be around long...you think they survive and profit from what the racers purchase? Not so much.

Psimet2001 

To drive this point home I find it hard to find a racer past cat 3 that feels like they should pay for their equipment.

Whether that's right or wrong doesn't matter, but it makes it hard to support an entire industry if the only people who "should" be riding the stuff don't want to pay for it. Who pays for it then? The rec rider when they buy a $400 hybrid for the MUPS?

Brian Ratliff

My guess would be places like ProBikeKit, who take advantage of the postal operations to get around distribution agreements with manufacturers and import/export laws. Not obviously illegal, but not exactly legal either - goes against the spirit of these agreements and import/export laws, certainly.

Bontrager

+2

Gluteus

Ahh! I see. Thanks.

wfrogge

Umm... yes

You just dont get it I guess.

Treefox

PBK does plenty of domestic UK business too.

Brian Ratliff

You are right - certainly not grey market there. I am just referring to the business they do with the US, which is probably a significant part of their sales.

mic2377

Forgive my remark about a power-meter.... i do indeed understand its utility and would eventually like to invest in one myself. I didn't intend to signal it out.

My frustration is because I feel the upward spiraling prices are bad for the sport in general. I can't believe how many people I talk to who think that cycling is sport where you have to have a $5K bike to even go for a group ride. It seems that the same people who are throwing $$$ aren't having such a beneficial "trickle-down" effect on the market, they are instead pushing it up out of reach. Look at Campy '09....

I don't harbor any ill will against those who spend alot of money on their bike. Hell, my bike wasn't cheap.

I am shocked by the massive negative reaction to this, LIGHTEN UP! I am going to go ride my bike and get away from all of this noise....

Oh, I do indeed have a job.... a full-time good paying one at that...

travkat

False! A good rider knows how to maintain their bike and makes sure it is in tip top working order for race day. Anyone who doesn't is asking for a mechanical during a race or a catastrophic failure of some kind from not inspecting their bike during a regular maintenance cleaning.

ricebowl

Flatballer

I oil the important stuff. I clean my drive train. The rest of my bike has mud and road grime and dirt on it. This is what happens when you ride in nasty weather. My bike is fine mechanically, but it doesn't look so great.

Rivren5

This thread just makes me want to try to race even more...and I am going to try it - I have a Cervelo S1 nice -but not top of the line - it will be just fine. I am going to race it, stock - no modifications. Equipment alone does not equal success in racing.

I am a runner and guys have clothing, and shoes more expensive then mine. Some I blow away, and others run right by me. I am guessing this is what Cat5 will be like.

What I do know is I am new to the sport, have no experience and know that. I hope that there are veterans that will teach me what I need to know and offer tips. That simple. I am going to get into the sport because I am interested and have a good attitude. Gear heads and high dollar equipment won't intimidate me.

Rowan

Son, don't you ever, ever lose sight of what you just said here. You're outlook on life is superb.

And I thought the grey market in bike parts was Ultegra SL... oh well.

Greg180

A few posters have mentioned this but the cycling industry is all about attracting the "Cat 5" into purchasing swag that will end up on craiglists someday. Cat 5 is like the freshman class at any university...cannon fodder. Bring in as many as you logistically handle because you know the majority will not have the discipline to make it to the "3"s.

You want to keep this silly obsession alive. Make it a point to welcome each new Cat five on a Tarmac with Zipps and a SRM, (basically me). Then in the privacy of your "racing" clic or on BF you can mock them for lacking your speed...Power...discipline...(fill in the blank). Because your engine speaks for itself.

bvfrompc

Oh yeh, I can't tell you how envious everyone is of my 5 year old CAAD8.

But I don't get all pissy or jealous because someone has more money or has nicer things than me.

bvfrompc

Or they will have fun racing on their really nice bikes and not giving a rats ass about your envy.

umd

I really don't usually correct spelling like this (except for *cough* product names *cough*), but in this case, it's "single it out", not "signal it out"...

You first

gMoneyYo :)

Well said.

bvfrompc

[QUOTE=Coyote2;8105772]I hope that our country's recent economic woes have got some people re-thinking their priorities. Contrary to what some may think, I suspect that the OP (and others who are dismayed over $10k bikes in newbie races) is not envious, but just finds it disturbing that people spend (and in some cases probably borrow) for high-zoot race bikes when they probably have barely raced. All of us - including those of us who are NOT up to our eyeballs in debt, who pay our mortgages on time, who are not in industries requiring bailouts -- all of us are paying for others' profligacy. So, yes, I do feel a bit justified in judging some people's behavior, though not everyone's. Spending tons of money on a race bike when you can't hang in a Cat 5 race is foolish, as there is always something else to do with the money. This is one of the big unspoken problems with our society: people think that, just because they can afford (or get credit to buy) something, that they should be able to have it. That attitude leads to high debt, resource depletion, overflowing garbage dumps, and posers on expensive bikes.
QUOTE]

Or, yah know, they have the money and like nice things. Sorry you didn't work as hard to get to the point where you could buy nice things.