I barely have over 100 miles on my new CAAD10 (my first road bike), and this forum has me going on ebay and on the online classifieds seeing if I can get good deals on upgrades I don't need... I have also convinced myself that I need to get "beater bike" for commuting to college which is 25 minutes away walking... Joining and reading this forum is going to rid my wallet of the little it contains...

Anyone share my pain? I know there are others...

My wife put me on lockdown for spending so much on cycling stuff I really don't need. I have to be sneaky about my spending now.

If you would have told me this time last year that I would invest over $2000 in bicycling I would have laughed. I used to think my $300 MTB was "high end".

Whatever you do, do not Google Search Shimano Di2. You will want...bad.

Judging by your user name, I'd say you had a pre-existing condition.

buying bike stuff is to be applauded.

Shuagster is a nickname coming from the last syllable of my name Joshua... Nothing to do with Schwag...

Already did... But the SRAM Red group looks way hotter...

Well then you don't need a single speed (for the helluvit), a fixed gear (for the Zen of it) or a mixte (for the ride), so don't get any of those. Also, don't look at bikes and bike stuff on Craigslist or eBay...especially after you've been drinking...

Here's how my addiction progressed:

$10 ebay Schwinn... which I promptly put $80 into.
$50 ebay Centurion... which I promptly painted and put a completely different group on ($150ish or so)
$150 buy on a Gazelle AB-Frame here on BF's - built it with old 105, then with old Campy Super Record, then with new Campy Centaur.
$100 Flyte frame buy - added Campy Centaur, then upgraded the shifters when the Gazelle got the new Centaur group - then I upgraded the frame to a carbon Fuji.
Traded a Schwinn Passage (that I'd heavily updated and upgraded) for a Serotta - which I promptly repainted, half built with old Campy Super record (see above), then full Campy Chorus/Record.

... and right now I'm on the waiting list for a custom frameset that'll probably cost me as much as all my other bikes combined when it's all said and done, even after getting a solid deal on the Campy Athena group.

I'm having the same problem with spending. Just got two new Cont. 4000S tires and with less than two hundred miles on them ruined the front tire. Had to get another one far from my LBS and paid too much for it but was glad to get one. I was also lucky to get a ride to the bike shop too. This was just after I placed a large Hammer order. Spending money is just so easy.

A college student who can afford a new CAAD10...dang, I was lucky to have enough money to buy a 12-pack of Keystone Light on Saturday night in college. Settled for a $1.99 bottle of Boones Farm many, many times.

Screw walking; it's time to go dumpster diving.

I've been close to pulling the trigger on the Cont. 4000s but everytime I see the tires on my bike, I pull away from the impulse, they still look new...

I'd been saving up for about a year... I've been wanting a decent road bike for about three years.

this is heresy. burning at the stake is too good for you infidels.

I'm going to snitch on you to the Pope of BF....His Holiness Pcad.

Maybe I shouldn't have spent so much money on beer.

Just getting into this sport has been costly. Even getting good deals on everything I've purchased has cost a pretty penny.

I have been riding for quite a while and lurking these forums, so ya I know the feeling... Currently eyeballing a Garmin Edge 500 that I am convincing myself I need.

As another college student who might go down the same route as you, I'm wondering... surely you didn't leave your CAAD just locked up outside while you were in class (pre-beater bike)? It kinda stinks not having your own garage to keep your beloved machine in.

I can relate 100% with this. I had no idea a year ago that I'd be getting back into cycling and certainly never thought it would cost as much as it has.

Unfortunately, I don't have a wife to put me on lockdown.

I live in an apartment off campus and walk to class so I can store it inside safely under lock and key. I would never take the CAAD to go to class... I would never go out on it if it meant leaving it out of sight, even for 10 seconds...

Anyone buy anything from bonktown.com? They seem to have good deals all the time. But items never sell out wondering if its too good to,be true

You'll need tires eventually. Might as well buy them so you have them ready in case you get a bad cut in one.

I've bought a couple of things. They have good deals once in a while, but nothing special from what I've seen compared to Ebay and online. Usually it's oddball stuff I don't want .... stopped watching.

I buy from them all the time. Just ordered some Bont A-One shoes from them yesterday.

The beater bike for school is a good idea. The upgrade thing is typical noobieism in BF.

Buy the beater for school.

If you read these forums, nothing you have will ever be good enough.

It's about the riding, not the buying.