The non stop upgraditis and the want of a new ride? How many of you are content with what you have?

I can't seem to keep dollars in my pocket. As soon as I stack some money I obsess over ways to blow it on my bike. Everyday I'm on eBay and Craigslist not for anything specific mind you, I just look for bikes or upgrades. Anyone feel like i feel

Does it ever end?

Debit, Death or Divorce

I don't think so...

If we're not upgrading what we've got, we're buying something new and different.


Rowan and I want to check out Bike Fridays when we're in North America next. They may be the next addition to the collection.

Read Marx's definition of material fetish-ism.

Go find people who ride faster than you with cheaper gear - that helps to realign one's focus.

Judging from all the threads I see you in, you have a seriously addictive personality. It's one thing to enjoy your hobby. It's another to compulsively want to dump money into something, especially if it's every time you get some surplus money. There's more to life than riding a bike. Don't get me wrong, I have expensive hobbies (cycling, firearms, and snowboarding). But they don't consume my thoughts (or wallet) 24/7/365. I also have the money to afford them, because I am very deliberate about what I purchase and how I budget my money.

this

I'm thrilled with my current bike and have zero plans to make any changes at all.

I am in the process of buying a bike with a different type of riding in mind.

So it can end with one bike, but there's always the next one...

I constantly look at parts and bikes, even if I am not looking to buy anything. Since my main bike is a cross bike that I use for road, dirt, commuting and whatever else, I am often looking at parts to swap to do different things.

Don't really see the harm considering I don't dump a lot of money into it, but I like to research things thoroughly before I buy so it all works out in the end.

I'm happy and as my son told me, "if you need a better bike, you're doing something seriously right".

there is no concrete answer to wants vs. needs because living itself is a biological instinct. there is no need to live. if all life ceases, who cares?

enjoy life and do not knowingly harm others.

fwiw, "material fetishism" has existed at least as long as humans have.

but i digress.

existentialism at it's finest

Yup. Once you've been riding a while, you'll realize it's all in the legs. I have a rough idea of what components are on my bike (even though I built it up indivdually), and when I ride with others, I barely notice what they are riding. I pay a lot of attention to how they ride, and how I'm riding.

Indeed.

I also learned to be happy with what I have. As much as I love bikes, the focus for me is my body 1st, bike 2nd. Any shortcomings I feel I may have, I try to do something about them by working on my body and skill. I could ride a cheap bike and the difference in performance would be small. If I would get a weaker body that went without physical exercise for a year, the performance drop would be crazy.

I have a friend with a 4000 euro carbon Jan Janssen bike. There are people in the gym who take one spinning class a week that are stronger cyclists. I am not saying he should not have bought the bike. He is happy with it, and it is his money. But it is not somehow a magical substitute for training. Once you realize this, ans shift your focus, you come to see the bike as a tool again and start taking more pride in the engine.

Negative. Death alone.

Yeah, it does. Buy quality, realize it is largely the ride, not the stuff that makes a ride great, recognize more stuff will not make you happier.
My total costs cycling this year- 25dollars.

Agreed.

There is absolutely no substitute for sheer training. It's almost impossible to resist the urge to upgrade. For me, it's a sooner or later thing. However, setting cycling goals to warrant an upgrade purchase makes me feel less guilty because I've "earned" it.

I'm pretty much ready to join the club, but recognizing that there's a problem is usually the first step to fixing it. AFAIK, a lot of people buy more and more stuff as a way of validating their existence, but find less and less things to do with what they have. Nowadays I just do as Old Man Riley does and seriously budget out my money and possessions.

A guy named Jim Kurrasch once told me about sword collecting: "It's better to have a few really good swords in your collection than a lot of mediocre ones." It reins in your spending, develops a more discerning eye, and makes you appreciate what you have even more. It's fairly easy to apply that to everything in your life.

Sad, but SO true. What possible REAL value do all these things have? NONE! Just what value we place upon them. (I am guilty of it also, but it is much easier to control when you pay with cash).

That's very well said, and a great approach to cycling spending. I've had my bike for 8 years without anything added aside from the initial purchases (clothes, pedals/shoes and cheep-o computer). Got back into riding 2 months ago, rode my first half century yesterday, treated myself with new bar tape and chain cleaner for reaching that first goal, total spent $28... 75 miles I'll get a new saddle, my first century I'll get new shoes so my toes stop going numb...

Bite your tongue...

I too have this problem. It is a re-occurring problem through my previous past hobbies.

I have not spent as much on my bikes as I have had on my wines, watches, cameras, and pens.

For biking though, I am now in an older, more responsible (yeah right!) mindset, and thus have set performance goals for myself before I would upgrade or buy another bike.

For example:

1) 300 then 400 then 500 mile per month riding average
2) regular weekly then twice a week 50 mile rides
3) completing metric and full centuries
4) 16 then 18 then 20 mph average over an hour
5) metric centuries in 3 hr 30 and full centuries in 5 hr 30
6) double metric century
7) 6000 miles per year
8) 20lbs weight loss
9) 10% power increase
etc., etc.

These can be simple performance goals but I find them as good motivational or self-deprivation tools so I do not just buy, buy, buy.

This should be similar to how we run our lives or businesses.

Graduate college or graduate school, first job, 401k, first car, marry, first house, first kid, 403b, second kid, 403b, second car, retirement plan savings, first company - minimal to no debt, then bikes!

First company hitting sales laddered targets and paying taxes, then investing in more people, equipment, and facility - sustainable growth and development without over-expansion and no debt.

Mark

PS. I wonder when I would allow myself that Parlee DI2 bike?

Really?? Do you factor in food??

OP, you want to curb upraditis?? Then start racing! You'll sink all your money into licensing, race fees, travel costs and everything thing else to keep you going in peak form. There won't be much left for all the other stuff...

I don't know why by I have little difficulty not spending my money. (a) Almost every time I want to spend money the shops do not have what I want. (b) Almost every time I do actually spend money (usually to replace something) I find out the new item is such crepe that within a week I revert back to the old one or make do without.

Can anyone hazard an explanation as to why I could have such a different mentality to another person who is the opposite, i.e. (i) anything they see in the shop, the think it is "cool" and they "need" it; and, (ii) every time they buy something..........well two things might happen I guess, (ii.1) they ignore the fact it is crepe and just find something else to buy, or (ii.2) they don't see it as crepe because they have low expectations.