Says the guy with the brand new carbon fiber bicycle.

10 years old. Strapped to a chair in a basement. The needle shoving oh-so-gently into my gums. The Orthodontist with the pliers, wiggling out the first of 6 gums.

"Swallow the blood."
"Swallow the blood!"

I think you should not confuse "cycling" with "people talking about cycling on the internet".

The thing under the front Forks

Now why you gotta be hatin' on Tangentes?

I must admit, I look pretty swaggy in my peter pan tights going down a hill at 45mph.

The 273 lobotomized them first?

When the average joe goes to a bike shop and realizes they need to drop over 1K for a new bike (then the outfit, then the clipless pedals and shoes, don't forget gloves), cycling is expensive. It is not mistaken to believe cycling is expensive, especially if you start looking at the higher dollar bikes. I'm pretty surprised at the dollar amount that most cyclists are riding around...I thought I had expensive tastes.

That doesn't mean I am against people spending what they want on what they get, just that I disagree with that point.

+1

And then you get the choir chanting that Mr. Overweight roadie rolling around on Zipp wheels for 20 miles might get his widdle feelings hurt for pointing out that it works better for cycling in general when you present road bikes less as a fashion industry for type A's with disposable income and more as an entry level fitness sport for the great, unwashed lazy masses.

RJ, if their starting point is "start looking at high dollar bikes", sure that would be expensive.

I'm trying to say that no one needs to drop over 1K for a first bike. They don't need clipless pedals and shoes, gloves, or even any outfit at all. You don't have to go to the local bike shop and buy one of their entry level or better bikes to get started in the sport. These are all part of what I call the "mistake" of thinking that cycling is expensive. It isn't at all expensive - it's the self imposed "needs" and all the extraneous factors that cost us.

I get what you are saying, wphamilton. I've often said that cycling isn't really expensive when you look at the big picture...once you buy the initial gear, it's all basically free. I mean, there is maintenance, but that is cheap in comparison. Buy a good solid bike once and don't chase the component of the month, and you can ride a bike for a quarter of a century or more if you wanted to.

As far as a hobby goes, cycling isn't terrible, but you have to get past the initial shock of realizing a decent new bike is going to cost some money up front.

Stupid thread. Stupid argument.

If the folks who launch these discussions spent their spare time at the homeless shelters, and spare money buying them food, then there would be some slight justification for their self-righteous attitudes.

As it is, it's just trolling.

Cycling is both. And a lot more. I don't know why anyone would have a problem with that.

Precisely so. Then you get to the fun part, improving things, better performance, expanding the capabilities. Which always costs.

I actually do give food to the homeless when I have the time to volunteer with the group. When I can resume this again, I will.
I used to volunteer at a non-profit bike co-op. Life went on, and I had to stop.
Of course people can spend whatever they want. But if this industry needs to flourish, less time on 10k telepathic shifters, more time on affordable cycling gear. As it is, people look at how much I spend-which is a pittance compared to others here, and stare aghast as I tell them how much it all cost.
But let's not hurt the Zipp riding maker's feelings.

So I guess this isn't the right thread to ask if a set of zipp 303s will make this newbie rider faster?

Depends. Zipp 303 tires or wheels?

Without the high end, the low end never improves. Your CAAD 10 is the end result of years of labor at the high end and the technology making its way down to the level at which you can afford it. It wasn't that long ago that CAADs were winning stages on the pro tour. The fat guy on Zipps with Di2, and his predecessors, are why you're not riding on a Varsity today.

At the true low end, nobody is competing with Wal*Mart and Target. That game is all about volume.

I get that people find any bike over $300 to be outrageously expensive. That's pretty much where people feel comfortable with any consumer product. But most technology driven hobbies have huge price ranges that shock n00bs. Many, if not most, hobbies are even more extreme in that regard than cycling.

Most of the bicycles sold (units) in the United States are sold at places like Wal-Mart and Target with an average price under $100. Most of the dollars spent on bicycles in the US are spent at bike shops.

https://nbda.com/articles/industry-ov...-2012-pg34.htm

No. Finish the circles and get 808s. Go big or go home.

or getting some vitamin A with their strange looking tan lines.

And these people look so snappy while they might have the headgear down to a science.

Looks like they're having fun. Are you?

Well played, as this is indeed a thread about nothing.

General Bull Right said "Smoke em if you got em". Spend your money any way you want, it's a (relatively) free country.

That said, the entertainment factor of threads like this is pretty high. Hell, I had to stop watching Burn Notice to type this.