Kindaslow

Below is a link to a fun article written by "The Angry Singlespeeder" about people whining about the cost of nice bikes. I hear comments about my more expensive bikes all of the time. I feel very fortunate to be at a stage in life that I can buy whatever bike I want. I do get really tired of hearing some folks knock the more expensive stuff for a variety of reasons, so I really like this article.

The Angry Singlespeeder: Stop whining about cost of bikes - Mtbr.com

street_sweeper

Thing that irritates me is that when i see people that are on expensive bikes that have no appreciation for the machines they are on and dont maintain them a lick

Night_shift

What this world really needs right now is another self-absorbed, trust-fund enabled slacker with nothing better to do than:

A) waste money on overpriced bikes /parts
B) blog about **** no one cares about whist simultaneous throwing 75%+ of the cycling community under the bus
C) noting in one's blog (with photographs) that you can spend 1800 on a god damned shock and **** on people who can't/won't
D) All of the above.

Apparently, by merely clicking on your link, I choose "D." Ironic disco hat wearing turd...


The guy's main argument surrounds the notion of inflation and improvement in tech; which I agree with. But his logic is flawed. By that same token here's a quote on the Mac Apple II:

"The Apple IIc originally sold for $1,295, and included a 1.023-MHz processor, 128KB of RAM, a built-in keyboard, power supply and 9-in. monochrome monitor. Adjusted for inflation, the same computer would cost $2,663 today..."

Yeah, an Apple II is pretty good? No. OK so,I built my own computer from parts I researched and bought. I ended up paying about 1k for my desktop and put it together myself. I can do the same things with bikes. No need to spend top dollar. It's just some guy with too much money and not enough brains ****ting on people.

jlafitte 

Kindaslow

I think you missed some of the points, but that is fine.

a) Expensive does not equal overpriced or wasted.
b) I think that there is only a small part of the "community"impacted. The most common price range for MTB sales is $3,000-5,000 these days.
c) Not so sure about those forks, either.
d) Not everyone with cool stuff got it from a trust fund. Some of us have been working for over 35 years to be able to afford cool stuff.

gear64

Wow, I'm kind of shocked by that. The most expensive bike I ever bought new was $600. I'm pretty sure if lbss near me have bikes that expensive it's a very small percentage. All the bikes I ride on a regular basis are less than $1000 total. I wonder if I rode a $5000 bike I could tell, at least enough to sway me. I'll likely never find out, because in this context I'd rather be blissfully ignorant and spread the money around to other things I like and need.

Andersper

Friends don't let friends make the "back in [year t], [product name] costed [x amount of money] adjusted for inflation" argument.

Kindaslow

I have two favorite bikes that I ride, my Langster and my Epic Expert WC. The new brakes for my Epic cost more than the Langster originally cost. Fun can be had at a lot of different price levels. And, the Langster might just outlast the Epic. But, for something like XC MTBing, the Epic is much more enjoyable to me than the less expensive MTBs I have owned, actually, for my riding I have never ridden a MTB as enjoyable. My issue is folks making silly and baseless comments about expensive bikes and their owners. Enjoy what you have!!!

Mumonkan

plenty are over 10k too, pretty sure theyre more expensive than road bikes these days

i get where the dudes coming from, but him *****ing about people *****ing is just one big circlejerk. this world is full of complainers, go ride your bike and stop worrying so much about what other people are doing.

andr0id

Americans now think it is their right to have things they can't afford.
Thus when things they want aren't given to them by the .gov (paid for with productive taxpayer's money) they whine and complain and demonize the hard working person that actually can afford it.

Lil Bear

I put 2 quotes together to save some space..
People are entitled to their opinions, no matter how silly or baseless. They're not, however, entitled to their own facts. I think I learned enough here to not feel a need to read the article. Did I click a wrong button? I thought I was in the SS forum.

kbarch

Yes, there's some of that going on, but there's also a lot of selfishness and ignoring the truly needy going on, too. There may not be anything terribly wrong with spending money on luxuries and being satisfied with ones wealth, but denigrating the less fortunate and being proud of keeping ones wealth to oneself is pretty offensive.

Kindaslow

I put it here due to the author, and because this is my favorite section. And, yes, we are all entitled to our opinions, no matter the sense or basis. I enjoy my bikes, greatly, from the least expensive to the most expensive.

Kindaslow

There is a pretty big difference between wealth, like private jets and Lambos, versus a 10k MTB. Those of us who have worked very hard, had good fortune, and have some coin actually try to ride the wheels off of our bikes when we spend 8-10k on them. I do agree that denigrating is of very poor taste, but so is hating...

Dave Cutter

Nothing wrong with pricey things!

Nothing wrong with complaining about price ether. Vendors are very much aware of their price-points as it compares to their market place. Henry Ford went broke trying to make pricey High-end automobiles for the wealthy. But making affordable cars for the masses.... made him rich. So did Ford make the cars he really wanted to make?

Today... market research can determine pricing limits and marketing strategies before the product even begins the design stage. I assume bicycle corporations have established the best (pronounced: most profitable) price points for their products.

We're grown-ups here. It is never about the product... it is always about the profit.

Kindaslow

I saw you take another thread down a weird road, right or wrong I am not sure, because I lost interest.

But, you can be all about the profit. I will be all about picking the product I like, and not giving a #hit about their profit margin if it is the product I want at a price I am willing to pay. I am in my 50's with ZERO debt, so please do not put me into the irresponsible spender group.

now, back to ride what you love, and ride it a lot.

howeeee

Why would you care what somebody does with their own bike? I dont get it

By the way I bought a 160 dollar slightly used Purefix that everyone on this list that commented on it said it was junk. 5000 hard miles later the bike is going strong. The most value i ever got for my money ever lol

I ride 120 miles a week year round I dont spend over a couple hundred bucks on a bike.
I also flip bikes to make the money to buy my bikes (-:
On the other hand my brother rides a 7000 dollar bike, if it makes him happy so what.

TenSpeedV2

I went from a $750 mountain bike to a $2100 mountain bike, it was like night and day. Mostly due to the fact that I went from a Specialized Hardrock hardtail to a legit full suspension Specialized Stumpjumper. The components were far better once I made the jump to the more expensive bike. Brakes to shifters all the way to the wheels. You would be able to tell the difference. Now, on a single speed, maybe you would. The frame would be nicer and the cranks, etc. but you probably wouldn't notice that huge of a difference. The shops here cater to everyone, from those on a budget to those whose credit card doesn't have a limit. $350 Treks to $8k Cervelo's.

And to some of us, spending that much on a bike is the norm. I currently have about $4k worth of bikes sitting in the living room of my apartment. Some people spend less than that on a car for their entire life. Some spend more than that on just a frame. It all boils down to what you want and need.

I look at it like this, life is far too short to ride a crappy bike.

Kindaslow

I do not lick my bike, either, just saying.....

SquidPuppet

Being wealthy because one worked hard is cool. But that doesn't automatically make one a good person.

Being wealthy because one was born into it is cool. And that doesn't automatically make one a bad person.

Being poor shouldn't automatically define one as lazy or carrying an inflated sense of entitlement.

That said, the author of the article strikes me as the type of fellow that I would distance myself from.

Kindaslow

I have read other articles of his, and I believe he writes for effect and affect. So, in person, he might be just fine.

SquidPuppet

So he's a "Shock Jock" of MTB journalism? If it's deliberate, it certainly works.

Ironically, or perhaps deliberately as you pointed out, the subject of his article is anti whiner, yet the piece comes across as a diatribe typed by an angry crybaby.

It's not a writing style that I can enjoy, since it lacks a dose of tongue in cheek to make the sarcasm more tolerable.

Phil_gretz

Not true, Howeeee. Some on this list said that it was junk. Everyone said that it was hideously ugly. Just setting the record straight...

prooftheory

rreahard

Yes!!