Vanilla bikes
 

anyone ride one? man those are some amazing looking bikes...right now I'm thinking about getting my first brand new track frame..it won't be for a while, like a few months or so, but I"m just checking the options...(hence my thread on the mercians) but those vanillas look flawless...they're expensive, but man are they nice looking.

Which brings me to another point that's been rattling around in my brain...is anyone really paying the $2500 price tags I see listed for new nagasawa track bikes? are they worth it? I'm not being sarcastic with that question, I'm actually curious, so don't take it as a diss....it just seems that for $2500 I could get a custom made vanilla and then have a load of scratch left over....or for a good deal less than either I could pick up a cinelli olympic...I've ridden an olympic and they are NICE.

The 2500 Dollar price reflects the perceived value that the builder places on the frame which includes the headset & b/b. They are ridden by the highest level of Keirin rider in Japan. You decide if it is worth it. Some people make due with a junker they pull from a trash bin and reconfigure to their desires. That works for them. For the professional Keirin rider and others who value the fine workmanship that is inherent in the Nagasawa frame that is worth it to them. You will have to make the choice if it is worth it to you.

fixedgearhead

that's right...I forgot about the bb and headset.

I undersatnd what the bikes are intended for, I just can't see the point of building up a complete NJS certified bike to ride around the city...just my opinion...it would be awesome, I just can't personally afford it and I don't have the patience to track down all the stuff and wait for it to get here...the frames are beautiful though. I'm not saying the bikes aren't worth their price tag...just that for me, that's way out of reach.

Understood, it is a large chunk of change. Your question was are they worth it. I think they are and am going to buy one next year after the first of the year when I have some money coming available. I can't wait. I do understand that it is more than some people are willing to spend and I respect that. They may have different priorities as to where they spend their money. We all choose our poison and live with the consequences.


Fixedgearhead

seems like you answered your own question

the first time u drop that bike your gonna be crying!

which? the vanilla or the nagasawa?

i say any bike thats that expensive your not gonna want to toss it around in fear of scratches n stuff.

while i agree that it would suck to scratch up your new bike, i have to say that i operate under the philosophy that it's a bike, and it should be ridden. and the more one pays for a bike, the more one should ride it.

for the first week that i owned my pursuit bike i coddled it and treated it so well...but then i got whacked on it by some idiot in a pickup truck. the fork got thrashed but that was it. i felt so sick to my stomach while i was riding it later and i kept thinking "i just ruined my ****ing bike, i just ruined my ****ing bike." but the thing is, later still, after it sorta sunk in, i realised that i could've been killed. and then i felt even MORE sick to my stomach. i got a new fork for my bike on the cheap, and i ride the hell out of it now. it's made to be ridden. same thing for my pinarello that i sunk a bunch of money into. i used to avoid riding it during the day when i lived in boston, for fear that i'd get hit, or crash it or something else would happen to it...but i got over it because i realised that it's a bike, and it's made to be ridden, and anything that happens to it while riding it will only make it happier...excluding being completely demolished or stolen. if i ever get hired as a courier, that'll be my work bike. paint chips and scratches make it look better in my opinion. a bike with paint scratches is still the same bike. it's just as light, the same amount of work still went into it to make it and get it to you. the scratch is just a reminder that you're enjoying the hell out of it. it's gonna happen sooner or later.

[QUOTE=OneTinSloth]while i agree that it would suck to scratch up your new bike, i have to say that i operate under the philosophy that it's a bike, and it should be ridden. and the more one pays for a bike, the more one should ride it.

I agree. I know that when I get a new car or truck I tend to park it at the far end of the lot when I go anywhere. Then, after the first scratch happens, I will chance parking it closer to the place I am going. I still am careful when I park it, but not as conscious of it. The same thing applies to bikes. I think they are to be used. I treat them with care while I own them but the are after all, just things to be used. The one exception to that might be historically significant bikes that might be worth a lot of money. More than I care to spend on bikes: so I never have to face that dilemma. I am not a collector, just a user.

Fixedgearhead

i guess its just better not to worry- just enjoy, time is too short.

Do bikes ever appreciate? To me no matter how well you take care of a bike its always going to lose value just by being ridden. So it is really about how much value you put into the bike on a personal level. I'm thinking about it in the same way that unless your talking about ferraris and bentleys car will pretty much always deppreciate. I don't know just a thought. jeff

[QUOTE=stickerguy]Do bikes ever appreciate? To me no matter how well you take care of a bike its always going to lose value just by being ridden.

Maybe if you buy vintage, ride gingerly for a season or two and then flip, you could avoid the whole depreciation problem... I mean, a fifteen year old bianchi is probably worth just as much as a 14 year old bianchi.