Extreme overindulgence?

synchronicity

I've been thinking about whether to post this or not... :?

I must be turning into an old retro grouch... what's the point of such freakin' expensive equipment such as THISand THIS?

I can easily forgive spending £2k, £3k... £4k, even £5k... but £10,000+ for a bicycle and USD$15G for just a wheelset??? :shock: :shock: :shock:

It gets my heart going when I see such ridiculously priced stuff. To put it into perspective, there are still people in this world who can't afford to put food on their plate. The world is seriously taken a nose-dive environmentally speaking, and people are still this hooked on such blatant consumerism?! I mean when was the last time anybody planted a tree or donated to charity??? What a waste, (and no I'm not in the least bit envious). What type of wankers actually ride on bikes and parts like these? Fat rich unfit bastards probably... :roll:

Bike radar says:

Let's be fair: this build isn't what 99.9 per cent of the population would ever consider buying for normal use. It's here to showcase what can be achieved in the pursuit of the ultimate lightweight machine, and has only been built for the very deep of pocket.

No sh!t - WHY REVIEW IT THEN??? I think the number is more like 99.99%. Shame on bikeradar for even reviewing it. There is no way IMO that anyone can justify such expensive gear.

Honestly, I reckon with this information freely accesible by anyone with an internet connection, no wonder the advanced western cultures are hated by the 3rd world. Isn't this what sometimes starts wars & revolutions? :roll:

nwallace

Calm down.............

Your unlikely to be undertaken/overtaken/crashed into by one of these
http://www.whatcar.co.uk/news-article.aspx?NA=228417
But it is still almost a review!

I really fail to understand how some people can get upset when companies/teams dabble in the human nature of competitiveness by saying "Look what we/I can do"

Of course now other companies will be trying to build a bike that they know they will sell precisely 0 of but it will be sub 500g. In doing so they might just find away in which they can improve the strength of parts on normal bikes without sacrificing weight or even use less weight.

Indicators on vehicles were once a concept, challenging various other ways of indicating direction. Much easier and safer than winding down window, sticking arm out, closelining the motorcyclist who is overtaking, making the gesture, dragging arm back in, defrosting fingers etc. Some people still haven't discovered this concept that became reality.

redddraggon

It's only a bike after all. Some people spend ridiculous amounts on cars and other stuff.

£300,000 for a number plate? £10K for a bike? It's nothing really.

nwallace

redddraggon wrote:

£300,000 for a number plate?

Having often been asked if my vehicles suffix Y reg plate is a private plate I don't see the point in paying for a private plate. Which makes me wonder, If it put the plate on retention how much could i get out of a numptie on Ebay.
L@@k R@r3 registration number *** *** Y one of a kind, no other like it etc.

APIII

Not sure what your argument is :? Is it consumerism, elitism, or environmental? or all three.

I can't see why it upsets you that people are able and willing to spend their money on expensive products. The way I look at it, a handful of people spending $10k on a bike is no better or worse than 100,000 people buying run of the mill tat that will end up in landfill within a couple of years. Actually, I'll correct myself, it's a lot better. If you want to have a go at consumerism you should be directing your angst towards Ikea, MFI, or any major electronics manufacturer (all 3 chosen at random) who produce product to satisfy the price conscious buyer, despite the fact it will all be replaced in next to no time. Small bike companies, in my mind, are the wrong target.

FWIW, I love reading reviews of exotic bike kit. It doesn't bother me if I can afford it or not, I just like to see what can be done by people who are passionate about bikes, and are prepared to devote their time and resources into producing something out of the ordinary.

bigjim

Money goes round in circles and creates jobs for others. As long as eventually some of it finds its way into my life its ok. We need innovative people in this world. Especially in the medical field and this sort of expertise will filter down into other things/products.

Jim

ademort

It,s the world we live in. Some people spend 100k on a party, some 100k on a ring, necklace.need i go on. Of course you are right there is much poverty in the world and some people have absolutely nothing, live in squalid conditions e.t.c. But lets get back to that bike Storck Fascenario 0.7 if you had loads of dosh would you not have one, ok maybe not but i bloody well would. Greetings ademort

Ruari

I think it's all relevent. Some people drive a Ford Fiesta- it's all they need and does it's job. Others drive a Golf GTI or BMW M series 'cos they want the performance, speed, handling etc. Some (few) drive a Bugatti Veyron or MacLaren.
I think it's great that people make these bikes, and that they get reviewed. It's good to know about technological advances. In a couple of years time, bikes like the Storck will be in the same league as a £1500 bike is now, and there'll be a newer, lighter, stiffer etc. bike.
Without technology, where would we all be? There are a lot of things that seem pointless and over time we come to realise that although costly initially, they usually end up making life easier for people somewhere down the line. 8)

ademort

IMHO the review of the storck is merely to show readers what can be achieved when the lightest and more expensive parts are put together to form a racing bike. IMHO would be very surprised if anybody on the forum would actually go and purchase one of these race monsters. At £10,500 there are probably many forum members who have a car that doesn,t cost that much, but let,s be honest it,s one hell of a bike. Greetings Ademort

TheGreatGatsby

wish I had the money to overindulge

or enough to just indulge would be nice but can't even do that.

Gats

bagpusscp

Wait for some muppet to buy one,once they realise it has to be pedaled it will be for sale at half the price :roll: . Or better still once next year model comes out. :idea:

azzerb

The frame was £2400, which as they pointed out when attached with every day sorta groupset, would still be in the price range of some of the top end bikes. The pimping it out to £10ks worth was just a point of seeing how far they could go with the light frame.

Smokin Joe

How would not spending money on something expensive help those who cannot afford to buy food? I've never heard anyone say "I'll buy the cheaper bike and donate the balance to charity".

TheGreatGatsby

no but it would be nice if people like that existed.

Gats

Anonymous

Let's be fair: this build isn't what 99.9 per cent of the population would ever consider buying for normal use.

Shouldn't that read "Isn't what 1% would ever consider buying"?

Clever Pun

I went to the fat duck on friday... 20 courses of overindulgence right there 8)

SteveR_100Milers

you (we) all live in a democracy, you (we) therefore get the system we (you) the collective majority request. So happens to be one where individuals are allowed to decide what they exchange their efforts for. An argument about expensive bikes in a world of starving people is missing the point entirely. Why not try changing the system so that individuals cannot make such purchasing choices in the first place? The market price of an itme isnt really the point is it, after all I can sell a pair of socks on ebay for a £million, its the mug who pays for it is your problem. Personally, I like the idea of science for its own sake, if humans can't "see what I can do" then what is the point of anything?

Massimo

I'm in the "It's my money, I've worked hard to earn it and I'll do what the f**k I want with it thak you very much" camp. If I'm ever in the financial position where I can afford a £10K bike then I'll have one and no doubt be very, very, very happy.

Mapman

I agree with sycronicitys sentiments completely The "blow you jack " iam all right attitude combined with consumerist spend my money on what i like and f...k anyone else has led to global warming which threatens to destroy the planet which we all enjoy cycling on Such an attitude is unpleasant in itself ... but in cyclists pretty short sighted anyway One mans greed IS anothers poverty there is a link Dont pretend there isnt

APIII

Mapman wrote:

I agree with sycronicitys sentiments completely The "blow you jack " iam all right attitude combined with consumerist spend my money on what i like and f...k anyone else has led to global warming which threatens to destroy the planet which we all enjoy cycling on Such an attitude is unpleasant in itself ... but in cyclists pretty short sighted anyway One mans greed IS anothers poverty there is a link Dont pretend there isnt

:roll:

Yeah, ok, so tell me how buying a cheap far east import is better for the environment than a handbuilt costing £10k? which of those do you think will last longer?

nwallace

APIII wrote:

Mapman wrote:

I agree with sycronicitys sentiments completely The "blow you jack " iam all right attitude combined with consumerist spend my money on what i like and f...k anyone else has led to global warming which threatens to destroy the planet which we all enjoy cycling on Such an attitude is unpleasant in itself ... but in cyclists pretty short sighted anyway One mans greed IS anothers poverty there is a link Dont pretend there isnt

:roll:

Yeah, ok, so tell me how buying a cheap far east import is better for the environment than a handbuilt costing £10k? which of those do you think will last longer?

More to the point which one took more energy, pollution and carbon output to make and transport?

portuguese mike

i agree with NWallace And AP III.

Spending vast amounts of dough on esoteric kit isn't going to contribute to global poverty,unfair trade regulations and exploiting sweatshop workers (which is how a lot of cheap tat gets to be so cheap) are more likely cuplrits, but instead it supports the smaller more specialist businessess and asscociated craftsmen.

Also would you really prefer the really well off to just hoard their cash rather than spread it around a bit and give a few others a livelihood in the process? i'm reminded of the time when it was disclosed that Elton John spent 10's of thousands of pounds a year on flowers causing disgust in some quarters. the way i see it, because of him, his local florist probably made a very nice living out of an money that he wouldn't even miss if he flushed it down the toilet.

synchronicity

Not in the true spirit of cycling I'm afraid. I reckon the whole point of a good bike is maximising efficiency, yes, but not at that expense.

Actually, one could argue that any far east manufacturer can produce a frame with less C02 output & energy consumption...

Over-consumption is a concept akin to overpopulation, referring to situations where per capita consumption is so high that even in spite of a moderate population density, sustainability is not achieved. For example, the People's Republic of China has an area comparable to that of the United States of America. China's population density is 4.7 times higher than that of the USA, but its per capita energy consumption is nine times lower than that of the USA, so that in spite of its larger population, China uses only half the amount of energy consumed by the USA.

Americans constitute less than 5% of the world's population, but produce 25% of the world’s CO2,[2] consume 25% of world’s resources,[3] including 26% of the world's energy,[4] although having only 3% of the world’s known oil reserves,[5] and generate roughly 30% of world’s waste.[6] [7] Americans' impact on the environment is at least 250 times greater than a Sub-Saharan African.[8] [9]