high end carbon

greg66_tri_v2.0

mountainroadie wrote:

nice editing greg

Now WTF are you talking about?

mountainroadie wrote:

GREG 66 you didnt read the thread did you
where did i say 4k ???

Remember this, from yesterday's "bash Porgy" thread:

there are are a lot of opinionated bikers on this fourm with high end bikes
and i dont see any european or world championship medals

so where is the justification of getting a four grand road bike just to use in the summer and at weekends .?

That was your first pop at people who own bikes you think they don't deserve or don't use enough or aren't good enough to ride. This thread started with your second pop.

mountainroadie wrote:

i had a pinarello f413 and it was £3500 new but i didnt buy it for that i bought it second hand you assume i bought it new

What you said first time around was that it cost twice £1800. Not that it was worth that, but it cost you less; but that it cost you £3600. So yes, I assumed, with good reason.

mountainroadie wrote:

the above thread is is mearly an open question

I'm calling bullsh!t on that claim.

il_principe

Greg66 wrote:

mountainroadie wrote:

there are a few people on this fourm with what i would class as ultra high end bikes
can those people justify a bike that costs over three grand.
only to be used at the weekend or on summer holidays ?
as they use a hack/commuter during the week whilst the bikes are very nice {and very expensive} if you dont race are you just a poseur
i can see the point of getting a road bike that costs two grand {carbon/campag} i also see peoples point of them saying two grand well that would be a high end bike for me

mountainroadie wrote:

i may sound a bit of a bike tart as i have probably the most expensive mtb on the forum

my kuota kebel cost me £1800 campy centuar,fulcrums and couldnt be happier with it
i had a pinarello f413 that cost twice this and didnt get any more enjoyment out of it :?

mountainroadie wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

I guess you justify what you want by the enjoyment you get from it
i agree
Don't really care what they do or don't do with it.....Ultimately, no one takes £3000 + likely, so the people with these bikes are gonna know what to do with them!

mmm not sure about this :roll:

How bizzare.

You've had a £3600 bike that you didn't think was worth it.

You want others here who have £4k bikes to justify themselves to you.

You're not sure that people with £3k+ bikes know what they're doing with them (excluding, I assume, you, who knew what to do with your F413).

First, no one here has to justify what they spend their money on. Not to you, not to anyone else.

Second, your basic premise - that people only deserve a set level of bike is just bollocks.

Third, for every uber-bike you see here and get chippy about, someone's rolling around on a £400 bike looking at you on your Kuota in precisely the same way.

Fourth, why £4k? Is it because that's more than you've spent? Why not £2k? Or £5k? Is this really all about what you feel you can't afford?

Fifth, I wouldn't race on my bikes for the simple reason that cat 3/4, which is where I'd start, is a cross between Whacky Races and demolition derby. I like my bikes in one piece. To say that you should only own an uber bike if you race it is also bollocks. You think pros race on their own bikes?

Sixth, speaking for myself, I ride my bikes every day of the week, and at weekends, week in, week out, throughout the year. I look after them accordingly. You assumption that the uber bikes you see here are kept for Sunday best, when they're taken out to be shown off on a slow ride with a bunch of fat dentists, doctors and bankers is just wrong.

So here's a thing: do you look at anyone driving a fast car in the same way? Or living in a big house?

+1 million. Especially the point re racing - if I ever give it ago it won't be on my Pinarello!

il_principe

mountainroadie wrote:

the thing thats going through my head is there are guys in the local LBS who ride on sundays/tuesdays and there are boys who have alu ridley,spesh etc and they hammer guys on carbon wiliers ,colnagos mmmmmmm

Which proves what exactly? Should anyone that buys any bit of sporting equipment be tested first and be forced to buy the kit that is commensurate with their talent/ability? That's a ludicrous suggestion, but seems to sum up your position.

mountainroadie

Edited

biondino

Oi sunshine. Button it. You're antagonising a whole load of regulars and now resorting to abuse?

il_principe

Right so now we descend into personal abuse. Way to debate a point, and very grown up of you.

I'll waste no more of my time on this.

AllTheGear

mountainroadie

sorry folks i thought it was a valid question {this thread}
i apologize not ness my views as i have high end bikes just a debating point

sorry jash :oops:

Eau Rouge

I'm far from looking to move to Belgium and looking for a pro contract, but even I could tell the difference between the borrowed £600, my own £1400 bike and the £5000+ Le Roi the bike shop lent me for a fortnight while I waited for mine to turn up.

Sure, the difference isn't night and day, but it's quite obvious when you ride them. I could notice it, anyone who's done a couple of sportives already would no doubt see the differences even clearer.
Is my bike twice as good as the borrowed one? No way. Is the Le Roi 3 times better than my bike? Again, no way.
If I had the spare cash, would I buy the Le Roi or a bike of that ilk? Yes, no problem.

I actually am faster on my bike than the borrowed one by about a minute or so on the 20 minute commute home, some of which is me being fitter, but not all of it. My bike is lighter, is better able to handle dodgy roads and better at maintaining momentum (better wheels helps).
The Le Roi should be faster again, but I'd struggle to give it a minute faster than my bike on that commute. Despite it being the same spec as last seasons ProTour Lampre bikes, the Le Roi cannot turn me into a ProTour rider. I am who I am, but, and this is the point, the Le Roi is the best bike of the three, it's the one I would go fastest on, and the one that would give me my best performances and easily the one I would most enjoy riding.

Having ridden an uber-bike I was left in no doubt at all why people spend that kind of money on a bike, and that I would too if I thought I could justify it to myself. However, I can't, so I bought my bike instead, and you know what....the guys on their uber-bikes don't actually slow me down, they don't stop me riding my bike, I don't feel a need to make sure they aren't around before I'll venture out for a spin. In fact, them being lucky enough to spend that kind of money on a bike really doesn't effect my riding at all. Funny that.

lost_in_thought

+lots to greg and il principe.

Honestly, is 'debating' the new word for 'being a prat'? :roll:

always_tyred

How is any of this different from people's choice of car?

People get pleasure from different things. Personally, I spend more on my bikes than my car. Some people pay more for their telly than their car. Some people pay more for their car a month than their home.

So what? Its not even a debate.

(Btw - titanium people, none of this glue and burned cloth nonsense)

gtvlusso

gtvlusso wrote:

I guess you justify what you want by the enjoyment you get from it.

Why buy something you don't want, you won't use it as much and will be constantly looking to upgrade or buy what you initially wanted (DDD is a classic case of this - Want Kuota, goes and buys Kuota!)

I guess you will always buy to your budget and hey, not all of us earn a 6 figure salary and can afford it, so we do the best with what we have and upgrade when we can afford to - I owned a beautiful Cervelo P3 - my ultimate Tri bike, ultimately I sold it as I was not getting the use from it and needed a new kitchen...I also sold a Ducati motorbike too, it is an expensive kitchen!

You might say, The person who goes and buys a BMW M3 - are they gonna drive to work in it, pose around or use it, as it was designed initially, as a race car?! Well, I don't really care - someone just bought what they wanted and enjoys it!! I guess if you think someone is posing, you are probably quite jealous.....

I do about 100 to 150 miles at a weekend (when I get the oppotunity!), mostly on a £899 Boardman Team with some basic mods, I also use it on wet days for commuting and distance commutes. Serves me well, but I would rather be riding a Pinarello or a top end Time carbon frame....but thats life!

My fixie was a hand built TT frame, reynolds 531, in it's day it would have been pretty modern - now it is my sunny day fixie for town and commuting....and I love it!

I say - chapeau to the people who have the financial might and the passion in cycling to go and buy an amazing piece of kit that they really want (chapeau - even if they are not mad keen cyclists - we all love to see an amazing piece of kit on the road as we go by!)!

Don't really care what they do or don't do with it.....Ultimately, no one takes £3000 + likely, so the people with these bikes are gonna know what to do with them!

I thought I would quote myself as this thread has gotten a bit out of hand!

Chapeau to greg, prince and LiT for there beautiful bikes! And chapeau to Blondie for calming the storm!

UnworthyPapaLazaru

And chapeau to moutainroadie for 'upsetting the regulars'!

:roll:

Roastie

Always Tyred wrote:

(Btw - titanium people, none of this glue and burned cloth nonsense)

+1

CiB

I was going to buy my Kuota Kebel this weekend, seriously. Think I'll up the ante and go for something twice the price, just because I can.

CinB.
40ish, bit of a beer gut, probably couldn't match the pace on a decent club TT. But I can get to work in about an hour. A £4k uber-bike would knock a minute or two off that surely, and would annoy poor people into the bargain. There - I've talked myself into it.

Roastie

One should buy whatever bike one wants to for whatever reason one wants to.

Some may think that it is a travesty not to use a carbon superbike for its "intended purpose" while others may see it differently and enjoyed it just for what it is, or for the warm feeling it gives them "when they open the garage door" or whatever other reasons that others may think are invalid.

Personally I don't see the point of a carbon superbike (for myself) unless I were to race it - for a special bike I'd want something a bit more unique and beautiful. That doesn't mean I am right or wrong (however opiniated I usually come across). It just means I'm me.

Gazzaputt

My bike is worth about £3500 I suppose. Like today I do ride into work occasionally when I have made a change or upgraded something just to see how it performs and that I'm happy for the weekend.

I do around 2000 miles a year on it and riding it gives me so much pleasure. It truly glides along all I hear is the sound of the tyres it's beautiful The bike also make me push my fitness performance so i can get the best out of it.

It's my passion and that is how I justify it.

jonginge

I don't have an uber-bike. I'm not disheartened or jealous. I have a '2nd tier' carbon scott and a cheaper mid-range carbon planet-x. I can tell the difference no problems. They mainly have the same finishing kit so the differences are mainly in the wheels and frame. Love them both, and still love my '80s steel commute bike, but would take the scott if I was going to the alps, it climbs like an angel.

If I totalled the scott I would go uber-bike in a flash*. I got the planet-x so that I wouldn't total the scott in any chipper 4th cat races I decided to enter

* well, with a bit of saving up

Roastie

Sorry - latecomer to this thread so maybe just stirringl but...

I find this idea of "how can you justify" quite ridiculous. How an anyone judge another's justification or not. I mean, there are people who would never be able to justify leaving a bit early and spending nearly £2 on an espresso every morning before hopping on the train. Or people who couldn't justify not having kids for the sake of a spouse's career.

The idea of asking if anyone can justify buying an expensive bike is ludicrous.

il_principe

JonGinge wrote:

Would take the scott if I was going to the alps, it climbs like an angel.

Not that you need any help!

gabriel959

Usually we justify ourselves with the most ridiculous comments why we buy things. I have done so and I bet most people here do it too – I see lots of people driving convertibles in my work place and they never take the roof down, whatever the weather! Ridiculous you would say? Perhaps so, but no so much more than spending £6k on a bike.

I think he has got a point, however small. I do think having an expensive bike for weekend rides and summer is excessive personally but I don’t do it because I haven’t got the money. If I had a lot of money, I would buy it. My priorities lie elsewhere at the moment, just having had a baby a few months ago and my wife not working at the moment though.

At the end of the day is what people decide to do with their money and their priorities, however ridiculous those might be to your own eyes.

Another question would be is the direction society is going when someone goes and spends £6k on a bike and someone dies a few thousand miles away because of lack of running water and other essential necessities.

lost_in_thought

Roastie wrote:

Sorry - latecomer to this thread so maybe just stirringl but...

I find this idea of "how can you justify" quite ridiculous. How an anyone judge another's justification or not. I mean, there are people who would never be able to justify leaving a bit early and spending nearly £2 on an espresso every morning before hopping on the train. Or people who couldn't justify not having kids for the sake of a spouse's career.

The idea of asking if anyone can justify buying an expensive bike is ludicrous.

Indeed. I can justify an expensive bike, but can't justify taking a taxi or the tube... :oops:

fatgrimpeur

I to am a late comer to this thread and don't have to justify my bikes to anyone, I can justify my bike to myself however with a little equation.

10 years of cycle commuting is 10 years of no train tickets, so at £150 per month saved x12 months x 10 years = £18000.00

Not to mention the health benefits etc.

My bikes cost £8000.00 less than that, no justification needed.

Gussio

fatgrimpeur The Seven ID8 is a thing of beauty. Do you use it for commuting on?

:shock:

DonDaddyD

Man f*ck this thread, what a load of absolute rubbish!

A little story:

When I was about 10 - 12 year old I used to watch the Tour de France - the significance of this, no one, not least myself, seemed to realise at the time. I spent every single moment of my childhood on a Raleigh Mountain Bike pretending to be those guys on the TV. Between the years of 13 - 16 I rebuilt my Uncle's steel frame roadie and several BMX's and I spent hours after school walking around Evans cycles looking at bikes. The price of those bikes was far more than I could afford at the time. I have always wanted to own a nice road bike, I have always wanted the cool shoes and to wear wrap arounds and to ride endlessly and free under my own power...

I went to College, then University and for my reward of all my hard work and dedication I got a job that granted me a disposable income that allowed me to spend my hard earned money on the things I want and that would make me happy, chiefly a BIKE! How I choose to use said bike is my decision, after all, I own it.

End of story.

Who the hell is anyone to ask me to justify what I spend money - that I spent most of my life working towards to earn - on? This isn't a matter of princple, practicality and common sense like flats on an Izoard - which is like buying a Porsche and putting steel wheels on it, unesscessarily slowing the car down - the logic of which can be questioned.

It's mostly about envy and somewhat jealousy. Greg can afford to own two Cervelo's, LiT can afford a Maxima, Prince can afford his Pinarello. Do I begrudge them for owning them or because of the way they choose to use them? Do I claim that they don't need those bikes or do I admire the fact that they've achieved in life to give them the oppurtunity of owning them? AND do I admire the bikes themselves, because ultimately I am a lover of bicycles.

Even though I may joke about the superficial things, I'm not so up myself to truly look down upon others for their choices, when those choices are not detrimental to the person or others.

UnworthyPapaLazaru

Come on regulars, lets see your +1's!!

fatgrimpeur

@Gussio

I did whilst re-building my "slag" bike, but no, it's used for clubruns, sportives etc.

And general pornographic purposes.

bigmat

DonDaddyD wrote:

Even though I may joke about the superficial things, I'm not so up myself to truly look down upon others for their choices, when those choices are not detrimental to the person or others.

Even when people choose to ride a hybrid?! Only joking...

fatgrimpeur

Oh and DDD


+1

DonDaddyD

MatHammond wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

Even though I may joke about the superficial things, I'm not so up myself to truly look down upon others for their choices, when those choices are not detrimental to the person or others.

Even when people choose to ride a hybrid?! Only joking...

I've had to rethink my hybrid hate... If not for the drop bars, my Giant's geometry is largely like a hybrid... now that I've got the Kharma to compare I feel secure in admitting that....

I've also been smoked by a couple of hybrids in recent weeks....