Why do we do it?

bluechair84

Constantly upgrade?
i do it, but I don't know why. I keep telling myself that I like a challenging ride - then I should do it with no suspention. I keep telling myself that the bike would be better a bit lighte, then why don't I buy Vbrakes? expense doesn't buy you good geometry, good design gets you good geometry. It doens't make me a better rider

I can't figure it out.... Why am I buying expensive crap and excited to do so!? What's the benefit?

paul.skibum

I dont - I might if I had money though.

allthegearnoidea

because i have Attention deficit Ooooh Shiny.........................

*AJ*

Ive just forked out for a pair of Saint Brakes, I dont know why i did that, but im extremely excited about recieving them and having a go!

bluechair84

I just bought a new wheelset even though I'm out of work... that's a months rent out of savings just gone in a flash...
I didn't have to, but What was wrong with my old steel townsend that i rode when I was 15??

Northwind

It's just another part of the hobby to me, I like planning upgrades and building bikes and suchlike. My current project is a total rebuild with only a £100 of budget though and it's just as nice as building the Hemlock up with a couple of grand was.

BorisSpencer

Last time round, I changed my XT cassette for a PG990 with a shiny red carrier, the difference it has made to my riding is phenomenal.

bluechair84

national geographic wrote:

When opponents of a game are equally matched, the team dressed in red is more likely to win, according to a new study.

Your findings concur with statistics [/quote]

joshtp

bluechair84 wrote:

national geographic wrote:

When opponents of a game are equally matched, the team dressed in red is more likely to win, according to a new study.

Your findings concur with statistics

[/quote]

wordnumb

Because the anodising is always shinier in the next delivery.

bluechair84

So the concensus so far is that, we're all tarts that fall for anything pretty?

MacAndCheese

bluechair84 wrote:

So the concensus so far is that, we're all tarts that fall for anything pretty?

Well...er...yes, when I had to replace my cranks, I went tarty Raceface Atlas AMs instead of a just as suitable SLX double and bash. Despite it costing almost 3 times more, weighting slightly more and being an absolute b*stard to install. They are anodised orange though

projectsome

bluechair84 wrote:

Constantly upgrade?
i do it, but I don't know why. I keep telling myself that I like a challenging ride - then I should do it with no suspention. I keep telling myself that the bike would be better a bit lighte, then why don't I buy Vbrakes? expense doesn't buy you good geometry, good design gets you good geometry. It doens't make me a better rider

I can't figure it out.... Why am I buying expensive crap and excited to do so!? What's the benefit?

It's simple, the cheap one you had before broke, so you replaced it with better but also wanted people to notice

meesterbond

Because otherwise I'd be sat at work actually working and not on Chain Reaction / Wiggle / Merlin identifying upgrades which will almost certainly redefine my riding experience and make me ride 5mph faster / take drop-offs 3' higher etc etc etc.

It's surprising how easily I'm able to convince myself that disc brake adaptors which match the bike's colour scheme will turn me into a riding god...

DCR00

its a Man thing

well thats what my Wife says anyway

me personally, i always have a pet project, whether it be my car, or my bike, or the new flat screen TV, or the new HD camcorder, or the HTC, or the etc etc etc

whatever the project is, it gets my full attention

at the moment its the bike. Im upgrading cause i want to the bike to be lighter, but i also want it to be mine i.e. built by me. However, im reaching the point where i will have replaced everything (just Frame, Forks and Wheels to go), so god knows what ill do then

Anonymous

bluechair84 wrote:

Constantly upgrade?

Because you're idiots with nothing else in your life to spend your attention on?

MountainMonster

I have an obsessive addiction with changing things.

I can't have the same thing for too long, I always want to change something small. Keeps me with a goal and something to do so i'm happy.

bluechair84

yeehaamcgee wrote:

bluechair84 wrote:

Constantly upgrade?

Because you're idiots with nothing else in your life to spend your attention on?

Aaah from the ominpresent Yeeha

I agree with having a project - I've built my bikes myself, my desktop I built myself, Laptop i bought knackered and had to completley reinstall OS, drivers, software etc... I like projects. But I can say that having a project is probably cheaper than buying what I wanted new. Can't say that about bikes :shock:

andyrm

Hmmmmmm good question!!

No doubt there is some well established and recognised reason fellas in particular have to upgrade their posessions/hobby items, be that hifi, TVs, bikes, motorbikes, etc etc. Quite what that reason is, I don't know and certainly don't have time to look up as it would detract from my "research" time planning new and outrageously expensive upgrades to the fleet, then working out a good reason that justifies it..........

Anonymous

I really don't get it. Replace things when they get broken with better things, fair enough. But upgrading just for the sake of upgrading is pointless.

andyrm

yeehaamcgee wrote:

I really don't get it. Replace things when they get broken with better things, fair enough. But upgrading just for the sake of upgrading is pointless.

Must admit that tends to be my replacement/upgrade time......

Northwind

yeehaamcgee wrote:

I really don't get it. Replace things when they get broken with better things, fair enough. But upgrading just for the sake of upgrading is pointless.

Well, sure, upgrading just to upgrade is pointless but upgrading to better performance that you'll make use of, that's never pointless.

Eyon

but you cant wear out a seat clamp too quickly. But, I must own a hope seat clamp in shiny colours! Note: must

bike-a-swan

Why not? It's your money, if you want to change bits, it's your money, so go ahead! Same thing as bike choice- if you want to buy a nice all mountain machine, even though you may never use it 'properly' and people will tell you you're 'overbiked', why the hell not? I may have to agree that replacing things before necessary could be seen as a waste of money, but if you want it, go for it!

kinelljohn

It may be "peer pressure" which produces the "inadequacy syndrome".
In other words you can't afford it but you buy it and tell/show just to feel accepted.
Or the opposite - you can afford it and you have to tell/show just to feel accepted.
(look at some of the lists of pe#is extensions in some of the signatures).
(Yeah I know, it's only a picture of my bike(s).. 8) ..).

It may also be that you really believe you perform better with that new shiny 6g lighter bit (psychological disorder maybe).

It may also be that the weak succumb easily to high-pressure advertising.

But hey, we're all little boys waiting to grow up so we want new shiny things right, so WTF does it matter why we do it. Guess it's because we want to, what better reason than that as long as we don't try influence others that they must do the same and as long as it can be really afforded.

Somebody posted a few days ago that they had bought a new bike and didn't know how to tell his wife. The ultimate upgrade - sad man, real sad but it did promt some oh so macho replies .

bluechair84

bike-a-swan wrote:

Why not? It's your money, if you want to change bits, it's your money, so go ahead! Same thing as bike choice- if you want to buy a nice all mountain machine, even though you may never use it 'properly' and people will tell you you're 'overbiked', why the hell not? I may have to agree that replacing things before necessary could be seen as a waste of money, but if you want it, go for it!

I think there is a difference to being 'overbiked' as to just upgrading. You potentially have a bike to live up to and develop into, like your mum buying clothes that were too big when you were a kid.
But shiney things, loosing little bits of weight, negligable gains... I get the whole; 'it's your money so why not' - my answer to that is you'll be a better rider, fitter, have more fun riding a bike that doens't flatter you and is actually a b#tch to ride.
Upgrading becuase it rekindles that child-like excitment you used to get at Xmas is probably the closest thing to a reason I've come across so far I'm giggling like a girl at the thought my new Hope hoops will arrive today.

dubcat

kinelljohn wrote:

It may be "peer pressure" which produces the "inadequacy syndrome".
In other words you can't afford it but you buy it and tell/show just to feel accepted.
Or the opposite - you can afford it and you have to tell/show just to feel accepted.
(look at some of the lists of pe#is extensions in some of the signatures).
(Yeah I know, it's only a picture of my bike(s).. 8) ..).

It may also be that you really believe you perform better with that new shiny 6g lighter bit (psychological disorder maybe).

It may also be that the weak succumb easily to high-pressure advertising.

But hey, we're all little boys waiting to grow up so we want new shiny things right, so WTF does it matter why we do it. Guess it's because we want to, what better reason than that as long as we don't try influence others that they must do the same and as long as it can be really afforded.

Somebody posted a few days ago that they had bought a new bike and didn't know how to tell his wife. The ultimate upgrade - sad man, real sad but it did promt some oh so macho replies .

+1 (spot on)

bluechair84

I've only known one rider who blatently rode the shiniest bike he could get hold of, and was completely overbiked to the point of trying to make an impression on the people he rode with. He stood out like a sore thumb.
I think it's rare people purchase expensive parts as part of peer pressure, most of us love our bikes and cycling and feel in some way that we deserve the component.
Oh, I did meet a guy at a race a few weeks back who insisted on pinning three of us down to show-off his new carbon Spesh Enduro when we really didn't care. He might have bought it out of ego. If he can afford it no problem. If he can't, it's his problem.

weeksy59

I'm in IT.

I have too much money and too much spare time.

Upgrading my MTB, Superduke, Mobile, iPod etc etc is just all part of being a sad IT nerd with nothing else to do.

I bought the wife an iPhone on Friday just because she showed an interest once.

I bought Shimano M775s for my brakes simply because the juicy3 looked rubbish.

t0pc4t

I don't really, there's nothing on my anthem I really want to change.

I like buying kit more tbh

MountainMonster

t0pc4t wrote:

I don't really, there's nothing on my anthem I really want to change.

I like buying kit more tbh

That's what I need to get more of. Maybe since it's getting farking cold here they'll be on sale at the local shop and I can get a discount on a bunch of stuff.