Secret Bikes ?

mroli

I don't really drink, I don't drive very much, don't have any other vices so spending money on bikes and bike stuff is kind of accepted by the wife as she appreciates the fact that I get a great deal of enjoyment from it.

My secret bike is at work - Cervelo Team Soloist, with carbon tubs, not yet put together, have to get it home to do that. Not sure how i can do it in secret! :twisted:

TBH, if I didn't convince myself that my wife would mind, there is no way I'd be able to control my buying urges - has anyone seen that Moots frame in the classifieds?!

Chris McG

beverick wrote:

None of my bikes are actually secret but their individual and combined costs are, shall we say, unclear.

Sort of thing that happens with my and my dad's bikes mum thinks their total worth is what the best one is worth :shock:

markos1963

Blimey I must be lucky, my wife encouraged me to buy a carbon racer instead of an entry level bike saying I'd only pine after one later. She's always encouraging me to buy decent kit(quality shows) and a few weeks ago she caught me droo;ing over a TT bike on Ebay. 'Buy it now, you know you want it' she said even though I said I was going to wait for my TT times to improve before commiting.
In fact I feel guilty as she doesn't have any hobbies of her own but I do make sure she gets plenty of treats and decent holidays where she wants to go.
Can't imagine it would be healthy to hide purchases from each other.

Nuggs

Jason82 wrote:

Stop spending money on the bike and go down the pub every night for a month and spend the money there and make sure you come home drunk most nights. After that your wifes/other halfs will divorce you

FTFY

amun1000

also my wifes uses my hobbies to point the finger.

eg: "and if it wasnt for your cycling, sailing and squash....." (fill in the blanks)

Redhog14

Jason82 wrote:

My mum used to buy stuff for herself and wrap them up and claim at christmas they were from friends at work. I swear my dad thought she was having an affair at one point.

Myself I am single and free so I can buy whatever the hell I want most recently a beer fridge that holds 36 cans.

Wow two water bottles is generally enough on my rides?

derbygrimpeur

you lot sound like a bunch of p*ssies. Man up, it's your cash.

My Mrs doesn't mind and I'm usually getting 1 or 2 deliveries a week.

beverick

Jason82 wrote:

My mum used to buy stuff for herself and wrap them up and claim at christmas they were from friends at work. I swear my dad thought she was having an affair at one point.

Ooh, bluff and double bluff whilst working on your father's insecurity and paranoia.........

Bob

PostieJohn

Porker, why doesn't your mate look after 'your' bike, that 'you' are too scared to take home, because 'your' wife is not as understanding as your mates.
nudge nudge wink wink all the way, by the winter she would have forgotten and wouldn't care.

Slapshot

I got nailed 20 years ago, was heading to the Falklands and had ordered a pile of camera stuff ( about £1000 pounds of stuff) to be collected on the way to Brize Norton. I told the company to send receipts and guarantees to me in the Falklands unfortunately they sent them home.....at least she had six months to calm down

neilo23

Yes. Apart from 3 road bikes I also have a mountain bike .

Never had a secret bike, but seeing as I owe my ex a few hundred quid I don't htink she would be happy about my new Wilier. Having said that, she finished with me, haven't seen her for 5 years, so what is money compared to a broken heart. Serves her right :-)

Did have a few months of unemployment and had to send the jersey I ordered to a mate's house and tell her I got it as a present from a friend who didn't want it any more. I rightfully assumed that she wouldn't know it was the latest Lampre top :-)

MaxwellBygraves

I have occasionally lied about the price of things before, but felt bad doing so.

I try to be open and honest and don't complain if she treats herself. Works best that way.

Don't get me started on horses. My mum and sisters are into horses. They eat cash and sh!t bills.

garrynolan

Picking up a runaround tomorrow - wife in Medjugorje. Thinks my BeOne was £250 - got it at £725 with 25% off...

MountainMonster

Separate bank accounts are the saviour of marriages, I promise.

My wife never finds out exactly how much, or what i've bought so all good.

blueheeler

If you want to find out who loves you the most lock your wife and and your dog in the garage and then go out for a ride for about 3 hours or so. Which one will be most pleased to see you when you unlock the garage door.?

and agree to previous poster. Joint account to pay the bills ....but each has separate account for own money, has worked for us anyway.

Eyon

Not married, but...

I tend to buy what I want, tend to lie about the cost of it if I get found. Girlfriend complains that I spend so much on my bikes, even though she spent £800 on matching handbag and perse late last year! Anyway, dont smoke, dont drink, well, thats at least £100 a week saves I'd have thought, that means I can spend that on bikes! Logical you see

I'm not one for hiding what i've bought, but I hide invoices/reciepts, and not often tell the truth about how much I spend!

I'm the best wheeler dealer in town! Or so I let everyone believe, because I never pay anything full price...honest

hells

I dont hide my purchases from my bf, he would find them anyway. I am not totally honest about the prices though. I do hide the bikes and kit from my parents though although I dont know why seeing as I am an adult and finally completely financially independant from them, but they always give me a hard time and a lecture whenever I get a new bike or kit. I encourage my bf to get bike kit but he is more sensible than me and less prone to impulse buying, for example at the london tri expo I ended up buying a Canondale Slice (carbon frame) despite not really being able to afford it due to large expenses needing to be paid over the next 3 months because it was £1800 as a complete bike and normally the frame alone is £1800. He was umming and ahhing over a Spesh Transition which was virtually half price but ended up walking away empty handed although he is now regretting it. He is supposed to be trying on wetsuits at a tri shop today and getting back to me with his size so I can get him the mens version of my wetsuit from wiggle where it is just £99.

lifeform

amun1000 wrote:

on-oneplus26 wrote:

My Mrs bought a pony last year followed by a load of tack followed by a horse box followed by comp enteries and currently we are buying a field to keep said beast in!

There has not been so much as a tut when a box from CRC arrives altough sadly I still try to order at times when I know it will delivered when she is a work!

Wonder if she does the same with her horsey stuff?

Oh god dont get me started on horses - they soak money up. Just standing there costs money with horses.

My half wanted horses so we had stables built, c/w tack bought, field rental. Not to mention all food stuff, where to put the manure, farrier costs etc etc etc etc.

Funny how whenever a couple of parcels arrive containing bike stuff within less than week of each other comments are made - 'A lot of parcels have been arriving recently'

Jesus!

Bloody girls and their Pony Club.

We have a horse. Or, more accurately, I finance a quarter of a tonne of cat food which breaks at the slightest thing, consumes endless amounts of especially expensive feed, and isn't allowed to get wet, cold, hot, dry, or be subject to any other of thousands of incidentals. Occasionally, she'll round up the vastly expensive tack and ride said Donkey round and round in circles until it spooks at it's own shadow, a passing bunny, or an empty crisp packet.

Still, there are advantages - such as watching the rest of Pony Club on the rare occasions I deign to visit the Sheds of Infinite Expense (aka the Stables). G-Cup on a petite size 8 in a rising trot never ever gets boring.

So, whilst I might get the grunt of disapproval when the latest things turn up in the post, compared to Pony Club cycling is very cheap.

ddraver

lifeform wrote:

We have a horse. Or, more accurately, I finance a quarter of a tonne of cat food which breaks at the slightest thing, consumes endless amounts of especially expensive feed, and isn't allowed to get wet, cold, hot, dry, or be subject to any other of thousands of incidentals. Occasionally, she'll round up the vastly expensive tack and ride said Donkey round and round in circles until it spooks at it's own shadow, a passing bunny, or an empty crisp packet.

My cousins family are very into horses and this is very much my opinion on them! Safe to say I get no sympathy for any shiny cycling bits. "Tescos do lycra shorts for a fiver" being the most common sort of comment...

I'm single an dalone so I have no problems - plus there is a guy at work who is even worse than me so by comparison I'm fine

amun1000

Still, there are advantages - such as watching the rest of Pony Club on the rare occasions I deign to visit the Sheds of Infinite Expense (aka the Stables). G-Cup on a petite size 8 in a rising trot never ever gets boring.

Yu should some of the 'mares round by us...looking away now.

KarynPebs

I have managed to convince the LSH that a road bike is just the thing for me to ride to the stables, ergo saving FORTUNES in diesel. 8)

mouth

I had a conversation with my neighbour about my bike today and be baulked at the fact it cost £300 (Carrera, just to see if I like road bikes. Already planning next bike). At this point I pointed out to him that his 1976 MGB Midget is worth a whole lot more. In fairness he spent 8 years on a nut and bolt strip/rebuild. When I put it this way to him he could see the point when I was talking about the Ribble Custom I cherish.

When I asked him what his rebuild cost, he genuinely had no answer other than "probably tens of thousands". I don't think his wife knows the full extent.

mingmong

Took me 2 months to tell t'missus about my Dale Flash, she'd calmed down 4 months later by the time it arrived!

Also, had my folding number in the boot of my car a week or so before I fessed up. She smiled when I told her how much I save parking out of Leeds city centre for work.

I have stooped lower. Changed all but the frame on my winter mtb. Ah well.

rick_chasey

Slapshot wrote:

I got nailed 20 years ago

Pfft, pretty long dry spell eh?

tim_wand

Rude not to. Can be bloody tricky though have got to stop leaving copies of Cycling Plus and Cycling weekly in the bog to read. My Misses couldnt tell a Fixie from a Tandem but she could tell you the bloody price of every bike and every bit of Campy or Shimano on the market.

When I was single a mate (Phil Conney) Used to lodge his Pinarello with me and leave for club runs from his house on an old Claud Butler . Straight round to mine for a bike swap.

Sure enough one morning at Cafe stop at a local garden centre in trundles some old girl and comes up to me (I m dressed in Lycra so I m a fairly obvious target). My friends just reversed into someones bike in the car park I do hope its not yours. Outs I run and its Phils Pinarello, So I goes back in and hes emerging from the bogs and I tell him the news when out of offending car get his Mrs , ( Whats the chances of that)

The Kharma Police are out there even if most of them have been replaced by non effective PCSO's

obi wan dandobi

I bought my first road bike the other day. Took me ages to convince the mrs it was worth paying £1k for it. Then (sneakily) spent over £300 on shoes, clipless pedals, saddle bag, bottle cage etc when I picked it up. Told her they come as standard on all road bikes. May have just got away with it, burnt all the receipts...

Warwickshire Whizzer

My wife is known to visit here and read what I post. So, I'm completenly honest about everything.