A small story...a massive mis-understanding....PLEASE CLOSE!

Bobbinogs

Well said that man!

BobScarle

I think the jist of this story is "be careful what you wish for". If you desire the latest or the most expensive or the prettiest bike in the shop, fine. But when you buy it and riding it is not what you expected, then you feel let down. It's not always the bikes fault.

When we see something that we desire, we not only build up a picture in our mind, we see ourselves riding (in this case), but we also feel it. It is that feeling that I think the OP cannot re-create. It doesn't necessarily come down to money, replacing bits on an expensive frame my not be any more than a cheap one.

When I bought a lovely Bianchi in January this year, I went through a similar process. I didn't need the bike, but I wanted it. I have loved riding it through the summer.

My advice to you, for what it's worth, would be that you need to recreate the feeling you had when riding your old Boardman. If that means selling your nice carbon bike, then so be it. Forget the financial hit (as long as you can take it) and get yourself something that you feel comfortable with. Regain the feeling that you had before your accident.

markos1963

I have never fretted over any of my bikes. I rejoice in taking any of them out in any weather or circumstances. Ok I have reasonable funds but I'm not that well off and I never think of the cost of replacement. I go racing on my best bike with my best wheels on a tight car park circuit with gravel and speed bumps and push it to the limit. If I crash then I'll deal with it when it comes but I'm buggered if I'm going to be cowering like a mouse in the corner when I go riding.

MountainMonster

Simon1890 wrote:

Woahhh... lot of replies in a short time.....

Again, just to reiterate....this post wasn't supposed to be focused on 'me' and 'what advice can you give me?' kind of thing, i am well aware of my options and like i said i am considering selling the bike to purchase an alloy 'all year rounder'....but that's not what this post is supposed to be about..

Yes i do have A LOT of things going on in my life outside of cycling that affect my feelings and decisions....the small fact i have a family of four to provide for takes preference every time over any bike requirements, so i cannot afford to spend "£200 a month" on my bike. However this is a situation that obviously changed with time and with the current climate of economical doom i need to make my money go further, so my choice to go carbon with bells and whistles now seems like a bad decision...that is all i am saying.

Anyone reading this or replying who is in the wonderful position to have regular funds to spend on your bike and your hobby, then i'm happy for you!!!
My current life means if my bike breaks thats my cycling over with until i can save up the money to purchase a new one (even if that is £500).
It might surprise some young readers on here to know that there are people on here that don't have money to spend....i personally would say i have about £10 to £20 a month i could realistically put towards cycling....

At the end of the day this post was supposed to be about 'don't make this mistake' as a warning......i did not mean it to be about 'me' and my circumstances....

Thoughts?

If you really think you need to spend 200 a month to be happy with cycling, and to keep the bike up to scratch, you really exaggerate wayyyyy too much. Paranoia is not good, and it seems your paranoia is taking control. You have a nice bike, ride it. Crashes don't happen every month, so maybe save your 20 a month every month, and get to 200 or so reserves, and your set should anything break. Just because you have force on there now, does not mean it has to be replaced with force. Parts are inter-compatible between the ranges for exactly this reason.

You really need to chill out with the paranoia though.

Simon1890

MountainMonster wrote:

If you really think you need to spend 200 a month to be happy with cycling, and to keep the bike up to scratch, you really exaggerate wayyyyy too much. Paranoia is not good, and it seems your paranoia is taking control. You have a nice bike, ride it. Crashes don't happen every month, so maybe save your 20 a month every month, and get to 200 or so reserves, and your set should anything break. Just because you have force on there now, does not mean it has to be replaced with force. Parts are inter-compatible between the ranges for exactly this reason.

You really need to chill out with the paranoia though.

FFS......This is the reason why this forum annoys me at times. You clearly don't understand what I'm saying, and worse still haven't read all the replies. I don't think I need to spend £200 a month on my bike to keep it up to scratch, I was simply quoting what someone else wrote in a reply earlier.

Yet again I find myself repeating myself.....THIS POST WAS NOT ABOUT ME AND WHAT I SHOULD DO, IT'S ABOUT THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED FROM YOUR BIKE BEFORE PURCHASING IT.

Close this thread. The point has obviously been missed and it now seems to be turning into people making snap judgements and personal comments about me.

Thanks

MountainMonster

Simon1890 wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

If you really think you need to spend 200 a month to be happy with cycling, and to keep the bike up to scratch, you really exaggerate wayyyyy too much. Paranoia is not good, and it seems your paranoia is taking control. You have a nice bike, ride it. Crashes don't happen every month, so maybe save your 20 a month every month, and get to 200 or so reserves, and your set should anything break. Just because you have force on there now, does not mean it has to be replaced with force. Parts are inter-compatible between the ranges for exactly this reason.

You really need to chill out with the paranoia though.

FFS......This is the reason why this forum annoys me at times. You clearly don't understand what I'm saying, and worse still haven't read all the replies. I don't think I need to spend £200 a month on my bike to keep it up to scratch, I was simply quoting what someone else wrote in a reply earlier.

Yet again I find myself repeating myself.....THIS POST WAS NOT ABOUT ME AND WHAT I SHOULD DO, IT'S ABOUT THINKING ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED FROM YOUR BIKE BEFORE PURCHASING IT.

Close this thread. The point has obviously been missed and it now seems to be turning into people making snap judgements and personal comments about me.

Thanks

I read the whole thread, and although you repeated yourself many times saying it's not about you, a common theme was "I don't have the money for upkeep for a good bike". basically saying not to buy a nice bike unless you have tons of reserve. I'm a married student, putting myself through a private university, I have my own flat with my wife, and a normal life, and by far not living lavish, and even I can seem to be able to afford a decent bikes upkeep. All i'm saying is for newbies reading your post, you make it sound like keeping up a bike just because it has a nice groupset and a carbon frame costs so much your family is going to starve if you have to do anything. Not the right mesage to send in a beginners forum.

jonny_trousers

I can't help but think one or two of you are being incredibly unfair on the OP. He offered a personal perspective, advised those in a similar position to the one he found himself in to think twice and made some perfectly reasonable suggestions. He wasn't criticising anyone for owning an expensive carbon framed bike, just pointing out that the pleasure his gives him does not justify the cost given the type of riding he enjoys.

MountainMonster

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

I can't help but think one or two of you are being incredibly unfair on the OP. He offered a personal perspective, advised those in a similar position to the one he found himself in to think twice and made some perfectly reasonable suggestions. He wasn't criticising anyone for owning an expensive carbon framed bike, just pointing out that the pleasure his gives him does not justify the cost given the type of riding he enjoys.

It's not that the riding isn't as good, he is just paranoid about crashing and breaking a part, and seems to think if he has to replace something since it's a good bike now that he has to replace with equally expensive parts.

What we are pointing out is that you don't have to replace with expensive stuff, you can use other parts as they are interchangable. Selling a good bike just because of paranoia is just insane if you ask me. it's not like a car where you have to replace it with the exact part, as normally spares are not available from other companies.

It's not sensible suggestions IMO, as it comes across as basically, if you have any responsibilities in life, there is no point in having a nice bike, so dont buy it.

jonny_trousers

MountainMonster wrote:

It's not sensible suggestions IMO, as it comes across as basically, if you have any responsibilities in life, there is no point in having a nice bike, so dont buy it.

I do get your other points, but I'm not sure he was ever saying the above. And even if he was, if your finances are a bit tight, and you only ever ride in an amateur capacity, then spending crazy money on a bike perhaps is a little foolish. If you can make the expenses work and if it is your passion then sure, why the hell not? But there really is no guarantee that all that money spent will give you more pleasure, or make you any faster, than when riding a bike costing a quarter of the price.

One thing I didn't quite get by the OP's post, however: it sounded as though the insurance claim bought the posh bike. If so then what's the big deal? Sell it at a loss and you will no doubt still have plenty of money to afford the cheaper Boardman that gave you so much pleasure. Bish, bash, bosh!

NormalD

MountainMonster wrote:

What we are pointing out is that you don't have to replace with expensive stuff.

No you idiot that is what he is pointing out.

If you are going to replace expensive stuff with standard stuff and that is expectable, just buy standard to start with. That’s the OP's point.

Bobbinogs

Sorry junglist_matty but I find your post offensive. I thought the OP raised an interesting point and I am sure that he represents many folks who may have purchased superbikes for normal riding and are now left wondering about the wisdom.

DavidJB

Simon1890 wrote:

Yes i do have A LOT of things going on in my life outside of cycling that affect my feelings and decisions....the small fact i have a family of four to provide for takes preference every time over any bike requirements, so i cannot afford to spend "£200 a month" on my bike. However this is a situation that obviously changed with time and with the current climate of economical doom i need to make my money go further, so my choice to go carbon with bells and whistles now seems like a bad decision...that is all i am saying.

Ok mate! I'm obviously in a different situation than you and I appreciate that. I don't have any kids etc I wasn't quoting the figure as a benchmark for you, as you say everyone has different disposable incomes to spend on a hobby which is fair enough.

If you're not enjoying riding something then get rid of it and get something you will enjoy riding. Simples.

DavidJB

Bobbinogs wrote:

Sorry junglist_matty but I find your post offensive. I thought the OP raised an interesting point and I am sure that he represents many folks who may have purchased superbikes for normal riding and are now left wondering about the wisdom.

+ 1 there's no need to be an aggressive idiot. If you think it's a pointless thread don't post on it.

jrduquemin

DavidJB wrote:

Bobbinogs wrote:

Sorry junglist_matty but I find your post offensive. I thought the OP raised an interesting point and I am sure that he represents many folks who may have purchased superbikes for normal riding and are now left wondering about the wisdom.

+ 1 there's no need to be an aggressive idiot. If you think it's a pointless thread don't post on it.

+1 to that. No need to be a douchebag dude...

MountainMonster

NormalD wrote:

MountainMonster wrote:

What we are pointing out is that you don't have to replace with expensive stuff.

No you idiot that is what he is pointing out.

If you are going to replace expensive stuff with standard stuff and that is expectable, just buy standard to start with. That’s the OP's point.

No he is saying that if you have anything in life you need to do, don't buy a nice bike, so paraphrase his posts. He basically says you don't need it, so no point buying nice.

mallorcajeff

Why dont you just buy what you want in the end? I started with a cube, then onto a wilier Carbon Izoard (fantastic) but due to campag after a year just still couldnt get the hang of it so this weekend picked up my new toy. Scott Addict RC with Dura Ace Di2. Ive been cycling 13 months and its my main activity i ride 6 days a week and have covered over 8000 miles in my first year.
Will the new bike make me faster probably yes.
Will I regret the purchase Probably not
Will I end up loosing money Yes for sure
Will i enjoy it? Absoulutely 100%
And its the last one that matters. ive learnt over the last 18 months through lots of family and friends with the illness and stuff that happens in this world, live for today and the moment (within reason of course) if you spend all your time worrying and regretting whats the point of anything you may as well not bother leaving the house. get on live life and enjoy any time spent regretting is wasted time. Learn from your mistakes in life and move on.
For me I have no lesson to learn but value your input in free speech but i think everybody has differing personal situations which will determine if there is a lesson to be learnt.

sloppyschleckonds

Bobbinogs wrote:

Sorry junglist_matty but I find your post offensive. I thought the OP raised an interesting point and I am sure that he represents many folks who may have purchased superbikes for normal riding and are now left wondering about the wisdom.

What wisdom?

desweller

I definitely agree with the OP if only due to the fact that the point of diminishing returns crops up pretty swiftly with bicycles; on this forum, because most members are obviously big bike enthusiasts, that element of the buying decision is often downplayed or overlooked altogether IMO.

griffsters

From what I read before it was edited the OP was making a sound point.

Basically if worrying about trashing £2k worth of bike is an issue think twice about buying one. Worrying about it will likely spoil your enjoyment - the exact opposite of what a great bike is supposed to do. I can empathise with that, cant anyone who rides a lesser 'winter trainer' at this time of year?

ooermissus

Seriously? You get loads of replies - many of them sympathetic, and then you have a hissy fit and try and close down the internet? :?: :?: :?:

KnightOfTheLongTights

on a same-same-but-different subject - was chatting to a bloke on the club run yesterday about getting a better, probably carbon, bike for next season when I intend to race a bit, and he said 'yeah go for it, but I wouldn't risk racing on it, not in a cat 4 anyway!'

ddraver

I don't get it either - a Apex/Rival/Force/Red dérailleur costs the same no matter what sort of frame you put it on..... :?:

sloppyschleckonds

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

on a same-same-but-different subject - was chatting to a bloke on the club run yesterday about getting a better, probably carbon, bike for next season when I intend to race a bit, and he said 'yeah go for it, but I wouldn't risk racing on it, not in a cat 4 anyway!'

Common sense innit?

KnightOfTheLongTights

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Common sense innit?

sure, but also a bit ironic you not think? It had just never occurred to me that you'd do anything but race on your best bike - guess I've got a lot to learn ...

Stewie Griffin

And another one throws his toys out of the pram, here we go again.

ddraver

KnightOfTheLongTights wrote:

on a same-same-but-different subject - was chatting to a bloke on the club run yesterday about getting a better, probably carbon, bike for next season when I intend to race a bit, and he said 'yeah go for it, but I wouldn't risk racing on it, not in a cat 4 anyway!'

Sounds like your bloke has a rather high opinion of himself....

MattC59

WTF ?!?!!?!?

sloppyschleckonds

MattC59 wrote:

WTF ?!?!!?!?

"

The-beast

Dude if you can only afford 10-20 quid a month on upkeep, what the hell are you doing flashing the entire insurance payout on a bling bike, think you need to give your financial situation a a major re-think :roll:

Rigga

NWLondoner wrote:

If i wreck my bike due to a third party then i'll sue the w@nker for every penny he/she has!!!

Yeah good luck with that.