Justifying expensive bikes

Dannyboy95

This shall be interesting!

Can you really justify buying a bike worth thousands of pounds. I have a TREK and it was worth £575 and that to me is a perfectly good bike hydraulic brakes gear shift smooth so why would I buy a bike worth £1000 more?

spongtastic

Because you can. If you have the money don't need it for anything else why not?

As long as you don't criticise people for having a cheaper or more expensive bike who gives a sh*t what you ride as long as you're enjoying yourself.

njee20

Why should it be interesting? It's a pointless discussion, if you have the money it it gives you pleasure why justify it?

I have a £6500 Trek MTB, plus a spare set of wheels, plus (quick mental tot up) £1000 of tyres, £900 of shoes, £700 of sunglasses, £500 of helmets and a couple of grands worth of clothing. There are folk on here with far more kit than that!

Can't really imagine riding a £1500 bike frankly. Didn't realise I was accountable for it though?

oodboo

Try a bike worth a grand more and judge for yourself. Without directly comparing models it's hard to say.

cat_with_no_tail

Pointless thread is pointless

The Rookie

It's your money, spend it how you want, I have a snotter that cost me about £500 to put together but rides really well, I lust after a Pivot Mach4 which is £3000 upwards, I'd probably be an 'allthegearandnoidea' on it, but what the heck, it's those people who have passed on all the good used bikes to the market!

Extralight

Indulging in a passion feeds your soul and is life-affirming. As long as your wife and kids aren't going without because you're spending money on your bikes instead of supporting them, then, as others have said, if you can afford it, do it. Sure, a £3k bike doesn't ride 3 times better, weigh 1/3, or go 3 times faster than a £1k bike, but it will be better, look great, and you'll love fettling with it, and feel great riding it.

Can you afford a pro level racing car/yacht/set of golf clubs? Probably not. Can you afford a bike like a pro racer's bike, perhaps if you're not too hard up and/or save and make sacrifices. Compared to many other sports involving mechanical equipment, cycling's pretty accessible.

cooldad

A slag from Rhyl does the same job as a hottie supermodel.

By the way, Sheeps mum comes from Rhyl, so he says. I think he's just bragging.

lawman

During my gap year whilst I was working, and friends were going on holidays and just wasting money, buying my dream bike seemed like a good investment!! On the whole I find it pretty easy to justify expensive kit, I don't drink a huge amount, I don't smoke, and I live otherwise fairly economically so why not put the spare cash towards "X" bike part or whatever it may be. I love a bargain as much as anyone, but I have no problems paying more for exactly the thing I think would fit its purpose best. Somethings however I just can't justify, like the XTR cassette and cranks I feel I need, but can in no way justify given my meagre student loan

Dannyboy95

Thanks for the comments. I wasn't stating an opinion i was just asking a question because for me I don't have the funds at the moment to purchase a bike of that price tag but good to see other peoples views.

supersonic

Imagine your own bike where every bit was a little bit better, a little bit lighter, longer lasting, more grip, faster, more adjustment, superior suspension and so on. Sure the law of diminishing returns sets in sooner or later, but not at the money you are looking at.

DCR00

supersonic wrote:

Imagine your own bike where every bit was a little bit better, a little bit lighter, longer lasting, more grip, faster, more adjustment, superior suspension and so on. Sure the law of diminishing returns sets in sooner or later, but not at the money you are looking at.

I had this with my last bike. After spending around £1,800 on it i got it down to 9.5kgs. I could have spent another £1,000 on it and prob shed another 1.5kgs. Worth it ? not really

Its all relative at the end of the day. Some people get a load of enjoyment from riding a battered old bike, some people get a lot of enjoyment from riding the latest carbon superbike. As long as you are enjoying yourself, thats the main thing IMO.

mcnultycop

I can justify spending what I've spent on my bikes. I had the money, so I spent it on my bikes. That is all the justification needed.

mrmonkfinger

mcnultycop wrote:

I can justify spending what I've spent on my bikes. I had the money, so I spent it on my bikes. That is all the justification needed.

Were they expensive?

Remember, cheap or medium priced bikes need no justification.

Rushmore

I like nice stuff...

I can afford it..

I don't drink, smoke or do drugs..

So why the heel can't I spend money on what i love doing?

castlelad

i justify my bikes, 'goose salvo 2011 thingybob £800, saracen zen x 2012 £1100, by working and earning the money that paid for them,even tho the sara nearly had to go back due to possibilty of redundancy which i escaped by the skin of my ar5e, ok they aint as costly as some here, but all the same they go where i want them to, stop when i want them to, it apparently helps with fitness :? ,blows out the cobwebs,gives "me" time,and has helped me to retire from "weekend offending" at football(feel free to judge me or critisise me,i dont regret it and will not justify who,what,when,where, or why) which inturn has helped with me & "dave".....So yeah i can justify my bikes and the money i spend on my hobby.......

gerroffandmilkit

Rushmore wrote:

So why the heel can't I spend money on what i love doing?

What he said!

mcnultycop

mrmonkfinger wrote:

mcnultycop wrote:

I can justify spending what I've spent on my bikes. I had the money, so I spent it on my bikes. That is all the justification needed.

Were they expensive?

Remember, cheap or medium priced bikes need no justification.

Who are you justifying things to? I don't understand the issue. If you can afford it then do it it's fine.

Clank

supersonic wrote:

Imagine your own bike where every bit was a little bit better, a little bit lighter, longer lasting, more grip, faster, more adjustment, superior suspension and so on.

...or you could have just bought an Orange.

Ba-dum Tish!


I'll get my coat....

WindyG

Don't see the need to justify anything to anyone, the important thing is getting out there and riding and enjoying it, doesn't matter if it's bottom end or a high end expensive bike.

paulneenan76

Im not sure you can justify an expensive bike as a practical purchase.

Expensive or not, ultimately it's what you get of owning and riding it that counts - and owning a bike will always have at least one positive impact! You can rarely say that about anything these days.

In terms of cost - in my book, unless you are one of these dreaded bike snobs, buy whatevers the most expesive without seeking advice, or are too lazy to educate yourself to match the bike to your needs, just spend what you can afford, take care of it, and love it!!

Do I want a Mercedes SLS? Yes. Do I need one? Nope. If I could afford it without it being detrimental to my family would I buy one? Oh yes.

The Rookie

That's the point isn't it, buying a nice bike is like buying a nice car, it doesn't really do the job of moving you around that much better (proportionate to cost) but you do it anyway! A bike depreciates a lot less than a car as well!

njee20

And costs less in the first place!

bloghog

I simply compare the cost for doing something like playing golf for a year makes mountain biking look incredibly cheap

I started out mountain biking 10 years ago on a £400 Claud Butler, I now ride a Lapierre Zesty which cost considerably more. I know that I can tell the difference

sandy771

Sooo tempted to upgrade my 8 month old Trance X3 to a Tallboy Lt, if there was a demo bike close I would be driving over now - does that make me a bad person?

stubs

I ride an expensive bike because poor people cant afford it. Get out of my way you poor people Poop poop

The Rookie

Yes Toad (literary referance)

Thewaylander

I want it...

there justified.

fat_homer

At the end of the day it's my money and if I want and can afford I'm having it. Even the Mrs agrees.

Red.Devil.Ghost

HAHA What is quite amusing is people seem to be getting a little defensive.

I got mine because I got it for a bargain. I couldn't have afforded the 2k asking price but I got it much closer to 1k so it was doable.

I can see where some people come from in finding it hard to justify such 'extravagant' bikes but as long as you are not putting yourself into debt, your family aren't going without the things they need etc then there really isn't any problems.

I know there are loads of bikes much cheaper than mine that would do the job just as well but I love bike!

97th choice

Biking just like any other sector has aspirational brands and specialist models. It also has emerging technology that capture early adopters and commands a price premium.

It is no different from many other sports or product ranges (tv, computing, mobile phones, cars) in that respect.