Help with new bike strategy

Steve236

Interesting conversation with the wife last night - finally broached the subject of a new road bike for me. After promising initial exchanges, turns out her idea of the cost of a road bike is about a factor of 10 less than mine. I was preparing to justify a steel Genesis or Condor for between £1300 and £1700 where as she was shocked that a bike couldn't be bought for about £100 . I eventually didn't get further than that I'd be looking at £500 minimum for something decent which she thought was a huge amount.

So, weighing it up, I have these options:

1. Go with my original plan and lie about the price (risky!)
2. Be patient and let the actual cost of a decent bike sink in with the missus whilst gradually bumping her budget expectations up towards mine.
3. Reassess my needs and look for something in the £500-£900 range (still, as we stand hugely expensive in her eyes) i.e. the best frame possible and look to upgrade wheels and other components over time.
4. Get something for less than £500 and risk being underwhelmed and discouraged to ride by my new bike.

Anyone out there with any better ideas or experience of diplomatic situations such as this...?

jotko

Steve236 wrote:

Interesting conversation with the wife last night - finally broached the subject of a new road bike for me. After promising initial exchanges, turns out her idea of the cost of a road bike is about a factor of 10 less than mine. I was preparing to justify a steel Genesis or Condor for between £1300 and £1700 where as she was shocked that a bike couldn't be bought for about £100 . I eventually didn't get further than that I'd be looking at £500 minimum for something decent which she thought was a huge amount.

So, weighing it up, I have these options:

1. Go with my original plan and lie about the price (risky!)
2. Be patient and let the actual cost of a decent bike sink in with the missus whilst gradually bumping her budget expectations up towards mine.
3. Reassess my needs and look for something in the £500-£900 range (still, as we stand hugely expensive in her eyes) i.e. the best frame possible and look to upgrade wheels and other components over time.
4. Get something for less than £500 and risk being underwhelmed and discouraged to ride by my new bike.

Anyone out there with any better ideas or experience of diplomatic situations such as this...?

5. New wife

lc1981

This doesn't help you strategy wise, but when people always expect bikes to cost £100, I wonder if they ever consider how that breaks down into the individual prices. Presuming that they think the frame is the most expensive item, it would be leaving a matter of pounds or maybe even pence for really important things such as the brakes. Actually, maybe you could use that argument - she wouldn't want you descending a mountain at 70 km/h on a bike with brakes that cost 50p to manufacture, would she?

jotko

I managed to get away with my last purchase by claiming that money spent on a bike and associated gubbins would be offset by the money I would save on train fares if I rode to work (£8 per day) and the gym (£40 a month).

Using this logic a £1k bike pays for itself in 5 months.

Once you have actually bought the bike you can go back to getting the train and rejoin the gym - she will have found something else to moan about by then.

Shylock

Does your work do a Cycle to work scheme?

This can save you a few pounds, spread the cost, and you an lie a certain amount about the figure....

Phil_D

I had a similar conversation with my wife not so long ago. Just remind her how much she spends having her hair made shorter/a different colour every month and that will help her understand why bikes don't cost £150. Also, she probably wears Ugg boots. How much are they? £200 a pair?

giant_man

most women have absolutely no concept of how much bikes and cycling in general costs, unless they cycle themselves of course

dazz_ni45

How about a 2nd hand bike? Should be able to pick up something decent for somewhere between £500 and £1000 depending on what you are looking for so you get a well spec'd bike closer to your budget

ShutUpLegs

Your wife is obviously right and you cannot afford it. Spend the £500 and be content.

petemadoc

Option 2 sounds best. Grind her down. She doesn't want a fat husband after all, and how much does she spend on shoes, bags, clothes, make up, having her hair done and all that other useless cr4p. A £500 bike won't last 5 minutes, you'll only want to upgrade this and that and replace the brakes that don't work properly etc etc etc.

A bike is an investment in your future health and well being. In fact it's an investment in your marriage!

anthdci

i brought up getting a second bike to my missus a few weeks ago, she didn't agree that I needed a third bike... So my plan is to upgrade my groupset which she wont notice the differentce, I already have a second set of wheels, then a new frame isn't really that expensive on it's own and bobs your uncle you've pretty much got a new bike and you've learnt how to do build it, fix it and service it. You can build up your old bike what what you've took off.

verylonglegs

You need to be thinking further ahead because if she's already baulking now at the initial cost what is she going to say when you look to spend £50-60 to replace the tyres on your new bike as the stock ones are crap?

pda

Steve236 wrote:

1. Go with my original plan and lie about the price (risky!)
2. Be patient and let the actual cost of a decent bike sink in with the missus whilst gradually bumping her budget expectations up towards mine.
3. Reassess my needs and look for something in the £500-£900 range (still, as we stand hugely expensive in her eyes) i.e. the best frame possible and look to upgrade wheels and other components over time.
4. Get something for less than £500 and risk being underwhelmed and discouraged to ride by my new bike.

Anyone out there with any better ideas or experience of diplomatic situations such as this...?

Is there a reason that she's against spending more for a decent bike? e.g., you're flat broke and living on your overdraft and credit cards?

1. Don't lie. They always find out if they want to.
2. The only way she'll change her mind (if money is no object) is if she sees that this isn't a whim
3. Not a bad option, although by the sounds of it she won't like that budget and she definitely won't like all the upgrades
4. Maybe think about buying second hand to get a higher quality bike for whatever your budget is.

You can also go on the offensive and remind her about how much of your money that she spends on stupid shit like makeup or whatever it is she likes to spend money on. Chances are you could then argue for a bike worth a few grand

velohutts

find a nearby bike shop that has the new dogma with super record eps , take the wife along and have a look at that one first before the interest wains , as it is bound to when you tell her about the wheels , groupset carbon handlebars .....make sure she has a good viewof the price .... your spend is now 80% less than this bike.
now the money you want to spend is a bargain !!!

deswahriff

...I'm in a similiar positon...the deal is she (well, we, I guess) gets a nice wooden floor in the lounge and Iget a new bike! The floor will cost more than the bike, but I won't mention it very often....

...how about buying on Interest Fee Credit?...that could smooth things a bit..

Steve236

Jotko - interesting...Judge: "and what are the grounds for seeking this divorce?", Me: "I wanted a new bike"
Sutuplegs - no, she's wrong

We don't have any debts or maxed out credit cards and can afford it. Unfortunately she's the least materialistic woman I've ever known and spends next to nothing on hair, makeup, clothes etc. She also has no concept of getting what you pay for and is against spending money that doesn't have to be spent. She thinks that because she walked in to Halfords and bought a bike for £80, that's what they cost.

Regarding an appreciation of the cost of a bike... not many months ago, when I first started looking I was nearly as clueless. Quick search threw up bikes in the region of £500 e.g. Spec Allez and I thought OK, fair enough - and, wow you can spend £1000 on a bike, that's a lot. But then I start reading reviews and opinions and I find that, well, Sora is ok but you can't shift from the drops. So I start looking at tiagra/105 specced bikes and suddenly I'm in the £1000 region. I then read the Rob Penn book and decided I liked traditional steel bikes and so came to Genesis then Condor. Lo and behold my "acceptable" threshold is up to £1500.

I think I need to combine approaches 2 and 3. Give her a chance to develop a more realistic expectation whilst taking a few steps back myself. I'd really rather not have Sora though...

antonyfromoz

Take your wife and her Halfords bike with you when you go for a test ride so she can see the advantages offered by spending more...

benkxk

Explain to her why a £500 bike sucks compared to a £1000+ bike cos most people don't know the true price of a good bike

cat_with_no_tail

What you need to do is MTFU, accept that it is better to beg forgivness than ask permission, and go buy the bike you want (assuming you can afford it without defaulting on your mortgage or something).
Then if she still complains, it's into the woodchipper she goes.

Wacky Racer

I start off by showing my wife bikes I would like that are priced at around £3-4K saying "if only I could afford it", and I will keep this up for a while. Then out of the blue I will show her what I describe as a bargain at £1.5K. She will then usually tell me to get it, knowing I've wanted something for quite a while, and she's thinking it was heck of a lot cheaper than it could have been.

g00se

Mmmmm wife-price.....

Combine options 1 and 3. Tell her you're looking on ebay for a £1000-£1500 bike second hand, show her pictures, fake a few out-bidded losses then do to the LBS and fork out on the new one. Tell her you got it for a steal from a bloke in Shropshire.

philclubman

Steve236 wrote:

But then I start reading reviews and opinions and I find that, well, Sora is ok but you can't shift from the drops. So I start looking at tiagra/105 specced bikes and suddenly I'm in the £1000 region. I then read the Rob Penn book and decided I liked traditional steel bikes and so came to Genesis then Condor. Lo and behold my "acceptable" threshold is up to £1500.

I think I need to combine approaches 2 and 3. Give her a chance to develop a more realistic expectation whilst taking a few steps back myself. I'd really rather not have Sora though...

How about something like this for £635? Looks a good alternative to a Condor Fratello if you're on a budget.



http://www.ashcycles.com/site/bikes/tourer/raleigh/raleigh-clubman-2012-15-worth-of-free-goods

£635 and has really nice spec including brooks saddle.

Also, to clarify, you can shift from the drops using Sora shifters. You just reach forward with your thumb. Maybe give it a try if it opens up other options.

g00se

2013 Sora doesn't have the thumb buttons if that's any help.

gloomyandy

Maybe you should be thinking of buying her a new bike! That way she gets to appreciate the difference between an £80 bike and an expensive one, and you have someone to ride with...

YIMan

Buy a new frame for your current bike for £500, swap components over. Then buy upgrades for your current bike "as they break/wear out" which has the new frame on.......until you suddenly have £1500 worth of bike!