When is enough enough?

pblakeney

Some could.

joey54321

Most of my kit is the cheaper DHB stuff or older/cheap club kit. However, I do have a few choice pieces which are very nice (Castelli Alpha jacket, Fawesome Gilet, 1 pair of expensive DHB shorts) and I do notice the difference. It's nice to have some nice kit for bigger/longer days or 'important' events but for me its all about performance, I don't give a shit about brand or looks or colours.

rick_chasey

Matthewfalle wrote:

Right

With the prices of cycle clothing going basically mad - £300 for a pair of shoes, £200 for a helmet, silly money for tops and shorts, at what point would you turn around and say “ nah, bugger that - that’s stupid money”?

When the IRS tell you to?

Livewire

Clothing I am happy to go with DHB and do my best to buy whilst on offer, reason I will not go with Rapha ect is because clothing does eventually wear out and need replacing. DHB shorts/clothing are comfortable enough for me.

However things like sunglasses and my actual bikes I will happily spend silly money because I see them lasting a very long time if looked after so can easily justify the high cost.

As long as I hide the receipts from the wife all is well.

pblakeney

How many jerseys does one need anyway? Especially so as they don't wear out. I have one jersey from the early 90s that looks brand new. Shorts, socks, shoes, mitts etc are different.

StillGoing

defever wrote:

who is this Raphael guy?

He escorts people from the valley of the shadow of death to the mansions of light. They just need a decent Knog Blinder.

chippyk

I’ve a cupboard full of decent kit but I don’t think there’s one item I’ve paid full price for, always in the sale or end of line. It’s not a matter of too much but is it good value for me.

milemuncher1

900 notes for some shoes.

Matthewfalle

Milemuncher1 wrote:

900 notes for some shoes.

Sorry - you paid 900 notes for some shoes?

pblakeney

Milemuncher1 wrote:

900 notes for some shoes.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Pause. Breathe.


Nope. Don't believe you. £450 possibly. Have you doubled up on receipts as well?

sloppyschleckonds

PBlakeney wrote:

Milemuncher1 wrote:

900 notes for some shoes.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Pause. Breathe.


Nope. Don't believe you. £450 possibly. Have you doubled up on receipts as well?

£450 for the left, £450 for the right

Matthewfalle

Sorry, but Who TAF would spend 900 notes on some shoes?

Seriously?

cougie

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

cougie wrote:

When I started cycling in the 80s you could afford to buy a pro standard bike pretty easily. Custom Steel. Top groupset. Sorted.

No, you couldn't

Yes you could. I did it in my first job. Custom steel. Top groupset. Sorted. I suppose it helps that I didn't have a mortgage or anything but it was a lot more affordable then than it is now.

sungod

Matthewfalle wrote:

Sorry, but Who TAF would spend 900 notes on some shoes?

they're aimed at people who can't afford some sandals
https://www.net-a-porter.com/gb/en/prod ... er-sandals

milemuncher1

Matthewfalle wrote:

Milemuncher1 wrote:

900 notes for some shoes.

Sorry - you paid 900 notes for some shoes?

Fcuk that for a game of soldiers.

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Mavic/ ... lsrc=aw.ds

And

viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=13092760

robert88

Vino'sGhost wrote:

The worst one is helmets, they don’t really work but we’re all so convinced they will, or they might that we go and blow loads more money.

I refused to buy another, I refused to buy gloves, my kit is largely decades old and seems to have shrunk. All except shorts, I pay for good shorts

I have very old kit. Some of my red jerseys so faded they are fashionably pink. You do need good shorts as they go all see-through. I also have some nice shoes and two pairs from Lidl.

prawny

I spend what I'm happy to crash in.

Cheap helmet, very cheap jersey, cheap as possible comfortable shorts. Bit more on shoes, but still, pretty cheap.

That said, 99.9% of my miles are commuting (200 per week) so I wear stuff out so quickly it's not worth bothering. I've started wearing cheap baggy shorts over my bibs just so I can carry on wearing them when they've got holes in the arse.

davebradswmb

There are some people who just want to spend as much as they can on their kit, if only to show off how much money they have. They won't admit to it, they will repeat all the marketing blurb to justify their purchase, but you don't have to spend long riding with them before you know they are talking rubbish. Who can blame the manufacturers pandering to these people, the money might as well end up in their pocket as anybody else's.

thegreatdivide

davebradswmb wrote:

There are some people who just want to spend as much as they can on their kit, if only to show off how much money they have. They won't admit to it, they will repeat all the marketing blurb to justify their purchase, but you don't have to spend long riding with them before you know they are talking rubbish. Who can blame the manufacturers pandering to these people, the money might as well end up in their pocket as anybody else's.

So what's your view on folk who want to spend as much as they can on kit who don't have a lot of money?

This is a perfect case of inverse snobbery.

Take the massive chip off your shoulder pal, you might get faster on your bike.

thegreatdivide

Robert88 wrote:

Vino'sGhost wrote:

The worst one is helmets, they don’t really work but we’re all so convinced they will, or they might that we go and blow loads more money.

I refused to buy another, I refused to buy gloves, my kit is largely decades old and seems to have shrunk. All except shorts, I pay for good shorts

I have very old kit. Some of my red jerseys so faded they are fashionably pink. You do need good shorts as they go all see-through. I also have some nice shoes and two pairs from Lidl.

PM your address - we'd like to send you a medal.

meursault

I don't think DHB are as good value as they used to be. Prices seem to have risen versus a couple of years ago. I don't paying for good quality, but not designer labels, such an obvious con.

If you do basic online research you can get everything you need, for reasonable prices.

davebradswmb

thegreatdivide wrote:

davebradswmb wrote:

There are some people who just want to spend as much as they can on their kit, if only to show off how much money they have. They won't admit to it, they will repeat all the marketing blurb to justify their purchase, but you don't have to spend long riding with them before you know they are talking rubbish. Who can blame the manufacturers pandering to these people, the money might as well end up in their pocket as anybody else's.

So what's your view on folk who want to spend as much as they can on kit who don't have a lot of money?

This is a perfect case of inverse snobbery.

Take the massive chip off your shoulder pal, you might get faster on your bike.

If they can't ride a bike then they are fools. If they can then good luck to them, but in my experience the fastest riders don't often have the best kit.

thegreatdivide

davebradswmb wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

davebradswmb wrote:

There are some people who just want to spend as much as they can on their kit, if only to show off how much money they have. They won't admit to it, they will repeat all the marketing blurb to justify their purchase, but you don't have to spend long riding with them before you know they are talking rubbish. Who can blame the manufacturers pandering to these people, the money might as well end up in their pocket as anybody else's.

So what's your view on folk who want to spend as much as they can on kit who don't have a lot of money?

This is a perfect case of inverse snobbery.

Take the massive chip off your shoulder pal, you might get faster on your bike.

If they can't ride a bike then they are fools. If they can then good luck to them, but in my experience the fastest riders don't often have the best kit.

Sorry but that's bullsh*t. You're a snob.

Edit - but don't worry, if the other comments in here are anything to go by you're in good company.

cld531c

My friend bought me some Rapha track mitts for my birthday (£50) - theyre rubbish. I bought some £3.99 from eBay crochet ones for Eroica - tons more comfy.
Wouldnt have bought the Rapha ones myself but was expecting to be blown away by how brilliant they were, not how for the first time in 20 years Ive had sore hands on a 30 mile ride.

davebradswmb

thegreatdivide wrote:

Sorry but that's bullsh*t. You're a snob.

Edit - but don't worry, if the other comments in here are anything to go by you're in good company.

I should let this go really, but what exactly is incorrect about what I am saying?

ugo.santalucia

Money has got tighter since 2008... I figured out, with inflation and all, I earn about 20% less than I did back then and it shows in my cycling gear choices...

Campagnolo has become 105... Rapha has become Torm and Assos has become DHB. I might soon begin ramaging in the Aldi stuff...

I'd love a pair of Assos Cento shorts for those 300 km+ rides, but I'll keep my DHB and put cream on my sores instead... :-)

socrates

Should we not be thinking that whatever anyone spends, it is their money to do with as they like. I wouldn't spend £900 on shoes but if someone else does, not for me to criticise. Lucky them that they can afford it.

socrates

We actually lost the point of the thread which was how much the manufacturers were charging, not what people were spending.

pblakeney

socrates wrote:

Should we not be thinking that whatever anyone spends, it is their money to do with as they like. I wouldn't spend £900 on shoes but if someone else does, not for me to criticise. Lucky them that they can afford it.

How philosophical.

davebradswmb

socrates wrote:

We actually lost the point of the thread which was how much the manufacturers were charging, not what people were spending.

But it is related. If there are people who want to spend £15,000 on a bike, a manufacturer will come along to fulfil that need. If these people didn't exist the bikes wouldn't exist.

The question is at what point does spending more money no longer actually result in better performance?