- Location
- Somewhere wet & hilly in NW England.
I have a bike which (today, to replace, would cost less than £500), and has technology from a while back. It's not the fastest, nor the lightest, and it manages to outshine my abilities.
It can manage 60+ miles without issue, and has remained reliable for 4 years without any issue, except the normal wear and tear which you would expect.
It lives outside, in all weathers, so looks a little old.
It has completed a LEJOG, and a trip to Guernsey, towed a trailer, and continues to provide a large amount of fun and exercise for us (it's a tandem btw!).
We are considering an L2P sometime next year on it.
My view is that there is often a large desire to replace things, or to buy the best/lightest/strongest bike and equipment all the time, and whilst I might agree that the initial bike purchase should be buy the best you can afford, more importantly, take time to consider HOW you will use the bike - marketing, and the opinions of others could provoke more cost than you actually need!
We have Acera 24 speed gearing, it's not modern nor up-to-date, but it works really well for us.... and is still currently available if things need replacing. This is just one example where newer, isn't necessarily the best, certainly not for us!
Please feel free to disagree with me, but this is directed towards those who are considering a purchase, and frequently look to this forum for advice.... new and shiny, bang up-to-date stuff might be your desire, but also can be a false economy!
All sounds very sensible to me. But as far as finance goes I'm a 'head' man (at least these days) and definitely not a 'heart' type. In another life we used to replace things to 'keep up to date' but then we completely downshifted our life and part of this included us steering way clear of fashion/latest-greatest. Don't get me wrong, we are not stingy we spend decent money for things that, to us, appear to be good value for money. Without going too political it wasn't just the bankers that screwed the country up - it was also every daft sod on modest wages that wanted to look and dress like eg David & Victoria, drive cars they couldn't really afford on some crappy PCP and who thought that the equity in their house was a Piggy Bank, to fund eg 'dream' holidays, that they either conveniently, or stupidly, forgot needed paying back.
I agree. As with everything from silly little mobile phones to shiny German cars, the gullible are far too willing to get their wallets out for no more gain that the smug feeling that comes with temporarily having something they perceive to be better/flasher/more up to date that that which their neighbours possess. It's a sad indictment on life and society that people attach so much importance to the pursuit of such things.
Yes, odd how people *iss their pants/knick's with excitement at the latest Apple offering. Or disc brakes.
What do all you tight miserly people spend all of your disposable on, is something I have often wondered about.
Haha - not tight and miserly at all. Just sensible! We try to strike a balance between living for now, having rainy day money and making sure the kids will be ok when we finally shuffle off.