Bike envy

[roubaixtuesday]

Brilliant idea, a Cyclechat investment advice thread.
I can broker some good deals on bitcoin if anyone's interested.

Hang on, you haven't even considered the excellent returns on quality bridge investments available from Tuesday Enterprises.

 

[123456789]

I haven't read through the entire thread but it's all about attitude the only time you should look down on anybody is when you are helping them get back up.

That person who scrimped and saved for a year to get a 1k road bike probably cherishes it just as much as somebody who spent 10x that and of course there is an expectation that if you have all the gear...

At the end of the day put most of us on a 25k road bike against Pogačar on something from Argos and we're coming second.

 

[kingrollo]

Not just the car, but buying stuff secondhand, yellow stickering, foraging, cooking from scratch, not having sky / netflix etc...

People do get so sniffy if you live within your means. So much is about appearances. But I'm content with how I live and don't give a flying flamingo about what other people think. Although currently, things I've been doing for years are considered trendy.

Happiness is curling up by the fire with a good book and a cat on my lap.

The peer pressure at school was horrendous though, as almost everyone in my year came from a far wealthier background than I - diplomats' daughters and footballers' daughters and the like. So it does give you a certain perspective.

Buying cycling 2nd hand is a must - you can make massive savings....

My used wattbike was £1100 cheaper than new - bloke had used it 4 times - still had the receipt it was less than a year old.
The £500 rocker plate - I picked up used for £250.

I've never brought a new GPS ! My latest wahoo roam , as new £250 - that's £100 of current new price.

Cycling is very faddy - people spend loads thinking the nicest bike or best computer will make them fast - when it doesn't , they get bored and the stuff sooner or later ends up on eBay. Easy savings...

 

[kingrollo]

If I had 150k in the bank earning little and devaluing I would put at least 50% of it into Index funds.

Thing is as you get older - you not only want a good return you want to keep it simple.

No point getting better returns on a more risky investment if you're stressed out of your head worrying about it.

 

[Gunk]

Thing is as you get older - you not only want a good return you want to keep it simple.

As I get older I am really not bothered about having the latest thing, and second hand is absolutely fine.

 

[wafter]

Most of those I agree with, but not the "short lifespan". Cars nowadays are likely to last at least twice as long as cars did in my teens & 20's (1970s-80s).
I would also say they are generally cheaper in real terms to run (ignoring depreciation costs), as while parts & labour are expensive, they aren't needed nearly as often.

Perhaps this is somewhat subjective. I think the factors that write cars off have definitely changed - back then I suspect corrosion would have been a major killer; perhaps with more wear-related mechanical issues. Now it seems cars are written off for different reasons - while in many cases reliability of individual components is better, there are also a lot more of them as modern vehicles are far more complex so there's more to go wrong.

It seems a lot of modern innovations have turned out to be flawed too (such as the the predisposition of direct-injection petrol engines to accumulate carbon deposits). I think the increase in debt-fuelled new car purchases and subsequent devaluation of older ones has also lowered the bar with respect to what's considered economically viable to repair.

All that said, according to this source and based on average age at least, it appears that you're right

That said it does seem that the percentage of vehicles over 13yrs old still on the road has been falling since 2002; so again the statement about age depends somewhat on how you choose to assess it...

 

[Brandane]

All that said, according to this source and based on average age at least, it appears that you're right

Could it simply be that people are holding on to their cars for longer for various reasons?

In my case I have a 9 year old car which I have no intention of parting with any time soon, because:
1. I do less miles than I used to, so this one has "only" covered 80k (I have owned it for 5 years and done 40k of those miles).
2. People are feeling the financial pinch and are therefore less likely to make big purchases as often as they used to.
3. They share my opinion that overall, new cars are just a bit shyte. And a fear that today's electric cars are tomorrows 8 track/Betamax videos.

 

[tyred]

I think the 1990s were the sweet spot for cars. They were as good as they got before they began changing into bloated, overweight monsters with far too much complexity.

 

[Reynard]

I think the 1990s were the sweet spot for cars. They were as good as they got before they began changing into bloated, overweight monsters with far too much complexity.

Tech aside, you've got much more stringent crash test regs to account for the bloated and overweight bit.

 

[All uphill]

Tech aside, you've got much more stringent crash test regs to account for the bloated and overweight bit.

Maybe cars reflect their owners...

 

[Reynard]

Maybe cars reflect their owners...

At 4ft 11 and eight and a half stone?

 

[Mike Ayling]

Thing is as you get older - you not only want a good return you want to keep it simple.

No point getting better returns on a more risky investment if you're stressed out of your head worrying about it.

The index fund does keep it simple, it mirrors the top 200 shares listed on your local stock exchange so you don't have to think about investing in individual stocks, it is one of the least risky share investments you can get.

 

[Rusty Nails]

Thing is as you get older - you not only want a good return you want to keep it simple.

No point getting better returns on a more risky investment if you're stressed out of your head worrying about it.

The index fund does keep it simple, it mirrors the top 200 shares listed on your local stock exchange so you don't have to think about investing in individual stocks, it is one of the least risky share investments you can get.

It is not just about keeping it simple. There are different targets for investment. As you get older having longer term investments is not as important or secure as when you are young. The benefit of investment in the stock market is seen more for investments over the long term which virtually always rise overall and smooth out the ups and downs in the market, depending on the length of the term. Volatility in the short term makes market investment much more risky for the older investor.

There is no one size fits all rule to investment, and no one should take any advice from well meaning amateurs on a cycling forum, or even from professionals who do not know their personal circumstances and aims.

 

[kingrollo]

I think the 1990s were the sweet spot for cars. They were as good as they got before they began changing into bloated, overweight monsters with far too much complexity.

My near 20 year old mx5 is doing sterling service on very little outlay or repairs.

 

[Gunk]

I think the 1990s were the sweet spot for cars. They were as good as they got before they began changing into bloated, overweight monsters with far too much complexity.

The best cars I have owned all came out of the 1990’s Golf VR6, BMW 325tds Touring, Porsche 964 RS.