Is the Specialized Venge worth the price tag?

[vickster]

SPECIALIZED EVERY TIME!!!!

I am a Specialized superfan.....The Venge is on my bucket list...I WILL own it one day....but this version....

https://www.specialized.com/gb/en/venge-pro/p/154594?color=240851-154594- £6500- WORTH EVERY PENNY

Colour the only redeeming feature

 

[Lavender Rose]

Colour the only redeeming feature

WHATTTTTTTT......WHY?!

 

[vickster]

WHATTTTTTTT......WHY?!

It's hideous in every way...but then to me so are all plastic aero bikes

 

[Lavender Rose]

Colour the only redeeming feature

Granted, I am not keen on disc brakes on a fast, light bike.....

 

[screenman]

You're assuming that just because a bike didn't cost much to buy, therefore it must be mechanically maladjusted and unpleasant to ride. Not the case even with my skip bikes. All have properly lubricated & adjusted wheel, headset & BB bearings, and the brakes and gears work correctly. That's all the moving parts there are on a bike!.
Now some of my bikes are cosmetically horrible, and would probably offend the typical Lycra-wearing weekend warrior, but the shabby neglected appearance and badly-applied paint is entirely intentional. It's what allows me to use my bikes in dodgy areas and leave them unattended on the street without them getting stolen.
As for the "earn more, spend more" mentality; if you spend less but spend wisely you can enjoy the same or better material standard of living without having to kill yourself maximising your earnings. All the people who always buy new and spend big are doing, is spending half their time earning money that will simply evaporate in depreciation of the assets they buy. They are in effect the people that provide me with cheap cars and cheap bikes, because they pay full whack, then I buy them a few years down the line for a few pence in the pound. And if they pay interest on borrowed money to purchase fast-depreciating assets like bikes and cars- that is even more stupid!

Who is talking about working to earn more, that is not clever, find something you really enjoy doing that pays well, work clever not hard. So what if I said to you here are two cars free of charge no cost to you at all, one is an old banger worth £1,000 another a new one with a lot of built in luxury worth £50,000 would you honestly take the banger. You should appreciate the people who allow you to have hand me downs not belittle them at every chance.

 

[raleighnut]

If you saved up a bit more you could get a handbuilt Steel bike.

 

[vickster]

If you saved up a bit more you could get a handbuilt Steel bike.

Or titanium but the OP might want a plastic racing bike? In which case, there are cheaper options from other brands

 

[FishFright]

Life's too short and random for not having the bike that you want , providing you have the money to pay for it. I have several expensive (to me) bikes and I love them all, they will be around for years as I don't really sell bikes so the price / pleasure / per mile ratios make them practically free in unreal terms.

I also spent many years using Johns method, but through necessity not choice, and having nice bikes to ride is 1000's of times nicer.

 

[I like Skol]

I have a few 4 £igure bikes, none of them were bought on the basis of light weight, aerodynamics or frame material.

IMO the considerations are...

• Is it heavy? As long as it is of 'normal' weight I'm happy, don't want to be riding anything that weighs more than a tank, but then again as I bolt on mudguards, lights, sensible size & thickness tyres and pannier racks that is often the end result anyway.
• Is it nice/enjoyable to ride?
• Is it robust and reliable with the functionality I want. It might be Sora or Ultegra, doesn't really matter as long as it works and is nice to use.
• Do I like the looks? A bit of an objective thing but I don't want a bike that hurts my eyes. I need that bond with my bike to make me want to ride it. Even the commuter.
• Can I afford it? No point compromising your financial position just to have a nicer bike. There is a big difference between using finance and going into debt.

So, if the bike ticks the boxes and you can afford it, go ahead and be happy.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Another Spesh fan here. Their customer service to the original owner is brilliant. I had a Tricross frame crack on me and despite it being over 40,000 miles old it was changed no quibbles. With me they have a customer for life.

 

[mattobrien]

£3k, meh, you could barely buy a decent set of wheels for that (in the absence of @Markymark )

 

[Soltydog]

IMO the considerations are...

• Is it heavy?
  
• Is it nice/enjoyable to ride?
• Is it robust and reliable with the functionality I want.
• Do I like the looks?
• Can I afford it?

So, if the bike ticks the boxes and you can afford it, go ahead and be happy.

I'd add another to the list if spending that much ££, Does it make me smile? Take it for a test ride & you'll know if you want to spend that amount of cash on it. Last year I had saved a fair wedge for my dream Ti bike. Wasn't sure I could actually spend so much on a bike, but when I had a test ride on the Enigma, I was convinced

 

[Ming the Merciless]

What is it that attracts you to the Venge? You know what gives you World Tour Performance? A World Tour level of fitness.

 

[Kempstonian]

I might have been a bit harsh earlier. Thinking back to when I was younger, fitter and better off financially, I would have definitely bought the best bike I could afford. I've never been in a position to buy a bike of this quality though. But if I had been I would have, that's for sure!

 

[ChrisEyles]

+1 one for getting a test ride. I'll bet if you do you'll know when you ride it if it's worth it to you.

If you stop to think about anything like this you realise the correlation between value (what something is really worth to you) and price is really all over the place in our economy/society. Is x worth £y is a very relative question indeed.

Must admit I tend towards @SkipdiverJohn's point of view on this one though.