Looking around a nice shop today.

[johnnyb47]

Hi.
The weather was a little damp this morning and thought I would spend some time having a nose around a bike shop drooling over the nice bikes. The shop in question was for your more serious cyclist and the bikes were at the high end of the market. I couldn't believe how much some of them were. The dearest I spotted was a Carbon framed Colnago retailing at £10,000. It put my £70 steel framed eBay Peugeot bike to shame. Could you honestly imagine owning a bike worth that much though. I would be to afraid to use it just incase I fell off it and damaged it. You certainly wouldn't want to leave it outside the shop while your getting a drink. Leaving it in the garden shed would be a big no no to. I think I would take it to bed with me just to keep an eye on it. You would have to get something like that insured though other wise you would be too paranoid to enjoy it. In the coffee shop they had some lovely retro road bikes hung up on the wall. There's something about 70s/80s top quality road bikes that modern bikes don't seem to capture. The polished campag components , the painted details around the lugs. They just look so much more nicer than the modern day stuff. I would of asked if I could of taken the £10,000 bike out for a test ride but some how I knew what the answer would of been. It would of been interesting though to see and feel the difference compared to my old bike. :-)

 

[cyberknight]

I once someone leave a trek project one leaning against a wall at a cake stop unlocked, its all relative to your own perceived worth, i am having the heebie jeebies with mine, lookin out the back door to make sure the store is still secure , and enough locks on it to double its weight .

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Hi.
The weather was a little damp this morning and thought I would spend some time having a nose around a bike shop drooling over the nice bikes. The shop in question was for your more serious cyclist and the bikes were at the high end of the market. I couldn't believe how much some of them were. The dearest I spotted was a Carbon framed Colnago retailing at £10,000. It put my £70 steel framed eBay Peugeot bike to shame. Could you honestly imagine owning a bike worth that much though. I would be to afraid to use it just incase I fell off it and damaged it. You certainly wouldn't want to leave it outside the shop while your getting a drink. Leaving it in the garden shed would be a big no no to. I think I would take it to bed with me just to keep an eye on it. You would have to get something like that insured though other wise you would be too paranoid to enjoy it. In the coffee shop they had some lovely retro road bikes hung up on the wall. There's something about 70s/80s top quality road bikes that modern bikes don't seem to capture. The polished campag components , the painted details around the lugs. They just look so much more nicer than the modern day stuff. I would of asked if I could of taken the £10,000 bike out for a test ride but some how I knew what the answer would of been. It would of been interesting though to see and feel the difference compared to my old bike. :-)

Funny, your location says Wales but I could swear from your description that you were in Edinburgh's Ronde.

 

[Vantage]

Hi.
The shop in question was for your more serious cyclist and the bikes were at the high end of the market.

more serious cyclist = dumbshit with more money than sense.
My bike when new set me back £412 but I'd bet I'm more into cycling than some of these rich summer bunnies who've had their uber posh bikes locked up all winter. And I'll bet there's cyclists out there on bikes half as expensive as mine who are more serious about it than I.
A love of cycling is what makes a cyclist.....not a posh bike. All the gear and no idea etc.

 

[vickster]

I'd say riding a bike (whatever that might be) is what makes a cyclist surely

 

[fossyant]

I have a top of the range hand built bike. Cost me a huge amount of money 27 years ago, and I still have it. I used to race on it. Doesn't get used so much now since my spinal 'incident'. It's not turned a wheel for 2 years unfortunately.

You can get the same amount of enjoyment out of any bike. It's their money. I want an all singing MTB at some point (over £5k), but I doubt it's going to be much better than the £1,000 I paid for a Boardman FS Pro (full suspension).

 

[Yellow Saddle]

dumbshit with more money than sense.
. All the gear and no idea etc.

I wonder what percentage of statements like this are made by people who can't really afford nicer bikes and how many are made by people who can, but don't? I don't expect any honest answers from that question. Please treat it as strictly rhetoric.

That aside, imagine if taking that sentiment down to the core. That would remove all aspiration from life. It would remove all diversity. It would remove all intrigue and it would deprive us from seeing something other than our own boring utilitarian possessions.

Apply that sentiment of yours to everything you own and see if life is still as interesting. Your wedding ring would be polished brass instead of gold. Your kitchen taps would be galvanised instead of chromed. Nothing would be painted and there will be no champagne on special occasions and whiskey will be drunk at 3 years from casking. There will be no walking a round nice shops and no dreams. Imagine austerity to the extreme.

Come on Spartan, get a life, buy something flash and live a bit.

 

[johnnyb47]

I suppose on reflection the only difference between a £10,000 bike and my cheap £70 would be it would roll along quicker for less effort put into the pedals. For £70 pounds though I still get to see our glorious country side and I don't have to worry about the financial impact of it ,if it got damaged / or stolen. Even if I won the euro millions I don't think I could bring my self to spend that kind of money on a bike. I would have to be a seriously competitive sports man before that kind of money would change hands. As said before though ,I would of loved to taken it for a ride out to see just how different £10,000 of bike would feel compared to an old £70 steel bike like mine. I certainly wouldn't be judgement to any folk who could afford ,or own one though. Different people have different tastes and disires which makes our world we live in so much more diverse and interesting ,:-)

 

[Drago]

Don't worry about it. Only a handful of riders in the World have £10,000 legs, lungs, heart and waistline. A fat git like me won't go any quicker than I would on a £1500 bike.

 

[vickster]

Don't worry about it. Only a handful of riders in the World have £10,000 legs, lungs, heart and waistline. A fat git like me won't go any quicker than I would on a £1500 bike.

This but I still plan to spend £3k+ on Ti this year, I guess because I can

 

[johnnyb47]

I think that is the whole point why cycling is so popular. It's so diverse and offers so many different things to different people. Whether your a commuter , a MTB rider, or a roadie they can all be enjoyed on a budget that's suits you.

 

[Drago]

This but I still plan to spend £3k+ on Ti this year, I guess because I can

Absolutely! Because you can. Because you want to. Not because you think it'll make you Badly Wigglings.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Hi.
The weather was a little damp this morning and thought I would spend some time having a nose around a bike shop drooling over the nice bikes. The shop in question was for your more serious cyclist and the bikes were at the high end of the market. I couldn't believe how much some of them were. The dearest I spotted was a Carbon framed Colnago retailing at £10,000. It put my £70 steel framed eBay Peugeot bike to shame. Could you honestly imagine owning a bike worth that much though. I would be to afraid to use it just incase I fell off it and damaged it. You certainly wouldn't want to leave it outside the shop while your getting a drink. Leaving it in the garden shed would be a big no no to. I think I would take it to bed with me just to keep an eye on it. You would have to get something like that insured though other wise you would be too paranoid to enjoy it. In the coffee shop they had some lovely retro road bikes hung up on the wall. There's something about 70s/80s top quality road bikes that modern bikes don't seem to capture. The polished campag components , the painted details around the lugs. They just look so much more nicer than the modern day stuff. I would of asked if I could of taken the £10,000 bike out for a test ride but some how I knew what the answer would of been. It would of been interesting though to see and feel the difference compared to my old bike. :-)

Go to Kenya, find a village where most of the kids will die from malnutrition before they reach school age and tell them you spent seventy quid on a bike. That would feed one of them for a year. It's all relative, £70 is nothing to you, a fortune to somebody else. Exactly the same with ten grand.

BTW, there aren't many high end bike shops in Wales, it wasn't Pembrokeshire Bikes in Narberth, by any chance?

 

[Vantage]

I wonder what percentage of statements like this are made by people who can't really afford nicer bikes and how many are made by people who can, but don't? I don't expect any honest answers from that question. Please treat it as strictly rhetoric.

That aside, imagine if taking that sentiment down to the core. That would remove all aspiration from life. It would remove all diversity. It would remove all intrigue and it would deprive us from seeing something other than our own boring utilitarian possessions.

Apply that sentiment of yours to everything you own and see if life is still as interesting. Your wedding ring would be polished brass instead of gold. Your kitchen taps would be galvanised instead of chromed. Nothing would be painted and there will be no champagne on special occasions and whiskey will be drunk at 3 years from casking. There will be no walking a round nice shops and no dreams. Imagine austerity to the extreme.

Come on Spartan, get a life, buy something flash and live a bit.

All fair points. In my case, it's more because I've always been piss poor. Doubt I'd spend £3000 on a bike even if I was a millionaire though.
Granted, I'd feel silly if I mocked someone for buying a posher tv than mine despite me buying a posher tv than my mum's because I just wanted something better than 'adequate'.
I do feel though that the ops post made it look like only a 'serious' cyclist would spend a few more zeros on a bike than Joe Average. Which is what prompted my response.
Looking back I think I misread his post though. Sorry @johnnyb47

 

[screenman]

more serious cyclist = dumbshit with more money than sense.
My bike when new set me back £412 but I'd bet I'm more into cycling than some of these rich summer bunnies who've had their uber posh bikes locked up all winter. And I'll bet there's cyclists out there on bikes half as expensive as mine who are more serious about it than I.
A love of cycling is what makes a cyclist.....not a posh bike. All the gear and no idea etc.

Funny how so many dumb people have money like that to spend, I bet you would like to be a bit dumber so that you could do the same. I have 70 year old pals that think nothing of £5,000 or more on a bike, they are not going to get much faster than they are now, but boy do they enjoy their bikes and in some cases still race. Also what do you mean " more into cycling"