This bike costs £8599.99. Is it worth it?

[subaqua]

if you can afford it and will enjoy it then it's money well spent

I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. if i was in the position to spend that much on a bike i think i probably would have donated it to the RNLI or some other good cause rather than spending it on me. each to their own though

 

[lejogger]

I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. if i was in the position to spend that much on a bike i think i probably would have donated it to the RNLI or some other good cause rather than spending it on me. each to their own though

I guess though, if you're in the position to spend that on a bike, then you're probably in a position where you can make substantial donations to charity alongside your leisure purchases... and if you really think about it, at the most basic level, for someone who earns £200,000 a year, if they spend £8k on a bike they should be able to enjoy it and feel as comfortable riding it to the same extent as someone who earns £20,000 a year enjoys and feels comfortable riding an £800 bike.

 

[black'n'yellow]

don't confuse salary and bike value - I know plenty of people whose bikes are worth more than the cars they are carried on.

 

[lejogger]

don't confuse salary and bike value - I know plenty of people whose bikes are worth more than the cars they are carried on.

That's very true. £8k isn't really a lot of money in car terms. You don't get many people questioning why someone would buy a brand new Audi for £20-30k when they could have picked up a whole raft of new cars for half the price that do exactly the same job. It seems to just be accepted with cars that you buy the best you can afford. Why shouldn't it be the same for bikes?

 

[GrasB]

Out of production now (the Evo-K's the only model they're making at the moment)....

Go-One, Milan, Quest, etc.. what ever the point is velos make way more of an impact than a £8k DF

 

[e-rider]

That's very true. £8k isn't really a lot of money in car terms. You don't get many people questioning why someone would buy a brand new Audi for £20-30k when they could have picked up a whole raft of new cars for half the price that do exactly the same job. It seems to just be accepted with cars that you buy the best you can afford. Why shouldn't it be the same for bikes?

that's not exactly true

 

[black'n'yellow]

that's not exactly true

I doubt if anything on this thread is 'exactly' true - as you yourself demonstrated earlier..

 

[grumpyoldgit]

I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. if i was in the position to spend that much on a bike i think i probably would have donated it to the RNLI or some other good cause rather than spending it on me. each to their own though

Rather a sweeping statement there.
A lot of big earners support many worthy causes,I would not include myself in that bracket,but I am a Life Governor of the RNLI,& regularly donate,& encourage others to do so.
Does this mean that I should not spend £X,000 on a bike if I so wish?
Will it make me faster? I doubt it.
Will it make me fitter? No,only hard work can .
Will I enjoy it more? I can only find out by trying.

NB Please see tag line.

 

[Zakalwe]

I don't get this "if I had the money I would do something worthy with it" thinking. Just by buying something of any value is to do something worthy, that money goes round and keeps people in employment, the people working for the manufacturer, the shop selling it, the freighter etc. The vat you pay keeps the country afloat and goes towards international aid. If we all gave all our money away to charity then there wouldn't be any more money left to give.

 

[StuAff]

Go-One, Milan, Quest, etc.. what ever the point is velos make way more of an impact than a £8k DF

True!

 

[subaqua]

Rather a sweeping statement there.
A lot of big earners support many worthy causes,I would not include myself in that bracket,but I am a Life Governor of the RNLI,& regularly donate,& encourage others to do so.
Does this mean that I should not spend £X,000 on a bike if I so wish?
Will it make me faster? I doubt it.
Will it make me fitter? No,only hard work can .
Will I enjoy it more? I can only find out by trying.

NB Please see tag line.

tag line is wrong. it should read smallest penious

 

[black'n'yellow]

NB Please see tag line.

first competition I've seen where death defines the victory. Not much of a win.....I think I'd be happy with 2nd...

 

[Lee_M]

I'm really sorry if you've misinterpreted what my posts were trying to say. If you read my posts in full I would hope that the jist that there is no reason at all to buy expensive kit if you want a performance gain, BUT if you can afford to spend a certain amount then there should be nothing to stop you. Go for it!!!! Read my post #24 on page 2. I'm fully advocating spending whatever you want to on a bike if it makes you happy. My attitude is very much one that encompasses cycling in any format for all who want to try it.
I was just saying that if you're looking to spend more ONLY to get faster then you may be disappointed. A cheaper bike (like mine) will perform almost as well, if not as well as one costing a lot more. You don't HAVE to spend money but if I could, I most certainly would.

In relative terms my road bike is cheap. That's a fact. But I feel I still perform to a fairly decent level on it. I would hate to think I've come across as arrogant. My times really don't justify that. I have clubmates who are national and world title holders so whatever I do is always going to be very small fry. My head isn't up my arse. I appreciate how much of a novice I am in cycle racing terms. I don't have a chip on my shoulder either. I'm new to ths game also and am happy with whatever results I get.

ok, in which case I apologise for calling you a sofab!

This thread did seem to me - a relative newcomer to the forum as a load of jealous types, so if thats wrong, again apologies.

I'm lucky in that I can afford nice gear (though I wont be spending that amount) but I know at 50, with a back operation recently recovered from, shot knees, and probably overweight (100kg) and tall (6'3") I'm never going to win any races or justify buying a 3k bike in terms of getting the performance out of it, But then again I've worked damned hard for 30 years so I'm going to bloody buy one :-), oh and I'll probably put a triple on the front to make sure I can get up the hills too!

 

[grumpyoldgit]

tag line is wrong. it should read smallest penious

Is that because it is worn out?

 

[dellzeqq]

I used my Boardman in a club time trial a couple of weeks ago. I won averaging 25mph. I raced against experienced guys on Felt and Ribble TT bikes with teardrop aero helmets and skin suits. It was only 5 miles, and this was my first ever go at a TT, but I beat some of them by at least 20-30 seconds, some of them by a minute. I could probably safely say that my bike was the cheapest there by a margin.

Are we seriously saying that I'm x seconds better than them PLUS another 8% or so allowing for equipment? So spending an extra £1k for a Ribble TT bike or equivalent will save me 35 seconds per 5 miles??? Are we sure?

What times do you expect me to get on a bike costing 6 times the Boardman?! It's a light carbon aero frame. With clip on steel aero bars I can get a decent position. I don't agree that I'll be making those sort of time savings... I might if I trained harder, not if I spent more.

I'm seriously saying that over a 160 mile day there are some bikes that will be better for you than your Boardman - although, to be fair, I don't think it would make much difference on a 5 mile TT which is a straightforward exercise in converting power to motion.