??? I can't make sense out of that without changing it to something that makes sense - and then it might not be what you were trying to say.
When off the peg new bikes start costing more than some new cars - !
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That's not my fault .
I think you're right
I didn't realise you'd met my wife.
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Levo-Lon
Guru
You'd probably think wow when you first set eye's on it..but that may soon change to " its not very comfy" and a few other ??
In the same vein i drove a £250000 new Ferrari ,i thought it was awful to drive, but omg gorgeous..
The Audi R8 i drove was absolutely fantastic and about £1800000 cheaper.
The more focused a bike or car ect becomes the harder they tend to be to use everyday.
Great if your a pro racer tho
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You'd probably think wow when you first set eye's on it..but that may soon change to " its not very comfy" and a few other ??
In the same vein i drove a £250000 new Ferrari ,i thought it was awful to drive, but omg gorgeous..
The Audi R8 i drove was absolutely fantastic and about £1800000 cheaper.
The more focused a bike or car ect becomes the harder they tend to be to use everyday.
Great if your a pro racer tho
Or you want something to play with on sunny days.
Levo-Lon
Guru
Jimidh
Veteran
- Location
- Midlothian
Some people like buying beautiful things and one person’s beautiful is different from another’s.
My wife has a thing for expensive shoes - she loves her Loubie Loos and there’s no point telling her she could get a nice comfy and much cheaper pair from Clarks. She can also afford them.
Same with bikes - some top end bikes are gorgeous, will they make a 52 year old cyclist faster , probably not but they might be fun to ride.
Some of the old classic bikes look awesome too, will they make me faster, probably not but again they would be lovely to ride.
Buy what you want and can afford and let people do the same without the sneering about other’s choices.
My wife has a thing for expensive shoes - she loves her Loubie Loos and there’s no point telling her she could get a nice comfy and much cheaper pair from Clarks. She can also afford them.
Same with bikes - some top end bikes are gorgeous, will they make a 52 year old cyclist faster , probably not but they might be fun to ride.
Some of the old classic bikes look awesome too, will they make me faster, probably not but again they would be lovely to ride.
Buy what you want and can afford and let people do the same without the sneering about other’s choices.
and would you say that most people who comment positively and have purchased such a bike, if honest, are trying to legitimise their purchase? This isn't about being able to afford or not but about the justification of the price tag. Your comment does come across as back-handed snobbery.
Just a few thoughts on some common British attitudes to expensive things and wealthy people - not reflecting anyone here, just based on my general experiences.
The concept of "More money than sense" seems so quintessentially British - it seems almost as British as commenting on the weather, and it's not a feeling that I've heard expressed in other cultures where I've lived and worked. In fact, I doubt there are many of us who have never used it - I certainly have.
But it can be so wrong in at least two ways.
The most obvious one is the implication that if you have the money to spend on something very expensive and you buy it, you must be stupid. But why? What else is money for than spending on things? That's its only purpose. And if you can comfortably afford a super expensive toy, why is it dumb to buy it?
Secondly, what's actually bad about having more money than sense? Plenty of people have a lot more money than sense while still having a lot of sense. And, conversely, there are people with very little money who still have more money than sense.
Ultimately, if someone has the money to comfortably afford something, and that something is going to give them sufficient pleasure that they'd rather have the something than the money - of course they should buy it. That's the way our capitalist economy works, and it applies as much to the sausages I bought yesterday as to the supercars bought by millionaires.
And I bet we all have weaknesses too, which we would indulge if we could afford it. Jimidh mentioned his wife's love for nice shoes - and I share that. I love classic English and American gentlemen's shoes, and I have about 20 pairs of them (plus various trainers, boots...). Far more shoes than my wife, who doesn't really care for them much. OK, about half of mine are second-hand (second-foot?) vintage shoes, and the most I've ever paid for a pair is about £230 (including import tax from the US - but they were new-old-stock 1960s/70s V-cleat Florsheim Imperial "gunboats"), so nothing close to what some people pay for shoes. But on my income, they are very much an indulgence.
If I unexpectedly acquired a substantial amount of money, would I spend a lot on bikes? Yep, for sure, but not modern carbon ones - I'd love to be able to ride some of the very best old steel classics. I was overtaken by someone riding a beautiful vintage Colnago last summer, and I'm sure I could feel my Raleigh frame shudder in admiration - those things look even better in real life than they do in photos.
As part of my Liverpool heritage, I'd also love to get a nice hand-build Harry Quinn (though not necessarily the lilac one of the song). In their youth, my Dad rode a James Fothergill bike and my Mum had a Bates, and I'd like to be able to find a nice one of each to ride.
But if I won the lottery this week, one of the first things I'd do is phone for an appointment at John Lobb.
More money than sense? I wish!
The concept of "More money than sense" seems so quintessentially British - it seems almost as British as commenting on the weather, and it's not a feeling that I've heard expressed in other cultures where I've lived and worked. In fact, I doubt there are many of us who have never used it - I certainly have.
But it can be so wrong in at least two ways.
The most obvious one is the implication that if you have the money to spend on something very expensive and you buy it, you must be stupid. But why? What else is money for than spending on things? That's its only purpose. And if you can comfortably afford a super expensive toy, why is it dumb to buy it?
Secondly, what's actually bad about having more money than sense? Plenty of people have a lot more money than sense while still having a lot of sense. And, conversely, there are people with very little money who still have more money than sense.
Ultimately, if someone has the money to comfortably afford something, and that something is going to give them sufficient pleasure that they'd rather have the something than the money - of course they should buy it. That's the way our capitalist economy works, and it applies as much to the sausages I bought yesterday as to the supercars bought by millionaires.
And I bet we all have weaknesses too, which we would indulge if we could afford it. Jimidh mentioned his wife's love for nice shoes - and I share that. I love classic English and American gentlemen's shoes, and I have about 20 pairs of them (plus various trainers, boots...). Far more shoes than my wife, who doesn't really care for them much. OK, about half of mine are second-hand (second-foot?) vintage shoes, and the most I've ever paid for a pair is about £230 (including import tax from the US - but they were new-old-stock 1960s/70s V-cleat Florsheim Imperial "gunboats"), so nothing close to what some people pay for shoes. But on my income, they are very much an indulgence.
If I unexpectedly acquired a substantial amount of money, would I spend a lot on bikes? Yep, for sure, but not modern carbon ones - I'd love to be able to ride some of the very best old steel classics. I was overtaken by someone riding a beautiful vintage Colnago last summer, and I'm sure I could feel my Raleigh frame shudder in admiration - those things look even better in real life than they do in photos.
As part of my Liverpool heritage, I'd also love to get a nice hand-build Harry Quinn (though not necessarily the lilac one of the song). In their youth, my Dad rode a James Fothergill bike and my Mum had a Bates, and I'd like to be able to find a nice one of each to ride.
But if I won the lottery this week, one of the first things I'd do is phone for an appointment at John Lobb.
More money than sense? I wish!
I can sell you an abstract painting by a very talented cat for a few thousand if you want - art critics do have a record of praising the brush strokes of animals so no worries there.
