I'm not sure how everybody else feels about dropping a few large on a bike, but I feel downright bad. It's hard to judge how much money to spend on your bike, as upgrades are easily found; holding back is painful. My new Giant TCR Composite 1 is a work of art though, and I'll be damned if it wasn't worth every last penny. Everything having been paid for retail left my pockets dry, but it was worth buying from a shop with a "bike owner's club.” I've yet to see my new bike in person, but in 18 hours I will be all over it. Got my bike for $2800 and with tax and accessories (have yet to buy HRM - waiting for CS200) it ran me up $3300. Being 19 and all, $3300 is a pretty substantial amount of money, and I doubt if I've ever seen that much in person.
My last ride was half the price, and I was very happy with it. I was riding a Trek 2300 from Dec 2003 to Feb 2005 and didn't have any problems with it other than a few flats. Real solid bike and it looked hot in its blue and silver. The reason I'm not riding that bike anymore is because a truck shat it out the back, AKA ran it the hell over. I got hurt too but that's a whole other story. Anyway, I am ready to race and might to do this weekend's TT. I've been on my dad's old 10-speed Fuji “sport” which I use to get around the city (NYC) so I have some form in me. I've been planning on racing since I got my first road bike (Specialized 03 Allez Sport 27 - stolen), and I was gearing up for the start of this 2005 season until I was hit by a truck two weeks before the first race (which was cancelled 🙂). So my first two road bikes have been aluminum and as my interest in cycling has skyrocketed so has the price of my taste, hence the Carbon ride.
In my attempts to successfully justify this expense to my family I have found no hope, and I am constantly bombarded with questions on "how I could possibly spend that much money on a BIKE.” I often hear comparisons such as how I could buy a "cheap car" for that price, which is undeniably true, but are you LISTENING to me? Actually, for $2500 you could buy a backpacking trip through Europe for two weeks. But no, my decision on spending that much money on a bike is completely unfounded and simply ridiculous. Back to the car thing, I could probably get a pretty decent one for that amount of money, but I don't really need one right now. Right now all I need is a bike.
Since I've been off my light 2003 roadie and on my 70's Fuji roadster it's been agitating having to stay in one gear (albeit a versatile one) all the time. The Fuji's gears aren't in great shape and attempting to shift the troublesome gears at speed is not something I am inclined to do. The steel ride is pretty smooth, just old feeling, which is making me itch for something more new feeling, enters carbon. I'm very excited to get this bike as it will be the best one I have ever laid my ass upon. So, the reason I thought to spend so much freakin' money is because it's worth it. It's a good deal in the first place, it being a cheap carbon frame with carbon everything minus handlebars (damnit), Ultegra/lil' bit of DA, and Mavic Kyserium Elites.
I will be training and racing my bike a lot once I get it, and I wanted something that will take a lot of miles and perform well. There are tons of cheaper race ready bikes out there in the $1500-2000 range that would do me just fine, it's sad but true. Such a reality makes me doubt my purchase and feel guilty about it. One thing I am confident about is that the level of my interest in cycling warrants such a purchase, which is something that nobody but oneself can understand unless dedication could be quantified for the masses. I hope to make some good money in the future so I could prevent this whole guilty feeling thing and throw down more on an even nicer bike. Another thing is that it makes me comfortable knowing that I won’t have to upgrade my bike any time soon, not even when I get more competitive, nice. The lifetime frame warranty is sweet, too. I’ve always loved to play with toys and have always appreciated high performance things, so this is the obvious tangible outcome of my fascination. I’m the same with computers, but oddly enough a high end computer is substantially cheaper than a high end road bike! Had no idea until I looked up the price of those cool bikes whipping around Central Park; it was a frightening thing.
How does it make all of you feel when you cannot help but spend more money than you want to on something that you really desire? Do you use life’s circumstances to help justify a purchase like I do?