Originally Posted by
BlazingPedals
Even I know that answer. Although most are not racing, they ARE trying to keep up with their buddies. It's an undeclared arms race which forces everyone onto fast bikes. You can opt out only by abandoning riding with your buddies, because you can be certain they're getting faster bikes so that they can drop you.
I even see this in recumbents. I rode with someone who was faster than me, so I upgraded. He upgraded. I upgraded. He finally got a velomobile and has done fairly flat centuries averaging 28+ mph. How do I compete with that unless I get a $12000 velo of my own?
I just returned from the Recumbent Cycle-Con in Nashville. I rode several of the big name and expensive trikes, and found out that my TerraTrike Tour II steers better than they do. The Green Speeds steered well, and I would love to have the AZUB Ti-Fly which steered great too. But alas I cant afford it.