First: the title of this thread is misleading. He's not saying "forget upgrading, go buy a new bike", he is saying "spend more upfront to get a better bike, it's worth it". These are two different things.
Originally Posted by
Rolla
When I was working on the sales floor, I found that most entry-level riders had a totally unrealistic understanding of price and value. A video like that is probably a good thing to help drive home that it's better to "buy once, cry once."
I watched the video and I think this was his point. He's taking the perspective of a bike shop employee. Most people coming into bike shops are not enthusiasts like those on this forum. I'm sure people come into bike shops all the time thinking that $800 will get them a top-end road bike. Just talking them into the $1,000 entry level road bike is probably tough. If they end up cycling, they'll inevitably want to upgrade their $1,000 bike and he'll have to explain why that's either a bad idea or not possible. Those are the people he's talking to.
Speaking personally as an enthusiast, for the past 25 years I've (almost) always bought Ultegra / XT / Chorus / Force level bikes. As I approach 50, I've realized that I'm only going to buy Dura Ace / Super Record / AXS Red / XTR whatever the next top end stuff is stuff from here on out. I'm also done buying major brand bikes. I'm going the high end domestic Moots/Seven/Firefly/whoever custom route from here on. These are all emotional and even irrational decisions. I know that Dura Ace / Super Record is almost certainly not worth it over the second level groups. I also know that Trek/Giant/Specialized make some great bikes. Still, I'm starting to realize that life is short. I love cycling, it means a lot to me and is an intrinsic part or my personality. I'm not going to be buying too many more bikes, each bike I do buy needs to be special. I can afford these bikes without being financially irresponsible. Also, to me it's better than buying a boat or Porsche or whatever.