A Bike is Not a Cell Phone - Upgrading to "Latest and Greatest" Syndrome
06-05-20, 11:17 AM
#151
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,646 Times
in
6,054 Posts
We were talking about photography overall earlier in the thread, how much phone cameras have improved, and how there are still shots they can't get.
I swear this isn't Photoshop, but I don't expect anyone to believe me. It's a cloud moving in, reflecting lights from a nearby highway, and from the town of North Bend. Shot at blue hour. The camera is more sensitive than the eye. Some of the brighter stars look like they have tails, that's because the wind was blowing the camera and tripod around. I finally went home when my camera and very expensive lens hit the ground.
I swear this isn't Photoshop, but I don't expect anyone to believe me. It's a cloud moving in, reflecting lights from a nearby highway, and from the town of North Bend. Shot at blue hour. The camera is more sensitive than the eye. Some of the brighter stars look like they have tails, that's because the wind was blowing the camera and tripod around. I finally went home when my camera and very expensive lens hit the ground.
Likes For Seattle Forrest:
06-05-20, 11:18 AM
#152
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 23,208
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18883 Post(s)
Liked 10,646 Times
in
6,054 Posts
And now back to cats. This is Bear being humiliated.
Likes For Seattle Forrest:
06-05-20, 10:33 PM
#153
Member
I just got a 2021 Specialized Diverge Comp Carbon as my first bike because I like all the cool little gadgets on the bike lol. Future Shock 2.0 and the little SWAT storage door are cool. I like the huge tire clearance. Is that stuff needed? Probably not.
Likes For LSUFANDAN:
06-06-20, 08:03 AM
#154
Senior Member
If bikes where cell phones I wonder what phone I would have now. My 2018 bicycle's newest technology is probably the linear pull rim brakes first mass marketed in 1996 I believe. The aluminum alloy rims in the mid 1980's. And I remember 26" wheels when I was a kid in the 1970's.
Speaking of cellphones, The only reason I upgrade them is when they stop working on todays networks.
I must admit though, I really appreciate the functionality of my entry level Samsung android phone. While I'm more then pleased with my antiquated comfort bike. I have added some modern accessories though, Like a cheap computer and small LED lights.
Speaking of cellphones, The only reason I upgrade them is when they stop working on todays networks.
I must admit though, I really appreciate the functionality of my entry level Samsung android phone. While I'm more then pleased with my antiquated comfort bike. I have added some modern accessories though, Like a cheap computer and small LED lights.
Last edited by xroadcharlie; 06-06-20 at 08:19 AM.
06-06-20, 08:15 AM
#155
Not actually Tmonk
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 14,068
Bikes: road, track, mtb
Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2592 Post(s)
Liked 3,080 Times
in
1,631 Posts
I'm riding a 2013 TCR Advanced ISP (ultegra) as my daily. It's a wonderful bike, probably the fanciest, nicest riding bike I've ever owned. I have 0 desire to swap it based on that criteria. I race on a 2016 Venge expert which rides like crap in comparison but has all the fast bits on it so w/e.
It could be nice to get something with electronic shifting, and clearance for larger tires, which means disc which I'm not crazy about. I had the perfect chance to get a team (SDBC) tarmac comp disc earlier in the year. The options were to buy at cost at end of season or give it back to the shop.
I didn't go for it b/c the requirements were a little stiff for me, so I settled for clothing and race reimbursement instead. Looks like I wouldn't have had to quite meet it with the lockdown and what not.
When the TCR goes I'll either replace it with something equivalent but w/ disc, or a custom steel frame.
It could be nice to get something with electronic shifting, and clearance for larger tires, which means disc which I'm not crazy about. I had the perfect chance to get a team (SDBC) tarmac comp disc earlier in the year. The options were to buy at cost at end of season or give it back to the shop.
I didn't go for it b/c the requirements were a little stiff for me, so I settled for clothing and race reimbursement instead. Looks like I wouldn't have had to quite meet it with the lockdown and what not.
When the TCR goes I'll either replace it with something equivalent but w/ disc, or a custom steel frame.
__________________
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
Last edited by TMonk; 06-06-20 at 08:18 AM.
06-06-20, 08:32 AM
#156
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: San Clemente
Posts: 664
Bikes: 87 Bianchi X4, 95 Bianchi Ti Mega Tube, 06 Alan Carbon Cross X33, Gold plated Columbus AIR Guerciotti, 74 Galmozzi Super Competizione, 52 Bianchi Paris Roubaix.
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 259 Post(s)
Liked 538 Times
in
165 Posts
Warning: This thread is pointless and is just me rambling about a thought that's been rolling around in my head for a while 
Having just sold a handful of bikes recently, one of the most common bargaining tactics used by potential buyer's to get me to drop the price of my bikes was that the bikes were a couple of years old (ranging from 2013 to 2015 model years) and thus not worth anything. On more than one occasion, I'd get someone sending me a link to some "bicycle blue book" stating that my bikes were worthless because they weren't the latest and greatest. I learned to ignore those potential buyers and my bikes all sold for what I was asking... thanks to COVID-19
That got me thinking... are we as a society being duped into thinking that a bike that is a few years old is now a piece of outdated junk, just because we've become used to a 2 year obsolescence cycle for electronic goods? (I.e. "Moore's Law" has had a pretty big role in people buying a new mobile phone or computer every 2 years because that's about how long it takes before a new, much faster model is invented.) Unless you're planning on buying a bike with SRAM eTap, Shimano Di2, or some other electronic components group, the entire rest of the bike is not electronic and not subject to radical improvements from year to year.
I often think manufacturers just introduce new models with new marketing hype to convince us that the newer model is radically better than the old when it potentially is not. For example, I'm still wondering why Shimano created the Ultegra R8000 group set when it's hardly a departure from the 6800 group set. Both are 11 speed and both work just fine. It's my opinion that used bikes with Ultegra 6800 are a great value because they're perceived as being "yesterday's news" but work just as good as the new R8000 bikes.
While there certainly are incremental advances and improvements in bikes over the years, I personally think that one ought to really consider if you really need the latest model bike or if you just want it. There's nothing wrong with either, but if you can convince yourself that you don't need a brand new bike, you can save yourself a lot of money. Not only that, bicycles typically hold their value worse than cars do... once you ride the bike away from the LBS, you'll have a hard time selling it for anything near what you paid for it (well, excluding our current bizarro-world COVID-19 bike shortage.)
Anywho... your thoughts? Are bikes that are more than a few years old worthy of the scrap heap? Is buying a brand new bike a psychological gain or a good idea? Should we all buy a new bike every two years to keep up-to-date along with our iPhones and Android phones?
Note: I currently ride a 2020 Trek Domane SL7, so I'm a little hypocritical when it comes to my argument that one doesn't need a new bike. However, in my defense, I did buy it used for substantial cost savings... I would've stuck with my 2015 Domane had the deal not come along.
Having just sold a handful of bikes recently, one of the most common bargaining tactics used by potential buyer's to get me to drop the price of my bikes was that the bikes were a couple of years old (ranging from 2013 to 2015 model years) and thus not worth anything. On more than one occasion, I'd get someone sending me a link to some "bicycle blue book" stating that my bikes were worthless because they weren't the latest and greatest. I learned to ignore those potential buyers and my bikes all sold for what I was asking... thanks to COVID-19
That got me thinking... are we as a society being duped into thinking that a bike that is a few years old is now a piece of outdated junk, just because we've become used to a 2 year obsolescence cycle for electronic goods? (I.e. "Moore's Law" has had a pretty big role in people buying a new mobile phone or computer every 2 years because that's about how long it takes before a new, much faster model is invented.) Unless you're planning on buying a bike with SRAM eTap, Shimano Di2, or some other electronic components group, the entire rest of the bike is not electronic and not subject to radical improvements from year to year.
I often think manufacturers just introduce new models with new marketing hype to convince us that the newer model is radically better than the old when it potentially is not. For example, I'm still wondering why Shimano created the Ultegra R8000 group set when it's hardly a departure from the 6800 group set. Both are 11 speed and both work just fine. It's my opinion that used bikes with Ultegra 6800 are a great value because they're perceived as being "yesterday's news" but work just as good as the new R8000 bikes.
While there certainly are incremental advances and improvements in bikes over the years, I personally think that one ought to really consider if you really need the latest model bike or if you just want it. There's nothing wrong with either, but if you can convince yourself that you don't need a brand new bike, you can save yourself a lot of money. Not only that, bicycles typically hold their value worse than cars do... once you ride the bike away from the LBS, you'll have a hard time selling it for anything near what you paid for it (well, excluding our current bizarro-world COVID-19 bike shortage.)
Anywho... your thoughts? Are bikes that are more than a few years old worthy of the scrap heap? Is buying a brand new bike a psychological gain or a good idea? Should we all buy a new bike every two years to keep up-to-date along with our iPhones and Android phones?
Note: I currently ride a 2020 Trek Domane SL7, so I'm a little hypocritical when it comes to my argument that one doesn't need a new bike. However, in my defense, I did buy it used for substantial cost savings... I would've stuck with my 2015 Domane had the deal not come along.
Likes For mackgoo:
06-06-20, 09:09 AM
#157
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 8,513
Mentioned: 69 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3233 Post(s)
Liked 2,511 Times
in
1,510 Posts
Likes For seypat:
