Road Fan

If you're going to turn 60, your whole body will be 60 years old at the same time. You have no choice but to go all in.

KenCT

Turning 60 in 4 months and looking for another bike for the stable. I'm pretty well set on a Cannondale Synapse carbon, may even go for Ultegra. The past year I've really starting to enjoy 50+ mile rides and am more interested in comfort than speed.

pattrick

There are nothing but enablers here. Turning 60 soon and just picked up a new Domane, and seriously thinking of a Lynskey 300. I am not going to get any younger so my thoughts are to enjoy the time I have. I may be vain but I think I am in great shape for my age, a lot of that I attribute to my riding. When I consider my perceived benefits it just makes it a worthwhile investment in my health and pleasure. If finances are not the issue then what is........ you know you want it. Take one for a test ride, if it makes you smile buy it. Wish you the best of luck in your decision.

MinnMan

I've already chimed in on this one, but let me add another bit. If you're healthy and feeling spry at 60, you have a good bet that you'll get some good use out of a high-end bike. But this is about the time when the clock starts ticking towards those aches and pains that make long rides or fast rides or adventurous rides more difficult. So go for it now, while you have the health to enjoy it.

Yes, there are those here who are quite a bit older and still riding hard, and at 59 1/2, I hope I have a decade or more of fast centuries ahead of me. But just like we don't know how many years we have left to live, we also don't know when some turn in our health is going to change our relationship to cycling.

So that may not sound very upbeat, but to quote a song from my youth "Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think."

RockiesDad

I'm 63 yrs and just got a new steel frame bike. At our age, if you can afford it, why not? Enjoy life while you still can...

August West

I upgraded from a 2019 Domane SL 6 to a 2020 Domane SLR 7 Project One in under a year. Zero regrets in doing the upgrade. Got the bike I wanted and really love. The way I look at it is I can afford it and I'm not getting any younger so I might as well enjoy it while I can.

ririder

For my 60th birthday I went from a 2008 Specialized Sequoia to a Giant Defy Advanced 2. For my 61st birthday I rode my first imperial century. No regrets.....
Do it!

Cali Scott

Yes do it! I have a friend who is 73 years old, he purchased a sweet Cannondale Scalpel a few years ago and owns a gravel bike as well. He rides that mtb about 120 miles per week and does mucho elevation as well. I am nervous to ride with him, he might be dropping me on climbs (I am 54)! Enjoy the new bike and keep us posted😉

TiHabanero

Be like everyone else and get an off the shelf bike made to fit the masses. Not for me. Go with a custom frame and quality components and you will have a bike made for you to fit you properly and not adapted to fit your body like off the shelf stuff. Add to that no one else will have the same bike, and you don't have to belong to their club to be in the know or be cool or whatever.
I went custom in 2001 and finally found comfort. The bike is made to fit me, not compromising anything. Add to that the geometry is mine, and unlike any other bike out there. Small little details such as the seat stay cluster is custom, the drop outs get compliments all the time by people who don't know it is custom. Tubing is a mix of vintage tubes and new tubes. The bike is perfect for the type of riding I do, which of course it was designed for. No compromises were made.
Just sayin' that spending 5 grand on a generic carbon aero wonder machine is kind of silly. How fast does one really ride to reap the benefits of aero? 20mph ain't gonna do it, my friends. Go custom and get something that is uniquely yours. Working with most all the custom builders is pleasant, very detailed, and rewarding. Just do it, you won't regret it.

DeadGrandpa

I'm a big fan of guilt as riding motivation, and a desire to "get my money's worth". Spend as much as you can afford, then increase your mileage in an effort to justify spending the money. It's a convoluted rationale, but it works for me.

Koyote

Sure, nothing at all political about that statement. 🤦🏽

DiabloScott

This is a really good point. One reason the OP might understandably be reluctant to drop large on a nice bike is that he's of an age where he might not be comfortable on it after a few years and it might get hung up in the garage. If he were to go custom, spend some of that 60-year trophy money on a professional fitting with someone who understands how to accommodate the reduced flexibility and such that comes with achieving this milestone, he'll be able to order a custom bike with more confidence that he'll get an acceptable lifetime of use out of it. On top of that, he gets something that's uniquely and identifiably HIS, with a unique paint job and his name on a decal... that's going all in with your eyes open.

Cyclist0108

I did this when I turned 50. My only regret was putting it off that long.

TiHabanero

wgscott, I went custom around age 40. So very glad I did as the thing keeps on going and going and going. Hit it with the car in the garage and replaced the rear triangle which then allowed me to make a change to the brake bridge location and add a fender mount at the chain stays. Have about 40K miles on it, maybe a few thousand more.

Classtime 

Get the red one.

GAtkins

Go ahead and do it! Get a new Trophy wife Trek. I know you know this, but the geometry of the Emonda will be more aggressive than the Domane.

Enjoy!

Glenn

GAtkins

Not to get too far o/t, but do you have a pic of the SLR 7 Project One?

Thanks.

Glenn

355Mono

Guitars? Sure. Cars? Oh yeah. Bikes? Can I get a HECK YEAH! (I'm from the city).

wthensler 

I’m 62, and this just came earlier in the week.....Trek Domane SLR7, 58cm, disc, Di2, Aeolus wheelset, 32mm tubeless tires. My second Domane and definitely an improved version of my original 2012 6.2 P1 which has over 20,000 hard miles on it.....

So I say go for it in a big way.......

wthensler 

See above pic, which is a 2021 SLR 7 P1.......I ‘saved’ $500 by agreeing to put the Segafredo insignia on the bike

GAtkins

Awesome! Thank you.

Glenn

jimjim58

I bought both, the bike was much less expensive but they're both fun and you can't beat the fitness gained while riding your bike.

woofy

It's not a birthday if your gift to yourself is a mere upgrade. That's like getting yourself new tires for your car as opposed to a new car. Bah!

Here's my thinking. I have several bikes. Most of them were ridden in the pro peloton at some point in some form. (All purchased second-hand for donuts on the dollar).

Why do I do this? I cannot possibly ever exceed the capabilities of these bikes.

That in fact is the answer to the question. If the bikes exceed my capabilities, any good day comes down to me. And so do the bad days. It's not the bike. And there is no limitation either. Theoretically I can improve incrementally forever as I will never max the bike.

Oddly, I find that I am faster on certain bikes. Bit that is a subject for a different day.

You obviously challenge yourself. I see that in you knowing where you stand in the segments you ride.

Yes, buy the bike. Take yourself to the next level. Buy a bike that disappears under you - leaving it all up to you.

Oh, and this is not mid-life crisis. This is about you challenging yourself and getting better AND older. That is not a crisis. That is a life choice. The difference lies in the work done. One relies on work done in the past. The other looks forward to future work. BIG difference.

Happy birthday!

Signed,

60 in May and 1st in my age group on several of my segments.

woof!

Natomashomeboy

Do it, don’t be the coulda,woulda, almost guy.

blacknbluebikes 

Once, when my daughter was very young (4?), she was going through the kitchen 'junk drawer' at her grandmother's house. She found a piece of wrapped hard candy and pulled it out. "What's this?" she asked her grandmother, knowing full well exactly what she'd found. "Oh," said my mom, "that' a piece of candy I was saving. You can have that." My daughter looked at her incredulously for a moment, then said "What are you saving it for?" There was no good answer to that one.

Hesitating on a new bike when turning the big six-o? What are you saving it for?