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A Bike is Not a Cell Phone - Upgrading to "Latest and Greatest" Syndrome

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

A Bike is Not a Cell Phone - Upgrading to "Latest and Greatest" Syndrome

Old 06-02-20, 12:47 PM
  #126  
AlgarveCycling
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I still have a Trek MTB I bought new in 2000. In excellent condition, not a scratch on it, and great for popping off out to the local shop for something.

However my 4 new bikes are a result of my rekindling my passion for cycling and getting back into the sport a year ago. I'd sold my last previous road bike, a Cannondale from 1998 a decade ago and never replaced it when I emigrated to the UK. A 17 year stint there that saw me nearly abandon cycling altogether due to my being a wuss, mainly. Hated the cold, dark days and miserable weather combined with long work hours. Just stagnated. Happily, my move to Portugal 2 years ago has been great for many reasons, not least cycling.

I don't like to pay RRP so got a good discount on my 2019 KTM e-MTB (now my wife's preferred bike) and my 2019 KTM Scarp Sonic 29er MTB that I race. My 2019 Wilier Zero.6 I got a 55% discount in a sale - the last two eventually sold for only a 20% discount so I was lucky. The 2020 Trek Madone SLR I collect next week I'm also getting a reasonable deal on. I expect these bikes to last awhile.

The e-MTB will last until it falls apart, which will be decades. The 29er I race and will last until I break it. The Wilier is my climbing bike, I really like it and at 6.1kg, is future-proofed for weight and I can drop that to 5.5kg or less with a few upgrades if I was inclined to do so. Finally, the new Trek will get upgraded next year - groupset and wheels - but will be around for some time I think. The upgrades are to go electronic and lower weight since I will be racing it.
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Old 06-02-20, 12:57 PM
  #127  
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I don't buy into the upgradeitis that so many have with their phones. I have an iPhone 7 with no intention of replacing it unless it stops working for me. Same goes for my bikes. I have two. One road, one mountain. The road I bought around 2000 or 2001. The mountain I bought in the mid 1990's and upgraded it over the course of about 5 years, and more than doubled how much money I had into the bike during that time. Both bikes put a smile on my face when I ride them. So, I see no reason to go out and buy new ones. Of course, my feelings may change tomorrow as I look at all the bike porn on this site.
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Old 06-02-20, 04:16 PM
  #128  
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Originally Posted by walnutz
Ah, got it. Sorry if I overreacted. The sarcasm was definitely not obvious lol
If history is any indicator, this won't be the last time my facetious comments don't connect.
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Old 06-02-20, 09:46 PM
  #129  
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I really don’t want to do an in-depth response to this thread because I’m waiting for the 2021 thread. It’s supposed to be better.
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Old 06-03-20, 07:12 AM
  #130  
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Originally Posted by justonwo
I really don’t want to do an in-depth response to this thread because I’m waiting for the 2021 thread. It’s supposed to be better.
I’ve ridden this thread around the world. This thread can be repaired in the middle of Mongolia by any competent mechanic if it needs to be. Sure, it won’t be compatible with next year’s thread, but that suits me just fine.
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Old 06-03-20, 11:07 PM
  #131  
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We need to get this thread back on track.

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Old 06-04-20, 07:19 AM
  #132  
procrit
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Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
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?
If your training, diet, and weight are not optimal, upgrading your bike doesn't make much sense. When my FTP was 4.6-4.8 w/kg, I could win races on my aluminum frame / non-aero bike with 32h training wheels. At 3.6-3.8 w/kg (where I am now after a 10 year break), I struggle at the Saturday club ride with a super aero bike and the latest Zipp 404's and low rolling resistance tires. On paper, having a 290-300w FTP now with 50w worth of "savings" from the frame, wheels, tires rolling resistance, etc should equal my old 340-350w FTP with my old raggedy bike, but it's not even close. Old me would stomp the current me into the ground with a 1970's steel down-tube shifted walmart bike.
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Old 06-04-20, 07:22 AM
  #133  
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Originally Posted by procrit
If your training, diet, and weight are not optimal, upgrading your bike doesn't make much sense.
I totally agree. Buying new stuff makes us feel good and can result in small gains, but as you stated, real gains come from working on the "motor" which is something you can't buy and is much harder to do.
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Old 06-04-20, 07:56 AM
  #134  
procrit
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Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
I totally agree. Buying new stuff makes us feel good and can result in small gains, but as you stated, real gains come from working on the "motor" which is something you can't buy and is much harder to do.
Insta-famous-for-nothing culture.
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Old 06-04-20, 08:01 AM
  #135  
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You could take a picture of your cat with your latest and greatest cell phone, while sitting on your latest and greatest bike and post it in this thread.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...-your-cat.html
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Old 06-04-20, 10:28 AM
  #136  
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Originally Posted by procrit
If your training, diet, and weight are not optimal, upgrading your bike doesn't make much sense.
I guess that means >99% of the cycling population should never upgrade their bikes.

​​​​​​​More cats:
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Old 06-04-20, 10:47 AM
  #137  
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Old 06-04-20, 12:04 PM
  #138  
PoorInRichfield
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Originally Posted by tomato coupe
I guess that means >99% of the cycling population should never upgrade their bikes.
They can upgrade their bikes to their hearts content, but they should also be prepared to have their @ss handed to them by someone who chose to invest in their body as a priority over their bike.
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Old 06-04-20, 12:23 PM
  #139  
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Do you have to choose between investing in your body and in a new bike? Can't do both? If I spend money on a new bike, I can't afford to go ride intervals?
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Old 06-04-20, 12:30 PM
  #140  
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Do you have to choose between investing in your body and in a new bike? Can't do both? If I spend money on a new bike, I can't afford to go ride intervals?
Nope - you can't do both. Along those lines, you also cannot take a dump after you buy a new wheelset that saves you a dump's worth of grams.
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Old 06-04-20, 12:35 PM
  #141  
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Originally Posted by WhyFi
Nope - you can't do both. Along those lines, you also cannot take a dump after you buy a new wheelset that saves you a dump's worth of grams.
You also can’t enjoy a nice bike (or camera, or computer, or car) for the sake of enjoying nice equipment; you have to submit you rιsumι online to receive approval.

Even though it helps subsidize R&D for everyone else.
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Old 06-04-20, 12:36 PM
  #142  
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Those new Zipps need to come with a warning: may result in life-long constipation.
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Old 06-04-20, 12:48 PM
  #143  
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
Those new Zipps need to come with a warning: may result in life-long constipation.
"Hey mister! You've sure got a light bike - you must be full of ****."
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Old 06-04-20, 01:04 PM
  #144  
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Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
They can upgrade their bikes to their hearts content, but they should also be prepared to have their @ss handed to them by someone who chose to invest in their body as a priority over their bike.
Well, that's enough of a reason for me – I'll never upgrade again! I sure don't want my rear end handed to me by a complete stranger.
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Old 06-04-20, 01:06 PM
  #145  
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Originally Posted by tomato coupe
Well, that's enough of a reason for me – I'll never upgrade again! I sure don't want my rear end handed to me by a complete stranger.
Oh, that was you I passed yesterday. J/K... I spend too much on upgrades.
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Old 06-04-20, 02:26 PM
  #146  
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This is becoming my favorite thread ever.
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Old 06-04-20, 02:52 PM
  #147  
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@walnutz stick around, they haven't even brought the goat out yet.
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Old 06-04-20, 03:08 PM
  #148  
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So basically people should not have anything that they cannot use to it's full potential. Meaning about 99% of people who own sports cars shouldn't have them because they don't have the skill to get the most out of them. And no one that isn't a elite wine professional should ever buy a bottle of wine that costs more than 20 bucks cause they can't fully appreciate them. You could go on and on.

Just because someone isn't an elite racer doesn't mean they can't appreciate a high-end bike. It also doesn't mean they are pretending to be an elite racer or believe that the bike on it's own, will make them faster.

I mean really. Who here doesn't want the best bike they can reasonably afford?
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Old 06-04-20, 03:30 PM
  #149  
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The binary interpretation of my original post as "Either you buy upgrades or you don't... there's no middle ground" is odd, yet is the path so many of you are attempting to argue.
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Old 06-04-20, 04:41 PM
  #150  
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Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
The binary interpretation of my original post as "Either you buy upgrades or you don't... there's no middle ground" is odd, yet is the path so many of you are attempting to argue.
Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
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?
Your OP was a binary attempt to cast people who buy new bikes more often than you approve of as reckless spenders who think a bike is junk in two years. So yeah, you got a lot of pushback and snark, because it's not even close to original and we all have our responses macro'd. Now you're trying to say you were misinterpreted and proposing an unvoiced middle ground.

Here's the thing though: people will respond to the strongest, most outrageous part of whatever you say, in any venue. The bit of your OP I quoted above was that, so that's what people responded to.
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