cedricbosch

Today at a race I talked with a couple guys who had very nice bikes- Ridleys, Cervelos, etc. Invariably, when I ask "Is this your bike", people seem to shy away from the question and/or immediately follow up with a remark about how it "isnt really that expensive."

Why.

AEO

the "you paid too much for it" factor

info

too keep up with the jones

BillyD

Humility.

They just like to ride a nice bike . . . they don't care about the status.

gsteinb

expensive women are worse.

grahny

Because some people think you have to earn, or have a right, or be racing at a certain level, or be fast, etc... to own an expensive bike. By downplaying the cost, it somehow makes those who aren't up to those standards (i.e. they're slow, or don't race, etc) feel that it's acceptable to own said expensive bike. Something like that.

In other words... their skills aren't all that impressive, so they feel it's more acceptable if they say they didn't pay all that much for the bike (although they probably did). I don't get it. Spend what you will. Ride what you want.

cedricbosch

It just seems strange to me; if I had a nice bike like that I'd be parading around with it and showing it off as much as possible!

jesspal

If I could afford it I'd have a lot of expensive bikes, and if anyone doesn't like it too bad.

seb1041

You don't want to be dropped by a guy on a steel bike that's why.

Dantebfd

Because no matter what you paid, someone will try to make you feel that you paid too much.

bt

cause some dork will always wanna know what it cost.

jesspal

I think most BF members will make you feel like you paid to much, in reality I think most people would say "sweet bike".

Neko-Kat

What about expensive women who own expensive bikes?

jesspal

Depends on who bought her the bike

Mind you my wife bought me my bike lol

ericm979

Some people buy good bikes because they like to ride.

MrCrassic 

Because of the price paid?

Frankly, if it were up to me, I would get a Colnago...but not because I'm fast.

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Tariq08

they want to feel like less of a jackass when they get dropped by a bike that cost half as much, that's why i do it anyway, my bike is cheap compared to you guys, but expensive compared to the guys i ride with

3MTA3

because i'm not "fast" & i don't "deserve" it.

bikeybikebike

They do it because the bike surpasses their own riding ability. That's nothing to be ashamed of though... that's the case for almost all of us, unless you ride a wal-mart POS or you're a pro cyclist.

Busta Quad

They know they could feed a small third world city for a year with what they paid.

kimconyc

I don't think they are necessarily embarrassed for having a nice ride; perhaps it's you who thinks so. Maybe they know exactly how much they paid for it, don't judge it by its cost, and just like to ride? Also, just a guess here, but it's probably not their only bike.

It's like going to a weekend car show (same crap as the bike thing just a different hobby) at the local coffee shop, going up to a guy in a Ferrari 430, and asking, "is that yours"? It's a pretty amateurish question. He's probably going to roll his eyes when you follow it up with, "how much did it cost", and you don't realize he has 3-4 other high end cars.

edit: maybe, for them, it really isn't that expensive...

luker

geez. A light week for me in the summer is 10 hours. A heavy month for a snowmobiler in the winter is 10 hours. My best bike? about $7500, retail, and I'll expect it to last for years. A snowmobile rider spends $8500 or so, and usually upgrades to a new one every year or two. Don't get me started on boats. Or sports cars. Or off-road four wheel drives. Or four wheelers.

Sheesh. You guys just have a guilt complex. Bike racing is about the cheapest thing that you can do.





Feel free to clip this and distribute to your significant others.

kimconyc

Hence, the car analogy Most people see a guy with a Ferrari or a Lamborghini and assume it's their only exotic. Most likely, his daily driver a Porsche Cayenne turbo or something like that (need the turbo to make the drive to the school more exciting).

edit: the SUV part is how he justifies it to his wife.

slim_77

I bought mine used...

velocycling

No, I just checked it out from the library