bbbean 

So what was his point?

LOL

bbbean 

Because the question isn't "how can I be faster in 6 months?" The question is "which of the bikes available to me RIGHT NOW will be fastest/lightest/whatever, regardless of my weight?"

livedarklions

We all have jobs and you have wasted our time with two poorly considered posts. You owe this thread $2300. Pay the bailiff on your way out.

caloso

The hypercompetitiveness of middle aged men?

124Spider

Evidently, we can't.

wolfchild

The main difference is the social status of the person
$ 3000 bike = high social status
$ 700 bike = low social status.

DanBraden

Gee... I thought it was funny...

get it? PEDDLE?!?

Jim from Boston

OK, OK, I did note the pun, and subsequently the malapropism in the OP by @robertj298, but still +0 in meh opinion.

Hiro11

I ride about 150-200 miles a week between four different bikes. This isn't a ton, but it's enough to put some wear into bikes. As the sole income earner in my family, I don't want to spend a ton on bikes. Even so, I typically buy "Ultegra-level" bikes/components/frames: meaning not top of the line but only one rung down. I've found that inexpensive stuff (meaning bike components below, say, the "105 level") tend to wear more quickly, have more problems, squeak more, etc. With the higher end stuff, you get better details: more durable hub ratchets, stainless bolts in your stem, seatposts that are easy to adjust and don't creak, shifting that's a hair smoother, more powerful braking. Cumulatively, these details start making a big deal in year three of a bike's life. A $700 bike is going to have cheap everything. Sure it will be functional, but less so at 12k+ miles. Also, if you find yourself riding a lot you'll just end up wanting something better.

MadKaw

Or you could carry 8 pounds of lox. Then you could snack right by your bike and never have to leave it anywhere.

livedarklions

Material like that, you should be working the Borscht Belt!
L'chaim!

Just as a practical matter, you realize I'd need at least two dozen bagels, and about 4 pounds of schmear to make that work. Plus I'd have to fill my water bottles with egg creams.

MadKaw

So one time I was riding my bike and I got run over by a car. I'm laying on the ground, dazed, and the driver rushed over to me, covered me with his jacket and asked, "Are you comfortable?"
I said, "I make a living."

Colnago Mixte

You guys are killin' me.

livedarklions

Don't say that, you'll get us banned!

livedarklions

Amazing--now do a '90s comedy club-style bit about rear deraileurs!

ksryder

And what's the deal with clipless pedals, amirite? I mean, you clip in, but it's called clipless! It's like, make up your mind!

*cue 5 minutes of wacky facial expressions, raucous laughter, 3 Comedy Central specials and lots of merchandise with "Make up your mind" emblazoned on it, and a marginally-amusing Comedy Central Roast 20 years later where people basically make a bunch of dick and fart jokes*

livedarklions

You forgot the poorly conceived ABC sitcom about a semi-pro bicycle columnist and his supportive, wisecracking wife and three children, one who's always on roller blades, while the other two won't stop arguing about who controls the remote. Six episodes then hiatus. Remembered only on IMDB.

Colnago Mixte

(hip-looking thirty-something stand-up comic with mullet, white shirt and skinny black tie stands on stage with a mike in front of a brick wall)

Derailleurs. You would they they would actually "de-rail" something.

* comedian expertly makes loud freight train horn sound, then pretends to be the conductor, whose jaw drops as his eyes turn into saucers as he makes tumbling gestures *

But no, these clever Japanese devices actually keep your chain "ten shunned" (makes slanty eyes gesture) that's the crazy part.

Who are AD WIZARDS who came up with that one?

Are you with me people . . . ?

ksryder

Ah yes, who could forget "Spinning True" with Harry Anderson. Cameos by William Daniels as the kindly, wise older neighbor and Cloris Leachman as the wacky aunt, always up to some crazy get-rich-quick scheme. Theme song by Jesse Frederick.

bbbean 

I have no memory of that and can't find it online. Are you sure it existed?

ksryder

It's at least as grounded in reality as anything else on this thread.

Stratocaster

I think it really depends on your intended purpose. If you just want to get some exercise and burn some calories, the $700 bike should be fine. But if you're looking for better "performance", feel, characteristics, etc that help you in you're particular pursuit, then perhaps something "more" will be more in line with your needs.

When I started playing guitar, a cheap one was fine. But when the band decided to start playing out, I figured it would be a good idea to get a more expensive guitar - not to show off - but I wanted something that I could rely on, something that would stay in tune, have a nice tone, be a bit easier to play, etc.

livedarklions

I'm trying to figure out whether the question of whether a sitcom that nobody watched actually existed is more of a zen question or a Shrodinger's Cat question..

You'll have to define your terms. Start with "sure" and "existed".

livedarklions

And Barry Van **** as the absurdly competent bike mechanic who dispenses great wisdom in the form of riddles about bike parts.

OMG his surname gets deleted. Mary Tyler Moore's joke about starring in a sitcom with Penis Van Lesbian has gotten better.

MadKaw

So I met this blonde I know right after she picked up her bike from the mechanic.
"Everything OK with your bike now?" I asked
"Yes, thank goodness," the blonde replied.
"Weren't you worried the mechanic might try to rip you off?"
"Well, yeah, but he didn't. I was so relieved when he told me all I needed was to change the derailleur fluid!"