Originally Posted by
StanSeven
I think you're really off here. The clear majority of people doing upgrades are doing it for performance. Things like lighter frames, deep aero wheels, electronic shifting, aero clothes and helmets, etc., all give a performance boat, although some is slight. The second reason is because it's their hobby/interest/passion and they enjoy nicer things. The proportion of vein people that do it for self-image is small.
Your latter point - that they are doing it because it's their interest and they like nice things - is much stronger than your first, in my experience. Yes, the things they are buying are higher performance components, but in many if not most cases they don't attempt to perform at a high enough level to see significant benefit. A set of deepmsection Firecrest wheels isn't going to help much if you're riding around at recovery pace.
That's fine with me, by the way, people can buy whatever they like and good luck to them. But for the recreational rider who doesn't train seriously, the difference in their personal performance between the $3000 dollar bike and the $10000 dollar bike is going to be barely visible. They simply aren't fit enough to exploit the advantage. So it isn't that they really want to be fast, it's that they want their bike to be. In my experience, anyway.