Originally Posted by
himespau
...I've built up wheels with the same brand/model hubs and rims to ride on my replacements, and they just don't ride as nice. My Colnago is a lot prettier (to me) though. That may have influenced my opinion somewhat about valuing ride and aesthetics as 2 separate things.
Someday, I'll ride a beautiful frame that also rides like a dream and obsess about its builder (don't currently have the budget for custom or really nice stuff), but, if my current favorite ride is by some anonymous builder at a shop I can't identify, it makes me think that the value (to me) in the really fancy stuff (that I appreciate from a distance) is how pretty/well finished they are or how good of a story they have.
You're pretty much hit the nail on the head. There are two values to a bike - how it rides and what it looks like. While the latter is easy enough to quality with a brand name on it, the former could be any bike from a gorgeous, handbuilt machine to some dowdy off-brand with crude lugwork and a name nobody knows, but a ride that works just perfect for a given owner.
At the end of the day, it's all about what one values most. If it's the ride, one might wind up spending ages seeking just the right frame and wheelset. Luck is definitely a factor.
-Kurt