prj71

It was relevant to Broctoon's post where he indicated that 'at higher performance levels and longer duration having a more expensive jersey makes a huge difference"

I was pointing out that it didn't make a difference. I could have been wearing a $300 jersey and would still have placed 4th.

WhyFi

Aero doesn't matter at 9mph, but let's see how high these performance levels were - race series? 6 hour race, I take it? How many in the field? How many times did the winner lap you? Or are these results all of the sudden not important any more?

prj71

I'm not sure where you are going with this. It was a 6 hour mountain bike race. 13 racers in the 6 hour, 10 racers in the 10 hour race and 24 racers in the 3 hour race.

The winner and 2nd and 3rd place never lapped me.

Dude...You are getting weird about this.

Koyote

I get WhyFi 's point: we don't know the particulars of your 4th place finish. And if you think that riding 5k miles per year and doing a bit of racing somehow makes your opinion more valid than others' on a bike forum, well...

But again, it just doesn't matter. None of it means that you have any business telling other people what sort of jerseys to buy. And I'm sure there are plenty of people on bf who ride more than you do (I'll raise my hand) who aren't telling you what to wear.

tomato coupe

I’ve done a lot of races in team kit that varied greatly in quality and comfort. A good result in a race never changed the fact that the lower quality kit was not as good as the higher quality kit.

WhyFi

Let's put "racing" in quotes. Certainly not a WORS, not a WEMS, not the Wausau 24, etc, etc. He needs baggy jerseys for all of the hot air.

prj71

I never told anyone what sort of jerseys to buy. But I did express my "opinion" (notice where it says IMO) that I think spending $100 for a jersey wasn't worth it.

Which was then followed up by you, Why Fi and others trying to convince me why a more expensive jersey is better.

prj71

I don't do WORS.

But I do participate in the others with baggy jerseys!!!

Anyway...This thread has outlived it's useful life.

seypat

Is this the "why isn't chain waxing more popular thread?" It sure feels like it.

PeteHski

Going back to the original topic I don't see any "real" waste of money in biking or any other hobby that makes you happy. The key is engagement. For example it would be a complete waste of money to buy a £10k bike and hardly ever ride it. Beyond that it's just a matter of personal preference, taste and budget. Whatever gear you buy, if it gets well used and makes you happy then it's all good.

Trakhak

I was thrilled when Chinese cycling jerseys started showing up on Amazon under all those different alphabet-soup brand names. Nice jerseys with pockets for cheap!

Do I bought one in what should have been my size. Fit like a parachute. Tried another under another brand. Not as bad a fit in the torso, but far too short. So I tried another. And another. They're cheap enough so I figured it was worth continuing to roll the dice.

I returned a few that were outrageously off in their sizing and kept others, figuring that those might be OK for casual rides. All of which have been hanging in the closet untouched for a year or more. None fit even close to correctly.

Moral of the story: the low price seduced me into buying so many that, for the same amount of money---or maybe less---I'd have been far better off buying one Castelli or Assos jersey instead---one that I would actually wear.

Eric F 

The issue wasn't really about jerseys.

Germany_chris

We all value different things I try to buy MUSA as much as possible which means I’ll end up paying more for things than is necessary. With clothes I’m fairly simple Aerotech Designs make cycling stuff that fits me, is comfortable, and a good part of it is MUSA so I just buy my stuff there.

Eric F 

Let's not ignore that you backed this up by claiming that the freebie give-away jerserys you got at some races from years ago are the same thing as current high-end jerseys. The rub is that you are stating a strong opinion about something you don't really have any meaningful experience with, and you're criticizing others who recognize and appreciate the qualities of high-end jerseys. WhyFi demonstrated very clearly why buying cheap jerseys from that giant online retail place could be problematic.

GhostRider62

Who cares how others spend their money.

Just don't tell me there is no difference in my shirt to yours. Very annoying.

And in return, I won't tell you bragging $5000 for hunting and fishing gear is pathetic or was that missing a zero.

livedarklions

I think to give people any information worth sharing, the topic of this thread should have been stuff we have bought that ended up not being well used and didn't make us happy. To me, a waste of money is a product that didn't live up to my expectations.

genejockey 

That's why I got the Varia, so I WOULDN'T worry about a car hitting me from behind. It helps plan passes of slower riders, or crossing the right lane to the center on Sand Hill before the 280 interchange. So, definitely not a waste of money.

genejockey 

The wrong saddle. That's where I've wasted money.

livedarklions

To me, it was Five Ten shoes.

Koyote

Show me where I tried to convince you that a more expensive jersey is better. Really - show me. If I did suggest that, I will apologize. I don't think WhyFi ever tried to convince you of that, either -- he merely stated that the $20 Amazon jersey isn't right for him.

And by the way, telling people that buying $100 jerseys is a "waste of money" or that "spending $100 for a jersey wasn't worth it" is what I was referencing earlier in the thread: a childish belief that your own tastes and preferences, riding conditions, size and fit, and budget constraint are (or should be) universal.

Eric F 

I don't know about that. IMO, WhyFi did a pretty convincing job demonstrating that the Amazon jersey he received - which was based on the recommendation of prj71 - was pretty universally bad. Now, it's possible that this one specific jersey had flaws that aren't always present in other jerseys of the same "brand". If that's the case, it makes buying that "brand" a crap-shoot.

Koyote

Sure, but he never accused anyone of "wasting their money" on the $20 jerseys.

​​​​​​Sure, possibly. And this brings up another frequent advantage of the more expensive name brands: consistency. For instance, one of my fave brands is Rapha -- their product lines are very clearly illustrated and explained on their website, the sizing is consistent (I can buy any of their jerseys in a Large and any bibs in a Medium and get a good fit), and the quality is always excellent. Since I don't live near any large and well-stocked bike shops, I buy over the 'net -- and I don't want to screw around with buying a bunch of cheap jerseys just to get one or two that might work reasonably well.

WhyFi

Yeah, I don't give two ***** about what anybody wears/prefers. What I take issue with is someone saying, "hurrr, hurrr, hurrr - poly is poly and you are dumb for spending more money for the exact same thing. I am magnificent competitor, so I should know! Hurr durr durrr!"

Resorting to "Gaslighting 101: You're Making This Weird" after getting called out for fluffing up a resume is just icing on the cake.

elcruxio

Well technically we live in the same climate type, but I live on the coast which means our winters are quite wet. So definitely more moisture. Hence the snow starts to really get good below 10 degrees.

Perhaps if you invested in better clothing you'd tolerate the cold better. The cheapest athletic wear usually isn't the warmest. Just a thought.

livedarklions

So you think there's a real distinction between saying "I can't believe people spend" and "People shouldn't spend"?

Nonsense. You're expressing your disapproval through rhetorical incredulity. You weren't just expressing an opinion about the jerseys, you were expressing an opinion about the people who buy the ones you don't think are worth it.

"It's not worth it to me" is inarguable. "I can't believe it's worth it for you" is just trolling for an argument.