corrado33

I've been thinking about something recently. I'm a bit morally torn with what I've been thinking. So here it goes.

I live in the US. People can buy whatever the heck they want, provided they have the money for it. But the question I often ask myself is... why?

Why do people spend multiple thousands of dollars on a Ultegra equipped, fully carbon road bike when a 105 equipped, aluminum one would preform equally well? (Yes, different materials ride differently, but let's ignore that for now.) The vast majority of people who ride these bikes can't and won't take advantage of those extra few grams saved or the extra few milliseconds that the Ultegra shifts faster. Now, I'm not comparing bargain components to top of the line components; Cairis vs. Ultegra. That's obvious. But 105s vs Ultegra? Can you take advantage of that minute change?

As an asside. More expensive mountain bikes do justifiably offer better performance, so the price range/features would have to be upped for a similar comparison.

BUT, this is a free country. People are free to spend their money as they see fit. But why do I feel... odd, when I think about a college kid riding a ~$1500 mountain bike as a commuter back and forth to his dorm? Why am I mad when I see that same bike with a rusted chain and cassette, left out in the rain every day, never oiled or washed? I'm not jealous. I don't want any of those bikes. I am perfectly happy with what I have. I feel bad... for the bikes.

A few times now I've seen people who ride VERY expensive (to me) mountain bikes, ~$3000+, but don't take care of them at all. Some of them don't even know how to adjust a derailleur. Now, I could see this being OK on a road bike. Often times road bikes are set up and adjusted by the shop. Since they're not often jarred, chains usually don't fall off and things don't often need adjusted. This isn't the case with mountain bikes. Every hard jolt or even minor wrecks have the opportunity to knock your chain off or knock things out of alignment. If you mountain bike alone, you NEED to know some basic maintenance to be safe. I posted this in another thread, but one of these bikes was RACED, and the rider never changed the chain in the 4 years they had the bike. It was SO bad that it wouldn't even mesh with the chainring anymore. I just don't get it. Why does that make me mad?

No, I'm not fuming. I'm not generally an emotional person. But I always feel a twang of anger when I see a situation like this.

So I guess the question is this. Why pay the premium for a bike (whether road or mountain) when a much cheaper bike offers 95% -98% of the performance of the bike you just bought. Especially if you don't intend to take care of that bike and there's no way you could ever take advantage of that very minute performance gain. Again, I'm not talking bargain vs. entry level bikes here. The difference between ciaris or similar and 105s is much more that a 5% performance change. I'm talking about a $1500 road bike vs. a $3000-$4000 road bike. Or a $2000 mountain bike vs. a $5000 mountain bike.

I'm not looking for an argument. I'm not calling people stupid for spending this much money on their bikes. People are free to spend their money how they wish. I just don't know. I'm torn. Has anyone ever felt the same way?

Jarrett2

What you buy is your own business.

What everyone else buys is their business.

I'm no psychologist, but if you have an emotional response to others possessions, that sounds like a personal issue (possibly an indicator of a more deep seated issue) that you should probably focus on rectifying.

obed7

one would first have to decide if bikes were necessary at all...and then they would have to decide how what bike anyone else had or did not have affected them at all...then they would have to decide if morals exist... and then what makes something moral....I guess there is an unlimited number of things that would have to be decided before one could consider if expensive bikes were moral... and what about a jelly filled pastry, would those be moral?

PepeM

Why does anyone need a $1500 road bike when an $850 one will do the job?

AlmostTrick

I saw a person riding a rusty bike yesterday. And someone else eating a jelly roll. It was a good day!

Johnny Mullet

I had expensive road bikes and mountain bikes and did not like them. I ride old school Huffy bicycles because I like them.

fietsbob

I like German Machined parts , they dont come cheap.

RR3

105 is garbage. Doesn't last. Heck, I wouldn't even put ultegra on my bikes. Did you ever hear that the cost of something is not the initial price?

Because once a rider has spent say a 1,000 hours in training, they cannot get anymore improvement. They are maxxed out and they might have only increased their VO2 max by 15% in total. Spending a couple grand or even ten grand for that additional 5% in performance is cheap in comparison. That is why. For those who have the money, it is a no-brainer.

ShortLegCyclist

Could extend that train of thought to expensive cars, expensive houses, cellphones, clothes, etc.

We could all "get by" living in 10 x 10 apartments with $5000 Smart Cars, basic brick cellular telephones and potato sacks for clothes.

Does the guy who owns a Lamborghini but has no idea how to maintain it really deserve to own that car?

If it makes you feel better, consider that every person who buys a $4000 road bike made by the same company that made your bike in part help that company sell you your bike for just a little less than otherwise.

If nobody bought Lamborghinis, and let's face it, nobody really NEEDS a Lamborghini, the company would cease to exist.

Kindaslow

There is no such thing as a need.

i buy nice bikes because I want them.

tarwheel 

You could ask similar questions about virtually any item. Why buy a $40,000 car when you could get by with a $500 used junker? Why spend $1,500 on a 105 equipped bike when you could buy a used bike on Craiglist for $150? Why spend $50 on Levis when you could buy $5 jeans at a thrift store? Why buy a 6-pack of craft beer for $9 when you could buy PBR for $4. Why spend $50 at a nice restaurant when you could eat at McDonalds for less than $10?

If it makes you feel any better, buying more expensive products helps the economy, creates jobs, etc. Arguably it's better spending $2,000 on a bike than blowing the same amount of money on liquor and cigarettes.

corrado33

But it's not the same. I specifically asked about say, a 105 bike compared to a ultegra. There isn't a large difference there in performance, but there IS a large difference in price. Obviously cheap bikes vs. actual bikes are going to be different.

I'm specifically asking about bikes that are VERY similar in performance, but MUCH different in price.

CliffordK

I don't have, and have never had a bike worth over $1000. I soundly believe in letting someone else pay the ridiculous new prices, and then buying the bikes used when they get tired of them.

If I wouldn't want to ride a 50 pound MTB(ish) up a hill on a paved road, I certainly wouldn't want to ride it up a steep technical mountain trail.

As road bikes converge to 15 to 25 lbs... I wonder if the greater amount to be gained is in the superlight MTBs.

I'm still not sure about the idea of MTBs with only half a fork????

Kindaslow

I ride road bikes, but I am more of a MTBer or SSer. With MTBs, I cannot picture bikes with similar performance and extremely different prices. Do you have a road bike example?

79pmooney

There are needs. It helps me to keep these needs in perspective. The real needs, in order of importance: oxygen, water, food, sleep and clothing/shelter. Everything else is a want. Everything.

Ben

TheManShow

My grandfather use to give me abuck one in a while with the stipulation that before I spent the dollar, or any part of it on anything. I had to tell him what I intended to purchase. So I would tell him I was going to spend say the entire dollor on something. Then he would always say do you want it, or need it.

Grandpa taught me to think about the value of money, need v/s want. No you do not need an expensive bicycle. But if you are not robbing your kids of say school cloths, or you family of basic nessessaties.

Buy what makes you happy, enjoy it, as you might not be alive in a to buy it if you put it off.

79pmooney

My "Team Dumpster" and "Jessica J". Team Dumpster/aka Jessica was a mid-priced late '89s/early '90s Reynolds 501 sport frame that had been hit by an SUV hard. With a frame repair, replacement fork and on hand parts, set up as a fix gear, it became the most fun bike i had owned since my racing bike 25 years before. Knowing that frame wasn't long for this world and unwilling to take it into the hills for fear of it breaking, I had a replacement made of ti with nearly identical geometry but with a much more versatile rear dropout (Jessica J). Same fun! Just more because I can ride this bike on any hill. $105 vs $4000+. And if I were to time my flattish loop on the two bikes in the same gear, they would be identical.

Ben

Phloom

If you have the bucks, go for it. When I was a teenager, spending $100 was a very big deal. Now, $100 is pocket change. What really irks me are people that borrow money to buy frivolous items. Some friends are perpetually broke because they luxury items on credit. Like getting a bank loan to buy a stereo. I broke my own indebted cycle many years ago when I finally got fed up with being broke. After I paid off my house, I never used credit again. Now, I am considering spending $16,000 on a custom built high end bicycle. I am considering very slowly because it is $16,000 but it is $16,000 that was saved.

stevebiker

Because you can't get a good, full carbon road bike for $850. At least not of any quality, that I know of.

Full carbon is more comfortable than a cheaper aluminum bike, which is probably what you're referring to when you say $850. That's why I spent $1,800 on a new 2012 Scott CR1. And I don't regret it one bit.

Of course, if a cheaper bike will "do the job" for you, then that's the correct choice. Otherwise there is no correct choice. Buy what you want.

wphamilton

No, expensive bikes are not necessary. Of course not.

Whether buying something that is expensive but unnecessary is immoral, is something better asked of a religious leader than an enthusiast forum.

CliffordK

Hmmm...
Perhaps a 2014 NOS bike vs a 2015 New bike of the same model???

Used bikes?

There is always the question.... 105 vs Ultegra vs Dura Ace????

There is a huge variety of bike frames on the market. Steel, Stainless, Titanium, Aluminum, Carbon Fiber.... yes, each different, but prices are all over the board. There is also buying a brand name. Colnago vs Scott????

Bandera

The Ennui of ownership, interest in what other people spend their money on and confusing moral issues with economic ones are not hobbies of mine.
Isn't this sort weak self congratulating hair shirted un-boasting an A&S topic for agonizing over while online at Starbucks?

-Bandera

tarwheel 

If you are specifically asking about Ultegra vs 105, my view is that it's not worth paying the extra money purely from a performance standpoint. I have bikes with 105, Ultegra and Dura-Ace components. Quite frankly, the DA components have worn out or broken quicker than Ultegra, and the weight savings are minimal. I will almost always buy Ultegra over DA parts unless I can buy the DA stuff for the same or less money. I don't have as many 105 components, but the few that I own generally have a lower quality of finish compared to Ultegra and are slightly heavier, but they function just as well.

One of the nice things about bike components is that you can often buy new parts from a particular group (eg, Ultegra) that are lighter and higher quality than a more expensive group (eg, Dura-Ace) from a few years previous. However, more discouraging trends are the continuing trends toward lighter components and more complexity that often lead to less durability and sometimes more problems. For example, chains will wear out much sooner with 10-11 speed groups than older 8-9 speed groups.

Phil_gretz

What is the conundrum and whose is it? I cannot find that in the original post.

bakes1

I assume you are referring to a professional rider getting paid to be on a bike correct?
Because if you were not getting paid to ride and you maxxed out your performance why would you pay a lot of extra money for nothing other than a mechanical increase in speed?
Because it looks more impressive on Strava?