How do you justify a $800 bike?

"Maggie" wrote:

I buy 800 dollar purses and I don't feel I have to explain it to a damn
person.

Dear Maggie-

Ugh.

Regards,

John Stuart Mill

ReptilesBlade wrote:

[snip]

As for the bike improving my health it is a definite. I will just copy and
paste may basic answer to that and it will help you under stand my
physical limitations a bit more and how the bike is really a necessity (at
least as I see it).

[snip]

BRAVO!!!! (in all sincerity!)

Keep up the good work!

"Will" wrote in
oups.com:


ReptilesBlade wrote:

LMFAO! Actually it has cost me $945.38 after taxes and accessories and
what not


So RB...

what did you buy?

Will


Trek 7500 brand new and I am fully loading it. The only thing I have not
gotten for it is a pack or set of painers and I am considering those.

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"Maggie" wrote in
oups.com:


ReptilesBlade wrote:
Or any bicycle over just a few hundred dollars? How do you explain it
to your loved ones when they cannot seem to understand why you would do
such a crazy thing (sic)?

I am having difficulty getting my family to back off a bit so any idea
what you guys tell yours would probably help me. They just cannot
understand that I bought it as a vehicle, not a toy.



I buy 800 dollar purses and I don't feel I have to explain it to a damn
person. I work hard, give to charity, take care of my family and
friends. If I want a damn stupid 800 Gucci purse....I shall have it.
I'm a generous person to the people in my life, I think I can be
generous to myself as well.

Never Complain, Never Explain.

Maggie


I am similar, my mother even admitted shortly after I told her I did it and
explained why that I did deserve to have the new bike and if I could afford
it then there was no real problem (I can easily afford it). It took me a
few hours but she did finally begin to understand.

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Neil Brooks wrote in
:

ReptilesBlade wrote:

[snip]

As for the bike improving my health it is a definite. I will just copy and
paste may basic answer to that and it will help you under stand my
physical limitations a bit more and how the bike is really a necessity (at
least as I see it).

[snip]

BRAVO!!!! (in all sincerity!)

Keep up the good work!


Thank you, I intend too.

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ReptilesBlade wrote in
:

Or any bicycle over just a few hundred dollars? How do you explain it
to your loved ones when they cannot seem to understand why you would
do such a crazy thing (sic)?


Oddly enough, my wife, who hates the idea of me spending my own money and
cringes at the thought of me, on any human powered vehicle, in New York
traffic, was very supportive when I bought my $1,200 bent. She even made
up song lyrics (to the tune of St. Thomas

Husband took up biking but not too carefully
When he died insurance money all came to me
Lucky me... Double indemnity
St. Thomas Island is my destiny

--ag

By looking at the people who buy $2,000 dollar bikes and never go
further than 25 miles at an average speed of ten miles an hour.

Oh, wait, that's rationalize...

- -

"May you have the winds at your back,
And a really low gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner
http://www.geocities.com/czcorner

ReptilesBlade wrote:

Well actually I have already done it and they know that they have to deal
with that fact. The problem is all these snide little remarks that are
beginning to **** me off.

Example:

Earlier today I was with my grandparents and we were discussing how my
parents seem to never have enough money. I mentioned that if my mother and
stepfather would just stop shopping so much it would not be such a problem
and my Grandfather immediately responded with:

"You have no room to talk you just bought a $800 bike." all the while
laughing his ass off.

I responded along the lines that it would help me save money (never
mentioned the health thing which is another giant sized plus to it).

He responded with "You are not going to save money buying a $800 bike, you
need to go buy a $100-200 one from Wal-Mart to do that."

I had him there, I simply responded with "I did that already and the stupid
thing is falling apart."

Then both of my grandparents responded along the lines that I am using it
to hard and I just dropped the argument there because my next point would
have caused all of us to descend into anarchy and possibly a real argument,
something I personally detest (I have always believed you should always
strive to get along with your family members under even the most extreme
situations).

This is the point I wanted to make but did not to keep the discussion from
being a bad experience for all.



Of course I am using it too hard. I bought it and am riding it on the
streets where the speed limit is 25 mph. Thus when I ride it I kind of need
to go at least 25 mph. It is a ****ty Wal-Mart bike designed to not go over
20mph on a good day; my cruising speed is in the 14-16 mph range. I am
growing increasingly fearful of a catastrophic malfunction on the PoS and
it only has about 125-150 miles on the odometer. The ****ing frame is at
least three sizes too large for me and it weighs nearly one third as much
as I do. I am beginning to have to put a little extra money into it just to
keep the damn thing on the road and even then there is no way in hell it
will be usable by the time there is 300 miles on the odometer. I want a
bike that can replace one-third too one half of my driving during the year
and that I can take on considerably longer "fun rides", like at least twice
as long as the ones I already enjoy. If I can do that the bike will pay for
itself within a year in gas savings, health improvements, or both! I intend
to us this bike like that for at least five years before I consider an
upgrade or anything.

I do not want to ****ing play around in the park like a child or a
geriatric, I have fought very hard against my medical condition for a very
long time (i.e. years) and finally gained some of the health people my age
enjoy (I am 23 BTW). In order to keep what I have gained and continue to
make further improvements in my health the Next Avalon has to go.

That is what I wanted to say, but I was basically too nice. Next time I
might not be and that is why I made this topic.

And besides my Grandfather is retired and is sinking a lot of money into
his own personal airplane (not five minutes after this discussion about the
bike he mentioned that even though he has the option for it to cost
literally 1/4 as much he is still going to sink over $360 on paint alone into
the thing) and I know I could easily use that to relate to him why I am
doing it. However he is such a close-minded opinionated blow hard I might
still set off one of his little "the world is black and white and that is
just the way it is" rants and I just do not feel like doing that right at
the moment.

And he has already been to the local LBS looking for a bike himself and
thought it was a waste of money to buy something that would actually be
worth getting so he got an old barely used X-Mart one from a friend and it
has since also sat nearly un-used to my knowledge.

From: Neil Brooks
"More info? How old are you? Who are these family members? Do you
earn your own money? Are you financially responsible for the
maintenance of anybody other than yourself? Do you live 'at home?'
Are you responsible for paying rent to a family member? Will
purchasing this bicycle compromise your ability to satisfy any current
financial obligations, or deprive somebody, for whom you are
financially responsible, of something important?"

I am disabled and on disability and SSI, the bike is a large part of my
plan to change that within the next year.

I often spend my money to help out with little things but mostly I try to
be self-sufficient even though I still live at home with my parents.

No rent yet but we are discussing it and I help out in a myriad of other
ways.

No to the rest of them.


Sounds like you made a smart purchase. Don't try to
justify it with words, justify it with your actions.
Ride the thing all the damn time.

Your grandfather sounds like a pain in the ass, god
bless him.

R

ReptilesBlade wrote:

Trek 7500 brand new and I am fully loading it. The only thing I have not
gotten for it is a pack or set of painers and I am considering those.

Well... be sure you get a distance/speed computer for it too.

My guess is your family will settle down after a bit. Given $4 or $5
dollar gasoline is just around the corner, bicycling won't seem
recreational or miscellaneous much longer.

Just don't make the mistake of telling them you'll ride this particular
bike forever g.

Will

Michael Erickson wrote:
: ReptilesBlade wrote:
:
: They just cannot understand that I bought it as a vehicle, not a
: toy.
:
: In my opinion, that is *the* main point to make. Of course, you have
: to actually use it as such. Let's face it, there is no use spending
: that amount of money on something that only gets ridden now and
: again.
:
: I purchased a brand new bike yesterday and I spent $1,100 on it. My
: wife and I talked about it long and hard and the main justifications
: were as follows (not in any particular order mind you):
:
: * I will ride this bike at least as long as I rode my last one (8
: years). I actually figure it will be about 10 years before I start
: looking for another one. For some reason, Americans have no trouble
: spending tens of thousands of dollars on a car that they will only
: drive for five years. Yet, spending 5-10% of that amount on a bike
: freaks them out. This, even though the bike will last at least as
: long and if actually ridden will cost significantly less over its
: lifetime.
:
: * I commute by bicycle to work three or more times per week. I do
: *not* need a $1,000 bike just to commute to work. However when I
: started to add up how much gas money I was saving, I found it pretty
: easy to justify spending a few hundred extra. Also, using my bike as
: my primary means of transportation allowed us to feel safe about
: dropping insurance coverage on "my" car to the legal minimum.
:
: * I promised to bike to the grocery store once a week, thus
: relieving her of this task. I can't tell you how much political
: capitol this one bought
: me
:
: * Biking is one of our main forms of recreation. We do RAGBRAI every
: year together. We also do lots of day-trips via bicycle. It helps a
: *lot* to have a wife who knows what it is like to spend a week
: sitting on a bike when you start talking about purchasing quality
: components.
:
: * I drive a crappy car. My wife came up with this one. She noted
: that I drive a 10 year old Ford Escort which I plan on driving for
: another 10 years (or until the damn wheels fall off of it). In her
: mind, it was easier to justify spending $1000 on a bicycle when she
: knows that I'm not going to come home one day with aspirations of
: buying a brand new car.
:
: * I'm notoriously cheap on myself. This is another one from my wife.
: She knows that I hate spending money on anything other than food,
: beer, and our dogs. That is to say, I am not known for running out
: and buying new toys. So when I decide that I actually want to buy
: something, she is a bit too stunned to say "no"
:
: I guess in summary, it helps if you are actually recognized as a
: devoted cyclist by your family and it helps if you aren't spending
: money willy-nilly on other things.

Dude....you sold your soul to the devil for a $1100 Bike? Methinks you
gave up way too much for someone who works everyday....the speakers to my
home theater cost more than your bike...