Serotta makes headlines

Agreed, Ken.

I think there's a difference between being able to financially afford a
$6k bike, and being able to realistically work it into your life.

I have a bike that I ride around on during the weekends and a car I use
about every day. I would bike to class if I could, but where I live
doesn't make this a real option. The only way I could do it would be
to move closer to where I went to school. Also, there's no public
transportation in my area, not to mention the snowy winters that making
bicycling practically impossible.

I bike when I can, but I drive almost all the time.

-Bill H.

There is definitely some truth to this. I am a large mouth bass when I see
bright shiny things cross my path :~)

In article .com,
"Peter Cole" writes:

Functionally, you don't *need* to spend a lot to get a really nice
bike, the point of diminishing returns is lower than ever, but if you
*want* high-zoot, it's not such a bad lust, as lusts go.

If anyone can use such a bike, all power to 'em, I sez.
But personally, I can not use such a bike. I'd be scared
to put a U-lock on it for fear of marring the paint.
In fact I'd be scared to park it and leave it unattended.
I might end up vigilantly guarding it like the character
Bogart played in 'Treasure of the Sierra Madre' and his
gold. I think I now know why such chattles are sometimes
referred-to as 'trappings'.

There are some really impressively elegant (and accordingly
priced) bicycles out there. But like the saying goes, we
should be careful of what we wish for.

If anyone gave me a bike like Kerry's Serotta for free,
I might not be averse to sticking a milk crate on it and
riding it in the rain to the supermarket.

On second thought ...


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

A very good point. My bikes I guard and never leave out of my sight. I would
never lock it to a pole. If I need to go shopping verses "riding" I take my
choice of several beater bikes I have.

Lets not confuse the purpose of our bikes. Some people use it as a mode of
transportation in a very utilitarian sense. My Serotta and Colnago do not
fit this paradigm. They are purely recreational, for fitness and serious
distance riding. I would think that this distinction would be obvious. Any
other type of riding would be silly on these machines.

Different clothing for different purposes as far as my thinking goes.

David L. Johnson wrote:
On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 12:26:59 -0500, Matt O'Toole wrote:

Ken Marcet wrote:

I mean how many people can really afford to spend 6 grand on a
bike?

The same people who can afford $50k-plus cars and million dollar
homes,

This is not true. If you can afford a $6,000 car, then you can
afford a
$6,000 bike, instead.
David L. Johnson

My fave is the guy with the Litespeed UnObtanium hanging off the
back of a clapped out Jetta. Probably a 5k$ bikes on a 1k$ car.
Man has his priorites in order, now dropping 5k$ on a factory built
bike when there are lots of fine one man shops is another question.
Me, I'd take a Bruce Gordon over a Serotta/Colnago class ride any time.

Scott G.
Support your local framebuilder.

People rave about Seven's too.

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:47:54 -0800, Bill H. wrote:

Agreed, Ken.

I think there's a difference between being able to financially afford a
$6k bike, and being able to realistically work it into your life.

Depends on your life, and the extent to which you are willing to work the
bike into it.


I have a bike that I ride around on during the weekends and a car I use
about every day.

I use my bike every day, and the car usually on weekends.

*I would bike to class if I could, but where I live
doesn't make this a real option. The only way I could do it would be to
move closer to where I went to school.

For some, that is not an option. But if it is, consider it seriously.
This option just became available this year for me (since my wife can no
longer work, eliminating the pressure to not live near my office), and
that has made a huge difference in my life.

transportation in my area, not to mention the snowy winters that making
bicycling practically impossible.

I ride under all conditions. The only time I would want to take the car
is when it's snowing, or raining (such as today), but those are precisely
the times when there is no place to park. So, I got studded tires,
fenders, and a decent rain parka.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | What is objectionable, and what is dangerous about extremists is
_`\(,_ | not that they are extreme, but that they are intolerant.
(_)/ (_) | --Robert F. Kennedy

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 10:09:48 -0800, Peter Cole wrote:

Sure, but there's no correlation, you know what I mean? Actually, I
think there's a negative correlation in the group I ride with. It seems
that people are constantly "upgrading" but most are riding less as time
goes on.

I've noticed a definite correlation he the slower the ride, the more
prevalent the titanium.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | When you are up to your ass in alligators, it's hard to remember
_`\(,_ | that your initial objective was to drain the swamp. -- LBJ
(_)/ (_) |

Peter Cole wrote:
Matt O'Toole wrote:
Peter Cole wrote:

I know a guy with several. He's just a single professional who
spends his disposable income on bikes. Of course he's middle-aged,
overweight and a pretty mediocre rider, a fairly typical high-end
bike owner.

To be fair, I know plenty of successful people who are fit and fast
too. Some people just have their **** together in general, you know?

Sure, but there's no correlation, you know what I mean?

Yup.

Actually, I
think there's a negative correlation in the group I ride with. It
seems that people are constantly "upgrading" but most are riding less
as time goes on. I think a common motivation is to get a better bike
to stimulate more riding and better fitness. It's kind of like people
who get a dog to lose weight.

I've noticed this too. When people's riding slacks off, they start thinking
about gear. Either this is to maintain some connection to the sport when
they're not riding, or to get themselves motivated about riding again. Of
course it's a bunch of bunk, but it's no different than buying clothes one
doesn't need or other kinds of unnecessary consumption.

MTB'ers seem to be even worse than roadies for being drawn to bright
and shiny things. There's not much of the retro-fetishism that plagues
the road warriors, so newer is always better. Nobody seems to wear
anything out any more. Ride it for a while, then Ebay it.

This is definately true. For one thing there's at least the perception that MTB
stuff is improving all the time. I do think this was true until a few years
ago, but not anymore. Also, I think MTB'ing attracts more gearheads -- people
who are attracted to the gear as much or more than the activity. As I'm sure
you've noticed, other sports and hobbies are rife with this too.

Matt O.

Brian Wax wrote:

There is definitely some truth to this. I am a large mouth bass when
I see bright shiny things cross my path :~)

Hey, I know a guy who's making custom fly rods, out of the finest high modulus
carbon composites...

It's long been my contention that fishing lures are not designed to lure fish,
but fishermen!

Matt O.