Incredibly Stupid Thread Where I Question the Rationale of Your $5000 Bike

[DOOFUS]

Interesting quote from the recent Serroota-Patooda thread:

"When I see a bike set up with the bars 4" below the saddle, I think Hmmm.....the racer look, and pretty damn useless for 95% of people who ride bikes and 99% of people who could afford to buy a $5000.00 bike."

True dat.

So I'm wonderin. What are you paying for? I mean, that ticket, you'd expect to be getting trickle down racing technology, for, you know, going fast and stuff, or for builder expertise that, you know, wouldn't be satisfied by just pullin a bike off the shop floor. So the the 99% who get them $5000 bikes are just doing the trundley-dundley around the county on Saturday, really, what the fuck is the point?

this question is nothing new -- and do consider the source. I'm just a cheap wannabe racer douche. but still...I fail to see the point.

[echelon_john]

There is no point! You've solved it! Close the thread! Close the forum! Close the Internet!

; )

[thollandpe]

There is no point! You've solved it! Close the thread! Close the forum! Close the Internet!

; )

Damn, is there still time for me to post "Incredibly Stupid Thread Where I Question the Rationale of Your $5000 Granite Countertop"??

[EddieBirdsell]

Damn, is there still time for me to post "Incredibly Stupid Thread Where I Question the Rationale of Your $5000 Granite Countertop"??

Rationale? Makes for a sweet heatsink for hot pots.

[DOOFUS]

it's a tool, not a bottle of wine

even then, it's more about the alcohol content

[caleb]

So the the 99% who get them $5000 bikes are just doing the trundley-dundley around the county on Saturday, really, what the fuck is the point?

Luxury purchase, status symbol, photo op, whatever. Maybe wives give them to their husbands after having affairs. Maybe the money just doesn't matter. I don't know. I'm not their customer or demographic.

We can look at it from the other side too, and I think that's actually more interesting. Lots of people here, including me, have told Serotta that they should build affordable race bikes. But why? What's the point of racing on a $5k+ (or $4k, or $3k) bike when a Spooky/Primus Mootry/Rock Lobster with 105 is probably more functional for half the price? I mean, even the P/1/2 race is sprinting for entry fees and powerbars.

If we think too much about how expensive bikes are used, I think it's apparent that they're all used for some version of the trundley-dundley. Having a bike shop name on my jersey doesn't really make it different.

[Chance Legstrong]

Not 5k and does what is needed and wanted

[doctor855]

[Tom]

Well, I went that route because I am lazy and I wanted stuff that worked, made me feel secure that as I was trundley-dundley like three or four counties over maybe even in the next state it wouldn't break and wouldn't wear out. Then I found out you put 50 thousand miles on stuff it wears out anyway. I was robbed. Robbed, I tell you.

Seriously, it's a good question. At what point does a better frame just become as gilding the lily? Paying bucks for good parts makes sense to me because they have little turny bits and things in there, but I think that at some point the benefit curve on a frame flattens out. Not that it'll stop me from buying a nice one or anything if I 'need' it.

[VA_MEL]

The reason for me is to trundle-dundle on a bike I love. Same reason I don't crawl through rush hour traffic in a cheap car on days when I drive, even though the Smart Cars and luxury cars move at the same speed in bumper to bumper traffic.

[lumpy]

Fancy bikes feel good.

People are curious.

People like shiny pretty things.

People like status signifiers.

People like feeling like connoisseurs.

[lumpy]

I like to think the first three are more important but the consuming psyche is a dark and tangled thing.

[John Mansell]

I believe some highend frames have better ride quality. For me my Parlee Z1, Hors Categorie CX, and Spectrum are superb and better than any frames that I have tried that are half their price. When I am spending 20 hours a week riding, I prefer the better feeling bike. Now for racing, it doesn't matter. Good geometry and stiffness is what I look for and a frame I can beat the hell out of. I think there is a place for the $5000 frames but I can't afford to race and break them every year like I can a cheap frame.

[gjuffer]

I think this is an unanswerable question. It's not really feasible to do a double blind test on a bike -- the brand and paint and back story and tube set and everything else in your brain that's filed under "bike" is going to affect your perception no matter what. In the audiophile world it's called "psycho-acoustics." Value is not a fixed parameter, no matter how much of an objective racer dude you think you are. I would posit that the most successful builders here and the most successful bicycle makers in general put a lot of thought into managing the mix of objective and subjective qualities in their bikes.

[lumpy]

the brand and paint and back story and tube set and everything else in your brain that's filed under "bike" is going to affect your perception no matter what.

Well said. And the concept of psycho-acoustics rings true, so to speak.

[henry g.]

Interesting quote from the recent Serroota-Patooda thread:

"When I see a bike set up with the bars 4" below the saddle, I think Hmmm.....the racer look, and pretty damn useless for 95% of people who ride bikes and 99% of people who could afford to buy a $5000.00 bike."

True dat.

So I'm wonderin. What are you paying for? I mean, that ticket, you'd expect to be getting trickle down racing technology, for, you know, going fast and stuff, or for builder expertise that, you know, wouldn't be satisfied by just pullin a bike off the shop floor. So the the 99% who get them $5000 bikes are just doing the trundley-dundley around the county on Saturday, really, what the fuck is the point?

this question is nothing new -- and do consider the source. I'm just a cheap wannabe racer douche. but still...I fail to see the point.

Why buy better made clothes instead of whatever you can get on the Walmart rack, why pay for a camera instead of using your phone if your not a pro, why buy a watch instead of just using your phone, why nicely finished wood shelves instead of cardboard boxes or industrial shelving? Why get a sports car to ride on public roads?

What's your point?

[steve garro]

How much does it weigh?
- Garro.

[coolberto hipsterdor]

The luxury cycling niche is ripe for money making and you can't really blame serotta for making the fondo when there exists $5000+ Asian made carbon endurance bikes that people are buying. The serotta ti frame has to cost many times more than a roubaix frame for example so there is some perceived value there I guess. I think most vsaloners myself included would find another way to spend $5k but then again that bike wasn't meant for us...

[monadnocky]

I buy expensive bikes mostly for the chicks.

[Eric Estlund]

How much does it weigh?
- Garro.

In hundreds it's about 50g, in pennies its about 1250kg. The bike would probably be somewhere in there.