road bikers...?
- Thread starter varova87
- Start date
LR Max said:
A few months ago in town, we had a guy on his velodrome bike with no brakes run into the side of a police car, with red lights and siren going. He rode directly through a stopsign and into the side of said black and white car with flashy lights and loud noisemaker.
The Eastside in the Seattle area just might be the biggest poser area I've ever seen with road bikers. With all of the Microsoft and other tech company money, I see 250 lb flabby guys in full spandex riding their $7500 Cervelos all the time. Of course the bad weather in the wet seasons weeds these guys out. Now, just about anybody you see riding a bike is pretty damn serious about it.
:ack: I just can't imagine dropping that kind of coin on a bike. Including purchase price, seat bag, pump, tool kit, handlebar tape, and new chain, I've got ~$300 in this bike. The bike does what I want it to, nothing less. Can already feel myself getting in shape. Been doing a short 5 mile ride once a day.
The buck stops here, though. The XD is on it's way.
The buck stops here, though. The XD is on it's way.
varova87 said:
I said the same thing. Then about 2 months later, all of a sudden those high end bikes were looking PRETTY DAMN nice.
Should've dropped the extra 600...
I got lucky with my Lemond road bike. My brother at the time was a Cat 3 racer with a lot of spare money. When he wanted to buy a new time trial bike, his wife insisted he get ride of one of his 5 bikes. I guess the Lemond, which I guess was about $3k new, was the low bike on the totem pole. Carbon fiber frame fits me perfectly, has good components, and a set of Rolf wheels.
If your just commuting it doesn't make much sense for a fancy bike IMHO. The bike I use most is a 1964 Columbia 3 speed.
If your just commuting it doesn't make much sense for a fancy bike IMHO. The bike I use most is a 1964 Columbia 3 speed.
its easy to drop coin on bikes. you start riding more and more, it starts to make sense. Doing a 25-40 mile ride is like a quick ride. Sit on a junk bike for a 5-6 hour century and your mind will change.
granted I am not on the carbon fiber scene, I love the steel too much.
all of this depends on your usage. as a commuter you don't need anything fancy so I can see your point about only spending a couple hundred bucks.
granted I am not on the carbon fiber scene, I love the steel too much.
all of this depends on your usage. as a commuter you don't need anything fancy so I can see your point about only spending a couple hundred bucks.
I used to ride more, had kidnapped an ancient Nishiki road bike that dad had, then when I was in college, I got a Nishiki MTB. Then laid off biking any and got fat and lazy.
Trying to get off the couch more, I started thinking about a bike again last year. Needed to get a new bike. One fella here at work (I try to think of him as a nice guy but he's a bit of an A-hole), was preaching to me about needing to spend at least X amount of money for some carbon bike... I foolishly made some retort that I'd never spend more than a couple of hundred on a bike.
A week later, at my local fly shop /outdoor gear shop, I was looking at their bikes, and fell in love w/ a Rivendell.... damn.
I spent more on a steel frame than most other bikes cost. I spent more on the wheels alone than I ever had for an entire bike before.
I've already got one of 'em now, and am planning to get a second....
I really don't know what's wrong w/ me.... lol....
Trying to get off the couch more, I started thinking about a bike again last year. Needed to get a new bike. One fella here at work (I try to think of him as a nice guy but he's a bit of an A-hole), was preaching to me about needing to spend at least X amount of money for some carbon bike... I foolishly made some retort that I'd never spend more than a couple of hundred on a bike.
A week later, at my local fly shop /outdoor gear shop, I was looking at their bikes, and fell in love w/ a Rivendell.... damn.
I spent more on a steel frame than most other bikes cost. I spent more on the wheels alone than I ever had for an entire bike before.
I've already got one of 'em now, and am planning to get a second....
I really don't know what's wrong w/ me.... lol....
I think bikes are one of those things where you get what you pay for. When I was a teenager I was fixated on a Klein mountain bike, handmade in Washington, custom painted, it was my dream. I mowed lawns and saved for two years to buy my ultimate bike, I had it set up exactly the way I wanted it. Everyone thought I was crazy for spending $2,000 on a bike. But I was into racing, I was an avid rider, and once I took a spin on that Klein I could never go back to my $500 Specialized Rockhopper.
Here I am, 17 years later, still riding the same Klein. I love it just as much as when new, it has come with me across three different continents, and has required minimal maintenance. I hope I can ride it for another 17 years. The amount of money I invested in it was more than worth it. I was willing to pay for quality and that's what I got.
That said, it's easy to buy high quality bikes used and you can save yourself a pile of money. That's true for many things. Land Rovers, maybe not so much.
Here I am, 17 years later, still riding the same Klein. I love it just as much as when new, it has come with me across three different continents, and has required minimal maintenance. I hope I can ride it for another 17 years. The amount of money I invested in it was more than worth it. I was willing to pay for quality and that's what I got.
That said, it's easy to buy high quality bikes used and you can save yourself a pile of money. That's true for many things. Land Rovers, maybe not so much.
Leslie said:
is your steel frame lugged?
we need to start sharing pics of these bikes, I love bike pRon.
I am like most others, once you get in to a certain bike you lust for them. I sold most of my collection to finally get to the point of having a Seven road bike and mtn bike. I love their lines. :drool:
I love the late era, Italian lugged Columbus steel bikes. That with some Campy is as good as it gets for me.
Mike_Rupp said:
Tell me about it, bought a Bianchi Eros in '95 used for $900, full Campy. Guessing I have at least 80,000 miles on that bike and only replaced brake pads, cables and chains.
adriatic04 said:
Yep; all of Rivendell's bikes are lugged steel. http://www.rivbike.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leslie_bright/4407972696/#/
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I just picked up a Specialised Allez Elite as my first road bike. The bike was not inexpensive, but I was surprised how much I started spending on gear: shoes, pedals, bibs, shorts( I like the Pearl Nzumi offerings) air pump, flat kits, CO2 kits, windbreakers. Now I look forward to the Colorado Cyclist catalog as much as Autoweek.
Next purchase: a bike stand so I can clean the bike in the comfort of the Roverlab!
Next purchase: a bike stand so I can clean the bike in the comfort of the Roverlab!
RVRSRVC said:
bookmark pricepoint.com while you are at it. Closeout stuff, but if you know what you want the prices can be way lower.
