Will I be wasting money?

[whoof]

People waste money on so many other things that they will never use to the full potential you only have to look at the cars people buy Off roaders that cost the price of small country , that will never anything more off-road than a gravel drive way. vehicles that break the speed limit in first gear. have a top speed of about 3 times the speed limit.

4x4 double-cab Pick-up...tick(but my drive is block paving)
Extremely fast motorbike......tick
"Expensive" Carbon and Ti bikes....tick

I don't consider any of them a waste of money as they all give me pleasure.No point earning money if you aren't going to spend it and enjoy it.

I am not disagreeing just pointing out that if that's the OP Wants to spend his money on its his choice. Cars/motorbike are a good example where people are prepared to pay more than they need, just to be able to say it can do rather than use it for . Your exactly right though its your choice how you spend your money,
.

I've never meet anyone who leads a purely utilitarian lifestyle they all spend more than necessary on some item or other. I once knew someone who ate raw fruit and veg plus TVP (textured vegetable protein) as he felt it fulfilled all his nutritional needs, everything else was an unnecessary extravagance but even he drank expensive coffee.

[Graham]

One typical feature of our current "destructor economy" is that the consumer never considers the environmental / sustainability impact of their choice.

That there is still no mechanism for forcing the consumer to consider such matters and ditto for manufacturers means that we are accelerating towards big trouble.

In the new bicycle world there appears to be an increasing trend towards :-
- short-life durability
- incompatibility
- complex mixes of electronics, mechanicals and chemicals( i.e. batteries ) making the recycling of such problematical / impossible.

Thus the elegance of simple : efficient : durable : maintainable is transformed into . . . . another destructive whim.

[[XAP]Bob]

I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women. The other half I wasted.

[halfpenny]

I would bet money on three things;

1) that you have much nicer tyres on the Boardman and
2) that the Viscount could do with some additional fettling
3) that the riding position, gearing etc between the two machines isn't

You would lose your money! Tyres are virtually identical; Viscount is in A1 order; and I made sure that the saddle hieght and reach are identical. My point is that the unseen technology improvements are significant.

[Jamesh]

One typical feature of our current "destructor economy" is that the consumer never considers the environmental / sustainability impact of their choice.

That there is still no mechanism for forcing the consumer to consider such matters and ditto for manufacturers means that we are accelerating towards big trouble.

In the new bicycle world there appears to be an increasing trend towards :-
- short-life durability
- incompatibility
- complex mixes of electronics, mechanicals and chemicals( i.e. batteries ) making the recycling of such problematical / impossible.

Thus the elegance of simple : efficient : durable : maintainable is transformed into . . . . another destructive whim.

Tbh fair Shimano (I have little experience of campy or SRAM) are

A) pretty durable

B) fairly compatable ie 8-10spd and 11spd

Esp compared to modern household electronics where you see a great deal of obsoleteness and non repairability imo

Cheers James

[fastpedaller]

I would bet money on three things;

1) that you have much nicer tyres on the Boardman and
2) that the Viscount could do with some additional fettling
3) that the riding position, gearing etc between the two machines isn't

You would lose your money! Tyres are virtually identical; Viscount is in A1 order; and I made sure that the saddle hieght and reach are identical. My point is that the unseen technology improvements are significant.

And the gearing??

[whoof]

One typical feature of our current "destructor economy" is that the consumer never considers the environmental / sustainability impact of their choice.

That there is still no mechanism for forcing the consumer to consider such matters and ditto for manufacturers means that we are accelerating towards big trouble.

In the new bicycle world there appears to be an increasing trend towards :-
- short-life durability
- incompatibility
- complex mixes of electronics, mechanicals and chemicals( i.e. batteries ) making the recycling of such problematical / impossible.

Thus the elegance of simple : efficient : durable : maintainable is transformed into . . . . another destructive whim.

If people want to make consumer choices that will have the greatest impact on the environment they should cut down or stop eating meat or preferably become vegan.
Drink coffee rather than beer or preferably tea or even better tap water.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46459714

Whilst I'm all for sustainable purchases, I own a number of secondhand bikes and bought a 'new' kettle today from the British Heart foundation shop, bikes are pretty small beer or possibly tap water.

[De Sisti]

The OP must be considering £4k on a bike a waste of money, otherwise he would have been asking:
"which brand of bike for £4k should he go for?

[halfpenny]

And the gearing??[/quote]

Not very different, but I'm talking about comfort, cycling along in an appropriate gear at my usual cadence on familiar roads. Just my impression - not looking for a reason, and in fact it doesn't matter. OP might try a modern bike for comparison -I'd certainly recommend it.

[greyingbeard]

Its your cash, but imho NO bike is worth £4000. Daft. Carbon everything that will ride like a pneumatic drill and go in the bin when it breaks.

[Jamesh]

Its your cash, but imho NO bike is worth £4000. Daft. Carbon everything that will ride like a pneumatic drill and go in the bin when it breaks.

If it helps you win the TDY then yea it is worth it.

Or £40000 to win the tdf then yea it's a worthwhile investment.

But for the rest of us definitely not!!

Cheers James

[bgnukem]

I reckon £2-2.5k is enough, maybe a little more if the frame is custom built. Spending more doesn't seem to get significant benefits.

Shopping around pays off, and in the end of season sales. There are lots of bike parts (and clothing) being advertised at crazy prices these days and advertised in the likes of Cycling Plus magazine. I wonder who pays full price for the stuff, apart from possibly cashed-up central London fashion victims.

A decent frameset can easily be had for a grand, and £1500 should be plenty to kit it out with a high quality groupset and finishing kit. Usually something second string like Ultegra/Chorus is good enough without the extortionate extra cost of the top groupsets and some decent custom-built wheels will be easier to maintain and replace spokes/rims/hubs/etc in the future when they are worn out.

[djnotts]

Its your cash, but imho NO bike is worth £4000. Daft. Carbon everything that will ride like a pneumatic drill and go in the bin when it breaks.

Whereas IME carbon rides LESS like a pneumatic drill than any other frame material I have tried. Nothing to.touch carbon for simple comfort.
OTOH I agree 4 grand over the top for any (pedal) 2 wheeler.

[Navara]

Its your cash, but imho NO bike is worth £4000. Daft. Carbon everything that will ride like a pneumatic drill and go in the bin when it breaks.

A Bugatti La Voiture Noire isn't worth $12.5M+ but I'd still buy one if I had the spare cash!Infact I'd settle for a $2.5m Veyron but still hope!
It's only money and if it's your money then it 's worth what it is to you!
Have you I wonder ever ridden a Carbon bike for any length of time?
Have you ever ridden any bike that cost more than £4000?
My £4K carbon bike is now 5 years old(so still not broken or gone in the bin) and rides as nice,if not nicer,than my £6.5k Ti(with carbon forks/wheels).They both ride VERY well but slightly different.
I'm sure the member with the £12k Bianchi would also agree it rides better than a Pneumatic drill!
< SNIP >

[rmurphy195]

Will you be wasting money?

Bottom line is - Only if you don't enjoy riding the bike and being seen out on it, without feeling guilty about its cost (the latter does take the edge of enjoying my sports car every now and again, or at least it did for the forst 5 years or so! Another five years on, and I still have it )