Why am I still faster than you?

E: Let's all talk about what bikes should or shoudn't cost

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As someone that has a $11k bike I can clarify some things.
I have a Wilier Granturismo SLR. About ~90% of the components are carbon fiber. Carbon Fiber, especially high end carbon fiber isn’t cheap. Besides the bike; my wheels, pedals, parts of the cranks, handlebars, saddle, saddle post, and probably some other things are carbon fiber.
I always hear people talk about getting carbon fiber components for cheaper because you have a shit tin of Chinese companies come in and steal these bike companies IP and make shit frames. Look at Chinorellos, shit ton of Chinese companies steal frame designs and re-make them with shit metal and the bike falls apart after a year.
Another thing…why does any give a fuck how much my bike costs? My dad is an audiophile guy and my bike costs as much as 1 (not a pair) of his speakers, and he has a mid-range system. Cycling is something that I love, I ride almost everyday and will spend hours and hours on the bike. I’d gladly pay less than $11k on my next bike but when you get into the higher end market you’re going to pay more, that’s true across almost ALL sports or hobby activities
- Yeah, it's just a silly meme. I would spend a lot of money on a bike if it was my hobby. But here I am getting shamed for spending as much as 1k for a bike, which I thought was the bare minimum for a daily driver.
  
  Sorry I didnt mean to come off as abrasive towards you. If someone is giving you shit about the cost of you’re bike then tell them to fuck off. I’ve been cycling and competing for 7 years now, and cycling culture is about the ride, not the bike the rider is on. Some bikes cost $15k, others $1k, and all these expensive components can help you get faster, but at the end of the day, what really makes you faster isn’t the bike, it’s the rider.
  
  Yeah no worries! Just a bit of bike drama ITT
  
  All good boss. If you don’t mind, what bike are you riding?
  
  Sure! I have a VSF T-500 steel frame 21 speed with disk breaks
  
  $1k for this bike is a steal lol. These are hand made in Germany and look 99% better than most commuters I see. The steel is real king! Keep riding
  
  Yes my previous bike (also steel VSF) got stolen, so I was looking for the exact same one. Made sense to buy it new (with new parts) and I got a good deal on it.
  
  Some bikes cost $15k, others $1k
  This really makes me want to show up to a cycling event with a $200 Huffy
  
  Hey man, show up to the group ride with whatever you want, just keep up with the pace
- You and your dad have extravagant hobbies and live in a world most people cannot relate to. The vast majority of people on earth will never enjoy spending so much money and free time on their hobbies.
  
  We’re not millionaires or make a significant amount of money. I saved money aside for my bike and my dad did the same for his stereo system. If you want to look at hobbies that cost a lot of money, looking at boating. People spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for boats and nobody blinks an eye. The cost of my bike wouldn’t cover the yearly maintenance for a boat
  
  Sorry, that came off more critical than I meant it to be. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a hobby, and certainly there are many frivolous things wealthy people do that cost far more money than you and I will make in our combined lifetimes. Everyone exists within an economic strata, and perspective hard to come by without personal experience.
  Saying that any hobby might cost thousands of dollars, or tens of thousands of dollars, is as absurd to someone living in poverty as thinking a banana might cost $10.
- Look I get it, I love cycling and own a few nice bikes ($1-4k) but let's not pretend that the value is there at $11k. Outside of world tour riders, there's no way you're actually faster or more comfortable at $11k than about $5k. You already get carbon frame/wheels and near top of the line components for $5k-ish. So to OPs question, to me that's the upper limit for what fancy bikes should cost for actual normal humans. Realistically 2k for road/gravel, maybe 3k for MTB is jusy barely slower and almost imperceptively less nice than 5k bikes. "High end" is only meaningful if there are actual tangible benefits that come along with the price tag. I support anyone out there on bikes, i just think $11k is a bit silly in a world with this much wealth inequality. I'm sure some folks think the exact same thing about me and my bikes tbf. Have fun and be safe out there.
  
  You’re username matches your perspective on life
  
  So, I’ve also ridden a wide range of bikes and prices. $11k Wilier Granturismo is 100% more comfortable than Canyon Endurace (at least the CF SL Di2 I use to ride) and the Dogma I rode in Italy was oddly more comfortable than the Canyon (but I don’t own the Dogma, just rented for a few months). The Canyon was 100% more comfortable than the Trek domaine (entry level).
  As for speed, high end bikes have more carbon components than a $4-6k bike, so naturally when you ride a lighter bike you’ll increase your speed to a point. But yes, the thing that makes you faster is you and not necessarily the bike, but having a bike that’s lighter sure does help.
  I’m not totally disagreeing with you btw, I think if I could start all over again I would get fitted, buy a carbon frame + fork + saddle post, Ultegra Di2, carbon wheels and handlebar, like $150 saddle, and I’ll be set. Probably cost around $6-8k, and if I went used I could probably get it for $4k.
  At the same time, why do people buy a BMW? A car just gets you from point A to point B, why would you spend significantly more when a Honda is more economical and reliable? My point is, people can spend their money how they want and that’s okay. $11k got me the perfect bike and there’s nothing I would change about it and I’ll have it for the rest of my life. It’s just odd to me that people get so abrasive (not you, just in general) about the cost of high end bikes, but a $120k car or truck that’s used to go to the grocery store, nobody bats an eye.
  
  Appreciate the conversation, and I definitely bat an eye at the overpriced mall crawlers people blow absurd amounts of money on to get groceries. I actually do think a $50k car is generally a bit nicer than a 20k car, so in my analogy that could maybe be justified, but $120k is getting a bit silly with marginal gains that are not meaningful (to me at least).
  But back to bikes, curious of you're actually able to compare these bikes you mentioned apples to apples. Same geometry, saddle, tires, grip tape, etc? If it's frame compliance you're after, I'm curious for your thoughts on some of the higher end steel frames out there. I ride mostly gravel and am large, so e.g long setback seatposts and 45mm tires soak up everything to the point that frame compliance matters less (but still some of course). I could see that being a bigger deal for smaller/lighter riders though. On the other end of the spectrum for trail bikes the frame just needs to be stiff, so I see zero benefit to carbon there (outside weight of course, but thankfully people learned to care less about weight in the MTB world finally). Back to road I'd also argue aero matters more than those last few grams for just about everything outside of massive climbs. I recall hearing that on any road below 7-8%, aero is still "more important" than weight, meaning you should spend your money there instead. Who knows though, every few years there's a new trend and every few years I find I value comfort over speed even more.
  I just love riding bikes and I spend way too much time learning about tech I have very little desire to actually buy. I'm glad you found a bike you're super stoked to ride, that's what that matters at the end of the day!
  
  The Wilier and Canyon are both endurance bikes vs the Pino which is a performance/race. Wilier is still the most comfortable and fast af, but you’re right in that the Canyon was mid-level and has a very different geo so it’s kinda hard to compare-ish. I was actually really surprised at how comfortable the Pino Dogma felt, that would be my go to for races if I owned it.
  I actually haven’t ridden any high quality Ti bikes yet, but have heard nothing but great reviews. I’m actually looking at a few companies: No.22, Moots, Seven, and a couple other ti + carbon hybrid. No.22 came out with this new performance bike that they 3D print with very high quality Ti and it’s like $12-15k. You should check out those brands I mentioned, they each have their own custom Ti + Carbon Gravel (or full Ti) builds and it’s not going to hurt the bank account too much (I think $6-8k full build). A couple of friends that ride gravel swear by these hybrid type builds for the exact reasons you mentioned.
- What are your opinions on e-bikes? My wife and I bought them last summer to get more exercise, and I've been shocked to see a backlash against them from cyclers (e.g. there's another comment above saying anything with a motor isn't a bike).
  In my mind, having an e-bike is no different than getting something like a carbon fiber frame. If it makes your biking experience more enjoyable, then great.
  
  This is actually a great question because I don’t really care what bike you’re ridding, as long as your cool, follow road or trail rules, and wave back lol
  At the end of the day, as long as you’re having fun and being respectful of other people, you’re cool in my book. I do know what you’re talking about though. I actually went on a cycling tour in Italy last year and on some of the group rides we’d have e-bike road bikes join. There wasn’t an issue but back in America..yea different story
  
  and wave back
  Lol my wife and I were joking about that a couple days ago. Reminded us of this old commercial.
  https://youtu.be/F_Bny5xqLRQ
  
  Bro, I have “trail friends” which are dudes I just see on the trail and we always wave to each other. I have no idea what their names are but a solid wave back from someone you see semi-regularly that’s grinding —> 👋

124 comments