Buying What You Love

[smontanaro]

I have a bike alert set up on the NY Times website. It doesn't generate too many hits. Most often it's something to do with biking in NYC, City Bike and such. However, this item popped up this morning:

The Financial Benefits of Buying What You Love (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/your-money/the-financial-benefits-of-buying-what-you-love.html)

I'm fairly certain many people here will understand the author's perspective. Similarly, many people not here won't. :D

[numbskull]

Of course an even better financial plan is to learn to love what you have.

[AngryScientist]

summed up:

"buy the best, and you only cry once"

[BoCo]

I'm in the camp that says: save up your money, buy the best quality product you can and then enjoy it.

[velofinds]

..though I have to diverge with him on a couple of the points that he raises:

- I could never pare down to just one bike, even if it was a great all-rounder
- Buying things for their utility can be agonizing. Buying things to feed a hobby or even addiction is great :D

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/your-money/the-financial-benefits-of-buying-what-you-love.html

[AngryScientist]

threads merged.

[christian]

I don't really buy the following:

3. It will last. Let痴 say you follow the standard advice and buy the cheaper bike. We all know what happens with the cheaper bike. It breaks! It wears out, you replace it. And not only does good gear last, but when you buy cheap stuff, you get bored with it. I do not get bored with this bike, and that is why it is saving me money.

I don't think there's any evidence whatsoever that a Specialized Allez bought in 2008 requires any more maintenance than a Moots bought in 2008.

[Mr. Pink]

I'm a little upset that that man still has a column all about personal finance decisions in a major newspaper. Most of what he writes are empty thoughts and platitudes meant to calm the nervous and anxious upper middle class NYT reader who has reached retirement or is close, and has hardly any savings, like most of the middle class. He was out front and honest about making an awful decision during the housing bubble by buying a very overpriced MacMansion in, I think, Utah, at the wrong time and for all the wrong reasons, but, he still screwed up in an almost cliched fashion. And yet, we still see his simplistic scribblings on a napkin, justifying the purchase of something he and the rest of us can't afford.

Hey, I love finely made naked titanium frames like the next guy. But, I also love the fact I won't have to work for somebody else for the rest of my life, I hope. Which is more valuable, in the end?

[unterhausen]

summed up:

"buy the best, and you only cry once"

I think it's a lot more honest to realize you will probably buy another bike if you ride a lot. However, Unterhausen's law of tools is that you will still be living with the tool long after your wife (and you) forget how much it cost.

[soulspinner]

I'm in the camp that says: save up your money, buy the best quality product you can and then enjoy it.

THIS x 1000

[Hindmost]

I'm in the campAGNOLO that says: save up your money, buy the best quality product you can and then enjoy it.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[batman1425]

I totally get this, but it is hard in practice especially for us just getting our financial feet under ourselves outside of college/professional school.

We just couldn't afford the "buy the best once, or replaceable junk repeatedly" model. Now that we are more stable, we can (within reason) spend more on certain things to get the better, more durable item, vs. the semi disposable equivalent. Even though we can, we have a hard time doing it. We spent so long watching every cent, it is hard to break the habit.

As a result I have a HORRIBLE time spending money on "luxury" items for myself - which I consider anything other than basic needs and functional items. If I can get the same or similar utility out of something cheaper, I almost always default to the that and sacrifice some features/quality/enjoyment level. I'm pretty sure I will always feel this way, no matter where we are financially. Hard to break that mentality.

[MattTuck]

I don't really buy the following:

3. It will last. Let痴 say you follow the standard advice and buy the cheaper bike. We all know what happens with the cheaper bike. It breaks! It wears out, you replace it. And not only does good gear last, but when you buy cheap stuff, you get bored with it. I do not get bored with this bike, and that is why it is saving me money.

I don't think there's any evidence whatsoever that a Specialized Allez bought in 2008 requires any more maintenance than a Moots bought in 2008.

There is a threshold of sufficiency that certainly makes a difference. When I was younger (teenager), my friends all had bikes from Sears and Kmart, etc. I had an entry level specialized with shimano components. Let me tell you, it made a huge difference in the fun I had on the bike and the lack of mechanical problems. I'm convinced the reason that I still ride to this day (and they don't) is because my parents sprung for a $400 specialized instead of a $200 bike at sears.

Now, that is a different thing than a allez vs. moots, but I do buy the argument that VERY cheap stuff doesn't last or work as well.

[BobbyJones]

summed up:

"buy the best, and you only cry once"


Ahhh...not really. Up until recently all my bikes have been utilitarian in emotional nature. Actually most material things I owned were.

With the addition of some "expensive" bikes over the past few years, I now concern myself with things like theft & insurance, increased maintenance, etc.

So it's really more like "the stuff you own ends up owning you"

[572cv]

I totally get this, but it is hard in practice especially for us just getting our financial feet under ourselves outside of college/professional school.

We just couldn't afford the "buy the best once, or replaceable junk repeatedly" model. Now that we are more stable, we can (within reason) spend more on certain things to get the better, more durable item, vs. the semi disposable equivalent. Even though we can, we have a hard time doing it. We spent so long watching every cent, it is hard to break the habit.

As a result I have a HORRIBLE time spending money on "luxury" items for myself - which I consider anything other than basic needs and functional items. If I can get the same or similar utility out of something cheaper, I almost always default to the that and sacrifice some features/quality/enjoyment level. I'm pretty sure I will always feel this way, no matter where we are financially. Hard to break that mentality.

This resonates with me. Raised to be careful with cash and worry about having enough for the future, all my bike purchases have been second hand, "good deals" etc. I have worked my way up to very good bikes, for sure, but the desire to have one that was made to fit me remains something I'd love, but have not yet brought myself to do. I probably will. Maybe even soon. The time I have left to ride is flying by. But it is so hard to justify doing this for myself. As you say, it is hard to break the mindset.

The NYT article helped, though.

[54ny77]

the headline should have read, "how i rationalized the purchase of a $5,000 bicycle."

[batman1425]

This resonates with me. Raised to be careful with cash and worry about having enough for the future, all my bike purchases have been second hand, "good deals" etc. I have worked my way up to very good bikes, for sure, but the desire to have one that was made to fit me remains something I'd love, but have not yet brought myself to do. I probably will. Maybe even soon. The time I have left to ride is flying by. But it is so hard to justify doing this for myself. As you say, it is hard to break the mindset.

The NYT article helped, though.

I typically have the threshold of... a deal SO GOOD that I can't say no. Anything less, and I have to bargain with myself for hours and typically have horrible buyers remorse. My most recent bike - a NOS Ridley Helium I got for basically 45% of retail and even then, I tried to cancel the order twice before it was built up - both times the shop happened to be closed/line was busy when I called. I like the bike, once I got over the guilt.

[benb]

I find bicycles are a poor subject for this kind of article.

I kind of hate buying bicycles, cause I'm always so worried something won't work out right with fit or something else and I regret the purchase. I agonize far more about buying a bike frame & fork than even a car. (And I've probably agonized longer on a frame and fork than we did when we bought our house.)

And that is REALLY easy to do with a Specialized for example even if you have your fit nailed and you fit into Specialized's idea of what a rider's dimensions should be because:


They love proprietary parts at least partly designed to make your expensive bike obsolete faster
They're mostly selling carbon which while super durable doesn't have great finish longevity


The moots is a great example of buying the right thing once assuming it fits correctly as it's probably going to be easier to find parts for it and the bare Ti finish has great longevity.

[palincss]

I don't really buy the following:

3. It will last. Let痴 say you follow the standard advice and buy the cheaper bike. We all know what happens with the cheaper bike. It breaks! It wears out, you replace it. And not only does good gear last, but when you buy cheap stuff, you get bored with it. I do not get bored with this bike, and that is why it is saving me money.

I don't think there's any evidence whatsoever that a Specialized Allez bought in 2008 requires any more maintenance than a Moots bought in 2008.

But probably not hard to find evidence of getting bored with it and upgrading to the "latest and greatest."

[christian]

I think that is a function of the owner, not the bike.