In need of therapy (bike lust)

Be warned - a nut is writing this

I am struggling with bike lust, I ride a perfectly functional just upgraded to 10sp dura ace 2003 Litespeed Vortex, BUT, as always, 3 of the 6 guys I normally ride with just purchased new bikes. (1 Trek, 1 Serotta and 1 Look) Now at least in my own mind I see my bottom bracket swaying and flexing and I KNOW my bike is way to heavy. SO I am now really lusting over a Calfee Dragonfly. I keep telling myself that the Vortex will ride forever (at least that was a justification when I bought it) but I just cant take my mind off a new bike.

HELP!!!!

 

Dude....as longs as its one of your only main vices...you will be okay...thats what I tell myself..wife and I have no credit card debt until this weekend when I got my klein. ksyriums elites and campy record upgrade...she is not happy...but it could be much worse..like hookers , blow or liquor...did I say hooker...hahah...

 

Yes, you need help.

Just. Buy. The. Calfee.

Powerful Pete said so [friends push friends to purchase bike-porn bikes].

There, now you have all the justification that you need.

Oh, and mount it with the 2007 Record Carbon. THEN you will have one of the ultimate rides on this planet...


Oh yeah! this is my 1000th email! Cool....

 

Bike lust? I have 13 bikes - 6 bmx. 2 mtn, 5 road bikes. And I still want a CF Cervelo Soloist Team and a Hutch Trickstar. Only if I got a $50k / year job!

 

The Calfee may make you happy for a week, or so ...

But, if part/most of your bike lust is due to a need to one-up your buddies, then in the long run you will be happier (because they will lust after your "ride" for a longer period) with a COLNAGO C50 ... OR, Pinarello or Merckx equivalent.

Equipped with Campagnolo RECORD, of course, as already noted; but, you don't have to wait for the 2007 stuff ... get the CT crank this year and the 2007 crank of your BCD choice next year.

 

Wow - I have the lust but I haven't got the money to back it up.

So go for it, ain't nothing wrong with a bit of lust - that what keeps us going.

Ps - post a piccy of your new bike when you get it.

 

Unfortunately I was taught in my MBA classes that bike lust is simply a basic human need, right up there with food, shelter, and sex. So you can't eliminate the lust, at best you can live with it. My own therapist is my PowerTap hub. Whenever I feel that lust is about to overtake me (boy, I do like the Cervelo Soloist Carbon, and one of my clubmates just got a new 13.5lb Scott) I look down at the piddling power numbers on the meter, and remind myself that I need new legs before I need a new bike. I never said the therapy was great, but it does work for an hour or two...

 

Until the 2008 Record comes out!!

 

That is weird, I guess I am the only dude, tha doesn't want the best of the best in each category. Just give me 6 bikes all from different categories of cycling and I will be happy. I will build them up, so that they work the best and are the most durable/cost effective. Dude, if your bike rides well, than it is stupid to keep on buying bikes. The money spent on them doesn't justify the work the companies did. Its like giving them free money.

Instead ride better, and show your friends then!

 

Instead of changing bikes, why not just upgrade the one you have - Litespeed is a most respectable frameset, wish I had one. Anyone can plunk down cash, but it takes a real cyclist to build their own personal machine. Some of the better upgrades I've made...

Chorus group. Can't say enough good about it, has been rock solid and trouble free for four years. And one looks so stylish on a Campy equipped bike. Love those shifters, positive and firm. You could splurge on Record, but with Chorus, at least you have demonstrated a bit of practicality.

Zipp 404's. Very smooth riding, and very fast on the downhills. And get them in tubie, don't waste precious grams on a poseur clincher rim. They don't climb any better, but I've noticed that my friends seem to crap out a bit quicker on a climb when I have the Zipps on, I think they're psyching themselves out. Coming down the other side, they definitely can't stay with me as the speed rises into the 40-50mph range. Speed weaponry, indeed.

Cinelli RAM bars. Molded to fit your hands, very comfortable, and probably the most magnificently finished carbon fiber I've ever seen. You really have to see the RAM bars in person to appreciate them.

Giro Atmos helmet. Very comfortable, and if you get the LoneStar edition, it comes in a beautiful gold finish.

Fizik Aliante saddle. I went through a lot of saddles, before I found one that got my vertical smile to start smiling again. (oh, there's an unpleasant mental image...)

Upgrading components is cheaper than buying an entirely new bike, and you end up with a cycle that is uniquely you.

Or, forget buying a bike, and work on your endurance instead. As fun as tinkering with a bike is, it's even more fun to hear that huffing and puffing behind you on a long climb, and then hear it growing fainter as they drop off the back. You can't buy an accomplishment like that, you can only earn it.

 

Yes, You have a problem, but it is a shared problem. My problem is just sheer numbers. Here is my list of 2 wheel vehicles that I currently possess by most recent purchase:

Litespeed Sienna '06
Yamaha TTR 250 '05
Santa Cruz Blur "04
Kona Muni Mula '03
Cannondale R800 '92
Univega Mtb Bike '90
Cannondale RSE '88

My garage is also filled with the following bikes ridden by my kids:

Suzuki DRZ 110 '06
Honda CRF 50 '05
Honda XR 80 '03
Haro BMX
Haro MTB
Raleigh MTB
Schwinn Moab
GT BMX
Specialized training wheel mtb
tricycle


So basically, I have 17 bikes in my garage at any given time plus all the related gear, helmets, ridin boots, shoes. etc. I am looking for a tandem and a fixed gear. It is a serious space issue. What is scary is that I ride all my bikes regularly, and have set them up for different purposes. The '88 'dale is set up as a tri bike. The univega is my commuter. The Kona is my lightweight hardtail climbing mt bike. And I just replaced the '92 'dale with the Sienna. And the dirt bikes are used regularly.

I have been given an edict (by my wife) that I have to get rid of one bike for every new one I buy so I will have to e-bay one if I want to get the fixed gear. And I am still negoitiating over the tandem. But when you look at the cost of boating, horses, golf, or other expensive hobbies, these hobbies are pretty cheap. Buy the Calfree and use your Litespeed as your foul weather bike.

 

There is nothing more fun than spanking a guy with a new high end bike on a hill. But, it depends upon what is more dear. For some of us rich poseurs, time riding is more dear than dollars

 

wow. what kopride wote could easily have been written by myself, except change some brands and years (6 motorcycles, 6 bicylces, 1 kid)

so i agree entirely with the earlier point about this sport being cheaper than almost any high perfomance hobby (price a set of golf clubs, or set of tires for your ducati, or race fuel for your 9sec. chevelle) and is certainly a more respectable way to set money on fire than hookers or blow...


however, the one minor point i differ from all the sage advice above is the small point about keeping the old one around as your foul weather bike.

its a great idea- and maybe even soothes the guilt complex in the brain for the short term- but it never works.

every time ive upgraded to something ive had the same thought- keep it around as the "beater"... but it never happens.

part of what imbues a bike into your psyche is when it gets beaten on. a bike that is always clean- stored in a dust-free temperature controlled tent- only ridden on days with perfect VFR conditions and has its own mechanic to service it after everyride... usually has a rather sterile relationship with its owner.

the bike that has all the awe of a NEW high performance bike... but then gradually earns the respect of a capable and reliable machine- that bike eventually earns the title of "friend"




so, dont look back. get what you want. lose the old one-

we're all gonna die someday and do you want to look back on that day and say, "son ov a bitch! i wish i knew what it was like to have that new bike....."*


my $.02



* disclaimer: this sort of sophist philosophy should only be considered after the usual responsibilities of home, food, and security are taken care of...

 

All true. Ahh, here the real value of keeping the old is to taunt your riding buddies, and have an extra one around when someone is visiting from out of state, and to save your marriage on vacations.

First, the taunt. My best riding buddy followed me for years on the old 88 dale and I soundly beat him in every training ride, time trial or race (with the exception of a duatholon where he admitted to ephedra use just to beat me)when we competed in our twenties and before we became weekend duffers. In early stages of fatherhood, I got out of shape and he beat the crap out of me without mercy through my early thirties. Eventually, children get older and wives become more tolerant and the late thirties became more even for both of us. So, if I am really feeling good, I take the old 'dale out to psyche him out. If I can beat him on that old machine, all the more sweeter. If I am chasing him, it becomes, you can't even drop me on this piece of crap.

Second, the trap. Set your old Litespeed up with an old straight block and no real climbing gear. Then take any visiting friend out on a ride in the hills. There is nothing more fun than watching your buddy try and climb a huge steepy in the wrong gear. Ten speed rears has made this less fun, but the old dale has a 42/17 as its lowest gear, so it's always fun.

Third, the vacation house bike. During the summer, I keep the old dale at my father in laws shore house. That way you prolong the argument with the wife. If I loaded my new bike on the back of the car before we went down, it would be, "can't you just skip a ride this weekend. " As opposed to the 6:00 am wake up, "I can't sleep so I am just going to get a quick spin in, I'll be back before breakfast."

 

I suffered from the same, so I took my bike apart and took it to a custom car paint shop, now I have a nicer looking bike than anyone in the world! well, maybe not..