Especially ones that let you keep a top-notch road bike as part of the deal! Not many!DMF said:Think a health club membership can be had for $8/week?
Back to the OP's situation...
Sometimes it can be easier to let your friends do the 'persuading' for you. It's simple... you tell your friends to come along for a ride, but stop at home for refreshments at the end of the journey. The trick is to brief your friends prior to meeting your wife and get them to make comment to your wife that if you had a bike of equal standard as the rest of the group, then you'd be able to keep up with the group when riding (assuming they have the type of bike you desire). Furthermore, get your 'ambassador' buddy to mention the fact that his wife had no objections to him spending the money on his own recreational pastime. If you can get someone to do the talking, it might be more acceptable to your wife if it comes from a 3rd party. Maybe, maybe not, but it's worth a try.
I think that if you're an active rider who does a reasonable amount of miles per week / month, then you may have a strong case to get what you want. If you don't ride much due to time constraints / conflicts with other commitments (eg time spent with wife & kids) or even unsuitable weather conditions, then it's not going to be easy to convince your wife that a premium bike purchase will be justified. This is pretty much the situation I'm in now, as my current bike is 'good enough' for my style of riding & the amount of riding I do, despite the fact that I was lusting for a nice BIANCHI (purely for sentimental reasons like a Bimota or Lamborghini, except the Bianchi was at least 'affordable'). Anyway, so I never did get the Bianchi, and my current bike isn't too bad. With a set of Continental Gator Skin tyres and a simple strategy to improve my stamina, I'm probably going as fast on my Giant CRX (FCR equivalent) as a Bianchi anyway. And the Giant's riding position is probably a bit more comfy too.