A little light hearted, there are bigger problems in the the worldā¦
With a 2016 frame on handbuilt 50ās and 105 with rim brakes and in very condition and a bike that I like, i decided this would be the year Iād treat myself to a new more aero, ālectric geared, replacement bike.
Iāve done alot of searching and read a lot of reviews about Bianchiās and Cervelo etc, and finally found a 2020 AXS TCR Pro 0 Disc on offer available now in black for $5000. It could be mine next week.
Thing is, I canāt bring myself to buy it. Because of the worlds issues I know this might be the last chance I get to buy such a machine at this price, but Iāve become emotionally detached and fixated on saving the cash instead.
Serious q: what else would you do with the cash? Is there a wider plan here?
If youāre saving for something meaningful, or feel you need to establish a savings pot, then absolutely do that; financial security obviously comes first. I also think there may just be bikes around for a while yet
But if your finances are steady, I doubt a similar bike will be less expensive in the future. Being emotionally detached from a purchase is no bad thing, but do remember you only live once.
Well, essentially itād go into a very poorly paying savings account or a Vanguard (passive investment) account for our retirement find whichād top up our pension savings.
Iām balancing that, N+1 (because lets face it I can ride my current bike as fast as my club colleagues and donāt race road bikes) and the fact āonly live oneā attitude the latter on the basis a close friend of mine died from Covid recently, you never know when your time is up.
Its nice to have new things, discs, AXS etc, although I donāt needed itā¦
I suppose the question is would $5k make a big difference to the retirement fund? Iām absolutely not asking for personal info, just sort of trying to say that if thereās several hundred k in said fund, 5k is a arguably a bit irrelevant; if thereās 15k, itās a different argumentā¦
Totally a personal thing. If you donāt need the money (i.e. youād be perfectly secure financially without it), then I would use it on something to make me or my family happy. But I wouldnāt spend money that would leave me worrying about it afterwards. Hope that makes sense.
Honestly felt the same for a while, I have all the bikes I want/need, and the draw of something new is low. Iād say if you donāt actually feel like upgrading your current bike, just donāt - new isnāt always better. But if that new bike is your dream bike and youāre just hesistant to part with the cash, just go for it. Iāve found that when you live on very little money for a while, but then get a new better job etc, it actually takes a bit to allow yourself to spend again. Maybe youāve just got into the habit of saving, but you donāt actually need to?
If you donāt want it, donāt get it. Your current bike is great so thereās clearly no need for it. Listen to your head, absolutely no reason to do something that will make you feel guilty or that you wonāt be psyched about. There will always be bikes to buy if the motivation to purchase comes back again.
@RecoveryRide I wonāt bore you with the long story - I used to be very materialistic, decided to change and in the 4 years I was changing work got pretty lucrative - weāve saved a big chunk TBH, in that the Ā£5k wouldnāt be an impact to our goals. However, now Iām the other way, canāt bear to part with it, a. bit like @splash says, and I should have never read Mr Money Mustache
All good points then, I think I should save the cash and enjoy my current bike, the way things are going I might need $5k for a new cassette I the future!
I really like his philosophy - in moderation. If you adhere to it too closely, you end up doing nothing to ātreat yourselfā in life, and you end up in a downward spiral towards being a miser a la Silas Marner (a little bit of dramatic exaggeration there ).
Thereās a balance to be had - save enough so your family is financially secure, so that you can āretireā a few years early, but that you enjoy yourself along the way.
I donāt spend with much frequency on life āluxuriesā, but when I do, I make it count. To me, a bike falls in the āmake it countā category.
Sorry to hear about your friend. I had 2 friends die from cancer last year. Puts things in perspective that we donāt have much time on this planet.
So Iāll be the devil on your shoulder - if you really want the bike, and can afford it, go for it.
+1. I went through the same mental process a couple of years ago, and ended up buying the bike (as a birthday present to myself to help justify it) and donāt regret it for a minute. Fast forward a year and circumstances pushed me into early retirement - fortunately the spend on the bike didnāt have huge impact, but given the change in my income thereās absolutely no way Iād buy it now.
So Iām glad I bought it whilst I could. It makes me happy. Even walking past it makes me smile, let alone riding it.
We buy bikes because we like them and want to ride them. It is an emotional process. We rarely buy bikes just because we can.
When advising people which bike to buy, my default is almost always ā the one you like moreā. People that opt for their second choice usually arenāt satisfied after a while and wish they had followed their gut.
In this case, Iād give the same advice, but on the other side of the coin. Your heart isnāt in the purchase, so why make it? My guess is youāll come to regret making the purchase.
And n+1 is a lifetime rule / processā¦it will always hold true at some point, but that point doesnāt always need to be this particular moment in time.
Iām gonna look at this a different way than a few of you. I bought my sl6 pro in May of 2019 when I probably SHOULDNāT have financially. However I felt I needed a new bike and would not have been happy with anything less at the time. I knew in my head it was a purchase that I did not NEED to make but I did it anyway because it was what I truly wanted in a bike, it checked every box for a new bike purchase. I kept going back and forth on what brand and model to get for 2 years before that. I had always wanted a Tarmac and when they first offered a build with Sram force axs I swooned and knew it was the one. I absolutely love this bike and genuinely smile every time I see it. In hindsight itās made me so happy over the last two years. So back to finances, I should not have bought this bike when I did however, it forced me to get serious about my finances afterward and sent me on a savings and debt reduction spree. Fast forward to today and I have just bought my first home and will be debt free aside from that home next month. Hereās the best part, I have no interest in upgrading to a new bike because I love mine so much. I believe that a new bike purchase should elicit an emotional response otherwise whatās the point.
In summary from your post it sounds like you really want a new bike but arenāt sold on this one. If you donāt feel like you canāt carry on without this bike then why spend the money. Hold the $ as your bike fund and Wait until something comes along that you have an emotional response to and you may be happier in the long run. Just my two cents from a guy who couldnāt afford his bike when he got it
Some very good points. I canāt buy the bike off a complete logical checklist of parts, and as above I really want the feeling of being able to impatiently anticipated ānext weekends rideā becuase of that emotional investment.
Back to gazing at the Bianchi Oltre XR3 even if I couldnāt afford the Di2ā¦