Blah blah blah blah......well it’s not your money, so why worry about what he wants to spend it on
If you had 4k... what would you buy!
- Thread starter donaldb7340
- Start date
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Having to buy from one site does make life a bit more difficult.
If you're looking at a new bike now and can go all through summer, then wait till autumn for this years bikes to be discounted, before buying then
a) you've got more willpower than me
b) you can save a fair bit of cash at this level.
I was originally looking to buy the Ultegra Synapse as the step up to Ultegra Di2 is £1100 at full price - with not a lot else different between the two bikes.
However I spotted that Rutland Cycles had the Ultegra Di2 version in the right size for me, in their sale with £900 off.
Now that I've ridden the bike a few times I can say I really like the Di2. Is it worth £1100 more, I'm not so sure about that but I'm more than happy I paid that £200.
Randomnerd
Bimbleur
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Another vote for a Hallett. A fast, compliant, beautiful steel road bike to fit like a glove.
When l retire l want to pootle around for a few months, starting in spring in Spain, then France, Italy & central Europe. I'd really like a Thorn Nomad Rohloff with a few extras to get the cost to £4k.
Our plan is to do that for 6 months, but in a Mercedes SL, we’ll buy one for trip and sell it when we get home.
We bought a mint MK1 1992 MX5 to do the same.
uphillstruggler
Guru
- Location
- Half way there
I bought this recently, Reynolds 725 frame with 105 full disk groupset
Under £900 quid because it was last years model with a scratch on the forks. As people have said up thread, depreciation is massive at the point your thinking about unless you’re in it for something that will last a lifetime, then the cost is irrelevant
The CDF is an Amazing bike that may just be the best thing I own. It’s capable of so much more than I can chuck at I it but that’s the point. I will be bike packing and bridle way riding once we are allowed out again
In the end, if you’re dropping 4K on a bike, then at least get one that fits and makes you smile
Best of luck with your decision and pictures are a must
Under £900 quid because it was last years model with a scratch on the forks. As people have said up thread, depreciation is massive at the point your thinking about unless you’re in it for something that will last a lifetime, then the cost is irrelevant
The CDF is an Amazing bike that may just be the best thing I own. It’s capable of so much more than I can chuck at I it but that’s the point. I will be bike packing and bridle way riding once we are allowed out again
In the end, if you’re dropping 4K on a bike, then at least get one that fits and makes you smile
Best of luck with your decision and pictures are a must
Brooks
Senior Member
- Location
- S.E. London
£4 grand seems a hell of a lot of dosh to me but what do I know. If I had £1500 I'd be stuck to choose between the tour de fer 20 and the surly disc trucker, I really like the look of both those bikes. I think I'd be a happy man with either of those beauties 😀🚴
Seevio
Guru
- Location
- South Glos
I wouldn't spend £4K on a cycle unless it was a case of buy a bike or lose it. Or maybe if I was corrupt oil state ruler rich.
But if I had to, I quite fancy the look of one of them Ice trikes:- the sporty ones, not the ones that look like they've been welded together from bits of an old 1970s pram.
But if I had to, I quite fancy the look of one of them Ice trikes:- the sporty ones, not the ones that look like they've been welded together from bits of an old 1970s pram.
SkipdiverJohn
Deplorable Brexiteer
- Location
- London
The trouble is, most of the silly expensive stuff that people drool over is made of CF, not steel, and there's no way you can consider a CF frame to have a virtually infinite lifespan. They depreciate like a stone, worse still they are deliberately rendered obsolescent by the manufacturers who keep changing the models every five minutes to try to drive more MAMIL sales, and they are at much greater risk than steel of being rendered landfill fodder in the event of an accident. I consider CF bikes to be disposable plastic objects not durable long life products.
Whilst it's possible to rationalise why a custom steel or titanium build could end up costing £4k, and it would hold value a bit better than CF, unless the rider is an unusual size or has unusual body proportions, I really don't see why an expensive custom build would give you anything that you can't get from an off the peg frame, new or secondhand.
Many posts of the "what should I get with £Xk" variety are thinly veiled appeals for approval rather than real questions, IMHO. Someone who has the cash, but can't in all honestly justify spending that much, will ask the question in the hope of getting reams of replies approving of one of the possible options they would like but really know is wasteful extravagance. Then, if they do go ahead and make the purchase they can justify it in their own heads by saying "well loads of other cyclists on this forum reckon it was a really good choice", even though the very act of wheeling the new bike through the front door of the shop out on to the pavement so it becomes a used bike, has just cost then two grand......
Randomnerd
Bimbleur
- Location
- North Yorkshire
Hey @SkipdiverJohn. We all know your opinion by now, and of course you’re entitled to it. However, to me it’s just cluttering up the internet with ”more of the same”. We know you’re into recycling, but this has been round too many times, to me.
When you focus on value, you must not always just see pound signs.
Part of my living is scratched - and I mean literally scratched - from making things in wood. When I tout my things made from wood in the market, they are often twenty times the market value of the things made in wood but not made with hands, heart and eyes. Machine made stuff.
Along comes Skipjumper Sandra: “Ooh, how much? What do you do with it? Put it on the wall and look at it?”
“Move along missus. Nothing for you here. Good day.”
Sandra just doesn‘t get it, that I spent years locked away in a workshop honing and refining my ability to make a thing for her. Sandra doesn’t have the heart that would sing each time she used that thing, as it warmed with age, softened and eased into her daily routine. Would Sandra appreciate how the thing just fits, just does the job, is thought out with the care wrought of generations of craft? Nope. Sandra just wants a cheap one.
Of course some people buy things which are handmade to set themselves apart, to show off. Of course some people lower down the income bracket look to find justification for spending two months’ salary on something seemingly frivolous.
Let’s allow one another to have some fun, to reach for things we can’t have, to have beautiful things crafted by people who care. Isn’t it a better world where the skips are empty because people keep their stuff? ( Now, there we go! Maybe you’re concerned you’ll have to change your handle if everyone’s happy with their spendy steed! And all the skips are empty)
To all the Sandras out there. You ride your bike, and I’ll ride mine
When you focus on value, you must not always just see pound signs.
Part of my living is scratched - and I mean literally scratched - from making things in wood. When I tout my things made from wood in the market, they are often twenty times the market value of the things made in wood but not made with hands, heart and eyes. Machine made stuff.
Along comes Skipjumper Sandra: “Ooh, how much? What do you do with it? Put it on the wall and look at it?”
“Move along missus. Nothing for you here. Good day.”
Sandra just doesn‘t get it, that I spent years locked away in a workshop honing and refining my ability to make a thing for her. Sandra doesn’t have the heart that would sing each time she used that thing, as it warmed with age, softened and eased into her daily routine. Would Sandra appreciate how the thing just fits, just does the job, is thought out with the care wrought of generations of craft? Nope. Sandra just wants a cheap one.
Of course some people buy things which are handmade to set themselves apart, to show off. Of course some people lower down the income bracket look to find justification for spending two months’ salary on something seemingly frivolous.
Let’s allow one another to have some fun, to reach for things we can’t have, to have beautiful things crafted by people who care. Isn’t it a better world where the skips are empty because people keep their stuff? ( Now, there we go! Maybe you’re concerned you’ll have to change your handle if everyone’s happy with their spendy steed! And all the skips are empty)
To all the Sandras out there. You ride your bike, and I’ll ride mine
uphillstruggler
Guru
- Location
- Half way there
Hello.
While I understand your approach to up cycling etc, to call someone’s potential purchase as “silly expensive” Is a bit harsh. It’s their money earner however so if they are looking at paying an amount, whether it’s 4K or 4 quid, it’s up to people in here to help if possible.
Just because the CF bike doesn’t float your boat, doesn’t mean that it’s not desirable by others.
For my part, everyone of my bikes is steel, from the £10 Peugeot to the 2k CDF (although I didn’t pay that much for it). Why haven’t I got a CF bike? Probably because I don’t really think it would suit my lazy arse approach to care and heavy handed riding but that doesn’t mean that if I fancied one and had the money to spend, it would be silly.
As I have pointed out before, I like your approach to all of this, I just think you may need to tone down the way you explain your point of view
This is after all, the friendly cycle forum
Globalti
Legendary Member
Another vote for a 2020 Roubaix. It's an extraordinary bike, great handling, fast (really!) comfortable and smooth. For £4000 I'd go for an Expert but get it built up with cable Dura Ace for light weight and no batteries. It won't take a rack though, so you'd have to have a frame bag or hang something off the seatpost.
Globalti
Legendary Member
Have you ever actually ridden a £4000 bike? After all this is over, nip to my house and I'll lend you my hooligan bike to try.
