Does anyone else feel like they wasted their BTW?

rollingscone

Hey,

Am I alone in regretting upgrading from my old commuter to a shinier new (lighter and faster) commuter on the bike to work?

At the time I never thought I'd want to cycle beyond the two and from work and around town.

Now I've been upping the mileage and desperately wishing for drops and a faster bike (although the current daydream is a Cross bike for Commuting, spins, Gaelforce and....taking up Cross).

Is there a support group for sadcases like me?

Getting married next year, so the mere act of having taken a test spin on another bike caused ructions at home...

Leroy42

First off, don't be worried or ashamed that you now want more. We are conditioned to believe that bikes are a waste of time and money so most people opt for the mid range even if they have more money for fear it will be a waste. You have now been bitten by the bug. It's great, you will be fitter, faster and travel more than most of your friends.

Unfortunately, it also means that pretty much from now on you will spend an inordinate amount of time looking at bikes, thinking about bikes, reviewing bikes and messing with your bike, and that's before the cycling even begins!

You really need to sit down now with your significant other and explain this new reality, cos if they're pee'd off about you even thinking about a new bike imagine the problems trying to explain why you need a fifth bike, and that the kids playroom/conservatory/home office is now to be reconfigured as a bike workshop!

G rock

nope,

i got an entry level road bike on BTW last year.

kind of wishing i had just bought the road bike and kept the BTW for something even better!

although i have the sneaking suspicion that no matter what i got on it i'd always be thinking that i should have held out for something else!

where does this madness end?!

Lumen

rollingscone wrote: »

Getting married next year, so the mere act of having taken a test spin on another bike caused ructions at home...

You need to get on top of that one, ASAP.

victorcarrera

rollingscone wrote: »

...

Is there a support group for sadcases like me?

Getting married next year, so the mere act of having taken a test spin on another bike caused ructions at home...

Jealousy is not a desirable quality.
You still have time to change your mind.

"We need to talk...etc"

All the best with which ever one you chose.

VanhireBoys

OP You are bit for sure...!

Same as us all...

My shortcoming is 80's bikes.. I recently built up a 1988 Pug 501 ! Happy until I spied a 1983 Pug PX10 DU .. So I bought that...

Wife asked why and I just couldnt explain it in any plausible form. I told her it was an old classic bike that I will take out for the odd spin when the day is fine...! It is now in the spare room under one of her blankets !

Well its only a bike - its your distraction from the foibles that this life throws at you - it would be worse if you drank and partied excessively !

My advice - Tell her you are getting a road bike for the weekends and keep the hybrid for the commute.. and thats the bottom line....You can get a nice decent road bike 2nd hand for €600 .. €600 does not go too far at a wedding !

Leroy42

How about this. Tell your significant other that you would much rather spend €2K on a top class carbon framed mono tubular whatsit thingy frame with full SRAM/Shimano/Campag etc that will last for years and be used exhautisivley (although probably leave out the fact that this actually means you will be gone for hours on end!)

Much rather that than spending the same amount on swan shaped napkins, or wedding favours or those must have flowers for the church or that designer dress that will only be worn once!!!!

Or rented limos for the wedding party or...or...or.....

Put down the house rules now, or get the hell out of dodge. We cyclists are a rare, and if we are honest, a strange bunch. Most people don't get us, but if you can find someone who does then life can be truly sweet.

Maybe call Chill insurance, according to their aids they can handle breakups for you:D:D:D

Plastik

She's getting an €xx,xxx (?) wedding. You're getting an €x,xxx bike. You bike might not even be one tenth the cost of the wedding. It might not even be the cost of her dress.

seven stars

I'd be interested in a support group. I felt like I'd wasted my BTW within a matter of weeks. I was already thinking about the resale value of my new commuter, for the purposes of upgrading to a proper road bike, and I reasoned that I'd probaby get around half what I paid for it - therefore negating the benefit of the BTW in the first place.

ednwireland

nope already had a nice carbon frame, had just broken my going to work bike so it got replaced with something that actually suited the job better than what it replaced.

bustopher

"cyclists are a rare, and if we are honest, a strange bunch. Most people don't get us, but if you can find someone who does then life can be truly sweet" - Leroy

I read somewhere (here?) that normal people view porn websites with something like CRC running in the background in case they need to switch suddenly. But cyclists have to reverse this.

Dermot Illogical

werhon wrote: »

Well its only a bike - its your distraction from the foibles that this life throws at you - it would be worse if you drank and partied excessively !

Cycling and excessive drinking/partying are not mutually exclusive, thank Spaghetti Monster.

I'd suggest getting another bike for the trip to the church for the wedding.

rollingscone

RT66 wrote: »

werhon wrote: »

Well its only a bike - its your distraction from the foibles that this life throws at you - it would be worse if you drank and partied excessively !

Cycling and excessive drinking/partying are not mutually exclusive, thank Spaghetti Monster.

I don't drink or smoke and work hard to stay fit despite a stressful office job.

Taught her to ride a bike in the summer so hoping next spring that the cycle seduction might proceed to her taking my hybrid.

The deal now is that when I get a payrise I can get a new bike... Which sadly has motivated me to study/scheme/apply far more than any grown up factors.

Ps: We're having an uber cheap non traditional wedding

smacl

rollingscone wrote: »

I don't drink or smoke and work hard to stay fit despite a stressful office job.

Sounds like you're a bit short on vice there. Buy the damn bike. We all need our vices to keep us sane. Just get your lady to indulge herself similarly to keep it all fair and above board, and avoid the whole guilt / finger pointing thing later when funds are low.

€600 does not go too far at a wedding !

Whatever you're into I guess. For me, an hour or so in the registry office with my better half and our kids. Zappa and the Ramones for a bit of mood music, followed by a fantastic dinner and night out. One of the best days of my life, didn't cost so much at all, probably change out of €500.

levitronix

BTW got me a new set of ksyrium sl's for 398 euro so im laughing all the way

portron niner

I spazzed my BTW on a fs mountain bike for €950. I was CONVINCED I'd be able to get out & have a blast on the hills at least once a month. It ended up being the heaviest commuting machine ever. I wish I'd just bought a proper road bike without any fecking around. I've had it about 2 & a half years now and never use it due to the fact that I have the use of my Dad's Bianchi Via Nirone that he NEVER uses. Circle of life.....

levitronix

quick question is the BTW every 3 years ?

portron niner

levitronix wrote: »

quick question is the BTW every 3 years ?

Once every five years according to biketowork.ie (commercial site, not government affiliated).

manwithaplan

rollingscone wrote: »

hoping next spring that the cycle seduction might proceed to her taking my hybrid.

She fits your hybrid? Clearly too tall for you. Find a bike-loving midget before it's too late.

rollingscone

manwithaplan wrote: »

She fits your hybrid? Clearly too tall for you. Find a bike-loving midget before it's too late.

Not at all, I've got a couple of inches on her, but my Hybrid has a downward sloping top tube and she's got extra leg length for similar ground clearance.

And most importantly, it neatly folds away the "why do you need two bikes" argument.

Joey Joe-Joe Jr

I bought a road bike (from the Boards adverts forum incidentally) earlier in the year. I've just bought a cross bike on BTW.
I mentioned it to "herself" and got the old...
"Why do you need TWO bikes?"
"The new bike I'm getting is a cyclocross bike dear, it's a COMPLETELY different kind of bike!", I scoffed.

She arrived home last Saturday to find me working on the new cross bike in the utility room.
"Oh, I thought you were supposed to be picking up your new bike today, what happened?"
"This IS the new bike!" I say.
"That's exactly the same as the one you already had...!":mad:

As you can imagine, the subtle differences were lost on her, bless!

Now, is anybody selling a hardtail MTB, tourer, full-sus, hybrid, unicycle....

eyesquirm

didn't waste it in the fact that I am very happy with the bike I got, but I didn't take full advantage of it as I went to the wrong shop.

braintoxic

I love my bike but i live on everest and off a stupid busy main road so no fun to ride . I cant cycle to work as i wear a uniform n il stink of sweat as its a 27 k commute. My bike is ok but i want an entry level road bike now . My bike lives in d spare room .she told me when i paid 400 for it that it would end up not being used . I hate that she was right cause i love to cycle . How can i now justify 900 for d bike i really want. I would move house just to be able to cycle more ......n still my bike lives in d spare room

Iwannahurl

rollingscone wrote: »

Getting married next year, so the mere act of having taken a test spin on another bike caused ructions at home...

Buy a tandem for the wedding.

Plastik

braintoxic wrote: »

I love my bike but i live on everest and off a stupid busy main road so no fun to ride . I cant cycle to work as i wear a uniform n il stink of sweat as its a 27 k commute. My bike is ok but i want an entry level road bike now . My bike lives in d spare room .she told me when i paid 400 for it that it would end up not being used . I hate that she was right cause i love to cycle . How can i now justify 900 for d bike i really want. I would move house just to be able to cycle more ......n still my bike lives in d spare room

Looks like you rolled out the cyclist excuse book for this post

- Everest is not in Ireland, go out an conquer your hill;
- Main roads are rarely 'fun', it's the other roads you spend the majority of your time on;
- I try to commute once a week to work at the moment, 33k each way. I do it more often in the summer. I bring clothes in and leave them in work to change into. Can you not do the same?

ednwireland

braintoxic wrote: »

I love my bike but i live on everest and off a stupid busy main road so no fun to ride . I cant cycle to work as i wear a uniform n il stink of sweat as its a 27 k commute. My bike is ok but i want an entry level road bike now . My bike lives in d spare room .she told me when i paid 400 for it that it would end up not being used . I hate that she was right cause i love to cycle . How can i now justify 900 for d bike i really want. I would move house just to be able to cycle more ......n still my bike lives in d spare room

every time i cycle home i go up this

studiorat

get her a bike, one of her own. That's what I did. Now she commutes everyday and leaves me for dead in the hills, want's a road bike next and I get to store two bikes in the sitting room and one in the hall. Result!!

Still waiting for a BTW plunge though.

Mycroft H

Just buy one and hide it in the shed, and when its found, claim it was always there, and its only worthless junk

braintoxic

ednwireland wrote: »

braintoxic wrote: »

I love my bike but i live on everest and off a stupid busy main road so no fun to ride . I cant cycle to work as i wear a uniform n il stink of sweat as its a 27 k commute. My bike is ok but i want an entry level road bike now . My bike lives in d spare room .she told me when i paid 400 for it that it would end up not being used . I hate that she was right cause i love to cycle . How can i now justify 900 for d bike i really want. I would move house just to be able to cycle more ......n still my bike lives in d spare room

every time i cycle home i go up this

Looks about right

ednwireland

braintoxic wrote: »

Looks about right

well if a fat git like me can do it ...............

smacl

braintoxic wrote: »

I love my bike but i live on everest and off a stupid busy main road so no fun to ride . I cant cycle to work as i wear a uniform n il stink of sweat as its a 27 k commute. My bike is ok but i want an entry level road bike now . My bike lives in d spare room .she told me when i paid 400 for it that it would end up not being used . I hate that she was right cause i love to cycle . How can i now justify 900 for d bike i really want. I would move house just to be able to cycle more ......n still my bike lives in d spare room

Hills just take a bit of getting used to, which is probably better done at the weekend or in the evenings rather than before a days work. My main bike is a 13kg-15kg hybrid depending on whether I've a carrier fitted, usually the latter. My regular spin now includes cruagh road, on up to the sally gap and beyond. Starting out this included quite a few breaks on the hill, but over a year these gradually disappeared. I still puff and pant, but keep going ok. Hybrids/commuters typically tend to include low gearing, so hills are more slow than difficult. I don't find the road bike makes things easier, just faster. For me this means 24-26kph average rather than the 20-22kph average on the hybrid. I'd tend to conquer the hill first and buy the new bike afterwards, or you could end up with two unused bikes in the spare room.

The other thing worth considering is if you have a tough climb into work, you've a glorious descent coming home, which could be a real gift after a hard day. You certainly would want proper cycling gear for a 27k commute, and change when you get to work.

paddyduc

Nice Hill. Embrace it!!

Timmyboy

Lumen wrote: »

You need to get on top of that one, ASAP.

Totally.
Prepare yourself. Stand your ground and be the man/cyclist that you want to be and must be. You are a cycle man and so it is. Love it or shove it. Really.

braintoxic

Timmyboy wrote: »

Lumen wrote: »

You need to get on top of that one, ASAP.

Totally.
Prepare yourself. Stand your ground and be the man/cyclist that you want to be and must be. You are a cycle man and so it is. Love it or shove it. Really.

Obsess much ??