[Closed] a loss of the urge for bling?

Nope, completely lost interest in the bling as well! Definitely something to do with getting old I think 😉

Nope.
But the bike industry hate you.

I think it's a "happy with what you've got thing". I'm perfectly happy with my 26" Anthem X and my 26" Inbred 853 SS. Bike and component tests don't hold any interest for me either.

I've paid a bit more attention to road bike tests recently because I was looking for a new "big mountains in Europe" bike. Now I've got one I can't see me spending much time reading about them. Until the next bike itch comes along.

Well I don't think I'm THAT old, but have pretty much decided that all the kind of bikes that are featured in tests, mags, online articles etc. are way more than I'll ever pay for a push iron.

It's interesting that upto £2500 bikes are dominating the poll on the from page right now. I hope this prompts Singletrack to focus more upto mid price-range tests for the mag in future, rather than the exotic wonderwheels that are often featured.

I know they do mix it up occasionally, but I think the balance is a skewed too far to the pricey end of the spectra,

I think it's a "happy with what you've got thing"

That about sums it up for me. I have all the bikes I need but they're not exactly bling or stuff someone wouldn't want to steal; they're just decent bikes fit for purpose.

I don't desire most new stuff but I still have an interest in where it's all heading.

I used to spend lots of my time in bike shops, and spent lots of money in them. Can't remember the last time I was in one, and don't even tend to pause to look in the window when walking past. It's not just you.

i have got to the stage, where if i do go in a bike shop, i will pick a item up, see the price, and put it down, walking away shaking my head in disbelief.

I did have this affliction until last night when I saw a brand new YT Capra CF Pro Race in the flesh and now I"ve got the itch again.

It was nice wasn't it

Don't worry, you are completely normal. I now ride a fully rigid singlespeed bike all the time, everywhere and enjoy riding as much as ever. couldn't care less about the latest bike bling, IT ADDS NOTHING !!!.
welcome to a far more enjoyable, less guilt ridden stage in your bikeing.

Ton... Yes.

Love my 26 camber. I am super fit (ish) so it's awesome passing all the 29ers enduro **** 650b **** carbon **** boys / girls on the trails in swinley. Even better when I take my fully ridgid 200 squid frankenbastard out. It's all bikes..... But twit me.... Bike stuff and bikes have gone silly now. I laugh every time I see a carbon bronson being carried over a small puddle (see that Weekly).... And before you holier than thou ball sacks start waving off.... I would love a bronson! Just cannot afford one.....but to be fair.... All the people I have seen on them cannot ride more than 50m before having to down the contents of their camel back and eat 8 energy bars (throwing wrappers on the floor). Grrrrr

Its now financial necessity

But to be honest I never really got it about anything after about the age of 20 (now 48)

It should work

I got to the end of a short ride today worried that something was up with the forks

I just thought could I manage with just a Genesis Longitude. I don't think me body can do single speed so that's as simple as I could go

+1 aracer

Possibly related to having less free time to ride now so just enjoy riding the bikes I have and would rather spend the money on other things than the latest new toy.

There comes a point when you realise that there is no correlation between how shiney your bike is and how much fun you have riding it.

Erm...

Erm..

Erm......

I'm the opposite.

I fiddle and faff with the bloody things all the time. Constant cleaning, lubing, fettling, changing Bar Tape, scanning tyres for cuts, endless brake blocks/pads de gunking. Almost, very nearly almost, changing tyres on a daily basis.

But then I have got the time ATM, so I think if I ride the bloody things hard all day they do deserve a LOT of TLC.

I do however take your point about LBS and stuff in there, hardly ever do I find something that's a) useful b) i need c) carry homeable on the bike.

Ohh hang on, I lost a rear light the other day so popped into Hargroves in Fareham to buy another, just for the 10k journey home on the road. So hey there you go, I contradict myself. 😆

yes, i just bought some deore brakes for my single speed, whereas a few years ago i would have to have xt. rather spend the money on going away somewhere nice to ride. dont buy loads of mags anymore as they were getting a bit samey. i have a hope laden full sus but i always seem to throw the single speed in the van when we go riding, and thats made from secondhand bits i had laying around, old tyres and so on (apart from my shiny new 70m quid brakes) and i love riding it.

I guess I'm a bit the other way. My bike is my only vice and I like trying stuff out. I don't spend huge amounts of money and tend to sell my stuff before if gets to the point of it being worth FA so it's minimal outlay to try something new.
I'd love to be able to afford a brand new bike but my old 2009, 26" wheeled bike is a plenty good enough bike for me.

I'm more on the fiddling with components rather than buying new bikes. Changing grips, stems, handlebars that sort of thing. If only I could find a jones h bar for a reasonable price.
Big on the low maintenence idea though, hub gears on 2 bikes and ridged forks.

Sat through a Shimano new stuff presentation a while back and dozed off during DI2 XTR. Jetlag mixed with a genuine lack of seeing much point in stuff like that. Nice for those that want / afford it though, I see a 6k bike and think it's cool that someone likes bikes enough to spend that much. Not for me though, I tend to trash/use my bikes a lot and it's almost too good for that? If you won't be upset to see it worn down and scuffed up it's all good. So not sure about bling but I'll pay good money for good kit that does what I want, lasts well and is serviceable. Quality and durability over tech.

yep, built up singlespeed with some 10 yr old hayes something or other brakes look like they are off a motorcycle, work great though with great modulation... dt5.1 rims, spesh bars and stem and some 2006 fox floats with a scratched stantions (some hamfisted fettling by yours truely). The whole thing rides lovely.

Got a hardtail on 1x9 that has every component just how I want & a roadbike that I'll never find the limitations of.
Now just concentrate on keeping them as close to 100% fettled as I can and ride them as far and often as I can.
Bling, bah 🙂

Yep, think it may be an age thing. I'm nearly 40 and just buy what I need as opposed to want I desire or what the industry tells me i need.

We live in an age where your smartphone is supposedly obsolete in 12 months as your iPhone 5 becomes the 5S, bikes that are no different to last years model are labelled as '14 and '15 purely based on paint scheme and command a ludicrous premium etc etc....

I find I get more satisfaction spending money on people and experiences/memories (holidays, dinner, night out) than just buying more stuff....also finding less appeal with sales pushing products at prices I used to struggle to resist until it dawned on me that there is ALWAYS a sale on somewhere!....it may not be where you usually shop but someone somewhere has what you want at sale prices, chill out there's no rush...by buying every bargain you see you'll end up with stuff you don't need and it becomes clutter.

i just buy top end/boutique and it stops the lust, simple

did the weenie phase, now prefer reliable

ton - Member
anyone else got this? is it a age thing?

new bike tests no longer grab my attention, i have no interest in the latest forks/wheelsets/bars/brakes or even clothing.
i dont want infinite trvel on a bike, i dont want any maintenance, i want to just get on my bike, go for a ride, and put it away until next time.
i dont want anything desirable that scrotes want to pinch.
i no longer even look at bike mags in WH Smiths.

am i odd?

I'm mostly this way now, took a few years but I really have no urge to spend on high end stuff anymore, as long as my bikes are fun to ride, durable and value for money, that's all I care about.

Plenty better things to spend money on.

Shame, as I get a good discount on stuff in my job.

anyone else got this?

Yup.
For me it was starting as an LBS mechanic that did it. I work on sooooo much low end stuff (I'm talking Acera level here) and it works brilliantly. It's cheap and effective.
For example I've bought 2 bikes recently that both retail at £850 and they're fantastic. Couple of cheap upgrades on each for convenience or comfort and they're spot on. Sora and SRAM X5 are ace. Why spend any more? 🙂

I thought so, but having recently totted up my 2014 bike related spending it would appear not! Having said that, it is all quality functional stuff rather than anything perticularly blingy or fashionable. Certainly don't have the shiny bike lust I had a few years back.

PeterPoddy - Member
...£850...Why spend any more

to get sealed bearings and light weight.

Tony, like myself, it's an age thing mate!!!

don't think it's age - i only just turned thirty.

I think the bike industry is too interested in tech and not enough in riding.

Acera is plop in my opinion. Tiagra is not bad.... Sora is the best bang for buck over 105 and ultegra****. Guess it's similar to mtb..... Deore brakes beat pretty much anything....... Except earlier deore. Slx again best bang for buck. XT more shiny.... Xtr pointless really to save a few grams. But pp get your point. If you can afford it I guess people spend.... More money equals better in a lot of people's eyes.

I was thinking this very thing this morning.

More interested in decent clothing and stuff that allows me to stay out longer and in more comfort.

I think the bike industry is too interested in tech and not enough in riding.

I think there is some of this. My trail bike for instance, it's nothing particularly fancy, an old alu HT frame, still 26", old KS dropper post, SLX and X9 run 1x10, I think the only carbon is the bars. It's really as good as I need it to be and a fun challenge to ride fast on the sorts of trails it gets used on. I don't think there's anything on it I want to change.

The race bikes on the other hand... 😉

Bikes are far more than just functional objects to me and are my one extravagance in life, so I do like quality stuff. But as time goes on - and as I can afford better stuff - I'm paradoxically questioning value for money a lot more.

I saved £3k to spend on a new bike / upgrading last autumn.

However, I ended-up getting a rigid steel 29er (Stooge), which I'm currently running singlespeed. Because I sold my old hardtail frame, forks and 26er bits, the cost to change was nil.

I still have an XTR 10sp drivetrain in a cupboard, which I'm struggling to find a reason not to put on eBay.

I'd rather have a bling SS that I know I will get maxiumum VFM from, than a bling full sus carbon dream machine that I will not get VFM from. 🙂

[i]"jameso - Member

Sat through a Shimano new stuff presentation a while back and dozed off during DI2 XTR"[/i]

Except that electronic shifting for mtb's is the biggest thing to hit the industry since droppers......but hey you guys in the biz snooze away

I was talking to somebody that had just bought a new bike to replace one he had got less than a year before, not a different bike just the latest model. I mentioned that I'd been thinking of getting a new bike with 3 years interest free credit to which he replied that he couldn't imagine keeping a bike that long. In his defence he has a good relationship with his local shop and he is a guide/coach so he needs a reliable bike but I just found it a bit depressing. I hate the consumer driven world we live in where people are obsessed with the latest shiny thing and things stop working or become obsolete in a couple of years.

I totally get where the OP is coming from, although if bling also means durable then I do draw a line.

About 5 or 6 years ago I stopped fiddling around with Retro bikes (my dream bikes from the early/mid 90's) when I realised that modern geometry and forks had come on leaps and bounds - and massively increased the fun factor of a ride (the advances in technology of modern lights for night riding also takes a lot of credit).
I then found myself fitter than ever and riding a Inbred 853 single speed - something I tried years prior and just didn't get.
Eventually I found myself on a 1x9 Soul with 120mm of super reliable Reba travel and knew I had found more bike than i'd ever need - and promptly stopped lusting over new bikes and bling.

Money has a habit of flying out of my wallet faster than I can ever make it, so I am super happy to have dialled in to a couple of bikes that I love.

Unfortunately I had to sell the Soul last year during a financial crisis but am now rebuilding my SS Inbred and cant wait to get back on the old reliable girl. I even dig the battle scars and shoddy paintwork now, to me the bike not only provides great times but also looks like it been through great times! - its liberating not worrying about scratches to paintwork etc.

So in summary - i'll buy bling brakes (for example) [b]IF[/b] they are known to be super durable, and I know i'll get years of good riding out of them. Otherwise I stay clear of the super bling reviews.
I do keep half an eye on new tech though. My riding has improved in the last few years mainly on the strength of certain advances in the industry.

: )
Winston, jetlag was part of it .. I don't spec any electric xtr either. Electronic mtb kit is top end niche kit for now, won't make any impact on most riders for a while yet. £400+ for a mech.. Very impressive but hard to compare in usefulness to a dropper or ust. I was much more interested in some other stuff they had. I made some notes and checked out the mock ups later, its now on bikes lined up for the summer.
I'd be rubbish working on high tech bikes, not what bikes are about for me and I think we do best with what we believe in and relate to.

to get sealed bearings and light weight.

What's the point? I'm 16 stone and can use a cone spanner!

Whilst I generally agree with most of what you post James and certainly have much less knowledge of the bike industry than you do (or indeed any love of bling - my bikes are a testament to that!), I think that electronic shifting for the masses will appear much sooner than most people think including a lot in the industry. I also think that compared to carbon saddles at £250 a pop and other nonsense it will offer a very real performance upgrade. I'd bet my bike on sub 2k full mtb builds with electronics within 3-4 years from mainstream manufacturers

£250 saddles? 🙂 DI2 on £2k mtbs in 3-4 yrs yes, I expect so. Maybe it'll be seen more widely on e-bikes by then, I think it's great for that.

i want to just get on my bike, go for a ride, and put it away until next time.

Currently my favourite bike is my Arkose. Minimal maintenance and great to ride.

i dont want anything desirable that scrotes want to pinch.

Agree with this. I haven't replaced my full sus bike for this reason

I'd buy cup & cone over sealed bearing hubs every time, but they don't come with shiny red anodising. 🙂

Been like that for the last few years Ton.
The rigid single speed was giving me everything I wanted from an (offroad) bike. The odd squirt of oil aside, its gone over a year without me needing to wield a tool in its direction, until I Knarded up the front last year.
Modern kit even started to bore me. 😐

But, a new bike arrives this week. My first FS bike for a few years.
Not sure where the decision to get a FS again came from, but I'm looking forward to some decent riding again this year.

I still like bike tart stuff these days but am a lot more selective about what I buy. I buy what I ride most so have just got a pickenflick to replace a 2004 Kona Major Jake

I've got to the point with mtb's that my bike has 26" wheels with 9 speed XTR and if I wanted to change to new stuff I'll have to replace the whole bike

Of course the fact that it works extremely well means I don't have to change it at all unless I believe all the marketing crap and buy a 650b.

I used to do the upgrade thing on MTBs but when you realise that what was a great bike one year is still a great bike the following year regardless of what else has come out or what fashion dictates what we should all buy

Although I might build a 650b trail bike (because I never have) using a 456 Carbon I have hanging in my garage....but then again I might not.......that's the joy of being an adult (my daughter may disagree with that) I can build what I want without worrying about what anybody else thinks

and breathe.........rant over

Think Di2 for MTB missed the boat somewhat - it makes a lot less sense for 1x11.

Self trimming front mechs and sequential shifting? No need.

For me it was starting as an LBS mechanic that did it. I work on sooooo much low end stuff (I'm talking Acera level here) and it works brilliantly. It's cheap and effective.

Exactly that. Shimano Claris is a fine example of this and is actually really nice stuff. Its not going to get you a light build but the stuff is fantasicly functional. I have stuck with 9 speed tiagra for the winter bike where a lot of the lads in out road club are running ultegra 6700/6800.! It looks nice but they are no faster for it.

I have to admit was out on my sub £300 fully rigid home build and did not miss my full sus what so ever only thing is could do with being a little lighter but not to silly levels

I was talking to somebody that had just bought a new bike to replace one he had got less than a year before, not a different bike just the latest model. I mentioned that I'd been thinking of getting a new bike with 3 years interest free credit to which he replied that he couldn't imagine keeping a bike that long. In his defence he has a good relationship with his local shop and he is a guide/coach so he needs a reliable bike but I just found it a bit depressing. I hate the consumer driven world we live in where people are obsessed with the latest shiny thing and things stop working or become obsolete in a couple of years.

If it's anything like the people I know in that situation he will be able to sell on a 1 year old bike for close to what he paid for it so the "upgrade" fee to next years model will be negligible and the money spent running the bike will be low for 1 year from new. Economically it makes perfect sense and somebody will still get a 1 year old bargain so good for everyone.

As for the bling question, I like my bikes. I enjoy riding them and I like them to be right. I will upgrade what I want to and make an effort to get the right stuff on to make the ride how I want it to be. I'm positive about the future and that things have got so much better over the years once you remove the rose tinted specs.

Having had to replace a set of sale-bought bikes thanks to local scumbags and a new for old insurance policy in 2007, I ended up with a garage fairly full of bling. It was not a fun experience, and now I'm older I just don't care any more.

I spend a fair bit of time and some money getting what I have set up perfectly, and this seems to continually pay dividends. New stem and setup on the Patriot, and now I'm grinning more than I ever have on a bike and going faster.. again... Cost £20 🙂 I would actually not want to shop for a new bike if you gave me £3k - I've got so much knowledge and feel invested in these bikes, I'd have to start all over again. It took me years to get them set up well!

Yes.

I think part of it is growing up / the money aspect.

When I was younger, I saved for parts. They were a treat and something I looked forwards to. I remember breaking a mech at the start of a summer holiday and if it hadn't been for generous parents, I'd have been off the bike for a few weeks.

Now, I have the money to buy pretty much anything for my bike and that's kind of taken away the thrill. If I break something that needs to be replaced, I do so quickly, but with SLX / XT. Not getting excited for weeks and weeks and imagining how the new XTR is going to transform my bike!

I wonder if another aspect is how good mtbs are nowadays. SLX is great. Most full sussers (and forks) perform well. It's not a like a few years ago where there really were gaping holes in performance.

I've just moved country with minimal possessions. including my excellent mountain bike.

That involved getting rid of a [b][i]massive[/i][/b] amount of spare biking stuff before I left. That felt great, although no doubt I shall miss some of it. The game-plan is to keep the one excellent mountain bike running perfectly, probably by doing an annual replacement of the groupset with good but not super-flashy stuff.

I've always aimed to run my biking on the basis that I try never to want or need anything I can't easily afford, so that emergency spending is painless and going on trips is easy.

🙂

That involved getting rid of a massive amount of spare biking stuff before I left. That felt great, although no doubt I shall miss some of it.

True dat.

Mind, on my first ride here, my fork's damping blew up. I did not have a spare fork before the clearout. 🙂

New shiny fork then 🙂

We've reached the point where new stuff isn't better. Or at least, improvements are rare. 10 speed and clutch mechs are great, but that's about it for the last 5 years.

as an engineering problem, bikes are solved. All that's left is to roll them in glitter.

I think the bike industry is too interested in tech and not enough in riding.

As others have said, even basic level kit is very very good these days. I was looking for some cheap brakes to put on the HT over winter and found some new Shimano 446? 555? 445? 554? etc (can't remember the actual model designation!) that would come as OEM on part of the Acera or Alivio groupsets, they were less than £40 for both ends and came fully bled ready to install....all I did was use some 180mm rotors I already had on the bike and ordered some soft/organic pads from Superstar...they are like hitting the proverbial brick wall, made me question whether I really need the Zees I have on order for my FS.

We're at the point now where the bicycle is essentially a very simple machine that works so well with existing tech that genuine 'game changing' ideas are now few and far between, certainly not coming at you so fast that you need to upgrade your bike annually anyway.
The FS I have now rides the same trails I rode on the previous FS back in 2012, it is no better in any measurable way that I'd notice, it just has a different suspension system and feels different, same Shimano kit, same width bars, same tyres etc...if the previous one hadn't been stolen I'd have kept it (26 inch wheels and all!)...

....electronic shifting will make life easier but it won't change what I can ride on my bike, ultimately that comes down to skill level, bike geometry, tyres and suspension....whether the chain is moved from cog to cog by me pulling on a cable or electronically by hitting a button doesn't actually give me anything to my advantage over the trail so to speak, more research and development into rubber compounds and suspension will do....but this is difficult and time consuming, much easier just to stick Di2 on a bike and 'bling it up' instead...people go mad for that crap!

I'm deffo now a "jump on it and ride" kind of person rather than spending money on it.

Although I did spend a rather extortionate £120 on a new headset for the Charge recently... but I wanted it done quickly and with top class kit, so sucked up the price and went for some Ceramic bearings which certainly should outlast the bike in my ownership

It's got to the stage now where I'm close to selling my AM29 bike and will not replace it with anything (well, a different motorbike, but not a pushbike)

ultimately that comes down to skill level, bike geometry, tyres and suspension

Yes, however geometry is evolving possibly more than anything else currently.

I'm not auric it is conscious but I'm pretty meh when in bike shops these days. Not because I don't like bikes, by because I can't justify the RRP's on stuff.

I'd say that I've got two quite nice MTB's but bought carefully. On the face of it the forks on both are bling, but the Devilles were bought secnd hand and below what they normally sell for and the Fox forms on the other one were ex demo ones from Mojo. I paid less for them than some entry level jobbies from CRC. The rest of the stuff is functional and not bling...Zee mechs, old Atlas AM cranks etc. The few nice bits (wheels and reverbs) were all bought in th sales way below RRP it's voucher codes etc to lessen the pain.

The big thing of new stuff that is good are clutch mechs and dropper posts. Most other tech makes very little difference. With limited time, I'd rather ride the damn thing than read about stuff that I can't afford!

Yep, same here.
I'm all about VFM and reliability these days.
I'll probably buy another road-bike in a couple of years to replace my Defy 1, however it'll be something similar with 105 level kit.

My MTB is a 2010 'Triggers Broom' Boardman with various kit on it. I recently bought new brakes, and am more than happy with the £65 Deores, which feel like they could stop a train (I'm 100KG with all the finese of an angry rhino)
The wheel size thing has annoyed me, and will probably delay me getting a new MTB.

I also have an entry level Boardman Hybrid, which might get replaced with a 105 level Arkose at some point.

I feel there are ever diminishing returns above around £1200-£1500 (maybe £2500 in the case of full-sussers) and couldn't ever see me spending more.

I would normally agree, but I've just forked out for some Hope cranks... nothing wrong with my XT chainset, but it is 6 years old and scratched up pretty bad.

Just felt like treating myself to some bling. 🙂

yep +1, about ten years back.

I ride a 275 quid cx bike SS every day and leave three ti bikes at home.

I've no idea what the latest/greatest bike thing is, not interested really.

I'm a sucker for nice stems and flat pedals but other than that the whole 650b thing has really left a sour taste in my mouth regarding the bike industry. I'll be holding onto my 26" stuff as long as I possibly can and hope that common sense will prevail and 26" will continue to be viable.

I'd love to have the time and money to still be interested in the bling side of biking. But I now have two small kids, so I have neither time nor money. It has forced me to stop throwing good money after bad at my bikes though and consequently I have focussed on improving my fitness and skills and just being happy with what I've got. I'm enjoying my riding more than ever.

I went through a brief period of bling buying a few years ago which was probably more about celebrating my shop finally paying reasonable money. Otherwise I'll pay for genuine performance and durability but not for bling for it's own sake.

X Fusion over Fox every time
8 speed Sora on my road bike is just fine
Chris King singlespeed hub on the winter bike -- no regrets
XTR rear mech that now sits on the full susser -- Why did I do that?

Every Friday I look at 'Fresh Goods' and hate myself afterwards for wasting the time.

I sort of keep up to date with what's going on in the world of new and shiny, via the interwebz, but actually chuck my own money at it? Nah not right now thanks...

It's all the stuff I might own in a few years, But I'm more interested in "Covering Riding Bases" with several, not particularly posh or new, bikes, rather than one super expensive jack of all trades...

The thing is with the various forum's Classifieds ads and ebay you can assemble just about any sort of bike you might want for £500 or less, it might lack the shiny newness but functionally it will meet your needs...

Spending twice as much say £1K for a new bike obviously get's you a (limited) warranty and this seasons paint job but in terms of actual functional benefits do you really get much more?

If I do buy new items it tend to be drivetrain or braking components and at the mid-lower end of shimano's ranges as they do what I need at a fraction of XTR/DA prices and I can live with a bit of extra weight...

OP does not compute.