The workout thread
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Bloody hell, Klaus, that's a nice looking bike. What was wrong with the last one?
You must have a very understanding wife. You have told Mrs. Klaus?
Proud supporter of Plan 2525. Everything you think, do and say will be in the pill you took today.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in The workout thread:
You have told Mrs. Klaus?
Err. You raise a very good point there. I still have a month or two until it is delivered.
My intended line of defense will be "If I'd buy a Porsche or start playing Golf or do any other common way of dealing with male midlife crisis, it would be way more expensive".
Do you think this will work?
Alternatives I considered include: "This is the last bike I'll ever need to buy" (maybe too obviously a lie) , "I need separate bikes for gravel and road", and "All the others in the club have better bikes".
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My cunning plan was to swap the $1800 Trek Emonda ALR 5 for the $6700 Trek Emonda SLR 6, and hope that she didn't notice.
They're practically the same shape and colour, so I reckon I could swing it.
Of course, first I'd have to get $6700.
Proud supporter of Plan 2525. Everything you think, do and say will be in the pill you took today.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in The workout thread:
Of course, first I'd have to get $6700.
Technically, I'm leasing the bike for three years (this has to do with sharing the costs with my employer), so I pay a monthly fee that is directly deduced from my salary. It's a good way to disguise the actual costs. Maybe you have a similar option?
Otherwise, I'd say your plan sounds pretty sensible. Go for it!
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@Klaus said in The workout thread:
The bang-for-the-buck is way higher than when buying at a dealership.
Unless you need a bike shop for literally anything. Just something to consider. Anyway, Canyons are very good bikes.
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@Klaus said in The workout thread:
By the way, I'd take a look at buying directly from a vendor like Canyon, Rose etc. The bang-for-the-buck is way higher than when buying at a dealership. From what I can see, a bike with similar features as the SLR6 can be had for less than $4K.
Yes, those do look better value. I have a colleague who's a proper cyclist, he suggested getting my first decent bike from a local bike shop, as you get great service if you need it - a proper fitting, trial run, etc. Once you've got the hang of it and know what works for you, if you upgrade you can use an online vendor.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in The workout thread:
Unless you need a bike shop for literally anything.
I do all maintenance and repair myself, so I don't need a bike shop.
That said, I think there's no reason why the act of buying a bike can't be separate from maintaining it, just as it is for cars. A bike shop should calculate its prices in such a way that it doesn't matter whether a bike that is going to be repaired was purchased at that bike shop. Mixed financing is outdated.
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@Klaus said in The workout thread:
That said, I think there's no reason why the act of buying a bike can't be separate from maintaining it, just as it is for cars. A bike shop should calculate its prices in such a way that it doesn't matter whether a bike that is going to be repaired was purchased at that bike shop. Mixed financing is outdated.
How many bike shops have you worked in?
Prior to the pandemic, many were struggling. The mixed financing bullshit was a way for them to increase their revenue a little. Not saying it's an awesome system.
I worked in one where they didn't do the mixed financing thing, but the motto was "sell the shop, not the stuff inside it." Their approach was to create a community around the shop: organize weekend rides, do "ride-throughs" for folks who wanted to commute by bike but didn't know the best way to navigate the area on one, set up local 'cross races, meet folks for some trail riding, etc., etc. Pitching in with those things was part of the job description.
There, you didn't get a deal on the bike at all, but if you bought the bike at the store you got a discount on all the parts and maintenance basically forever.
Many of them have had a really rough go of it and were struggling to keep the lights on.
The pandemic has seriously helped.
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Well, I did once ask a local bike shop for a repair where I wasn't sure whether I could do it myself (trueing a wheel). The next free date when they could have repaired my bike was two months later. I ended up doing the repair myself. But in any case, at least in my area the bike shops have more than enough to do. And that was before COVID. Now it's just crazy. Bikes are sold out everywhere. The one I just ordered has two months of waiting, but that's on the low end. Others have delivery dates in April or June 2021. It's almost like buying a car in the GDR used to be.
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That's nuts. It's like that here but not nearly to that degree!
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I love my local bike shop. I was willing to spend an extra 100 for the service they gave, which was really good, and they also did a repair I couldn't manage as I didn't have the correct tool. They fixed it the same day.
I don't think it's worth spending an extra $2000, but in reality the chance of me getting a $4K bike is zero.
I also think as a general point it's worth trying to help small local businesses like these survive.
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@Copper said in The workout thread:
I drove the par 4 #9 green today, I think it was the first time I even tried
They had the tees way up near the ladies tees, it was maybe 215 carry over the water, so no big deal, but it was a nice change.I have no idea what you said here.
If you're telling us about a good thing you did, then heartiest congratulations!
If this was a bad thing, then you have my deepest sympathies. -
Wow, Rich that's amazing. I thought I was doing really well at about half that distance on a bike.
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Rich, running 3000 miles is insane! Wow.
George, I never knew you took walking so seriously. Respect!
My 2020 ride summary so far:
Power curve comparison first half of the year (light color) compared to second half (darker color).
Doesn't look so different, but it's quite a difference.
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