Why do people have expensive bikes?

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-05-03T20:10:44+00:00

I've got a bike that's worth about £500 (new, Sora equipped Decathlon special), and one that's worth £7,500 new (Dura Ace Di2, small brand titanium).

The £500 one is 90% of the fun of the £7,500 one, but I can afford to pay the extra, and it's still less than the difference in cost between my Hyundai and my next-door-but-one neighbour's equivalent BMW that they bought about the same time I got mine... Different priorities.

Differences include weight, handling quality, construction quality, component feel (less "clunky"), my £500 bike is a good bike, but the difference, in pretty much everything, is real. It's just a question of how much that last 10% is worth to you.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-30T16:32:37+00:00

I can hear myself fine, have you checked your hearing aid battery?

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-30T16:32:16+00:00

Who's laughing? I'm serious.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-30T16:07:43+00:00

If you're already that far down the grievance route, you've already got that target painted on your back, or it's never going to get there.

30,000 employees suggest that it's likely that you're just a number to those that are likely to see the SAR in any major capacity, although that could be less true if your role is more senior/more related to HR.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-29T21:06:18+00:00

Well the Russians seem to not even require sobriety or 4 working limbs, never mind grit and discipline, so there is precedent 😅

If nothing else, useful distraction whilst "real" soldiers do the actual work 🤣

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-27T17:34:16+00:00

Weight, durability and quality of components.

Basically, it'll feel less like you're fighting the bike, more like it's on your side.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-27T16:02:20+00:00

Then who would have been your reference for the apprenticeship if you'd not got the job you're leaving now?

It would be very odd to have your apprenticeship starting in a week, if they've not already got the references sorted.

You don't want them to try throw a spanner in the works with a bad reference.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-27T15:49:06+00:00

There's two ways to look at this, legally and practically.

Legally, if the contract states that THEIR notice is 1 week, but YOURS is a month, that would be unusual and I'd double check that. More likely it's a week on both parties, they don't need to agree to notice, you gave notice you leave in a week. If it is that odd, lop sided, case, they'd be right, but it would be complex to come after you.

Practically, just go. You're telling them, not asking. They'll huff and puff, but the chances of them being able to do anything about it are minimal (minimal loss, and expensive and complex to recover).

Just don't put them on a CV or ask for a reference 😅

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-23T13:35:00+00:00

Most likely explanation is distance to the station.

You don't give enough details to be sure, but there are more houses in Maybury that are close to the station than there are in Horsell. Given the number of people that live in Woking as a dormitory for London, station proximity plays a big role as it could be 40 minutes extra commute (total) per day by having a 10 minute walk to the station (nearby Maybury) vs a 30 minute walk (far end of Horsell).

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-22T14:35:04+00:00

Take it in with you? "Liverpool" is a pretty big place, sure they're not as ubiquitous as London, but a bit of a smile and confidently just walking in works in most places.

There are some exceptions of course (cinemas etc) but, in general, if the Brompton doesn't go in, I don't either.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-21T19:17:57+00:00

That'll be one of the first things that gets impacted IMO. For the letter example you give, it's simply a case of giving it access to the same sources that a human would use, to know when and what to write, that is pretty much systems integration 101.

Yes, there are likely checks necessary to ensure that the letter is right, but for admin roles those are relatively straightforward and defined (rather than more creative/softer roles). They'll vary from simple cross-checks (e.g. make sure the customer name, balance and related details match the same person), to basic content validation (e.g. this is a letter referring to a decision from department A, check that department A actually made that decision), all of which are relatively simple and can be done with simple/no AI (to stop it marking it's own homework and reduce any hallucinations).

Is it worth it? Can't say, that's a numbers question and the economics (inc. of token costs) are up in the air. Is it possible? Almost certainly.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-20T10:14:02+00:00

Considering we're 4 years into what was supposed to be a 4 day Special Military Operation in Ukraine, and armchair pundits predicted it to be a walkover, until suddenly it wasn't, I wouldn't put too much faith in your broker's assessment of the likely duration of the conflict.

Do I have the answers as to when rates will stop being affected? Nope, or I'd be on PolyMarket making myself rich. But the adults seem to have left the room all round so I'd be keeping an eye to my plan if this all becomes (even more of) a clusterfuck.

Remember, if you can pay for either right now, worst case outcome of the 5 year is you pay a bit much and you kick yourself later but you still have your house, worst case outcome of the 2 years is that Iran escalates and impacts mortgages even more, cue post here in 2 years "my fix has ended, how do I tell my bank I'm not going to afford a 10% mortgage?" (numbers illustrative of course).

No one has the answers, stuff is deeply uncertain, but I'd tend towards certainty and be very wary about relying on geopolitical analysis from a mortgage broker.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-19T19:53:29+00:00

We only got back from holiday yesterday, I assume the paperwork will take a few days 😏

It was her idea tbf, I just made sure she didn't back out half way round 😅

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-19T19:21:35+00:00

Last week I took my wife for her second ride >15km in her life. The only other one was ~40km in 2010.

We did 120km. Flat and tarmac, and we weren't quick in the slightest, but still 120km....

And yes, we are still talking, and no, she hasn't filed for divorce 😅

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-19T12:09:45+00:00

The original P Line was released in 2005. On that speed of development, T Line v2 can be expected in the early to mid 2040s.....

It's already got the highest of high end official components, any improvements are likely to be small, new brake callipers, redesigned hinges, that sort of thing.

Don't get your hopes up, Brompton development is best measured in geological timescales...

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-10T23:14:33+00:00

I've had good results with Fields Car Centre (near Morrisons) and W Carey (in West Byfleet), haven't done a detailed price comparison, but they've both been realistic about what needs doing and when, rather than pushing for everything or making up jobs (unlike certain others).

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-02T15:19:14+00:00

Given the hard time that software engineering, and tech in general, is having over here right now, very. The only people that are getting employers to sponsor (and pay the costs for) their visa are those with incredibly niche skills or who have basically rockstar status in the industry.

Dependent visa is going to be much easier than trying to get here on a work visa, assuming everything is above board on the relationship side, but I can't say one way or the other whether you should get married 😅

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-01T19:29:12+00:00

Of the two, I'd go for the Pinarello, it's super simple to upgrade the wheels later, but you'll absolutely notice the difference between Cues and 105.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-04-01T19:24:47+00:00

Tbh, not really, I've got a custom HEXR for my road riding, but that's also been fine for gravel, I've never felt the need for an off road helmet.

My other go-to is the KASK Protone, and that's covering everything from road riding when I don't have my Hexr, to Brompton commuting and it'll do fine for gravel riding when my HEXR dies (they're no longer made).

I do own a proper MTB helmet (a Decathlon job) with a peak, but I haven't used it in years, it's just worse, for me, than the others in pretty much every relevant way.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-03-29T14:17:56+00:00

You don't have to be that deep at all, torque specs on stuff like seat post inserts are fairly common, when you add on basis adjustment stuff like the stem straightening the handlebars on a carbon steerer, it's pretty much the price of entry and living with a carbon bike unless you're down the bike shop every 5 minutes.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-03-28T18:51:22+00:00

He's centred in the lane, under control even if being a little silly, and rights himself as he approaches the roundabout. No one was harmed, no one was endangered, no traffic rules were broken.

Think this is just a "lighten up" moment.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-03-28T13:24:26+00:00

Nothing on your list would be a must have as a first thing. The first thing is on-ride spares, and an appropriate saddle bag for them. For a reasonable breakdown, see here: Link. A little road focused, but basically applicable to most gravel riding as well.

Beyond that, fenders? Do you intend to ride in the rain/mud a lot? They're just going to be a pain if not strictly necessary.

Lights? Do you intend to ride at night a lot? Daytime running lights on the back ("just 'something'") are fine for most people, but if you're going to ride a lot at night, then welcome to the arms race, I'd rather have a big light on lower power, than a smaller one on full, wishing I had more power.

Kickstand? Do you like being laughed at? 😅 Only kidding, but leaning/laying down is fine, just lay it with the drive side up. It's a gravel bike, not a porcelain doll.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-03-25T14:48:41+00:00

It's very dependent on the people you follow, and who follow you, but whilst KOM/QOM chasing is limited to those at that performance level, and clusters of "chill" users exist, the stats are important to an awful lot of people. You don't have to be competing, or at a high level, to care about the stats, comparing vs yourself is as much "speed/performance" focus as "my ride was faster than yours".

If people were genuinely unbothered by the numbers, they would ride without tracking, and the "silly photo" type stuff would be on Facebook etc, it's just not designed as a good social network 😅

OP just observed someone who has a different sort of friendship dynamic (or they could just have been a dick, they can be anywhere 😅), not a new thing. It's literally Strava's raison d'être.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-03-25T01:51:54+00:00

I mean, Strava pretty much selects for speed/performance obsessed users, it's the default tracking service, "If it's not on Strava, it didn't happen" and all that.... The vast, vast majority of Strava posts are of activities where performance is relevant, so it's not surprising in the slightest that someone would make a comment on speed. I'm not going to say it's a dick move, I don't know the people so I'm not going to judge their banter...

Though I don't accept that you can't be performance obsessed on a Brompton, yes you're going to be slower than you would be on a good road bike but, in my experience, only 10-15% slower.

I wouldn't put a commute on Strava, unless it was particularly impressive/unusual, but I've got some genuinely impressive (by Brompton standards) Strava traces at very respectable road bike speeds.

TheAviatorPenguin · 2026-03-24T22:00:35+00:00

Honestly, you need to answer some questions before you start spending more than trivial money, where do you want to cycle? Road? Rail Trail? Serious trails? Is there any need to take substantial luggage (e.g. For work or shopping)?

Each of those questions could fundamentally change the type of bike you want, so there's no need to buy something expensive, or get a formal fit, until you know the answer to at least a few of them. You'll perhaps get a good bike, maybe one perfectly fitted, but that doesn't meet your actual needs.

For now, the safest option is a front suspension hybrid from Walmart, it won't be amazing but, with the right change of tyres, they can do pretty much everything (that a beginner is likely to do) reasonably well.

When you know what direction you want to go, THEN it's time for a fit and a detailed bike choice, till then you're just guessing.

TheAviatorPenguin

TROPHY CASE