Modern Vespa

So I only have one bicycle right now, it is a Brompton folding bicycle. It folds up nicely and even fits on the vespa.

I have two homes, one in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles. During my last trip up to San Francisco, I took the Brompton with me on the Vespa with the intention of storing it in SF so that I can use it when I fly to the bay and have no transportation (would rather not rent a car).

Recently, I've been toying with the idea of buying a 2nd bicycle to keep in Los Angeles. The problem is that the bicycle I like is $3300 out the door. I think that was how much I paid for the IE 250!

Can someone talk me out or in, to pulling the trigger on the bicycle? Can't decide what to do. On the one hand it would be nice to have a spare bicycle in Los Angeles when I don't have the Vespa, or when I just want to ride around. On the other hand, it is expensive and I have a personal philosophy of not being a "consumer" and to keep my lifestyle as minimalistic as possible.

The plus side is that the bicycle is full-size (versus a 16 inch brompton), stainless steel, and would likely keep for a very long time.

What kind of bicycle are you looking at?

A salsa vaya

I recently crashed one of my road bikes. I got hit at 40 mph. Fortuantely I survived but the bike was literally broken in two. I'm a serious enthusiast road biker. I like having two bikes as well. In my case, it allows me to have a rain bike (with fenders) and a 2nd bike in case I have a flat.

That said, I love high-end road bikes. I purchased a used bike about a month ago. It had less than 50 miles on it and the previous owner had invested over $11K - a Pinarello Dogma 60.1 for those that know about them. I purchased it for $2800. THere's lots of good deals out there. Watch Craigslist. I bet you can find that Salsa bike for under $1500.

Just my opinion.

Best
Miguel

buy it you only live once

two wheels are beautiful things....buy a bike regardless of the $

For that much you could get a used scoot. Do yourself a favor and don't buy the push bike....

oh yeah that is a lot of $! R

hey y'all...bicycles are the best.....I love my scoot but bikes are the boss!

My mountain bike cost over $4000

You only live once, you want to buy something, and you know you have the means, do ittttttttttttt!!!!

Go ahead and buy it,,,,,but buy a big fuck off lock to go with it

I guess I'm just worried that I want this bike for no reason other than "wanting it". I dropped $2k on the brompton just in March, it hasn't even been a year yet.

Use that $3,000 to come to the Greek Islands Rally.

It looks to me like you are referring to the Vaya Travel bike [s/s frame].

If so, the main selling point of this bike seems to be the ease of traveling with it [on website], yet you are specifically planning to not use that feature [from what you have written].

The little game I've used to help me feel better about squandering my small wealth on expensive bicycles goes like this:
Assign a monetary value to a mile ridden. How much is a mile biked worth to your mental and physical well being? I usually use 50 cents (it makes the math easy, and it's an arbitrary number anyway).
Then I try and "earn" the bike as quickly as I can. $3000 is 6000 miles. Now you have a goal!
Do it.

let me boast about how much spare income i have

Yeah, I lust over the big money bikes as well. I came to my senses and bought the cheapo version instead. It doesn't have the cool factor but it does the same thing as the $$$$ bikes.

Sure I could buy the Vespa 946, but I would rather have 4 $2,500 scoots instead. ( just an example I tell myself )

Haha if I had that much I wouldnt be sweating this purchase! And I certainly wouldn't do it to you strangers.

I like your point though. The key is to just make more money.


Yeah this is the travel bike, I like the coupler function because it seems like a nice addition to have. Kind of like a contingency plan if I ever needed to break the bike apart.

Still on the fence, I'm trying to justify it in my head by saying that I will never own another bikes and that I'll have it for the rest of my life. But the problem with that is that I did that with the Brompton!

I thought about talking you out of it but then again, nope.

The economy needs you. My bike cost well north or $100 (yes, 2 zeros) so you'd be helping the economy much more than I did a few years ago.

Buy the bike and let's end this thread.
8)

Haha, im actually leaning more to the side of the fence that says not to get it.

3k is a lot, and times are tough.

Me too!

Oh wait, I don't have any.....

im jist glad i got me xmas bonus ... ohh hang on i got nowt .. not even a come here n kiss me arse .... i was better off 20years ago when i had a young un to support

That's a pretty bike. Bikes are good. In fact, this weekend I will pass the 3000 mile mark on my bike for 2013. And I'm almost at 3,000 miles on my Vespa this year too.

I highly recommend two wheel cross-training between the Vespa and bike.

My car cost less than this

First off, I'm married and am not allowed to have excess income. Second, you are talking doing something that involves sweat! EEWWW!
Thirdly, do it!Buy that sucker! You want, ergo, you need it.

Unless you are a very committed rider, I think you should pass on this particular bike. Very good ones can be had for far less money.

That being said, back in the 80s, when I was racing bicycles and riding 200-300 miles per week, I spent over $3000.00 just for the componentry (Campagnolo C-Record) on my road bike. (You guys remember sew-ups?)
I still have the bike but it isn't worth very much: technology moved forward, leaving me with obsolete equipment. I wish I could put that money towards a BMW scooter.

Wow! That's a lot for a bicycle. While I can't imagine spending that much on a bicycle it's your decision. If you go that route I hope you have years of enjoyable riding.

Please forgive me; I didn't mean to sound boastful. I did say small....

Here i thought i was bad when i was looking at a trike to ride. WalMart had one for $250 (they were out of stock). I found a great shop but they wanted $750. Sure it had 3 gears and they take good care of your bike after purchase but it's on the other side of island and i'm not riding it there (over 40 miles). Yes the salesman came out to look at the LX and lusted over it but still i couldn't justify it. Things rust here so in about a year, it'll look like i had it 10. Xmas is coming so WalMart finally got one in. Yeah. I would ask myself how long do you stay at that house and will you ride it a lot. If it's not long and you won't, i'd buy a cheaper one. If you got the extra $ then go for it but if you don't, get a cheaper one. More money to spend on the Vespa. Good luck

noeltazz

"On the other hand, it is expensive and I have a personal philosophy of not being a "consumer" and to keep my lifestyle as minimalistic as possible."

It is a curious dilemma. On the one hand, a bicycle is a most efficient mode of travel ... truly "minimalistic." On the other, it may seem like an obscene amount of money to spend for just a bicycle when you could get a Huffy for sixty-four bucks at Wally World. But then again, is owning a Huffy any more "green" than owning this $3000 what-ever? Or maybe the joy of ownership (allow yourself this) and the fact that you might ride this bike more will lead to a longer and more satisfactory life ... for you.

I've bot a couple of used scooters, both exactly the scoots I wanted, by the way, and been happy and had no regrets both times. Maybe you could , as has been mentioned, look around for exactly what you want on the used market. People who have things like this tend to take care of them.

A final thought on spending "so much money." Boy do I wish I had bought a Gull-wing M-B when they were new for $7K. Boy do I!!

Salsa, huh? I like your style.
If you're looking at touring rigs, have you considered a Surly LHT? Several of the car-lite and car-free people are fond of them.
http://surlybikes.com/bikes/long_haul_trucker

I just recently spent north of 8 bills on a bicycle... I need to get into shape, and I know the walmart/craigslist bicycles can need some tuning -- I justify paying that much so that it's easy for me to get off the computer and get exercising. If i had to fix it ever, I'd probably procrastinate until the end of time.
I have put about 30 miles on in the past 2 weeks, so I'm thinking it's worth it.

My goal in life is to die with a credit card balance. You can't take it with you. If it's in the budget, buy it. I'd take the advise from Miguel and give that a roll first. So many toys. It might leave a bit on the table for another adventure.

EDIT
I just did a quick calc. In 1970 I bought a Schwinn Paramount. I think it was around $400. I was the night orderly in the local emergency room. It was a completely goofy thing to buy at my income level. In today's dollars thats about $2500. Looking at road bikes last year that is about a median price for a great ride.

Hey, noeltazz, nice bike, but they left off the pedals.

I'm on the side of going for it. Sure, you can get a Vespa for that $$, but you'll never have to change a belt, for one thing. I splurged for half that much 15 years ago (wasn't married then, the game may have been played differently otherwise), and though I don't ride it nearly as much as I should, I still love having it and it's a joy to ride when I do.

Obviously only you know your budget, but if you can swing it without hurting, go for it.

Some seriously wise comments on this thread, this forum is rad

I worked in bike shops for years. But $3k for a bike is more than I'd ever consider. I just don't need something like that. I picked up this Trek X Caliber 7 for my stepson for Christmas. Got a sweet deal on it. The suggested retail is $900 and I paid $500. Brand new. I just had to assemble it myself. Super easy since I've assembled so many in my previous life as a bike shop rat.

When I had to quit off road cycling due to recurring knee injuries I sold my MTB and bought myself a bicycle I'd long admired but could never before justify buying, a Brompton M3.

I loved my smart black Brompton. It was my sole bicycle for 7 years and I didn't have a moment's problem with the quick steering and the tiny wheels.

However in 2008 I picked up an ld Raleigh MTB frame from the early 90s and figured I'd start a long term project to build myself a 26" wheel single speeder MTB for the road using parts I was given or swapped for old spares I'd kept.

In 2011 I had a completed bike and started to use it for some of the regular weekly bicycle journeys instead of the Brompton to shake out any issues with it.

What I found on returning to the Brompton was that by confusing my senses with the wholly different geometry and the 26" wheels I found the Brompton a tad skittish and unstable.

Eventually this has culminated in the Brompton being still folded, hung on a big hook in the garage, where I put it in mid 2012 when the gear cable started fraying saying "I'll sort that when I have time".

Be wary of the same kind of experience.

Related question. Why aren't belt drives more prevalent. I thought the one I rode was incredible. Wasted on me, but none the less sterling!

I have a '67 John Deere 10 speed that I'll let go for $999. You know nothing runs like a deer.

ROD

Howz the boiler?