Modern Vespa

Paid more for one of my bikes that I did for the Vespa, new. Ride the bike at least 3x the annual mileage than I do the Vespa, with half the maintenance $'s. Cost is relative, go with your gut!

Went to a lower-end store to ride some more economical models and man, it does not feel the same at all! like not even close. that vaya is like riding a rolls royce lol.

Do it...I just did $2200 on a carbon hardtail a couple of months ago...lovin it!

That Salsa is sweet. I would roll that bike any day.

Consider any other steel framed road bike and have the couplers installed by a frame builder. Or the Ritchey brand as well. They made a bike called the Breakaway that has a loyal following and since they have made them for years I am betting you could score one with a good parts mix for under $2k easy.

Look at sites like mtbr.com etc... There is one out there for you.

Or drop the cash and get the one you love.

There is not a wrong way to go here, except buying a cheap POS that you will not be happy with... ever.

Or even worse an expensive POS! I went to the other store and tried the top of the line Trek Cross-Rip (the vaya competitor).

Although it is $1,500 (half the vaya but still extremely expensive IMO), it felt like a walmart bike compared to that salsa!

Just to add to your confusion, go test ride a $9000 Colnago, Cinelli, Look, Specialized, Trek, Pinarello or any other high end bike. It will change your entire perspective on what a bike can be and will set the upper end on the possibilities. It's like riding a rocket.

To go really green, consider buying or building a bamboo bike. There's a kit company in Oakland here. About $175 for a kit without components. I'm considering building one just for the experience and to have an inexpensive but unique bike for local rides. I haven't been there yet but imagine they have a few bikes for test rides. If u go and look, let us know what u think.

The philosophy in our household is that anything that promotes, encourages, and leads to better health and fitness is priceless and cost is irrelevant. Gym, yoga, bicycling, hiking, paddleboarding,... Fitness is a lifelong pursuit, not a onetime event.

Bicycling is sorta like scootering but a lot more work but u feel strong and sore(in a good way) at the end of each ride. I'll be jumping on my bike in about 2 hours for a 45 mile ride. I did it yesterday as well. I'll hit 5100 miles for the year and feel great. Can't imagine not riding. Annually, I typically bicycle twice as far than I scooter. I love both

Get a bike and don't worry about the cost. Just get one u love. Get a helmet as well and make sure it fits right - look at some online fit videos.

Best
Miguel

With price comes better quality I have found in bikes. They are smoother shifting, lighter, etc. Good bikes can last a very long time, far longer then a motor vehicle in my opinion.

So if you can afford it especially if you can do it without going into debt. I see no problems what so ever paying that or more.

Heck I just spent 1k for electric motors for my 2 semi recumbents. I didn't feel bad about it. We use them a lot and I felt the money was well spent. I spent 1k per bike about 3 years ago. So I have some pretty expensive rides too. But I will never replace them. Just things here and there as they wear out.

I started back into cycling about two years ago after a hiatus of about 40 years. Started with a good hybrid (Cannondale) and recently decided I wanted to try an all out road bike. Went into a little shop nearby and fell into lust! Ended up with a Focus Cayo Evo all carbon road bike, well fitted I think. It cost about twice what I set out to spend, but I couldn't be happier with it.

If you haven't looked at BiKe Friday, check them out. Made in Eugene, OR. I have a 24 speed mt. bike which quickly folds up and I put it upright into the back of my Mini Cooper. Get to my destination for the day and out it comes and off I ride. Very high quality.

If you have the money and you want it...buy it. If you ride nice bikes, you know that bikes in this price range ride and operate much nicer than less expensive bikes. If you are not a serious rider, you will never understand why bikes this expensive.

Funny how people here are telling you to not buy it because it is too expense when they are riding a Vespa that costs 3 to 4 times as much as a cheap scooter which they could have bought but instead bought a more expensive scooter.

But the OP did ask us to talk him out of it!

Well, aren't we ??

Those two statements cancel themselves out.

The vaya travel is definitely a sweeeet bike. I lusted after it for a goood long time. But fwiw, if you were to use the couplers frequently, it would not be an enjoyable affair. It's pretty fiddly compared to your brompton, or other folders. And if you don't use the couplers...then why have the couplers? Readiness, of course...for the off chance that it might one day come in handy. You need to judge, of course, exactly how often that scenario will rear its head, but personally I found that if I were honest with myself, 1) it doesn't come up even once in a year, and 2) if it were to come up often, I'd find the threaded couplers to be a fairly big pain, and prone to wear, and 3) my bro in law is a professional triathlete who (when he's not on his Cervelo) trains regularly on a folder when he has to go international for work, and gets great performance, quick assembly, and all the functionality he needs. The Vaya's a bit redundant with your brompton, and doesn't pack nearly as easily. IMO, unless bikes just happen to be "your thing," and you just can't help having 5 different bikes for five different scenarios, I would recommend you pass. My other bro-in-law is that way (7 bikes, actually). He will literally bike down from Berkely to Cupertino, and is adamant about making his way around the bay area on a bike, vs. his car. His is definitely an oddball scenario though, and a labor of love, storing 7 bikes. at the end of the day, though, he knows that really there's maybe two workhorses that he really depends on, and the others are mostly just for the joy of the machinery.

Edit: fyi, I just dropped something on the order of $3k on a bike. It was definitely mostly for the joy of the machinery. Definitely the anti-vaya though. I'm hoping one day to get something to travel with, but it'd totally be an extravagance.

If I were to buy this thing, how long could I reasonably expect to have it? It's a steel frame for what its worth- with couplers.

If I can get 30 years of use out of it, (I'll be 55 then) it is a steal. If that thing wears out after 5 years, not so much. I'm a new, avid rider with about 3000 miles since march but i wouldn't consider myself an "enthusiast" (i dont care much for researching, upgrading parts, etc, just want to buy n ride) so I don't know too much about longevity.

The frame itself...you could have that for decades and decades if you take care of it (and arguably even if you beat the hell out of it). There're many consumables though. Chains, gears, pads, cables, etc all have a shorter lifespan. You'd go through a ton of sprockets to hit $3k though. wear and tear is also highly dependent on maintenance and the degree of stress you put it through. Components that's haul 300lbs of rider, and/or hammered on athletically (or negligently) through competitive races will wear out much quicker than components that just see some casual bike trails, pushed by twiggy thighs that peeter out at the thought of actually climbing a hill. And if you ride through grime and never clean your chain...also expect shorter lifespan.

FWIW, IMO usually frames will either 1) outlast the rider's interest, or 2) meet an untimely death.

Why couplers? What are you planning to use it for?
When touring I took my cross bike on planes trains boats busses cars and taxis using a soft bike bag (if needed). No real problems, and the bag fitted on the bike.

The couplers: something I like to do is to go on craigslist rideshares. One meets a lot of interesting people while able to travel for cheap. It's like couchsurfing for travel. Sometimes the cars are packed and having a bicycle that can split in two would be really convenient.

The bicycle without the coupler is still $2k, my reasoning is that if you're already spending 2k, having the ability to couple, and a rust-proof bike may be worth the 50% increase in price.

I finally saved up enough money to get that sweet salsa! I called the shop and someone bought my bike!



By chance I found an old 2013 model of the vaya 2 (no couplers) at another shop that was on discount. Originally 1950, I picked it up for 1329 plus tax.


It's not the travel which means no stainless steel, higher end componentry, and no couplers but I also have 1700 hundo in my pocket!

Do you have your heart set on a special bike. Check out this one.
http://shop.dynamicbicycles.com/Sidekick-8-sidekick8.htm
When I was in the Keys, I met some people with this bike. No chain and when you change gears, you don't have to turn the pedals for them to change. For example, if you come to a stop in 4th gear and you change to 2nd, when you start pedaling it's in 2nd. I was very impressed and would like to get one when I can spare the cash.

Congratulations. I think I would be MUCH happier with that bike and $1,700 in my pocket.

[quote="heinlein"] Thank you!! I agree! Not much changed either from 2013 to 2014

Looks like the biggest is SRAM (2013) to shimano 105 (2014), and I actually prefer the SRAM!

I bought a Cannondale System Six with a full Dura Ace component set a couple years back. Got it from a shop that had their dealer account pulled by Cannondale so they just dumped all their stock on the cheap. Got a $6000 bike for $3500. I put quite a few miles on it over a few years , even used it on the Tahoe Death Ride. I sold it for $3500.... So never cost me a dime. Of course besides replacing consumables.

Hopefully you can do something similar.