@jodycb: I think you're right about the prices keeping some folks out of the sport.

@Gerhard: I think you bring up a good point about living the good life and what that means to different people. Your comment about price points is spot on. Cervelo=nice. I actually handled a Cervelo a couple of weeks ago and was blown away.

@331miles: I plan on picking up some of those performance bibs when I can. I hear great things about them and when on sale are affordable as far as bibs go.

@Chad: I think cycling has a long way to go to be the new golf. I'm not one to go after snob appeal so I could really care less about that. That doesn't mean I'm not a little envious of the nice stuff though. I'm like you..I ride my 15 year old bike and keep it running with constant tweaks here and there. I give it a good cleaning/check every couple of weeks to make sure it's running good

@Ray: The two jerseys I have are Nashbar Essential jerseys. They're OK but probably aren't as comfortable as nice stuff. Actually, I think they are a little scratchy on the skin and I've noticed they tend to shrink a little (but that could have been me from drying them in the dryer (I don't do that anymore)).

@retrogal: Glad to hear you've got a good LBS. I've yet to find one here that I like and feel comfortable going in. They all feel a little impersonal to me. The $16 for the brake cable replacement sounds like a good deal to me too.

@Victor: Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment and congrats on getting out with your wife to ride. I road MTB bikes a little bit many years ago but didn't enjoy it as much as road cycling. Funny about you and the neighbor.

@Weiland: Thanks. I really value your comments and it was yours that made me re-read my post to see if I came across too personal or in the wrong way. I'm in no way not enjoying my riding. For the first time in a long time I actually feel like I'm working towards something with regards to my cycling and fitness and I think that's a great thing. Like you, I almost never pay full price for anything. Especially when it comes to any type of clothing. I also agree with you that it doesn't matter what kind of bike we ride as long as we're enjoying it. I don't believe I've lost site of my number one goal here. I just wanted to vent a little on the pricing and it may have come across too personal or that I was not enjoying it anymore. Thanks.

@jeremy: Thanks for the comment. You bring up a lot of good points and examples that I hadn't considered and, frankly, not knowledgeable enough in marketing to know. I sent you an email.

I think one common theme we can take from this is that it doesn't take a $5000 bicycle or $150 bibs to enjoy cycling. I never meant to imply that. Ride with what you've got, be a frugal shopper and enjoy being outside riding. Set a goal, stick to that goal, and you'll enjoy it even more.

One thing was evident to me last week when I was riding around Washington state on my brothers $400 bikes. I recieved the same enjoyment and satisfaction of riding as I get from riding my carbon fiber bike. It was only later when I was analyzing the data from going up Hurricane Ridge did it finally dawn on me that I road 6100 feet up a mountain on a bike that weighted almost twice as much as my bike! At the time I was just excited to be doing it and didn't give a care as to what bike I was on.

One things for sure I will probably never buy speed, I'll have to do it the old fashioned way and train my body to propel me faster. Unless I can find a way to win a Time Trial bike.

Above all don't lose sight of why you started to ride your bike again, Bike to Live! If you stay the course your number one goal of weight loss will happen, only by riding your bike and proper nutrition will this happen, not by how much money you spend on the sport.

BTW, good comment Jeremy.

My wife and I just started to bike every day, albeit mountain biking since we have great hilly trails in our county. The funny thing about this is that a few years ago, I would give my neighbor flack about his cycling. I would say things like " the hardest thing about cycling is trying not to look gay". Now here I am coveting the "gayness" of spandex.

There’s probably money to be made in offering very well made items at a good price point (e.g. Performance Bike’s award-winning bib shorts).

The retail markups you're complaining about are not 200% to 300%. You're looking at about 100% markup from wholesale to sales floor. So now you want to know why the shops are buying a widget at $25 and selling to you at $50?

Well, that guy who helped you find a pair of shorts that fit? Or let you try on every pair of shoes in the store? He costs money. The girl at the counter who can tell you whether or not your 9speed campy front dérailleur works with 10 speed? Same thing. The lights, the building, it adds up.

The cheap stuff at performance? They leverage the economies of scale, piss off a lot of vendors, and hire mostly low-end staff. Wal-mart of bike shops. They're still getting their pound of flesh from you, same 100% markup as everyone else. They really do pollute the pool for the good local bike shops.

And yes, I know your LBS can be prickly at times. It's hard for them these days when everyone wants both internet pricing, but human service.

Back to materials. Pick up, say, some Ibex wool bibs and a pair of cheap-o bibs. Wear them the same number of times. See how long each pair lasts.

There is some fleecing going on, but it's more specific than "hurrr let's charge lots of money cause we can". It's things like the use of chinese carbon with low quality control in certain high end bikes that are only finished just enough in Italy or Spain to qualify as "made in Italy/Spain".

And sure, the high end is stupid expensive, but I don't hear much whining about Ferrari existing, or how a BMW 5-series is 2x as much as a Camry/Accord. If it's what you love, and you can afford it, great. If not, there's plenty of other options. I don't ride top of the line anything.

Bottom line, the saying is the best way to make a million dollars in this industry is to start with 2 million. Nobody is getting rich "fleecing" cyclists.

Also none of this applies to recreational/casual cyclists. Ride what you've got in your normal clothes, with flat pedals. There's no required costume for fun on the bike.