I just read an article published earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/rise-...cle-1408489679

I thought it would be fun to discuss it here.

I was reading the comments in the WSJ and was struck by how many comments are decidedly dismissive of buying any bike over a couple of hundred dollars (lose the weight!). A high end bike or high end components certainly do not make you faster or stronger in absolute terms, but if they make you enjoy your rides and ride more as a result, over time you will be stronger than you previously were. Now, a 5-figure bike is not in the cards in my current income bracket and the one example in the article that I think is egregious is drawing funds from your retirement account. Upgrades can make you faster... when I bought my Synapse, my average speed went up by 2-3 mph; when I upgraded the wheel set, I gained another 1-2 miles. Such personal improvements will never take me to a competitive level, but they were fun to me, they allow me to keep up with some groups I could previously not join, etc...