by 
Saddle up, bitches. It’s gonna be a sloppy comments section. You wanted a real rant? Here it is.
Well, we all remember this, don’t we? 
Many of you seemed to miss the point of my post slightly, perhaps because I only wrote about 40 words (which apparently now constitutes a rant). So let’s start a real discussion based off this, my REAL rant.
First and foremost, I need you to understand that I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AGAINST CARBON as a material used for making bicycles. I also have nothing against carbon fat bike rims, as stated (well, except for the fact that they’re completely antithetical to a bicycle that weighs 45 pounds to begin with).
My issue is this:
There were some people who immediately understood why I was shitting on the HED carbon fatbike wheels. Others took the opportunity to call D2 a fag or whatever. We’ll ignore those twat nozzles because I don’t pick on preschoolers. But I want to talk to you, all of you who said “Who cares if it’s carbon or steel or bamboo or a pile of donkey sperm?”
Well, we can shout and scream at Specialized all we want, but it’s YOU that’s really ruining it for the rest of us. That’s the attitude that’s boxing us out. That’s allowing the world of mountain biking to get the train run on it like some coke whore at a Rick James concert.
I have nothing against carbon. It rides well. I dig it. But here’s what I don’t dig: mountain bikes that cost $10,000. Rims for a fat bike that cost $1500. And no, I don’t hate it because I can’t afford it. Chances are if I could afford it, I wouldn’t buy it anyway. No, I hate that shit because it’s making our little piggy bank sport into a Bank of America. It’s taking a good thing and making it blingy and shiny so the price tag goes up. And you know what happens then? We get priced out of our own world. You say, “hey, if some dentist can afford the wheels, more power to him. Let him spend his money.” What you don’t realize, however, is that the more he spends his money on shiny bullshit that doesn’t really improve our sport or our culture, the more you have to spend YOUR money just to remain a member of this culture. PBR used to cost $1 at the bars until hipsters discovered it. Now it’s $8 on a Tuesday night. Dentists are the hipsters of the cycling world (NO, I have nothing against specific dentists, either. Think of them as a metaphor).
I’m very fortunate. I work in the industry, so I get sweet deals on stuff. Yet with all these deals I get, I still can barely afford the prices that have skyrocketed over the last decade. When I started working in the bike industry, shit was expensive but not unaffordable. A kid who saved his pennies could get a killer race bike that might propel him onto the podium and a race career could be born. Now a fucking Strider costs almost $200. Are you fucking kidding me? We’re taking a future away from a kid who wants a bike. We’re keeping that kid on the couch, and that’s the shittiest possible thing we can do as a cycling community. Because some day, that kid will grow up to be the dude that brings the bottle of whiskey to the cold night ride. If he’s not there, you’re cold. And worse, you’re sober.
The bike industry, and more specifically the mountain bike industry, used to pride itself on the grassroots nature of the thing, the idea that the trail was most important, and yes, they were always there to turn a profit, but they catered to all of us, not just the richest 1% of us, or the ones who had connections in the biz. Mountain biking was something we could all do, and the industry WANTED us to do. Now it’s a commodity. Now it’s another goddamn stock or bond to be traded. Now it’s the fat cats. No one exemplifies this bullshit more than Specialized. They are the Bank of America of cycling. Fuck them, and fuck carbon fat bike rims for everything they represent. But fuck you too for letting it happen, and fuck me too for not speaking out loudly enough against it.
They might ride like a fucking Ferrari, but you know what? If I had the money for a Ferrari, I’d still drive a beat up pickup truck because my money, my time, my effort, and my life is worth more than some fucking shiny piece of shit that doesn’t make me a better person and doesn’t make the trails any more awesome than they already are.
I care about this industry a lot because I think bikes are the best thing about this upper-middle-class country we call home. I think they’re the best thing about this wide world that I just haven’t seen enough of. And I’ve been around in this industry long enough to see good people get priced out. Fuck that. I’ve been priced out of buying a car. I’ve been priced out of buying a house. I’ve been nearly priced out of buying real food, for fuck’s sake. I feel pretty powerless when it comes to that stuff, but in the bike world, I’ve got a stake in the game and my cards are on the table. I’ll do what I can to fight the corporate bullshit that squeezes us out because some chode with too much money to spend ran out of alimony payments and wants something shiny he’ll ride twice a year. I can do without a house and without a nice car. I can live on Ramen for months on end. But I WILL NOT GO WITHOUT MY BICYCLE.
So in summation, I reiterate: stay true to what bikes are about, not what the industry wants you to think it’s about.
Because dentists blah blah go fuck yourself.
Now go ride a bike. We’re all friends here because we’re all on two wheels. Best to remember that, isn’t it?
by 
Well said!
You had me at Rick James. Amen brother. I love dragging out my 200 dollar Klunker and rubbing the rear tires of 5k carbon do hickies. It makes me smile
I paid like four bills for my Monocog ten years ago. Still puts a big ol’ shiteating grin on my face. Right now it’s got studded tires and I’m waiting for the ice storm to hit.
I roll on a Cannondale mtn bike that cost a grand total of 300 smackeroos. I’ve had that bike about 7 years now and I still love the feel.
If I had 10k…..I’d spend it on my daughter. She’s in college now. Bright girl, bright future.
Priorities must be set.
Well said D2.
Amen, brother D2. It’s easy to get on the “gotta have it” merry go round. Just ride. Occupy bikeseat and all that stuff.
We do it to ourselves, don’t we, always craving that bright and shiny new thing.
But then again, I really need those $519 Assos shorts because they’ll make me go faster, right? Assos is German for Asshole.
Latest Specialized victim:
http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2013/12/07/war-veteran-forced-to-change-bike-shops-name-after-threat-from-u-s-bike-giant-specialized/
Trust me, I get where you are going with this but cheap stuff IS out there and it is getting nicer than ever. If you want a “dirtbag” bike you can have it, I had a friwnd who put together a used SS for about $100 and it was enough to put him on the podium of a 12hr. People laughed at his RS Indy fork and v-brakes…until he lapped them.
Let the wealthy fund improving our bikes and let trickledown do its thing, or better yet, buy that really nice bike from them for 1/4 what it cost new from them when they realize even with a $5k bike, riding is still hard.
One thing I always love about this sport is that it rarely rewards those with more money, you can not buy fitness or technical ability. One thing I also love is the number of choices this sport offers us to really make our bikes “ours”. If you want to put aerobars and drops on a carbon fatbike you can, if you still think friction shifting and cantis are superior you can run them too.
For me, I love being the guy on a steel rigid 26″ wheeled bike passing people that look like they are sponsored by Mtn Dew on long travel bikes covered in body armor but hey, thats what I enjoy.
Bikes are fun, we all have our opinion on what makes the “best” bike and what I love. We are all right, unless of course you think the big S makes the best bikes, then fuck you.
Anti-denti…
I quit MTB racing about 1990 for 4 reasons.
1.The races were getting way too serious, with the arrogant A types taking over.
2. When suspension came into play it started to become a money thing. 3.The post-race beer trucks stopped coming.
4. I sucked.
Although I guess the beer trucks came back, (sometimes) the money part has gotten way out of hand. It seems the industry is chasing a dwindling demographic.
And yet- there are lots of folks still doin’ it old skool, so I don’t worry too much.
I cannot afford a trophy wife, but I got a room of trophy bikes.
It’s like we’re brothers from another mother!
Absolutely true! I started racing when wool was your only choice for jerseys and yes shorts. And chamois was really a piece if leather. Now I’m an old fat guy on a $8500 bike. Technology is great and cool but when you quit racing and start having to pay for this stuff yourself it gets annoying….
I grew up in a shop. My first bike was a steel Schwinn Le Tour, made in ‘merica. I could afford it in a shop rat wage. It saddens me that kids today are priced out of REAL biking. I only hope these small regional companies can pull some market share from Crackonfail and SpecialEd bikes.
Be nice to dentists. Cause when that carbon wheel catastrophicly fails you may need one.
Well put even if I don’t fully agree. Okay, its not that I don’t agree, it’s that I don’t give a shit either way. I get down and out sometimes thinking about the corporate machine, the trend to put capitalism before humanitarianism and dickhead teaparty rednecks that are poor and still buy into the bullshit the rich feed them. Then I realize, the only way to change it is to not participate, be a good person, stay true to myself and my friends and live life as best as I can all the while drinking as much good beer as I can. I can’t and won’t afford the coolest bits of bike stuff until some sap sells it on Craigslist, but getting mad at those who can won’t change a thing and all it does is get your blood pressure up. Don’t get mad, get even by thinking of nothing while riding your bike while others think about how cool they look, and if thier ultra expensive bike is going to hold up.
so you don’t dig $1500 fat bike wheels (for reasons you didn’t address) but said you don’t like carbon fat bike wheels without stating any reason.
shocking that the meaning got lost in that.
..and somebody has a 45lb fatbike? they need either a bunch of carbon or a new scale.
fwiw, I get the absurdity of over the top components but the first of anything to market is usually ludicrous price-wise. Then competition comes along and choices go up while prices go down and consumers win. pretty typical pattern, so hold tight and it’ll all be fine.
A”WHISKEY”MEND….
I’ve come to two simple conclusions about DC lately:
a) you guys don’t drink enough anymore. lame forum level rants. Go get a case of PBR and drink. Stop giving a shit about who’s got stuff nicer than you.
b) you ain’t getting laid. Perhaps you should start looking at more boobies and go ask your doctor if Viagra is right for you. Maybe a shrink, as you seem to have a hard on for shit that’s off topic to what Drunk Cyclist is about. and we…the viewer….see less chicks on bikes. Boring.
I gotta go with Kark. 1500 buck rims will be sold for 29.95 in Walmart 20 years from now. Original items are always pricey.
I agree with you about 96.66%, but your exaggerating just a tad. Even most of the heaviest fat bikes weigh 37 lbs Max… and Striders only cost $80 – $100 depending if you are looking online or in a bike shop. And if you pay full price in a bike shop you aren’t trying too hard.
I once took a $4000 student loan, cashed it, dropped my classes and threw it all down on a brand new shiny green Dekerf… ,(back in the nineties that was like a buzillion dollars). Riding that bike forever changed the direction of my life. I can think of a whole shit ton of crap people blow their hard earned cash on that takes them nowhere.. that is the beauty of bikes.
So go ahead, go forth and buy the sweetest goddam bike you can, just keep in mind that it’s the places you’ll go with it and the adventures that await that hold the real value, whether it’s over a mountain range or to the beer store. Hell, we all want the Talisker but sometimes we can find Red Label does the job just fine.
Yeah, I have to respectfully disagree. It’s not as if the folks buying $200k Lamborghini are making $25k VW GTi more expensive. Quite the opposite, actually. The bleeding edge exotic cars are developing new technologies that make all cars better. With economies of scale, they’re getting cheaper, too. Plus, when the newer stuff comes out, the deep pocket crowd sell off their older stuff for cheap so the rest of us can enjoy it as well.
I mean, look at carbon bike frames. A decade ago, you couldn’t touch one for under $3k, and now you can get a pretty good quality no-name carbon hardtail frame that rivaled the $2k frame a decade ago for $400 shipped to your door. I’ve been rocking a pair of carbon 29er AM rims on my trailbike for a year and a half, and they’ve been awesome. Those hoops cost me $300/pr landed, I laced them up to some good hubs I already owned, and they are way better than any recycled soda can wheelset I have ever owned. 4 years ago, those would have been $2k.
$10k bikes aren’t bringing down the industry. They are leading the way. Then, the tech rolls down to us with budgets of mortals, and we all benefit. They don’t make bikes more expensive, they are bringing quality back down to where we can afford it. Heck, think of how good even the low rent parts are these days. I remember the crap we rode on 20 years ago, and thought it was pretty badass at the time.
We’ll always have Detroit….
http://detroitbikes.com/
Mr. D2 is eloquent and makes a very good point.
But here’s the deal: I call my crabon road bike “the Trophy BIke, and it’s THE FUCKING SHIT. It’s the best bicycle I’ve ever ridden, and I’ve put about 13,000 miles on her so far. I’m fastidious about maintenance and other than a bunch of chips and scratches in the clear coat, it looks like new. I can’t wait for the roads to dry off next June so I can go ride it.
I bought a crabon hardtail for just over two grand, which is close to what what my only motor vehicle, an old beater pickup truck is worth. But hey, I’d rather have a crabon trail rocket than a new truck.
Rubber side down, brothers and sisters. See you out there.
Your rant was spot on. Not sure why anyone would put carbon on a fat bike when they can use that money to add disc brakes to their road bike, right…
Word. Couldn’t have said it better. A-type ususally means A-hole.
@Jman
I knew a guy 25+ years ago who spent a big student loan on hookers and blow.
Does that make him better than you or worse ????
@mikey
Now I know why I like you. “… old beater pickup truck”. I own a 1972 Ford F100. True POS but that truck gives a bigger boner than my imaginary girlfriend.
D2 sounds like he has a problem with capitalism. An idea- contact the White House and become the U S Bicycle Czar. Then EVERYBODY gets a carbon bike , not just us dentists.
Kark et al., the problem is, that the facts don’t line up with your argument. We’ve had carbon bits in the bike industry for 10-15 years now. prices are not coming down. A carbon road frame today will cost you more than a carbon road frame 10 years ago. Sure, its got an over-sized headtube and some other marketing BS that they didn’t have 10 years ago, but really they’re not that much better today then they were then.
This year not one but three, manufactures came out with carbon fatbike rims. They are all priced right around $800 per rim (that’s my families food budget for two months). Fat bikes are particularly susceptible to this pile of BS since they are already fantastically over-priced. Aluminum fat bike rims will set you back $200.
I’ve wanted a FS bike for a couple years now, but I’m a small guy and the Al ones have gotten all oversized and enduro and just plain heavy. The carbon frames are ridiculously expensive, a bike with mid-level components comes in at $6k. And you just know someones going to come out with a new hub standard, or braking technology or whatever that will make it obsolete next year.
I’ll just keep riding my 7 year old steel hard tail and hope this all settles down someday.
Hah, love it man, bike industry prices have gone out of control, which is why I started LaMere Cycles doing great open mould frames and building them up one bike at a time for people depending on their budget/wants/needs.
But yo, 45lbs for a fat bike? Our fat bike weighs 21.5lbs, and these HED carbon rims are made right here in Minnesota, I picked them up at the fat bike expo here yesterday, light and cool…..blingy yes but its good to have technological innovation, hopefully it trickles down and makes everything lighter and more affordable for more folks in the long run….but I’m a hopeless optimist. Thx, JP
Frank,
Bullshit. Prices for carbon bikes have already come down. You can buy a decent complete carbon road bike with 105 components for $1300, which is about where aluminum bikes were a decade ago.
And, if you’re waiting for ‘things to settle down’ lemmie tell ya, it won’t. Nobody’s making you upgrade or update.
Geez, folks. I never heard a bigger bunch of whiners in all my life. So, you’re getting better, lighter, faster, stronger gear for less cash, and you all somehow find fault with it.
In this holiday times let us all remember the joy of Christmas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fyS5CLBgyM
My 1994 Gary Fisher rigid, 100% steel 26″ still rocks the house. Paid $550 for the bike. My 1985 Miyata Six-Ten ($365) still gets ridden. And my 2010 SURLY Pacer at $1,100 is the best road bike I ever own. As I like to say,”faith in equipment, replaces faith in one self.” In other words, you don’t need all the fancy stuff to get the job done. And when I was in college in the early-mid 1980’s, you could buy a six-pack of PBR tallboys for $1.99 in good ol’ upstate NY. Those were the days. Just ride.
You’re a hater. Period. Your whole “cheaper is better” argument is B.S. Inflation is a bitch, but it happens everywhere, and that’s just an unfortunate part of the capitalist game. Your tirade against things costing more is just stupid without some inflation corrected numbers. The fact that a “cheap” bike costs $200 bothers you? Try actually fucking making something, you stupid twat. It’s not even cheap to do in China any more, let alone stateside. Materials are more expensive. labor is more expensive. Finishing and packaging are more expensive as well, and guess what, numbnuts? None of that is specific to the bike industry. That’s life. Deal with it. Shit’s too expensive and making you feel insecure? Apply for better job or be happy with what you have and fucking quit whining like a little broke bitch.
Buy a $400 carbon frame online? Strider for $80-100 depending where you look online? I’m all for a deal, but support your LBS. They are getting the hose end of this just as bad as we are. Amazon and the like aren’t going to ride with you, have a beer with you, or hook you up when you fall on hard times and don’t have the cash for a tube or some shit. Dicking down the LBS to match some shitty wholesaler is not cool either.
You can argue that the price of a carbon bike has come down. That’s true. You get a lot of tech for your money. But guess what? The price of a good bike has still gone up. A lot. Look back to about 10 years ago where the top tier XTR carbon wunderbike cost about $6k. That hardly gets you XT anymore.
I’m really confused and I haven’t even been drinking……
This is what I’m getting out of the post:
Shit has become unaffordable, shit should be cheaper so that it is affordable, if the people that makes unaffordable shit affordable can no longer afford the shit they make.
The one truth is that duchbags are part of all walks of life. It’s best to avoid them whether they are a dentist and own a set of carbon fattie rims, or flip burgers and ride a $50 Huffy.
While everything is pretty much covered above for this topic I have another blog here that I am sure people could start some fires at.
http://www.twosticksandaboard.com/2013/12/teach-your-girlfriend-to-backcountry-ski/
While I am sure you will have an opinion on the topic be sure to click on a few other posting before you go spouting off about these two. They have travel to every continent to ski/snowboard so they are no light weights.
Stop invoking the trickle-down myth. Increased cost trickles down along with the technology.
Remember, shit rolls downhill and piles at the bottom.
Yooze all are funny and made my Monday, ride on! Whatever it is made of and costs, just ride on.
@dan — +1
Good Lawdie. This is still going on ??
The only post/comments that beats this is the LittleJar epic of a few years ago.
Job well done boys.
The true douchebaggery is what keeps me coming back to this site.
Top shelf MTB, XTR, 1994, maybe $3500 to $5K.
Now that’s an SLX/XT mix bike. XTR will be generally north of $8K
Make it a Sram bike and it’s even stupider money.
Sure, you can buy some slave labor, no (real life) warranty, soulless, Bikes Direct POS and save some $, all while screwing a neighbor who runs a small shop in town out of the chance to offer a better product and experience (yeah, I know, some LBS’s suck donkey cock).
I stomp as hard as I can on my square taper XTR cranks, and my M970 HollowTech II’s, and I can’t feel the difference in stiffness.
While I may be getting “more”, is it palpable, tangible, can I notice any improvement in my overall experience? No.
The media gets all wet in the nethers about the shifting performance of 10 speed. I now actually own one with 2×10?
Properly set up with fresh cable and housing, it shifts every bit as nice as my 2×9 set up the same, and not a wink better.
A guy we ride with, who’s known to be rather parsimonious, but buys nice shit when he does finally get off the pot, saw I had 10 now, and starts gushing, oh my god, that stuff is supposed to shift SO SWEET, WOW!!!! Is it really as awesome as they say? I can’t wait to get it, but it’s SO expensive to change it all over.
Um, no Dave, it feels just like your bike, really, step away from the KoolAid….
Bikes designs have plateaued, and we now get sold hype and more gears as the must haves and massive improvements.
Big reason I went to the fat, I found a bike that is legitimately different, with a skill set that none of my other bikes have.
I’m all for buying another bike, it’s fun, and if I can afford it, why the heck not? But to keep replacing stuff that’s a year or three old within a given category, nets me nothing, or better stated, nothing I can’t live without.
I’m getting on my electric Moonlander and going for a ride…..
Hater will never be a word and poker is NOT a sport.
Cheers!
Chicken Little, for someone “in the industry” you show remarkably little understanding of it. Stuff is cheaper now than ever. Factor in inflation and the shiz is practically free. Stop gouging people for Striders and get some learnin’. Blah blah this site needs new contributors.
Can’t we just all get along and watch a little Panda porn ??
http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/09/here-is-a-photo-of-a-panda-watching-panda-porn/?utm_content=buffer10655&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer
Bonky wins.
I was contacted by a gentleman in the industry who wants to sway my opinion of carbon fat bike rims. The gauntlet has been thrown and D2 has graciously accepted the challenge. Stay tuned…
I was contacted by an engineer at HED one time, who offered to send me several sets of race-grade crabon rims.
Like a dumb shit, I was up-front and told him I couldn’t deflash or drill crabon at the wavelength my laser emitted, and he demurred.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! (slapping self on forehead)
Jman, We don’t all want Talisker…shit is almost as nasty as Loch Du!
Well said my man. Worked “In the industry,” 20 years, still broke as all fuck. Still riding the good old shit until I run out of gas and someone that gives a such and such lights me up and pushes my canoe out into the current.
Mendon.
I have still most of my top shelf 1994 mtb. Mantis Pro-Floater, xtr cantis, xc pro drivetrain, king front hub, xtr back, mavic rims. A bit of syncros and titanium componentry.
It really didn’t get much more top shelf for ~3inches of full on race/trail bike.
For the same money this past spring I put together a Knolly Endorphin. Light years better in every respect. Faster, more efficient & better handling on an XC race course and it can storm through drops, tech & light DH that would have folded all but the burliest of 1993 bikes.
Bikes today are fantastic. Today’s XT positively slays yester-years XTR. Disc brakes that hardly ever need attention and are massively powerful make cantis quaint by comparison, Big travel air springs and damping that is incredible compared to the shite elastomers of 1993. Todays tires alone make any current bike better than anything on offer in ’94.
I won’t say much on the drivetrain as I don’t believe they’ve advanced nearly as much but the rest of the bike is even in the same league.
On top of that we’ve got bike parks opening, we’re making good progress on opening legit trail access with better trail design and the bikes are phenomenal. It’s a very very good time to be a mountain biker. Sorry that you seem to be not having much fun yourself.
“Faster this, lighter that, more gears blah blah blah…” How many times I got to tell you knuckleheads?
1-You’re in the woods.
2-You’re on a bike.
3-The faster you go, the sooner you’re OUT of the woods and OFF your bike.
SOWHATSYOURFREAKINHURRY???
Beer?
Joe. I enjoy going fast. If I wanted the tedium of going slow I’d book a cruise. And going fast doesn’t mean I’m out of the woods. It means I’m in a different part of the woods on a different part of trail and I like trails.
But I encourage you to plod merrily along as suits you.
Nobody drank PBR before the hipsters cause it tastes like piss!
honk honk
All I know, is that the Campy Record High Flange hub in the front page photo is one of the most beautiful pieces of cycling history in existence. I have one set, lost another in a divorce. Wish I had the hubs back.
I’m with Pepperman. PBR is something you can only drink after having a dozen real beers. I’m a Coors Light kinda guy. Light cause I need to watch my old-fat-man-girlish figure.
@el jefe: believe it or not, that hub’s actually an old Dura Ace.
I was going to call you a liar, but then I looked at mine. The cutouts and bearing covers are wrong. My bad. Been out of the biz for too long… I didn’t recall any high flange Dura-Ace.
That hub was given to me by Bryce at AZ Bikes when I built up a commuter back in 2005. I didn’t know Dura Ace came in a high flange like that either until I saw it, but there you have it. I still have that hub; it’s sitting in a parts bin waiting for a reason to be used. The blue frame in the photo is my wife’s commuter that I built for her in 2007…an old steel Batavus. It’s cooler than any bike I own myself.
Kark, one man’s “tedium of going slow” just might be the next guy simply enjoying the surroundings he can’t get enough of. But no worries, mate. I reckon if you’re having fun, there’s a better than average chance you’re doing it right.
Cheers.
@D2, there are few things more classic than an old high-flange hub. On my commuter, I’ve switched my Campys back to single-speed spacing, as I live in the flatlands again. It’d be nice to have them on an vintage steel cross bike, but my Cross-Check will have to do.
Equally detestable are $10 six-packs of “craft” beers. The eponymous quote from Mike Watt which ended the Minutemen documentary sums up the ethos that all should embrace. “We jam econo.”
You get what you pay for. Ran across Oskar Blues Gordan’s beer, $15 for a four-pack. I was thirsty and flush, so I bought it, and the first sip had me wondering how anyone in their right mind would sell anything so good for so cheap.
Dogfish Head is another example. IPA, India Brown Ale, barleywine ale-Not the stuff I’d buy every day even if I could afford it, but worth every cent.
Of course there’s many a microbrew that I’d like to see put back in the horse it came out of, but that’s just my personal preference. What really seems nuts to me is $50-100 for a bottle of whiskey. Really? Don’t get me wrong-If you like it and you can afford it, go nuts. But I’ve never in my life spent much more that around $20 on the stuff, and that’s for Wild Turkey 101.
For the fat-fuck in all of us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S10GMfG2NMY&feature=player_embedded
@TTT, Great. So my bike can get hacked…
@Mothra, Obviously spoken by someone who had not had Bell’s Two Hearted Ale or Russian River’s Pliny the Elder. There are lots of good cheap beers out there for the daily drivers, but there is a reason that others cost that much. They. Are. Just. Better.
@Sparky, My everyday bourbon is Old Grand-dad. $16/bottle. Same mash bill as Basil Hayden (~$30, made in the same distillery. Mr. Basil Hayden was Old Grand-dad), just aged a little less (4-6 years instead of 8). Side by side, I MIGHT be able to tell the difference, but it’s no-where near 2x better. I will occasionally buy a bottle of Bakers for a treat. That said, I do understand the allure of nice scotch. It is a completely different beast than bourbon. I keep a bottle of Laphroaig 18 around for the really special occasions. It’s not something to drink every day. One bottle will last a year.
Is it actually the industry boosting the price tag or inflation making everything more expensive? More retrogrouchery from the Drunk Cyclist Anti-Things division.
Pingback: The Sunday Spore with D2: Velo Zephyr - Drunkcyclist.com
You want to see commercialism and schlong measuring at its worst, check out the S FL riding scene. If you are not riding a carbon superbike with the lightest, flashiest and most illogical set up there is to buy, you are a toad. Let’em buy the super bike, wait 6 months and pick up some yuppie scum’s latest garage hanger. Works every time. This allows us more time to feed our polo ponies and screw up elections