Clydesdale envy: Bikefanclub.com

Fun thread, but for the sake of discussion (hold the "Doh, what else is a forum for" comments), consider the following:

Yes, Calfee is a high end, expensive FRAME at least after the October price increase. Before that the Tetra and particularly the Luna were relative bargains compared to many Litespeed, Colnago and other frames regularly advertised in the catalogs from Excel Sports, Colorado Cyclist, and websites such as Gita, Cbike, Competitive Cyclist, etc.

If the price alone were the primary factor you wouldn't see the river of Litespeeds and other high end brands out on the road every weekend ridden by cyclists far under 40 (not to mention the hordes at any duathalon or triathalon).

Another point to consider is why so many "young" racers, domestic clubs and local teams of all Cats, seem to ride primarily steel and Ti frames. Yup, many of them ride what they do because of sponsor subsidies - something I personally believe Craig Calfee should consider. (Picture a handsome Clydesdale with only a suave hint of gray in its coat riding a Calfee for the logo.) But many of them also express a preference for these frames.

Finally, at least for now, think about how prestige plays into any high end purchase. Check out all the Mercedes and BMWs rolling by. Certainly not all but a large number of them have young (by comparison) drivers. High cost, but they made the decision that it was worth it.

I am also struck both by the number of participants in this forum from Oregon and third hand hearsay about the number of Calfees in Eugene (location of the U of O and our version of the "People's Republic of ..."). I don't think the majority of these folks fit the older, wiser with a need for expensive toys category. However, reasonable minds could differ, at least on the last item.

My personal wonder of the moment is whether there is some kind of "natural" progression for some which is short circuited by younger Calfee riders. Just about all the riders I regularly lag behind still believe Ti is the holy grail. Perhaps Calfee riders are just quirky. Although I do love my Tetra.

Moving on to Clydesdales. I was shocked, shocked, the first time someone told me the Clydesdale category in a duathalon I was watching my son do started at 180 lbs. It has been longer than the last time I saw my high school honey since I have seen 180. This is clearly a statistical error. It should be 10 lbs. over whatever I am at the moment, just about where Congress should draw the line on whoever deserves to get taxed the most.

I used to be hooked on high end audio and the majority (again, not everyone) seemed to fit a common demographic and similar taste in topics with the Calfee forum. Although there was far less reason for that given that they were buying and talking about equipment which they couldn't hear if you believe the aging v. loss of high end hearing graphs.

Okay, lunch hour is over. Back to reading documents.