Where are you willing to splurge on gear?

The recent review on the Reynolds wheels got me thinking about how worthwhile it is to spend big $$$ on performance. Tires seem like an easy choice and so do brakes, where an extra $100 spend can give a big gain in performance. Same for break pads. Grips are another low cost item where doubling the spend can yield big returns. The eye watering price of $3100 for a wheelset has me thinking there's no way I'll see enough of a performance benefit to justify the cost. Where are you willing to spend over the top on gear for performance?  Or is there more satisfaction in finding a product that gives great results in relation to the price than breaking the bank on gucci level parts?

Was just thinking on yesterday's ride Deathgrips in thick soft are what's best in life. That and the right tires like a DD DHR with a lighter DHF or Butcher front and I'm done shopping. Hmm, throw the right rotor sizes and pad compounds in the shopping bag too.

Wheels, etc, for me personally: meh. Much prefer the feel of my current budget alloy wheels over my blingy carbon wheels.

Chasing weight and not performance is the money pit. That snappy light feel is addictive, but let it go and I figure you get the strength and performance without spending the moon for it.

I've split my riding into 2 bikes recently, one is heavy and budget the other I chased weight. I almost always choose the heavy cheap bike to be honest. Climb is a plod, but I've surprisingly adjusted to it.

I ride more silly stupid stuff not worrying about blowing up another carbon wheel or whatever too.

But every bike has gotta have thick soft Deathgrips.

I'm not sure it counts as "splurging" but I always switch out saddles at time of purchase to a Specialized Power 

I've now got four bikes with the same saddle and three of them had the original swapped out immediately - in fact, I've still got all three original unridden saddles to go back on those bikes when I sell them.

Plus one on the Deathgrips. No idea how they’re so good but they are. 

(A little bit longer and they’re basically perfect)

Posted by: SixZeroSixOne

I'm not sure it counts as "splurging" but I always switch out saddles at time of purchase to a Specialized Power 

I've now got four bikes with the same saddle and three of them had the original swapped out immediately - in fact, I've still got all three original unridden saddles to go back on those bikes when I sell them.

+1 convert here.

I'm not convinced that spending top dollar always brings better performance. When there are helmets and pants for bicycles that are more expensive than good quality motorcycle gear, a lot of the market is uninteresting. 

The bike market is has traditionally held that more money = less weight, which isn't a big deal to me. I prefer to min/max, unless some component is holding me back (long way to go for that still) I'll choose good quality reliable over top drawer.

The gear I am willing to splurge on is (in decreasing order of priority):

Suspensions, high-engagement hubs, contact points, helmet, cockpit setup, X.0-level drivetrain, brakes,  shoes, dropper post, tires.  

Brakes is a tricky one for me, as I am not too sure if I am fussy or not. Having high-end brakes (like RSC-level for SRAM brakes) is super important for me for the adjustability, but I can tolerate insufficient braking power. For example, I never upgraded the Guide RSC that came stock on my Enduro bike.

^^^

Honestly surprised to see tires at the bottom of that list. Considering their low cost compared to suspension they seem like an easy product to throw money at.

Yes, I know. 

I am a notorious cheapskate when it comes to tires. I always buy good quality tires (DHF, DHR, Contis, Michelin, Vittoria, etc,), but only when I find them on sale...and I retire them when they are getting dangerous. Considering how important tires are for safety and performance, this is very dumb and I should stop. 

For this reason, I can't say I splurge on tires...especially considering how I happily pay full-retail on Ultimate-level forks, NSB stems and pedals, etc. :)

To me, splurging on tires would imply retiring a mildly worn rear tire to replace it with a fresh 140$ MaxxGrip that will last only a few weeks.

Anodized valve stem caps.

Posted by: FlipSide

To me, splurging on tires would imply retiring a mildly worn rear tire to replace it with a fresh 140$ MaxxGrip that will last only a few weeks.

That makes sense - I would have a hard time doing that too. I also wait to buy tires when they're on sale, but if I need one I'll spend the $150 or so to get a top quality tire. 

The fear of splurging on things like suspension and wheels is what happens when standards change and that $1500 shock, $2000 fork or $2500 wheelset won't fit on the new frame. 

Ano valve stem caps FTMFW

The only places where i properly splurge are tyres and suspension (more in terms of tuning and frequent service than Gucci brands). And prescription riding glasses. For everything else, averagely priced value components are fine.

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: FlipSide

To me, splurging on tires would imply retiring a mildly worn rear tire to replace it with a fresh 140$ MaxxGrip that will last only a few weeks.

That makes sense - I would have a hard time doing that too. I also wait to buy tires when they're on sale, but if I need one I'll spend the $150 or so to get a top quality tire. 

The fear of splurging on things like suspension and wheels is what happens when standards change and that $1500 shock, $2000 fork or $2500 wheelset won't fit on the new frame. 

Ano valve stem caps FTMFW

I agree 100%. I may never buy 150$ tires, as I have a big backlog of tires I purchased on sale, but I would if I had to. :)

I have been bitten by standard changes in the past. At one point, over the 4 mountain bikes we had in the family, there were 3 different wheel sizes, 3 different rear axle width, 3 different front axle configurations and 2 different steer tubes standards. Basically, it was not really possible to interchange the forks and wheelsets between the 4 bikes. That sucked. I am now in the middle of a multi-year process of refreshing the fleet and being able to interchange parts easily between bikes is a rather high priority. :)

In the long run it's usually cheaper to just buy the thing you really want rather than buying the cheaper/wrong thing and trying to flip it later. Especially when you factor for installation and configuration and then having to sell it off and buy something else and go through it all again. Buy the right thing first, install once and move on.