[Jeff Higgins]

This is all just "disposable income" and, God Bless America, we each get to spend ours however in the hell we want. I find it interesting how the "perceived value" of some of our toys are perceived by the "outside world", folks maybe not as deep into our end of the pool as we might be in our chosen forms of recreation.

In this particular comparison, my knowledge of motorcycles vastly exceeds my knowledge of bicycles. I know there are guys on here that know more about one or the other or both than I do, and guys who know less. I just like hearing everyone's points of view. I'm just getting back into bicycling, after way too long of a hiatus spent twisting throttles rather than crank arms, so I've been poking about the World Wide Webs getting back in touch with the world of cycling. To say I was "surprised" at what one can now spend on a bicycle would be the understatement of the day. So I thought I'd have some fun with it.

I had a similar conversation with my younger son, who finds himself getting pretty enamored with golf. I never played, but my dad was an amateur tournament winning golfer. Looks like that bug skipped a generation. Anyway, #2 son is spending some shekels on clubs and other necessary equipment. His put is that as far as disposable income, "fun money", neither golf nor cycling even come close to other potential sink holes, no matter how hard we try.

One thing I do find rather disconcerting is the depreciation that many of you have mentioned. Why is that? Why is cycling so unusually burdened? You guys might guess that I've spent some rather serious money on specific firearms, but I can honestly say they are all worth more (some a good deal more) than I paid for them. Granted, my greatest fear is that when I'm gone my wife sells them for what I told her I paid for them rather than what they are really worth, but I do have two sons who are keenly aware of (and sworn to secrecy regarding) their true worth. That aside, what's the deal on bicycle depreciation (outside of Byron's collectable bikes)?