That's a term I'd not heard before - "Halo Bicycle". Used to describe a five figure priced bike. There's a very long story in the Personal Journal section of the Wall Street Journal today, here: http://online.wsj.com/articles/rise-of-the-five-figure-bicycle-1408489679?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204616804580101753472999156.html
Lengthy and breathless exhaltation of carbon (Light! Durable! Vibration-dampening! Expensive!) with, predictably, no discussion of potential downsides, and a complete absence of cost/benefit analysis - except that which is implicit in the article's report that the 2014 Trek Madone 7.9 is 11% lighter than it was in 2005, but more than twice as expensive. So to shave 1.8 pounds off the weight of the bike (2005 Madone, 15.7 pounds, today's Madone 13.9 pounds (!)), it only costs an additional $6,145 (2005 price, $5,400, today's bike $11,550). Sheesh. The only voice of reason (well, at least according to my lights) regarding the bike weight arms race in the entire article was a single paragraph quoting Dave Moulton, as follows: "Not everyone thinks it is worthwhile spending so much for a bicycle. Dave Moulton, of Summerville, S.C., built and sold bicycles for three decades before retiring in the early 1990s. He says high-price carbon fiber bikes built by major manufacturers exist for 'snob value' and so-called 'weight-weenies' who obsess over superlight bicycles. A few ounces make no difference to an amateur, Mr. Moulton says." This puts the recent Riv bike weight thread in perspective! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ **************************************************** This email (and any attachments thereto) is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain legally privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email (and any attachments thereto) is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error please immediately notify me at (212) 735-3000 and permanently delete the original email (and any copy of any email) and any printout thereof. Further information about the firm, a list of the Partners and their professional qualifications will be provided upon request. **************************************************** ============================================================================== -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
