One Woman's Shoe Is Another Man's Bib Shorts
Sarah recently posted about sandals that she fell in love with. Problem was, they cost almost 400 American. As she put it, unrequited love.
I can relate. Not about shoes. I don't really hold much for shoes. (Other than bike shoes; I have my eye out for the latest Sidi shoe). But a friend who is doing the Alyn ride with me told me about these top-of-the-line bib shorts. Only 275 bucks!
My current bib shorts cost me $99. But when you sit on a saddle for 7 hours a day for 5 days in a row, is $275 so unreasonable (he tries to convince himself)?
The truth is, I can live without the fancy bib shorts. But I'm still chalashing for my Madone 5.2 It doesn't compare with Psychotoddler's mean, lean biking machine, but it's a start.
Sarah recently posted about sandals that she fell in love with. Problem was, they cost almost 400 American. As she put it, unrequited love.
I can relate. Not about shoes. I don't really hold much for shoes. (Other than bike shoes; I have my eye out for the latest Sidi shoe). But a friend who is doing the Alyn ride with me told me about these top-of-the-line bib shorts. Only 275 bucks!
My current bib shorts cost me $99. But when you sit on a saddle for 7 hours a day for 5 days in a row, is $275 so unreasonable (he tries to convince himself)?
The truth is, I can live without the fancy bib shorts. But I'm still chalashing for my Madone 5.2 It doesn't compare with Psychotoddler's mean, lean biking machine, but it's a start.
posted by MoChassid @ 3:36 PM
5 Comments:
At 4:50 PM,
PsycleSteve said…
Critique:
$400 sandals - can't relate.
Sidi shoes - the best. I have a road pair and a mountain pair. The mountain pair is two years old and has been through rain, mud, and rocks and still looks and feels new. Light, airy, supremely comfortable.
Bib shorts - very personal item, choice of chamois depends on the particulars of your nether region and how sensitive they are. The better bibs have more compression which tends to feel good especially when you're tired. I tried on the bib you are referring to - I found that the one made my Giordana (Tenax) feels about the same for half the price. I usually wait for a sale and pay $99-125. Don't particularly care to patronize the Swiss either...
Madone 5.2
Don't waste your chalashing. I had the Trek 5200 (the Madone precursor) for two years until the chain derailed and scraped the carbon fibers in the bottom bracket area. It didn't cause any problems but my local dealer didn't like the looks of it so he emailed a photo to Trek. Trek said that anytime carbon becomes frays it loses its strength and can fail at any time. They offered me a $500 discount to trade in the frame for a new one. Thanks but no thanks. Bought a new titanium frame (Serrotta Fierte) and road it on Alyn last year. More comfortable on irregular roads, more stable at high speed, virtually indestructible. Came out 1 lb. heavier which costs me 6 seconds/mile on a 6% gradient.
PS If your friend with the $275 Swiss bib short only plans on using one pair for the full five days let me know. I don't think I want to wind up being his roomate...
At 4:55 PM,
PsycleSteve said…
PPS The "challenge" route sold out in a week. Told you so!
At 5:02 PM,
PsychoToddler said…
I used to love biking, but as you can see from my picture I have been out of shape for a while. I hope to get back into it, weather permitting (I have a stationary bike at home).
Right now, however, the idea of sitting in ANY kind of saddle is painful beyond measure. Fortunately, my mother-in-law gave me her 40 year old Schwinn, which has a girlie-saddle.
Psyclesteve: I have a secondary blog name of Psychosteve. Are we related?
At 5:15 PM,
MoChassid said…
Steve
You make a good point; you need at least 2, if not 3, pairs of shorts to get through 5 days of riding. That's a lot of moolah. I will check out the Giordana.
And, as to the Madone, I only use the Madone as an example. It doesn't have to be that bike. It's the IDEA of an upscale bike that I chalash for. The exact model will be decided at the time I take the plunge.
At 12:32 AM,
Just Passing Through said…
Just think of how much money you'll raise selling pictures of yourself in that sexy bib. I say go for the yellow.
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