TLDR: I think that a bike I was gifted is too nice for me
In 2021, my stepdad gifted me an incredibly nice bike as a graduation gift. The bike was originally made to for touring (see the multiple racks, leather mudflaps, etc). It cost about $2k.
Up until then, I had only rode basic bikes with the gear shift with numbers on it and flat handle bars. I was dazzled by the red color and leather wraps on it.
At some point, I became aware of how ritzy it is and how little I used it. I only take casual bike rides on trails in my city. No more than 10 miles. I started feeling like a poser and insecure about my biking skills vs the bike I owned. It has made me self conscious to go to biking groups.
So, I have the urge to sell this bike and downgrade to one that feels more appropriate to me. That being said, this bike is very sentimental still. I just can’t tell if I would regret selling later down the road.
I’ve also thought about downgrading certain parts of it. For example, taking the mudflaps off, maybe putting on straight handlebars and a more basic gear shift system.
by yarnyouglad
46 Comments
Just ride the bike, it’s that simple.
Nobody really cares except you’re out on a bike enjoying life.
Be a little more chill with yourself. It’s a bike and bicycling. There’s no rule that says you can’t enjoy nice things if you’re not pro. It’s supposed to be fun
You are easily good enough for that bike. More than good enough. Be grateful for it. Demonstrate that by owning it and enjoying it.
When you’re young you care what other people think about you.
Then you get older and don’t care what other people think about you.
Then you get older and realize other people don’t think about you.
Don‘t sell it even if you think it‘s too much for you.
You will lose money when you sell it so you won’t make much cash when you downgrade (depending on how much you downgrade).
And I think it’s not fair towards your stepdad. Depending on what your relation is. Instead maybe just do a bigger tour with it. Or not. Still nice to have a good bike for “smaller” rides
Its just a bike dog. Ride it and enjoy it. If you sell, one day you will wish you still had that nice bike pa gave you. If you need a reason to keep it, start training/planning for a weekend bike tour. I bet you have fun 😉
Your were gifted an awesome bike. Enjoy it for what it is! I can second what other comments have said, be yourself, ride it as much or as little as you can and enjoy the process.
What I can say is having a bike that you enjoy riding might just be the gateway into finding a really enjoyable hobby as you move through life
Bikes can cost $10k or more. A $2k bike like this is perfect for your use case and will last you many years while leaving you room to “grow in to it” if that’s what you decide to do. Ride and enjoy.
Best advice I can give is to get out of your head and on to the bike. Just enjoy it.
Relax dude, you’re overthinking it. Ride the bike! It’s the perfect bike for someone casual, nothing about it scream poseur. Now, if you had a high end carbon frame, deep section wheels and electronic shifting, you might be right that you look out of place. Even then, just ride the damn bike.
In the cycling world 2k is a starter bike don’t worry about it go on trek website and see how much bikes cost it’s insane
A bike like that is made for exactly what you’re doing. Exploring. You don’t have to race. You don’t have to wear a kit. Pedaling it down the trail to grab a beer, coffee, ice cream, it a sandwich is perfect for a bike like that. Those big tires will help you get off the beaten path if you want to wander down some dirt road.
Personally I’d leave the fenders on as i think they look good, and they help keep you and the bike clean if it’s a bit damp out. If you want to lighten it up some, you could take the racks off.
Your step dad gave it to you for a reason. I’d say just keep riding it like you are.
Its a nice bike, If you don’t ride it like hell all the time it will last you longer, so you are just in the position where you get to enjoy it for longer.
It’s a bike you can ride for the rest of your life. It’s a great gift that you should cherish and enjoy! Jsut make sure you have a good lock to make sure you can.
And don’t mess with the gear shift system if you don’t have to. Replacing parts on it, even downgrades, will be spending more money on the bike. You know what I mean? It’s also not THAT ritzy. It’s literally just a practical bike. Enjoy!!
I’ve had similar feelings about some objects I own. It happened especially with cameras, in that if I wasn’t using it as much or in such a way I felt indebted to the object and felt the pressure to use it in such ways or more often, etc. This all changed when one day I realized I was allowing objects to dictate how I felt or should do. I realized I was allowing an inanimate object to have control over my life. Once I realized that, it became a lot easier to simply do life as it comes and know that I’ll use my belongings as it seems fit to me and it makes sense.
This bike is awesome, like others have said selling it doesn’t make a lot of sense given your mixed feelings and the lack of economic benefit. Seems like you might benefit from keeping it and ride it as it makes sense to you. You don’t owe anything to the bike or your stepdad. It was a gift and you get to enjoy when and how it gives you joy, be it for a mile or fifty.
Life also comes in seasons, so you might not ride as much right now, but maybe there will be another season when you’ll want to ride more and will wish you had a quality bike.
Anyways, hope this makes sense, keep enjoying the great outdoors!
I think you think people care more than they do. They just see a person on a bike, you’re not on a $25k Colnago or something, it’s really not that flashy.
Adjust the bike so it fits your style. If you end up changing anything, keep the old parts and consider replacing them in the future when it feels right. Don’t think about it so much as downgrading the bike as shifting its identity to match its new owner. Definitely keep it, though. It came into your hands for a reason. The more you ride, the more you’ll grow attached to it and you’ll be thankful you kept it
So the heart of your problem is what the bike says about you, and that you’re worried it will be obvious that those statements are not true.
First off, fenders (and to lesser degree mudflaps) are perfectly normal accessories to have on an urban commuter, because they keep the rider clean and dry from wheel muck.
The only other aesthetic cue I can pinpoint is the front and rear racks. Since you primarily ride for leisure, might you feel a bit more at ease if you removed the racks until such time that you need them? At that point you’d have a pretty “normal/everyday” looking bike, as opposed to one that’s all dressed up with no place to go.
Also, as an aside: a fully kitted bike like this is a curiously specific choice of a gift. Does your stepdad ride as well? Is he trying to ask you to take a trip with him without asking you to take a trip with him?
Don’t sell it, that is a very cool bike and it looks perfect for chill rides. Nobody will judge you 🙂
I’d be very surprised if anyone even thinks about what type of rider you even if they notice the bike. At most, I’d think “That’s a cool bike”. Wouldn’t even occur to me to wonder what level of rider you are, how far you go, etc..
It’s a gift from your father. Keep it, and keep it as it is unless there is something that isn’t working for you. Even if you never ride in the rain, I’d leave the mud flaps on because they are cool and unique. If you aren’t comfortable with drop bars you could consider converting to flat bars, but that would require new shifters at least; I certainly wouldn’t change them for aesthetics only.
Even more importantly, you have a bike that you ride. That makes it appropriate to have that bike. Could be a $250 bike from Walmart or a $15,000 S-Works. It’s yours, so it’s appropriate for you and you are not an imposter. The only inappropriate bike for a person is someone else’s bike when permission hasn’t been given to ride it. If someone “judges” you, it is a reflection on them.
You should be stoked. I find that cheaper bikes can often put people off from riding or even cause them to never realize how fun and comfortable it can be. This style of bike is my favorite as well. It’s a perfect all around bike which means you have the freedom to try out different terrain and scenarios. It’s a perfect commuter, bike packing, touring and grocery getter. It is also a good apocalypse bike if SHTF. Enjoy it!
Get another bike that you can “beat up” but keep that one for certain days
I’m a snobby cyclist and I certainly wouldn’t judge you for that type of bike. I wouldn’t trade the bike in. Changing it to a flatbar bike is a totally fine change if that’s more appropriate for the type of riding you do, which seems like it is
First off, you are wrong. You 100% deserve that bike.
Second – that’s not a $2k bike, so don’t worry so much about it being ‘above your pay grade.’
Third – accept the wonderful gift, ride it, and grow into it. If it fits well, this is a bike that can last a whole lifetime. You have plenty of time to improve your skills.
I credit my step dad as the one that really got me into cycling, and it is a really special bond. The absolute best thing you can do is go and ride with your step dad if you are able. Make memories with him and you will cherish them forever. We are lucky to have good men in our lives.
Try to be kind to yourself and just enjoy the bike. What a wonderful gift from your dad! Keep it and ride it when you can. You are worthy of it.
Just make it yours and ride it! Don’t like the fenders? Take them off. Get a matching water bottle. Put stickers all over it. Whatever expresses yourself.
And who cares if you only ride it 10 miles at a time and a comfortable pace? That’s what a bike is for! Enjoying it the way you want.
Finally, I think your stepdad would be hurt if you sold it for something more basic. Certainly your choice to do so, but he’d more likely enjoy seeing you ride it and embrace it however you do.
Don’t you dare say that your bike that was gifted to you is too nice for you. This is your platform you will build yourself from. Trust me. Own it, love it, appreciate it, use it as it was intended. You would be doing a disservice to yourself.
People might admire your bike, but they’re not gonna judge you. Just enjoy it! Anyone who thinks worse of you for having a nice bike is someone you ain’t gotta care about.
This sounds like mental health issues beyond just the bike, to me. A good way to help with mental health issues would be a nice walk or perhaps, may I suggest, a bike ride?
That bike is rad and if you want to see people that are too overbiked and doing less, go to a local group ride. You’ll feel well justified in owning that bike. Pedal on
If it was $2k new, it is worth much less now as a used bike. No one is judging you when you ride by. Just enjoy it and take it as a challenge to ride up to its level. Someone cared enough about you to give you this nice bike. Accept their love and be kind to yourself in the way you would be kind to others. Don’t judge your own worthiness here.
I had a friend sell me a bike for $300. I looked it up later and new it was like $6000. He rode it in Ironmans at 30 mph and I ride it on casual workouts at 15mph. And you know what… fuck yeah! Great friend and great bike! Enjoy the good stuff in life!
Ride and love this bike.
This is not a bling bike, there are plenty of those out there, it is a bike with pedigree and will look after you very well. May you have many miles together ahead
Good riding 🙂
You should come on the rides I lead – we have guys on $10k bicycles that aren’t even close to fast.
If you like it, ride it. If you don’t like it and want something else, sell it.
In real life nobody is watching you as closely as you think. I promise you nobody has thought the bike is too good for you. Just ride it
I thought this was r/BicyclingCirclejerk for a second…
Bud, there are MAMILs on $15k bikes that ride once a month.
You’re good. Have fun!
Its a bike, ride it and have fun. You aren’t a poser, no one gives a shit, if they do, they are miserable human beings.
Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk.
I honestly think it would be more rude to sell a nice gift than to be supposedly “unworthy” (or whatever) of this bike.
I wouldn’t even downgrade it. For starters, swapping from drop bar to flat bar shifters and brakes is not necessarily a straightforward job as there’s multiple compatibility standards to keep in mind.
If the bike is the wrong size or set up incorrectly for you that’s a different story. Is the bike physically uncomfortable to ride? If so you might look into swapping some parts to make it work for you.
Nobody cares. I see people commuting around the city on $1k+ bikes all the time. Nobody bats an eye. And anyone knowledgable enough to notice will know that $2k is entry level in the world of “serious” bikes.
Ride it.
Appreciate it.
If you sold the bike you would not get a good value out of it. Used bikes depreciate heavily. You may enjoy taking the racks and fenders off. That will lighten the bike a tiny bit but can change feel and appearance. At the end of the day it is a tool. Use it as you want. A quality bike is so much more pleasurable to ride than a lower quality/design bike. So just be thankful for the gift, enjoy riding it, and take care of it. If it doesnt fit your needs. Find someone in need and give it to them or sell it to them at deal that is a blessing to. But I would keep and just enjoy it for the decades of light use it would give ya.
It’s a gift, enjoy it. Be proud. Learn how to shift it correctly.
There are more people out there that BUY bikes that their skills do not match.
I got a fancy bike once. I felt the same way about it. Then I rode a few thousand miles on it. It looks fancy in parts. But it is my bike now and I pass by too quickly for people to make judgments any way. Just ride it bro! You’re gonna be fine. It’s tool. Use it!
I can say with 100% certainty that nobody who will ever see you riding this bike will care as much about this as you do.
This might come as a shock, but when you’re out riding, nobody who sees you cares about you at all. You do not even register. You mean nothing to them and they don’t spare you a moment’s thought.
So stop policing your ability to enjoy things based on a fiction.
Silly post – just ride the bike dude