>restoring nice old mtb>go to buy wider riser bars for comfort >option a: black anodized amazon bars for $20 actually are more the shape i want >option b: shiny nitto bars imported from japan for $80verrrry hard to avoid my base instinct to just spend more on every single thing because quality and so quickly the bike blows out to 4 times as much as i intended to spend
the thing is though, I ride my bicycles, I put them through a lot. I've broken bars, i've broken racks, i've been through quite a few wheels, i've broken frames. I've worn out clothes, i've worn out panniers. A lot of expensive hipster memes like nitto and carradice actually last really well. I've had a carradice saddlebag for 8 years. It's proved its high cost several times over now. It has a little tag on it that says it was made by 'Emma'. I like that.
It's really nice using nice things. Materialism is a trap but bicycles are inherently minimalist and having a few really high quality things that you enjoy using is not a bad way to live. So what if sometimes i pay four times as much so that something has a pantographed insignia and is shiny or it's made out of quail leather by someone in the first world? It feels silly when you look at it all together new but 10 years down the line it doesn't feel silly. And people buy and don't use the full spectrum of bicycles and bicycle accessories. Atleast half of all of any of this stuff languishes in a garage. It's hardly a specific problem, and literal marketing material is hardly indicative of any culture.
https://global.bluelug.com/but goddamn do i want to bankrupt myself on shiny memes from here
