[fabsroman]

TD,

This is the first time I checked this board today, so if you posted about the bike in waterfowl today, I never would have seen it. However, I'll be checking that forum in a little while and I'll look for the post about the bike.

I just lost an auction on some carbon fiber wheels on e-bay. The wheels normally go for $2,400, and I bid $1,050 with 3 minutes left in the auction. Somebody else must have bid a lot higher because they won at $1,075. I just didn't want to spend that kind of money on a set of wheels right now. When the wheels were at $300, I bid a little, but once they got up to $600, I let everything sit still. I happened to be over my brothers' this evening an hour before the auction was to end, and I saw that they had gotten to $800. So, I put a maximum bid of $900 in and I became the new high bidder. By the time I drove home to my place 45 minutes away, somebody else was winning at $910. At that point, I figured I would wait until the last couple of minutes and put in my final offer. It just didn't cut it.

I have come to the conclusion that while I can save some money on e-bay, I hate buying used stuff and I hate spending my time researching this stuff, researching the seller's feedback, and then following the item and bidding on it. I have a bunch of files on my office floor that I need to do work on, so in the amount of time I have spent bidding on these frames and wheelsets, I could have made the difference in what I would have saved so that I could have bought them new. For instance, I was bidding on a frame that cost $3,100, new and was willing to go to $2,100 for it. That was the one that was ended early. For $2,500, I ordered a different frame, brand new, made by the same manufacturer but better suited to my riding style (i.e., stiffer and lighter). I'm going to end up buying a medium priced wheelset new and I am going to buy the high dollar set after tax season in April/May when I get back into the racing scene.

By the way, that is one heck of a nice bike, and I am glad to hear that you only fell once on your first ride. Bike riding can be a ton of fun, and it is less harsh on your joints compared to running. Plus, the only gadgets you get to play with when running are your shoes. Bikes have so many gadgets to them that it is insane.

Anyway, I am going to stay away from e-bay for a little while.