How do you justify a new bike? (Page 2)

Luckily my wife has the same length legs as I do. I am pretty sure she will fit on my road bike when I finally save the money for a tri bike.
Ahh, the serendipity of matching inseams....

Justify?  You're a man, you wanted it.  If she gets upidy just give her two handfuls of where's my dinner....yea right!

I bought my wife a "Coach" watch that matched the purse she bought herself a few weeks earlier, I gave it to her as we ate a beautiful dinner that I cooked for her. I timed it very carefully, I gave it some time for her to get used to her new watch, and several days later I casually mentioned that I had really maxed out the capabilities of my current bike and that I was going to start saving for a new one that I could buy next summer....she all but drove me to the shop and held a gun on me while I purchased my new Road eating speed machine. Never under estimate the manipulative power of guilt with a little love sprinkled on top.


Edited by jdfrog 2009-06-18 10:08 AM

Save up the money to get her one, too!

I needed a new bike this year, and I had saved up the money to get a pretty decent entry-level roadie.  I got my bike, and then a month or so later, we got my husband his road bike  It worked out really well.  If she doesn't bike, then get her something FUN that she's really been wanting that costs about the same amount as a new road bike.  Don't get her something that is expensive but not very fun, like an appliance or something like that, or she is well within her rights to club you with a bike pump.

 Really, I bet your wife doesn't want you to think of her as some kind of anti-bike money-grubber that must be propitiated before you can do things you want to do.  If you can afford to keep your household running and you have your own money left over to buy a bike with, you shouldn't need to justify anything to her.  (Although it wouldn't hurt to get her something nice too -- people can't help but feel jealous if one person has a shiny new object and they don't have anything shiny and new.)  But if you have to dip into the household budget, or put a new bike on plastic, maybe you really shouldn't be upgrading bikes yet and should hold off until the end-of-year sales next winter...

I dont need to justify it. I told her this past spring I am saving to get a new bike (either Road bike set up for Tri's or a full TT bike, depending on what I find and like in my budget) and that I am going to spend between 1400-1800 for a bike plus all the accutermants (pedals, cleats, shoes, aerobars if needed, bento box etc...) this coming winter/spring when hopefully last years bikes are on sale or possibly I would be able to get a used demo model.

We are also saving for her to get a road bike as she wants to start training for sprints and/or century rides.

Thanks for all the great input. I tried the n+1 math approach with my wife last night. She just shook her head and laughed. Now comes the hard part, deciding which bike to buy.

Jeff

I sincerely hope this ends with sharing each other's bikes.

Ha Ha... Bear said "YOURS!"....   What's hers is hers, and what's yours is hers... right?

Buy it, then just schedule an extra therapist appointment with your marriage counsellor.  Tell her "it's a problem and you need her to support and love you while you deal with it".  Even better, if you could some how make her feel guilty about the whole thing.  I'm almost on my 18th year of marriage!  My wife is a psychiatrist and who better would understand these issues?

Edited by jimmyb 2009-06-18 4:06 PM