Will I be a POSER

Shane speaks the truth.

No one should care about what you ride but you. 22mph in a half is not a poser, fwiw.

I would be pretty happy w/ 22mph LOL

You can only get faster and I dont think you would be a poser unless you say you do tri's and actually don't.

Buy it NOW.  Too cool not to get it.  

You've got 9 months to become worthy of it.  Just kidding.  My guess is most of us ride the bike we can afford not the bike that matches our ability.  I know I do.  If we could afford a (fill in the blank) superbike of our choice we'd have it. 

Buy it, Ride it and be proud.

The only thing about the 9 is the integrated headset, so if you ride in a not so steep position, you'll have to add spacers to the aerobars.  This negates a good chunk of what makes the SC 9 such a great bike.  Outside of that the bike is amazing, and the 7 is no slouch either!

I wouldn't care about what other people would think.  When I pass a superbike on the course, the last thing on my mind is "Geeze that guy sure is a poser!".  I'm far more concerned with the road ahead.

At 20-22 mph, you are not the poser.  I lay claim to that title with my multiple $4000 bikes that I ride at barely 15 mph.  I may not be able to out ride anyone on the road, but I can out spend most in the bike store.  I do not think of myself as a roadie or triathlete.  I am more of a bike collector.  Even when I am riding, the bike is an almost stationary exhibit.  I also think I provide a public service by riding a really expensive bike slowly.  It makes so many other people feel so good to pass me.

If you have the money and want the bike, buy the bike.  You can always rationalize.  I know I do.

TW

Yes you would be a poser.  As a punishment for even thinking of it, you must buy the bike and give it to me.  

Seriously, who cares what others think?  Go for it man!  There will be one emotion coming at you from other riders on race day, and it ain't judgement....it rhymes with shmelously.

If you were trying to be talked out of this, you came to the wrong place.

Personally, I would buy the cheaper bike and spend the money on wheels or other sh1t. Or, maybe split the difference and go with the 7.5. (Although I find nothing wrong with Apex, aside from my personal preference for Shimano) The 7.5 is a very nice bike and well-spec'd with Ultegra. The extra 3 grand or so is, in my mind, a waste. I guarantee you will not be 3000 dollars faster on the 9 series bikes. You WILL be faster with a set of wheels.

Just because you can AFFORD something doesn't mean it's the best decision.

Most people want a new bike in a few years anyway, no matter what they have. That's just boredom. ;-)

(Actually, were it I with $7k to spend or so... I would make my way over to ebay, and get myself a lovely SET of bikes. For that cost, you can get a MTB, road, and tri bike, and still probably cover most of a set of wheels. Or, I would buy 1 bike at like $2k, and pocket the rest.)

I do kind of agree with this.  I bought a SC 7.2 because it was all my budget could afford at the time.  I really wanted a 9, but just couldn't afford it.

Now that I have the SC7 I'm actually glad I do because I'm looking to upgrade to ZIPP wheels, and get a high end full carbon integrated aero bar (of my choice) on the front.  Both of these additions will still have my total cost way under a SC9 and I'll have what I consider top of the line upgrades where the Bontrager ones on the 9 may or may not be top of the line.

I'll continue to buy upgrades as my budget affords on the seat, cassette, crank, derailleur, etc..

I agree with this line of thinking as well.  At a certain point the extra cost just doesn't make sense, from a "will I know the difference" stand point.  Using the money for the extra gear will make you noticeably faster... a $3.5K bike with $1.5K wheels will be faster than a $5K bike without them. IMHO

ETA: BTW, 20-22 for 56 miles isn't really poser-ish speed. 21 MPH (split the difference) would have put you in the top 16% of my AG and top 11% OA in my HIM.