Does this picture make you want a Cervelo? Photo: William68
Cesaer probably wouldn’t want a Cervelo, since he couldn’t have known about them. The job of marketing companies is to make you aware of their products. I am amazed at some big bicycle companies marketing brilliance. They are able to make bicycles “win” races without athletes and make you want a particular brand so badly you can taste it. This is the job of marketing , to make you feel you need something, whether you can afford it or not.
A bike is most likely something you would want vs need, although I tend to suggest need for reasons such as health, wellness and happiness. Most people are highly susceptible to marketing hype though they would rarely admit it. Additionally, they are extraordinarily aware of peer pressure. This helps to explain why people buy a bike without really doing the research, when doing the research they seek evidence that their pre conceived notion is right and finally, regardless of their decisions, they spend an inordinate amount of time afterwards justifying their decision.
A Cervelo won the Ironman! If I buy one my bike could too! This is a true statement if you ignore the fact that someone riding a bicycle won the Ironman and only if you have the talent, training and decidication to do what they did could you in fact win the Ironman. It has so little to do with the bicycle, but it does involve a bicycle. This is one bit of marketing sleight of hand that causes people to go into a bike shop and get transported into a Walter Mitty fantasy just long enough for the credit card to clear.
I am all about fantasy, but when buying something as expensive and long lasting as a bicycle, which also has the ability to serve you or torture you, I like to interject a bit of objective research to augment the subjective desires. It is really ok to want a particular bike because someone else won a race on a similar model. I got great pleasure for years buying bikes that were similar to those the superstars of the day rode. Merckx, Saronni, Coppi, the list goes on.
I did understand that on one hand, a bicycle is inexpensive enough so that a mere mortal like me could afford something that was capable of transporting a champion to victory. Yes, I felt more like a champion myself. I overlooked the fact that I was a bike racer living in Dallas who could win local races but would never win a world championship. I just wanted that bike and I was young enough not to care that it may not be the best bike for me.
Now that I am in the business of designing bicycles for others, I have a different perspective, based on two types of observations. First, I am not the youth who could ride anything. My body now complains when things are not right. Also, I am now aware that better technology exists. Second, I see so many people cross my path who have made an emotional decision, spent the money, and now want me to solve their problem by making the bike they bought on a whim work for them as well as it would for the young bike racer for which it was designed. Unfortunately, I then get to deliver the bad news that others won’t; the person doesn’t fit the bike and no amount of tweaking or swapping of parts will fix it.
At the end of the day, I put up with this difficult part of my job, being the guy who tells it “like it is”, good or bad, because I sometimes get to work with folks who do want a bike that really works for them and is not as suggestible as the marketing departments wish. These few people are willing to dig a little deeper and investigate what is really available for them. The costs? A little more time in research. Lead time in production. The fact that they will not have the same bike as their peers, in fact they will have a one of a kind creation. It may look similar to others but is alone in its role to serve the owner.
Fortunately, there are enough traditional bike shops to service the majority of cyclists and thankfully there are enough discriminating individuals to keep me employed! I won’t suggest that you are one kind of bike purchaser or another, but I do suggest that you take a deep breath and really see what is out there. You may be surprised.
