Sometimes I dislike Gear with a capital G. Bicycling may be second only to photography in the obsession with buying Gear and Accessories and Upgrades for every niche application, and talking about how much you spent on them.
We don’t need all these specialized accessories. In case you can’t tell, I’m in the crotchety “don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades” camp. Hell, the Tour De France was won 50 years ago by someone riding a 50-years-ago-technology bike and wearing 50-years-ago-technology clothing, and he was still a far better cyclist than I’ll ever be.
That being said… shiny new things are fun, and I certainly buy things as well… I’m just railing against the attitude that had a friend say “I want to get more into biking, but I have to save up $2000 first to buy a road bike and clothing”.