Freedomizing

I have a self-admitted obsession with bicycles, but let me clarify a few things. Do I love the new technology ... Yes, frickin' cool the electronic shifting. And the lighter more aero frames, ya di ya di ya da. Now let's get to what I care about and what I deem reasonable as far as expenses and my experience. You will not be happy with a $500 brand new bike if you are going to be putting more than 1000 miles a year on it. That being said, you could be perfectly happy with a $800 bike and not know the difference between that a $1500 bike vs. an $8000 bike. Let me explain. There are new technologies out there like the electronic shifting, actually reduces weight, I would have guessed the opposite. You can drop $3,000 on a wheelset! Hell, you can drop nearly $500 on a seat! So let's talk about simple physics; you push a pedal, which transfers energy to the crank, transfers to the chain, chain then puts tension on the frame, pulls at the rear cassette to turn a hub that...