“Is that a new bike?”

“Nah, I’ve had it for ages. Just don’t ride it very much”

If she questions why it looks shiny and new, just say “thanks, I’ve spent ages cleaning it up.”

If she contributes to it then fair enough, if not her tuff luck, suck it up baby!

Sadly after so many years my better half now knows more about whats likely to have cost a bit and what does not than most average cyclist do opps.
But as long as she does not see money going out of the joint account all is fine
Op just needs to learn to keep a little Side lol

Mrs Nano has plus 1 bike over me and her road bike is full carbon. Justifying my reduced in sale Forme was easy as a result.

Always helps is your OH is a bike tart 😉

When I wer a lad I was brought up to know honesty was always the best policy. And we wonder why divorce rates are getting higher every year.

Joking. 😉

Still, robot hoover

My mrs has mentioned about getting another puppy but I wasn’t keen on the idea. I then realised I could use it to my advantage so it looks like I may be getting a new road bike 🙂

Openly admit that she is of course correct and then take her along car shopping and share the planning for the tax, insurance, fuel, maintainance, depreciation of a car for the commuting. Suddenly bikes look cheap…

Oh, and following upgrading her bike my missus now ‘gets’ lightweight nice bike stuff so now tells me off for considering cheaper heavier component options, result!

Mine has approximately 50 pairs of shoes, at least 25 handbags, nail varnish in every shade known to man, and a growing collection of jewellery.

I have an adequately equipped garage with good tools I’ve built up over the years, but unlike shoes most tools don’t wear out for many years so don’t need replacing/maintaining!

I make do with two second hand ones that combined cost me <1k.

I’d like to buy a 105 or Ultegra equipped new road bike, but if 105 would be a big enough jump to notice it is my worry, and then Ultegra starts getting pricey…

We only have the one car between us which is a big saving over running two cars.

just tell her it costs the same as her engagement ring

I bought my Mrs an engagement ring – she bought me a new bike!
We both earn and contribute everything bar a small amount of spending money to the joint account, if my new bike purchases come from my spending money, that’s fine, though it does mean I dress like a tramp! I guess that it helps that she rides too, and for a long time had a much nicer bike than me.

“robot hoover” or a new “food processor”.

Functions that you could peform quite admirably at zero cost.

I find tithing 1% of the value of all bike realted purchase into cheap lingerie, small boxes of chocolates and flowers from the supermarket is fine.

one car between us

[quote]50 pairs of shoes[/quote]
Do you make her walk everywhere?

Don’t be selfish. Don’t spend cash on youself if you can’t afford to spend the same amount on your lady.

We pay all our money into the joint a/c, then pay ourselves an allowance to our own accounts. Any “Bike Shit” as she calls it is fair game from my allowance. Big purchases do need some creative accounting though!

(Non Cycling) clothes do tend to be low down the spending priority list!

My wife just laughed when I walked in with two new bikes instead of just one (that I’d gone out for originally).

I feel a bit sorry for those who have to deceive their partners over what they buy.

I just skim off the interest from my offshore investments. My team of accountants will certainly earn their bonuses this year. *

* some or all of this may not be true

MTFU

Either buy the bike and put up with the moaning/potential complete breakdown in the relationship, or get rid of her and buy the bike anyway.

Worst case scenario – if she walks out, you’ll be upset for a few days. Then you’ll go out on your shiny new bike and wonder what all the fuss was about. Worked for me and that old trout I used to be shacked up with.

Bitter? Moi?

I’ve just got another plastic Hardtail into the house…she is putting her foot down I must sell the Full Suss Frame I built up then never rode so if anyone want a Fuel EX8 for about £300 it needs to go, before I do 🙂

I think mrs blobby has realised that i don’t have much else that I spend money on and in the grand scheme of things it’s not a huge amount of cash (it helps that we have friends who spend a lot more than i do on bikes.) She’s even on occasion been known to suggest that I may need a new bike!

Does the missus ride too? Mrs blobby rides so she also understands somewhat the “need” for a new bike.

Men or MICE ?

A lot of you need to stop squeaking FFS.

It just isn’t an issue… It’s a healthy hobby which so long as I don’t fill all the rooms in the house with bikes and bike paraphernalia and keep it to the man cave.. not a problem.. sorry OP you need to man up a bit mate. plus there are worse things you could be spending your hard earned on , like drugs, prostitutes and gambling…. although I’d not use that as the opening line in any bargaining plea!!!! 😀

You could always try the drip…drip effect.

Talk endlessly about getting a new bike and bore them to death so it is finally a relief when you do buy the bike because you stop boring the other half about buying a new bike.

Until the next one…

Triggers Brush

The last bike I bought was a tandem.
I bought it with my own money, but I think if I’d kept that secret from Mrs MTG, I really would have been in trouble.

My missus wrong footed me when I mentioned a
Frame I really fancied was in a sale. Go and buy it she said much to my astonishment so I did. It was only later Irealised she was much more cunning than I .She knew I fancied a new FS and thought the HT would be a cheaper option.
She is always banging on about when am I buying her a diamond ring, what would be the use of that?
As it is she is always charging her toys and treats to the household account but woe betide me if I even buy a gear cable with joint money!

I guess i’m kinda of lucky, my missus doesn’t ask for much, she just likes to travel. Provided we get to go away a few times a year and the bank accounts balance, she cares not one jot what i spend my money on. Which is why i have 16 bikes in the garage…

I was properly made up when she could tell the difference between a set of Mazzochi forks that suddenly became fox forks. I rewarded her by buying her a FSR and she rides with me more often than not.

Stevo: Think I’m going to have to buy a new bike this Spring. Gonna cost about £2,000.

MrsStevo: Are you sure? Only that doesn’t sound like enough, make sure you get a good one.

I love my wife!

@Ben_mw Tell me more of this “engagement bike”.

I’ve just had the “it’s your money, do what you want” cue angry-non-blinking-stare-and-increase-in-TV-volume conversation.

What’s my next best move… 😐

What’s my next best move…

Like she said – it’s your money, do what you want – I fail to see what more permission you could need, or what could possibly go wrong, when she has so explicitly given you the OK 😈

i agree with most of what people say, your money is your money, but in a relationship there are always other purchases over/above bills. My wife is cool about me buying pretty much what I want BUT she earns less than me and still its an equal agreement EDIT and we agreed this when we got together END ED~IT, so I try to make some effort to compensate when joint purchases are made. Ultimately its the agreements you make when you put your lives together thats important. People are brouoght up differently on how they manage their money, many inherit different views of how it should work and theres the rub. the important thing is to make an agreement on the approach.

Well my wife has a Five Diva Pro and she was talking about getting hardtail last week! So no bike buying issues here. Thankfully (then counts up, 12 in the garage including Missus 2 and Jr’s 1)

In our house, my money is 50% of our combined income (despite different salaries). In the future, the ratio of income will fluctuate, but it will still remain 50%.

What I do with it, after the bills/savings/holidays/essentials/petrol/etc are paid, is entirely up to me.

Hence I have the choice of riding: XC bike, DH bike, BMX or road bike.
Or buying another xbox game…
Or going for a pint…
Or…. (you get the picture)

Pretty simple really.

I was told – in front of witnesses – that my take home pay covered all the monthly essentials, and her take home pay paid for the cars, the holidays, the nice stuff, ergo, there is no money spare for extra bike stuff.

Neither me nor our friends could quite follow this rational line of thinking…..

The good news is that the next time I buy a bike, she is leaving me, so I get the house and the kids, which is a much better deal than when she was going to throw me out!

Drac – Moderator

Anyone else have problems justifying bikes to their other halves?

No.

No, Nope. Not even a little bit… Second wife, much better than the first.

People, many thanks!

I’m next meeting with my girlfriend tomorrow, the new gf/bike over gf thing isn’t happening… What will be happening is me buying myself a commuter, a black one without stickers that’s just like my bfe 🙂

A roadrat then?

Surely she doesn’t own you, and is not your boss..

Your cash, you decides how you spends it dude!

Buy the road bike and MTFU.. I really don’t get how people have to “justify” a bike to a partner.. It’s you hobby, would he/she rather you spent all you money in the pub and rolling In pished every night?

I assume you were biking before you got together? If so then she knows how much you enjoy it and surely she wants to see you happy and understands that hobbies cost money.. Would she rather you gave it up and turned into a big fatty? Don’t surrender to the guilt trip mate… Cycling was in your life before your lady friend.

Happy pedalling.

No problems here the wife actually bought me my hardtail (Merida 0 nine pro 1000d) just as long as she can buy as many handbags as she like which is fine with me as its her money she uses to buy them 😀

She spends her money on make up and clothes

I spend money on bikes

This works for us

the rules: n+1 girlfriends?