Why are you so cautious with your wives?

[shokhead]

2001 motobecane vent noir, with the following upgrades:

Campy scirocco wheels
Easton EC30 fork
Campy Chorus BB
Campy Centaur double cranks (Yes, they work, but don't try it unless you are sure you won't kill a chainstay)
Ritchey V4pro pedals (actually, one seized up over the weekend, replacing them with eggbeaters)
Wipperman stainless steel 10-sp chain
Campy chorus 11-23 rear cassette
Shimano 105 (black) brake calipers w/ salmon kool-stop pads
Campy record cables
Campy chorus brifter
campy chorus carbon rear deraileur
campy record carbond front deraileur
Specialized Indie 143 saddle

Pretty much it's my stylish and fast daily rider. Later on, I plan on replacing the seatpost, stem, and handlebars. Maybe go for some black Record calipers.

I have a picture of it before the Specialized saddle and Easton fork up on the "pics of your ride" thread. As for why that saddle...comfy and not leather...too much wet weather riding makes leather saddles leave black marks on your butt

Wow,nice. I just got an 05 Roubaix Comp and switched out the stock wheelset for some Curcults.

 

[Tom Andry]

While HiFi and Takeereasy have really covered it well I'll chime in with my two sex...I mean cents. Much like the sentient programs in the matrix, women are the gatekeepers, they guard all the doors, they hold all the keys. When my wife spends X amount on something I file that away as a "down payment" towards whatever I want. Certain things are important to her, other things are important to me. When we spend enough on what's important to her, it's my turn...if she'll let me.

I've made the questionable decision to allow her to do all the money in the household...and my "allow" I mean I insist. I hate doing the money. If I did it, we'd have a couple of nice cars, some insanely nice equipment, and creditors beating down our doors. Not a pretty picture. She's great at managing money, saving, planning, etc. I'm great at spending. We play to our strengths. Give and Take? Mostly Give on both our parts.

To say most of this talk is in jest is probably pretty accurate though I'm sure it has been truer at times than many of us would like to admit. The fact is when you are living with your parents or are fresh out of college with a brand new "real" job, it seems like there is not that many things to spend money on. When things like insurance and mortgages and 401k's and food and stuff suddenly turn up you realize that you can either afford new speakers or to have a child.

*whew* got a little serious there. By the way, offered the above choice, take the new speakers!

 

[Tom Andry]

How you know you don't wear the pants in the family:

1. You can't wait for your wife to go out of town so you can watch sports on the weekend
2. You've watched more than 15mins of Martha Stuart
3. You think Oprah makes some pretty good points
4. You shop for new audio equipment based on how much it looks like your old stuff
5. When shopping for wallets, your main requirement is that it have a hidden pocket somewhere
6. No matter how right you are at the beginning of an argument, you always end up apologizing and buying her something at the end
7. You refer to your wife as ma'am
8. You've had any part of your body waxed and you're not a swimmer
9. You have ever owned any cube shaped speaker smaller than your fist
10. You've ever worn a peach sweater because it "brought out your eyes"
11. You instinctively close the browser window when she passes and you clear the history before you shut down
12. She comes with you to get your haircut and answers all the beauticians questions for you
13. Your wife gives you books to read, and you actually read them
14. You're purchases are based on how "cute" you think she'll think they are

 

[toquemon]

Women need commitment. One of the things you swear to do when you marry is to share everything, including the bank account. In my case, if i spend 1,000 in new equipment it means that i have to spend the same in a gift (for example, a nice pair of shoes) to mantain things "calmed", otherwise, I would be the most selfish person in the world. So, I have to lie about the true value of things. The last sub i bought cost me 50 bucks (instead of 500) and i bought it from a friend. I had to park like two bolcks away from my house, take out the sub from the box, throw the box, take some dirt from the ground to make the "used" look and said that my friend Carlos sold it to me because his horrible wife wanted some cube speakers in the house... bla, bla, bla.

Yes, marriage is difficult, you have to negociate all the time.

 

[T2T]

Personally, it's none of your business why I'm so sneaky with my audio purchases around my wife.

OK, I'll break. Here's my reasons:

1) Even though my home is nicely furnished, my wife will always insist that we have a 90 to 1 ratio. 90 dollars of home furnishings to 1 dollar of audio gear.

2) I grew up in a financially dynfunctional home. My mother would not let me spend much of the money I earned. Due to this circumstance, I've become very good at sneaking when it comes to audio purchases.

3) Finally, any man is going to lose the battle when it comes to HT purchases. Most ladies wonder why any sound beyond a boom box is required.

 

[hifiman]

2) I grew up in a financially dynfunctional home. My mother would not let me spend much of the money I earned. Due to this circumstance, I've become very good at sneaking when it comes to audio purchases.

3) Finally, any man is going to lose the battle when it comes to HT purchases. Most ladies wonder why any sound beyond a boom box is required.

T2T are you my long-lost brother? My mom dictated how I was going to spend my money from an early age. She told me what to buy and was always coming up with household "taxes" for my money. I learned early on how to "work the system" to make sure I took care of my needs.

As for the boombox thing. That's always my favorite thing to point out when it comes to the differences between men and women in audio. Take my wife and her family for example; her mother, her sisters, and herself all enjoy singing. They sing in church, social gatherings and various public performances throughout the year. Each one either plays a musical intrument or has played one in the past. They love things like operas, classical music, and going to the theater to enjoy a musical. I do none of those, except for the theater once. She told me there would be nude women frolicking on the stage. So I went, for her. However, there wasn't so much as a bare shoulder to be seen. We're still in marriage counselling over that one (how can I tolerate such a blatant and important lie?). Anyway, given her and her family's history and tastes one might reasonably expect that audio reproduction would be most important to them - it's not. None of them would notice the difference between an 8-year-old cassette played on a boombox and a CD played on my system, other than my system is louder.

 

[Takeereasy]

I never knew anyone else was guilty of number 12 but me!

 

[mustang_steve]

Wow,nice. I just got an 05 Roubaix Comp and switched out the stock wheelset for some Curcults.

Sweet, I heard some good stuff about the Roubaix. Oddly, I thought the Vent Noir would be a harsh riding bike, but for a heavier rider like myself (5'8" 220lbs), this frame is very smooth.

I do regret the EC30 fork though...I should have replaced my old fork (Kinesis Carbon2) with an identical one...the EC30 is not as stable, and doesn't dampen up road vibrations quite as well....it does look far sexier though...so I guess I get some OCP points

 

[Tom Andry]

I never knew anyone else was guilty of number 12 but me!

Beautician, of course, was a very deliberate word choice. Many of my friends say men only go to barbers. Apparently my wife disagrees and she tells me I do too!

 

[loserwife]

My husband consults with me on large purchases. I don't usually have a problem with his purchases because I know it will be something that "WE" both can enjoy for the HT. He doesn't have to hide anything. I've learned a lot from him regarding video and audio. This is something that we can share together as a couple. I realize now what I have been missing out on.

Some women like frilly things, I don't. I'm more of a modern type girl. I was laughing at the pictures. I would never cover up our equipment. Probably because I know the value and I wouldn't want to distort the sound in any way.

This is a true statment


A women wants to be complemented on her outfit for the day. She wants to be appreciated for being a unique and special person in a man's life. A man wants to be reassured that he's got the best equipment.

 

[Takeereasy]

LOL, it would be even funnier if it wasn't true Loserwife.

 

[claudermilk]

...
A women wants to be complemented on her outfit for the day. She wants to be appreciated for being a unique and special person in a man's life. A man wants to be reassured that he's got the best equipment.

ROFL! Zing!