My comment was based on being in a local bike shop and seeing a wheel set 50% off, only $3000!
For those who criticize cyclists for how they dress, they might want to be aware that the clothing is the way it is not as a fashion statement to piss everybody else off. There are functiional reasons for everything, particularly the tight shorts, which are designed to avoid a seam at a particularly poor location, prevent chafing, allow for an internal pad, etc.
Personally, I wear liner shorts under regular shorts or baggy shorts that don’t look quite so weird. But neither option is quite as functional as the real thing.
Asshole cyclists intentionally cause problems for motorists. But then there are quite a few asshold motorists who think they should never, ever be required to share the road.
At 13 years old I rode a bike with a friend 1000 miles through the Ozarks. Had quite a few things thrown at us by passing motorists. What kind of person throws bottles at kids because they choose an alternative mode of transportation?
I tried traditional shorts and bibs but ended up wearing mountain biking shorts with a liner.
I gave up road biking because of the motorists who believed, as you said, that they didn’t need to share the road with anyone.