>That's definitely true, and I have a whole other rant how my cycling pals and I love to poke fun at dudes who show up to the group ride on a brand new $10,000 bike and get dropped before the midpoint.

This has nothing to do with higher end cars or bikes being "signaling" this is just an anecdote between your skill and the next level.

You could say the same thing about a tour de france winner with any bike vs you and your pals.

If you are competitive, you get to a point where the differences do matter.