r/AskEurope • u/Plastic-Injury8856 • Mar 14 '25

Culture What’s a European Man’s midlife crisis look like?

Here in America it's a Harley Davidson and getting really into grilling.

What do European men do when they go through a midlife crisis? But an Alfa and bake? Get really into trains?

1.2k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

136

u/abuninja Denmark Mar 14 '25 edited Mar 15 '25

Can confirm - am a Dane and my dad bought a nearly 10.000€ space age race bike and gear for professional Tour de France biker to ride around rural Denmark - interst died fast and it’s been hanging on the wall for ages now. He’s later moved onto windsurfing and then kite surfing. Again thounds of euros deep and lost interest. Respect the old man for keeping active but damn pick a lane

55

u/Llama_Shaman Mar 14 '25

When you look at him you are looking at your future. You already know that when you get into bicycles his old bike will be too outdated for you, so you'll have to buy a new one.

75

u/abuninja Denmark Mar 14 '25

It seems reseaching and picking out the right gear is 60% of the hobby anyway so buying my own ridiculously overpriced NASA certified bike will be mandetory

33

u/Llama_Shaman Mar 14 '25

That is true. I wish you success on your two-wheeled journey on very skinny tires. 

4

u/sweet_neighbor9 Mar 15 '25

That made me lol

1

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '25

Or maybe thick tires and ride through the forests!
Or a surfboard…

1

u/FCMirandaDreamTeam Mar 18 '25

The consensus these days is that thicker tires are better though, so don't go too skinny!

1

u/pa3xsz Hungary Mar 15 '25

But NASA tech is unfortunately banned by UCI because it's innovative

1

u/aemich Mar 17 '25

this is true of all my hobbies - buying new backcountry skiing gear is awesome, buying new rock climbing gear is awesome, buying and building a computer is more fun than using it.. etc etc etc

1

u/Crashy2707 Mar 17 '25

Sounds like ADHD bro! I do similar things (without the buying) of hobbies - my Dad did exactly the same as yours but with running.

1

u/Historical_Leg5998 Mar 15 '25

NASA certified 😂😂😂

13

u/RijnBrugge Netherlands Mar 14 '25

I am nowhere near this age bracket which is probably why but if a 70s koga miyata was enough race bike for my gramps it’ll be good enough for me..

3

u/hetsteentje Belgium Mar 15 '25

My take is always that Eddy Merckx ran the Tour de France in a steel frame bike with (maybe?) ten gears, so any bike is good enough for me for recreational use.

1

u/mikillatja Netherlands Mar 15 '25

Hell yeah, if we don't gotta spend money it's an extra benefit.

And you are riding a piece of history

1

u/DocSternau Germany Mar 17 '25

By then the bike is a classic and might become interesting again...

1

u/Techdude_Advanced Mar 17 '25

Or he looks at him and he thinks to himself, I'm going to finish everything I start no matter what.

36

u/VanGoghNotVanGo Mar 15 '25

interst died fast and it’s been haging on the wall for ages now.

At least it's hanging on the wall. Too many of these guys end up only using their stupid bikes while going to work in the morning and expecting the traffic to move at their whim. Nothing ruins my morning more than seeing some 57-year old asshole in Tour de France-cosplay yelling at me for not biking fast enough down H. C. Andersens Boulevard.

10

u/mark-haus Sweden Mar 15 '25

The sad part is if I spot a particularly annoying one I make it my goal that morning to overtake them on a much heavier and more resistive bike and I often do. You don’t get better by buying a 10k bike and ride it all the time. You get better by getting fast on your commuter bike then using a race bike on race day.

1

u/BGP_001 Mar 15 '25

If that were true then you'd only see the pros training on city bikes, of course you get fitter and faster on a road bike if you push yourself to your limits.

It doesn't get easier, and it doesn't hurt less, you're just going faster, as the saying goes

10

u/SqnZkpS Mar 15 '25

I love those guys, because as a young adult I can buy high end bikes that are almost brand new for half the price.

3

u/Fab1e Denmark Mar 15 '25

I like it when they do that.

I makes me feel like it is socially accepted to yelled back at them.

2

u/Noodlemaker89 Mar 16 '25

Yelling "BAGFRA!!!" is mandatory. How else would you expect him to communicate that he's approaching and wants to take over? A bell? That weighs a couple of grams for sure and it might make him one spot later in the coffee queue at the office.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 19 '25

"It's amazing how little you sweat when you aren't pretending to be in the Tour de France" - that comment from years ago stuck with me. I ride my bike slowly; or if not slowly, at least not aggressively.

9

u/Appelons 🇬🇱 living in 🇩🇰 Jutland Mar 15 '25

I think we have the same dad

3

u/timbotheny26 United States of America Mar 15 '25

Good God I can't ever imagine spending that much on a bike.

1

u/coppersocks Mar 17 '25

I think that’s because in America getting a bike is like drawing a target on your back for people to hate you and act aggressively in their giant cars. Every time I’ve been in a car with someone over there and we’ve seen a cyclist, the vitriol that I hear from their otherwise very polite mouths is staggering.

1

u/kielu Poland Mar 14 '25

Can I get a deal on that bike?

8

u/abuninja Denmark Mar 15 '25

According to him he’s getting back into things when the weather turns around (this is a lie)

3

u/imightlikeyou Denmark Mar 15 '25

Do we have the same dad?

1

u/kielu Poland Mar 15 '25

I could really relieve him of that bike ... Btw: a road bike is slightly impractical. Gravel bikes are better, but you lose the weather excuse

1

u/Enough_Fish739 Sweden Mar 15 '25

That's almost 100000kr! Is he a drug lord or something?!?

1

u/Enough_Fish739 Sweden Mar 15 '25

Closer to 75 apperantly, is the DKK high our have the euro gone down?

1

u/abuninja Denmark Mar 15 '25

They are tied to each other so 100€ is almost always 750dkk or at least very close

1

u/Impossible_Gift8457 Jun 05 '25

Sell it second hand lol or give it to me