You don't need carbon to workout or bikepack, but your comfort level increases.
I love SPD, but that's because I have had my feet slip on flat pedals and seen how close I was to getting injured because of it
If you're going bikepacking in a place where there's not going to be any high end mechanics then I agree that using the most common components makes sense because then anybody can help you. Although I've heard that to go bikepacking in China you need a local handler in a car following you, so I would probably just have them carry spare components there.
And yeah, I don't lock my bike outside, only in groups where we can maintain eye contact with the bikes while sitting down. If I commuted by bike I would use something much much cheaper.
I mean, I don't go to LBS, that's how I get carbon fiber at insanely cheap prices. People who are brainwashed into supporting LBS will get their carbon bikes for $3000.
Used that bike for a while, even checked it in on a plane to Taiwan, no insurance or anything, rode around for a couple weeks, didn't worry too much about handling by the airline since for $150 I could replace it if it got damaged. Worry-free is freedom at its best.
The bike got confiscated in California later on, then I bought a $200 used bike to replace it.
Interesting events
Working on actually interesting things
Availability of tech jobs
Good scenery
Lots of places to exercise
Somewhat decent medical specialists which don't exist outside of a couple of major metro areas in the US
Startup investment which is hard to get if you don't live here, but if you do take it they also expect you to pay yourself barely enough to live
Good Asian supermarkets and overall decent food
There is some basic disfunctional public transit here which doesn't exist in most of the US; US cities with good transit are equally expensive
I spend a lot of time on a bike. I don't spend $1300 on bikes.
There are people who want the latest carbon fiber blah blah just because they are using it for sport. I have no problem with them. But I have my current $200 Craigslist bike, it would have been $900 MSRP, but it rides fine, it's a little heavier than those carbon fiber things but so what? I get more exercise, and worry slightly less about theft, which buys me a LOT of freedom because I can just lock it up in downtown San Francisco and enjoy my day. If it gets stolen I just buy another bike, no biggie. If my landlord confiscates it, I just buy another bike, no biggie.*
Yeah, I agree, it's reasonable to spend $1300. If you have $1300. But it's also okay to NOT want to spend $1300 and still want to take it up as a serious hobby. I for one am pretty happy with my $200 bike.
I don't use clip pedals, I just use flat pedals, and these $20 aluminum flat pedals are nice and solid. I tried SPD clips before and hated that stuff. To each is own.
I have done many long distance trips, and I avoid proprietary or hard-to-find components because it's awesome that I can find replacement components in some random village in rural China or rural Myanmar or rural anywhere I go.
*Saves me on rent anyway because apartments in my area with proper bike storage OR enough apartment sqftage to store bikes inside have rent rates higher than my current rent plus the cost of a new bike per month. It still saves me money to stay at my current cheap apartment, lock bike to the pool fence (because property manager refuses to install bike racks on the premises), get it confiscated every now and then, and keep buying new bikes.