Hey chat,
I just need to get this off my chest. Ever since I got into cycling, especially after switching to a road bike, , my spending has gone crazy. It’s not just the bike. It’s the jerseys, bibs, lights, tubes, snacks, events, and all the “upgrades” I keep wanting. I honestly thought once I bought a bike, I’d be good. But it feels like there’s always something else to buy.
At first, I told myself it’s fine because I’m not wasting money on partying and other stuff and I am doing it for my health, right? But sometimes I still look at my spending and think, where’s the limit?
Is it just me? How do you all keep your cycling costs under control? Or do you just accept that it is what it is.
Would love to hear how you all do it.
by ZaldrizarVelo
22 Comments
Welcome to the deep, expensive, rabbit hole of road cycling. I tell my wife it’s cheaper than alcoholism, drugs and gambling. She hasn’t come up with a good comeback yet.
For cost control – I buy a lot of stuff from Aliexpress (with careful research to avoid getting burnt). And for energy I just make my own carb mix from regular table sugar and sodium citrate (or table salt if you wanna be really cheap) – way cheaper than commercial gels or drink mixes and does the same thing.
Yes but you will find yourself at a point where you don’t really need anything else.
I’ve ridden the same road bike since 2011 – since I got my cycling kit (clothes, shoes, etc which were not cheap but not crazy expensive )- the spending is probably in the $100 – 200 per year range. Pretty much for replacing wear items or helmets or things
I biked recreationally for many years then switched to bike commuting but only had to swap pedals and get fairings & locks. Now I’m back to recreational but already had my old pedals and things.
It’s a hobby and like any hobby you can spend endless amounts of money. However, you don’t need most of that stuff (so it’s not ‘the cost of cycling’) and a lot of the time, buying is something you do **instead of** cycling. For me, it eventually stopped, because there isn’t anything I really need that I don’t have.
EDIT: but my bikes were very expensive in the first place. Getting a custom frame, is, costwise, the worst you can do. I have a bike that doesn’t look it but cost more than 99% of the bikes I meet.
No. I expected it to be really expensive.
Cheers
I kind of mentally write it off as spending on continued fitness and health, which is worth a lot. It can also be viewed as spending on entertainment if you like doing it enough. It’s pretty inexpensive on a per hour basis that way. Or you can view it as spending on transportation if you use it for practical matters, where it’s overwhelmingly the cheapest form available.
Note that because you *can* spend a fortune cycling doesn’t mean you *have* to. A decent entry level bike, a helmet, and a couple of sets of bike clothes are all you *really* need (plus ongoing spending on maintenance, etc.) I spend far more on cycling because I like it, than I actually need to.
I just ride my bike
I mean that’s any hobby if you keep buying everything that you want compared to what you need. You can get a solid bike for 1000$, clothes for about 200$ (all you need is the pants and a helmet honestly, rest is bonus). Lights, bottles, bottle holders are cheap af.
I’ve cycled the alps twice on a 500€ MTB in running shoes and it was great. You don’t need as much shit as marketing is trying to tell you. Just limit yourself and have some self control
If you go down the rabbit hole of *almost any* hobby they are way more expensive than they look on the surface. In fact I struggle to think of many hobbies that are genuinely cheap once you really get into them. Cycling isn’t any more expensive than say fishing, or learning to play the piano.
It is not cheap, but I found that once I had spent a small fortune on quality stuff in the first year or 18 months or so, my ongoing cost dropped off by a lot. A couple of good bibs and jerseys last for years. Lights last for years…
There are things that are more consumable – snacks, tubes, events – but most days I just get on my bike and go cycling with a bidon of sugar water or electrolyte powder and maybe stop for a coffee and a muffin.
No, I ride a shitty mountain bike
I just ride my $80 Trek.
Once you buy a couple of forever bikes, it gets cheaper. As long as you don’t keep ‘upgrading’ components.
It’s how you approach cycling. Are you into cycling or into racing? Those are two different concepts. A sport cart doesn’t cost the same as a normal utilitarian car.
A reminder that you don’t need a jersey, gels, clips, etc… You just need a bike and one from 30 years ago will work the same as a new one.
You’ll be able to exercise exactly the same, commute the same, etc… the only thing that will change is how competitive you are with the gear you have.
It’s as expensive as you want it to be. I’m not into it competitively. For me it’s recreational and a form of transport. I bought my road bike in 2012 (2011 model reduced in sale) I don’t feel the need to upgrade it as it rides so well (though it has had excellent hand built wheels made for it). I primarily use it for cycling (now) 16 miles a day commuting, but have gone on touring holidays and paid for the odd local sportive. Because my bike is just 10 spd, has rim brakes and standard non-integrated handlebar and cabling, servicing costs are cheaper. I wear cheaper brand jerseys that are still decent quality. If you’re into peak performance and marginal gains then yes, all stuff is very expensive. It’s not how I feel I need to spend my money though.
It is expensive.. but I have seen the progression of increasing prices over the decades, so not surprised.
I am relatively frugal.. but just an example.
Went gravel cycling with my wife.
120 mile drive.
Sit at a cafe.
4 power bars.
The bikes are relatively cheap, but 3,500 for both.
Now add cycling clothes, and we cycle with helmets with mics and speakers. I just had new power pedals (£599)…
And wear and tear, even if I do my own wrenching.
I live between two cycling worlds. On one side, there’s my trusty fixed-gear commuter bike I’ve been riding it since 2004, clocking about 200 km each month… And ~12’000km per year when i was bike messenger with it… All it needs is the occasional bit of grease and some air in the tires. It costs me virtually nothing to keep it rolling.
On the other side, there are my gravel and road bikes. With these, I cover around 800 km per month, but the costs add up fast: between €500 and €1000 monthly when you factor in gear, maintenance, and depreciation. That’s roughly €0 per km for the commuter bike versus about €1.20 per km for the others. Not a cheap hobby
Well I have 15 bikes so I see your point but also those 15 bikes cost no more £50 each inc parts. There’s a difference between a cyclist and a person whom uses bicycles. It can be done very cheap if you just wanna go down the road and the sky is the limit it you just wanna go fast.
I just bike in regular clothes but I also spent like over 2k on just a steel frame. So really, it cost as much as you want to spend. Realistically, all you need is a bike and a helmet.
Just ride your bike. Don’t buy into that whole lifestyle cycling fashion thing. It’s especially bad with roadies.
No. About $1000 initially on the commuter bike, lights, chain, clothes, and a couple hundred each year on maintanence.
The expensive part is the $300 million cycleway / sea wall my council is building for me.
Its not cycling that costs money. Its the GAS (Gear aquisition dyndrome, a term coined by camera nerds) that may come connected with it.
I try to not give a shit about status symbols, brands and new gear. The difference it makes is negligible.
Cycling can be a super low entry barrier sports, giving a liberating experience at almost no cost at all. – But since most people are money and status driven and i can’t change that, i must always remind myself how much i prefer them spending their money on useless cycling gear instead of car tuning parts, a new TV, Alcohol, Drugs, etc. – Do i like it that basic flexers are invading my hobby? Not really, but i prefer them over the alternative show-off consumerists for sure. And do i like some prestigious or vintage bike gear some times? Yes for sure i also succumb to the fallacy at times…
It’s easy to become addicted to buying all the gear (I went through a phase of this). Let’s be honest, if you’re an amateur cyclist, not much of it really matters. Just get on your bike and ride it.