cycling is a cheap hobby? hahahhahaha
Discussion
That's what I thought earlier in the year.... Save on petrol, get fit, have fun, bikes are cheap right?
How utterly wrong could I have been....
After a "cheap bike" then a half decent MTB, then a road bike, then tyres, gear, spares, lights, parts, kit...... I've just worked out some of what I've spent over the last six months (some neccesary and some slightly excessive but still justified in my eyes) and its mildly terrifying...
Some of that was "buy the cheap stuff, realise its crap, buy better" which cost me more in the long run. But 200 quid of MTB kit this week in one hit made me actually count up.
At least 600 quid on kit, lights, tyres, lock etc. Got a bargain on my road bike but still 700 quid on bikes (cheap by anyone's standard in here but next years road bike will be 4 figures....)
Slightly sobering. I need some man maths to justify this lot after a discussion with my girlfriend yesterday after she found me spending £55 on some off road shorts.....
How utterly wrong could I have been....
After a "cheap bike" then a half decent MTB, then a road bike, then tyres, gear, spares, lights, parts, kit...... I've just worked out some of what I've spent over the last six months (some neccesary and some slightly excessive but still justified in my eyes) and its mildly terrifying...
Some of that was "buy the cheap stuff, realise its crap, buy better" which cost me more in the long run. But 200 quid of MTB kit this week in one hit made me actually count up.
At least 600 quid on kit, lights, tyres, lock etc. Got a bargain on my road bike but still 700 quid on bikes (cheap by anyone's standard in here but next years road bike will be 4 figures....)
Slightly sobering. I need some man maths to justify this lot after a discussion with my girlfriend yesterday after she found me spending £55 on some off road shorts.....
yep... I feel your pain ... one of the lower down reasons why I cycle to work is to save money from petrol, although it don't always work like that!! I now think of it just subsidises my hobby!
Having said that, once you get the kit it lasts a while, such as lights, locks, jackets etc....
I shop around and have got some blinding ebay purchases which have saved me loads.
Having said that, once you get the kit it lasts a while, such as lights, locks, jackets etc....
I shop around and have got some blinding ebay purchases which have saved me loads.
Everyone goes through the same thing - cycling can be REALLY cheap, spend a couple of hundred on a second-hand bike and a helmet and you can spend years happily rolling from place to place spending no more than a the cost of a bottle of chain lube and some cake. That sort of cycling costs pennies per hour, better value than most hobbies I know of.
Then some t
t shoves a copy of MBUK or Road Cycling UK into your hand and BANG, your debit card melts.
If you fancy a bit of financial pain and suffering try Downhill - you can have a taster session by asking your friends to continually punch and kick you whilst you rip up £20 notes.
Then some t
t shoves a copy of MBUK or Road Cycling UK into your hand and BANG, your debit card melts. If you fancy a bit of financial pain and suffering try Downhill - you can have a taster session by asking your friends to continually punch and kick you whilst you rip up £20 notes.
As above. Cycling is only expensive if you make it expensive.
You don't have to go out and buy all the lycra kit or fancy accessories. You don't have to spend £2k on a bike (although some on this forum would think otherwise...)
£200 gets you a perfectly capable bike for commuting or leisure riding. You might only need to upgrade if you start taking things serious and want to compete in events etc.
You don't have to go out and buy all the lycra kit or fancy accessories. You don't have to spend £2k on a bike (although some on this forum would think otherwise...)
£200 gets you a perfectly capable bike for commuting or leisure riding. You might only need to upgrade if you start taking things serious and want to compete in events etc.
As above. Cycling is only expensive if you make it expensive.
You don't have to go out and buy all the lycra kit or fancy accessories. You don't have to spend £2k on a bike (although some on this forum would think otherwise...)
£200 gets you a perfectly capable bike for commuting or leisure riding. You might only need to upgrade if you start taking things serious and want to compete in events etc.
You don't have to go out and buy all the lycra kit or fancy accessories. You don't have to spend £2k on a bike (although some on this forum would think otherwise...)
£200 gets you a perfectly capable bike for commuting or leisure riding. You might only need to upgrade if you start taking things serious and want to compete in events etc.
944fan said:
I have started getting stuff delivered to work and paying on a credit card! Feels like I ma having an affair all this sneaking around from the wife. Got to sneak in some bits from Evans under the cover of darkness later
Luckily, my Evans shop is under the gym.. So I go off to the gym, pop into Evans before going to the gym, leave my purchases in the car until the coast is clear then bring them inside 
P-Jay said:
Everyone goes through the same thing - cycling can be REALLY cheap, spend a couple of hundred on a second-hand bike and a helmet and you can spend years happily rolling from place to place spending no more than a the cost of a bottle of chain lube and some cake. That sort of cycling costs pennies per hour, better value than most hobbies I know of.
Then some tt shoves a copy of MBUK or Road Cycling UK into your hand and BANG, your debit card melts.
If you fancy a bit of financial pain and suffering try Downhill - you can have a taster session by asking your friends to continually punch and kick you whilst you rip up £20 notes.
I'm off for a Jumps and DRops course at style Cop, so I may get bitten by the downhill bug or mauled by it.Then some t
t shoves a copy of MBUK or Road Cycling UK into your hand and BANG, your debit card melts. If you fancy a bit of financial pain and suffering try Downhill - you can have a taster session by asking your friends to continually punch and kick you whilst you rip up £20 notes.
About 3 1/2 years ago I spent £250 on a new hardtail and didn't consider that to be cheap, who would have thought that 3 1/2 years later I would be looking at winter jackets costing the same.......
Don't event want to think about what I have spent in the past few years, I would probably start to shake and figure out why we have not moved house!
Don't event want to think about what I have spent in the past few years, I would probably start to shake and figure out why we have not moved house!
Its hard not to fall into the trap of reading the internet gear-head stuff about needing obscenely priced parts and expensive clobber.
Bought my MTB on ebay for £130. Spent about that again getting it how I want (new shimano wheels, puncture-proof tyres, cassette & chain). New Giro helmet £15 (ebay). Been taking it on some local trails at every opportunity and its holding up fine. Yes it weighs tonne (its an old steel thing) but its for exercise so a lighter one would surely defeat the object!
Will need some lights soon - Asda have them for a fiver
.
Bought my MTB on ebay for £130. Spent about that again getting it how I want (new shimano wheels, puncture-proof tyres, cassette & chain). New Giro helmet £15 (ebay). Been taking it on some local trails at every opportunity and its holding up fine. Yes it weighs tonne (its an old steel thing) but its for exercise so a lighter one would surely defeat the object!
Will need some lights soon - Asda have them for a fiver
.P-Jay said:
Everyone goes through the same thing - cycling can be REALLY cheap, spend a couple of hundred on a second-hand bike and a helmet and you can spend years happily rolling from place to place spending no more than a the cost of a bottle of chain lube and some cake. That sort of cycling costs pennies per hour, better value than most hobbies I know of.
Then some tt shoves a copy of MBUK or Road Cycling UK into your hand and BANG, your debit card melts.
If you fancy a bit of financial pain and suffering try Downhill - you can have a taster session by asking your friends to continually punch and kick you whilst you rip up £20 notes.
Pmsl that's brilliant :-) Then some t
t shoves a copy of MBUK or Road Cycling UK into your hand and BANG, your debit card melts. If you fancy a bit of financial pain and suffering try Downhill - you can have a taster session by asking your friends to continually punch and kick you whilst you rip up £20 notes.
That was my original plan.... Now I'm getting into cross country (great trails round here) as well as road cycling.... First road group ride Sunday is going to kill me and I've already found a great bunch who do night riding cross country.....
Actually I'm getting that feeling from trail riding and cross country. Arriving barely able to walk and covered in blood (lots of small scratches and a little gravel rash add up to a surprising amount of claret) at 2am after five hours in the woods is..... Fun.... Obviously I'm mad.
Perhaps if I count the cost of a gym membership as well as saved petrol etc I can better justify it :-)
944fan said:
I have started getting stuff delivered to work and paying on a credit card! Feels like I ma having an affair all this sneaking around from the wife. Got to sneak in some bits from Evans under the cover of darkness later
I bought a TT frame on ebay, paid for by paypal, to be delivered to work. Completely invisible to Mrs 66, so I thought. I made the error of telling my training partner.
Who posted the good news on Facebook.
Ten minutes later, "What's a P3?" was not a question I was expecting whilst innocently watching TV...!
Whose brave enough to add it all up, or make a guess anyway?
I'm £15,500 in since 2005, but that's just bikes, as in the price of the bikes I happily wheeled out of the showroom. not upgrades, not kit, not riding holidays, not uplifts, not spares or repairs - just them bikes.
I have to admit the first time I added it up, I thought I'd added an extra zero to one of them by mistake, but nope.
I'm £15,500 in since 2005, but that's just bikes, as in the price of the bikes I happily wheeled out of the showroom. not upgrades, not kit, not riding holidays, not uplifts, not spares or repairs - just them bikes.
I have to admit the first time I added it up, I thought I'd added an extra zero to one of them by mistake, but nope.
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