[mjsca07]

I often think mountain biking is an expensive hobby. The more I think about it though, once you have everything you need (bike, pack, tools, etc), it's not as bad as I thought. On an average month, I spend $100 bucks for the local shuttle, $50 for gas, and around $50 for riding induced expenses (power bars, snacks, etc). Add 50$ for a tire and $50 or so for tubes, lubes, etc and we're lookin at around $250. Doing the math, I'm spending roughly $8 a day to ride. Obviously this goes up if a part breaks, but fortunately for me that doesn't happen often (knocking on wood). Some months it's just gas and shuttle of I have a slow riding month. How about you all? Has anyone ever thought about quitting to save money? I have a few times but I would go insane and be miserable, so not worth it!

 

[WTF-IDK]

Don't count it all.
Just ride.

 

[lidarman]

Certainly the shuttle aspect puts the price higher than for someone who rides from their door.

It's more expensive than running.

More expensive than basketball.

But maybe cheaper--or on par with skiing or snowboarding for the most part.

and cheaper than motor sports like ATVing or Jeeping.

But, I found over the 20 years of riding, injuries was my biggest cost.

 

[wiggy]

i save alot of cash by riding to most of my trails or in cases that won't work utilizing public transit and than riding to the spot - i generally buy all my energy bars/drinks/etc... when they are on sale

same goes with tubes when performance bike had there bike sale like two years ago they were selling tubes for a ridiculous price so i stocked up and bought 3 dozen road/mountain tubes half of which are thorn resistant and the others just normal.

i use the same lube on my bike chain as i do on my motorcycle so all good there

however buying the tools, winter clothes, boots, gloves, fenders, etc... does add up very quickly but its still cheaper in the long run than the 30 dollars in gas each week plus it makes me fill tingly inside when i ride to work or the trail


and the idea of quitting is out of the question at least for me!

joe

 

[One Pivot]

when i was riding 2 or 3 times a week, it was costing me maybe 20 bucks in gas and water. now its more like once a week if that, ill spend maybe 5 bucks.. another 50 or so every 2 or 3 months on repairs.

pretty cheap really, cheaper than hitting the bar once a week, or going out to the movies.

i was spending a ton before. powerbars and sportsdrinks and bottled water, all that crap adds up so fast, but in small amounts so you dont really notice until you add it up. pack your own food and water, 5-10 bucks off a ride right there.

 

[War Machine]

riding is cheap when compared to my other hobbies. It cost about 1k to race my car once a month. I spend about 150 on gas and power bars to ride 4 times a month. suuuuper cheap!

 

[AZ]

I just consider what it would "cost" if I didnt ride .

 

[Punkeyboozter]

you all have to learn how to ride ss and forget about all that fancy munchie bars etc

apart from trips to the trail and another new bike I am only out of $20 for trueing a rear wheel and some sealant. running tubeless helps to keep the cost down as well. eat before you reach the trails and have a spare bag of sweets/chips pie or whatever, that can be baught before hand at the local caffee for next to nothing...besides I considder this as part of my daily intake so wont count this towards the cost of cycling.

 

[Popper252]

I just consider what it would "cost" if I didnt ride .

Can you put a price on sanity?

 

[bionicman]

Can you put a price on sanity?

X2:thumbsup:

 

[roc865]

i basically buy within my means. i have too many other bills to pay that i get by without the extras. tune ups, good shoes, and some padded under-shorts is all i need.

 

[CharacterZero]

I just consider what it would "cost" if I didnt ride .

Exactly.

 

[xenon]

Commuting by bike saves me more or less same amount of money I waste on mountain biking, so I break even in the end of the day.

 

[bronx]

You have to factor in the long term cost savings of being healthy. Open heart bypass surgery can cost 80,000 dollars, so if biking keeps you in good shape and you avoid bypass surgey, then you could realisticly make a profit by biking.

 

[bobdole]

just gotta be careful about impulse buying or buying purely for want.

 

[slocaus]

Life (and a $50000 heart surgery bill since I was uninsured).

It would have been cheaper, just funeral costs, without the MTB to save my azz.

 

[CharacterZero]

You have to factor in the long term cost savings of being healthy. Open heart bypass surgery can cost 80,000 dollars, so if biking keeps you in good shape and you avoid bypass surgey, then you could realisticly make a profit by biking.

Not spending money does not equal a profit. That is called spending less money.

 

[heff®]

Why count? It's not like you NEED to upgrade, and unless a part snaps in half, it's usually fixable for a smaller cost, if you learn how to do it. Just watch wear, and replace parts as needed.

I did some quick math the other day.........I bought a Dakar Expert back in 2000, shop owner's girlfriend bought the Pro. She wanted my drivetrain and disk brakes, and I liked hers better, so we swapped. Shop owner did the math, I wound up saving a couple of hundred. When I did go disk, he had me watch the shop while he went on a riding vacation for a week. He built my disk wheelset as payment, threw in a full set of Flak Jackets, and half the cost of my front brake. Rear brake I got from Avid for nothing. One lever got a little sloppy, so I got another pair, also free, and kept the wobbly set as spares. Still have them, just in case. Found a bad weld on the BB shell after two years, had Jamis warranty the FS frame and send me a Komodo hardtail instead. Sold the rear shock, made some money on that. I figure I wound up with a bike that would have cost me $1600 if I'd done it all just buying in shops for about $700 or so. Not bad........and that's the bike I ride to this day. Need to rebuild the fork, probably, but geez........all I need is shims and seals. Cheap stuff. Got a riding friend who's a mechanic, so I don't even need to buy the tools. Just ride down the street and borrow them.

Knock off $200 in gas, $1200 a year required insurance, brake job once a year, assorted maintenance, car payment.........I don't spend two bucks on energy bars, I buy bananas on sale. Peanut butter sandwich in a Tupperware container. Something I buy in general anyway, so no real extra cost there, I'm gonna eat that even in the off season. I probably spend.......oh, $200 a year on riding. If that. So figure nine years, bike plus annual cost, I've probably spent $2500 or so. Even if I go downhilling on Killington, I get the lift passes for free, if I don't ride up (once a year, I'm not a masochist here). Not bad, I'd say..........I've spent four times that on computers that do me almost no good.

Health......somewhat. I've had two disks removed from my lower back, biking wouldn't help that. Probably made it worse. Same with the nerve damage from neuropathy I deal with now. Cardio health, yes, and just overall bloodflow and fitness, it definitely makes a difference. But it's not a general cure-all. Makes me feel better, though, and on long walks, I'm not the one huffing and puffing after a mile or so.

 

[d365]

It's like most hobbies. It can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be. Also like most other hobbies, the more into it you become, the more expensive it becomes.

Honestly though, aside from food,shelter, and sex, it's the best money spent... fun/$__

 

[roc865]

You have to factor in the long term cost savings of being healthy. Open heart bypass surgery can cost 80,000 dollars, so if biking keeps you in good shape and you avoid bypass surgey, then you could realisticly make a profit by biking.

that and eating less fattening foods, trans fats, and mcdonald's would help also, but i think diet would have a greater impact.