So, did anyone else think that cycling was a free hobby before you started?

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Panter

Just call me Chris...
Or was it just me...

Ok, you have to buy a bike (note the use of the singular there, after all you've only got one pair of legs, right?) but once you've got it, there's no more payout, surely.
Ok, maybe the odd tyre, but it's a pushbike after all, how much can they be? couple of quid...?



Ho hum, 4 Years on and I've been well and truly educated :smile:




Ok, so it's been a bad week for me, expense wise. Just this week I've spent over £170.00 just mantaining my modest fleet only to discover that the chain on my commuter failed the 0.75 check this morning... :smile:
 
Dunno really, having been cycling for over 30 years on the road, it' less a hobby and more a normal function of my life. I don't spend a lot on the bike per se and strangely I only have two bikes. You could probably successfully argue that I've transferred my obsession for decent kit to my kids bikes, I probably spend more on them than me, I seem to have what I need, built up slowly over time.
 

Shaun

Founder
Moderator
numbnuts said:
there is no such thing as a free ride :biggrin:

:smile: ... I like it :biggrin:

I must admit, I haven't trawled any online stores for any shiney new bits lately, but then that's more a matter of finances than anything else.

My third bike though - given enough disposable cash - would probably be a recumbent or trike.

Cheers,
Shaun :biggrin:
 

tyred

Legendary Member
Location
Ireland
Yes. I already had a perfectly good MTB from my late teens so I dug that out of the garage, oiled and cleaned it and pumped the tyres up. So far so good.

Then, hmmm....I can't be bothered pushing these off-road tyres, I need some road tyres. I'm fed up with getting covered in shoot, I need mudguards. I've nowhere to put things, I need a carrier. And a saddlebag. Oh, and the saddle's uncomfortable, perhaps I'll buy a different one. Getting dark in the evenings, I need lights. Actually, I think I need better lights. I fancy a road bike........

My more recent projects have been done very cheaply though. I attend a lot of vintage rallies and there are always stalls of all sorts of bits and pieces and I scour them for bike parts. I also keep an eye on ebay for anything that I might need that's going cheap. A NOS Shimano 6 speed freewheel for 99p can't be bad.
 

Shaun

Founder
Moderator
threebikesmcginty said:
I've seen you on a trike - I'd hold back if I were you. :biggrin:

Yeah, it's a good job Arch was looking the other way ... :smile:

There's just something appealing though about being sat down, laid back, and floating along with your legs stretched out in front of you ... <we need a dreamy smiley!>
 

Brahan

Über Member
Location
West Sussex
Yes, my 4 bikes are a constant drain for my cash. At the moment I need a new set of forks for my mountain bike, new tyres for my commuting bike, a new tubular tyre for my TT bike (£60-70 yikes), new brake blocks for my 'good' road bike, a new small high pressure pump, a new set of mudguards. They're the immediate necessities not to mention that I want new TT bars, a new TT frame, a new set of aero wheels with a rear disc, need I go on?
 

rh100

Well-Known Member
Now I've overhauled the hybrid, I keep buying bits for a tourer I'm doing up. It's not just the bits that make it work either, as Tyred said, I now need pannier rack and bags, mudguards and lights etc. And I got it working with old levers and vee brakes and such from an old mountain bike, but I feel I need to get ones that 'look' right - so will end up buying new anyway.

Luckily very little spent in the way of labour to an LBS - about £10 I think to true some wheels.

I think it's when it turns into a hobby it gets more expensive.
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
I spend next to nothing on my bikes. I have to replace consumables, but that's pretty much it. And I do it cheaply, by getting everything off ebay when it comes up. I'm looking for tyres at the moment, eg - I don't need them desperately, so I can afford to take weeks/months to get some. I'll get outbid on two or three pairs before I win some, but when I do they'll be good, almost brand new, and about 7 or 8 quid each, including delivery (as against £25 if I just went down the LBS when I needed them). It's like anything else - if 'money's no object', you'll find you need quite a lot of it; if money's tight, you can get by with very little.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
I go through spells ... the new headset service near the beginning of the year was expensive but I'm not sure I've spent a penny on the bike since... could do with looking for a new pump for me, and a bottle cage and computer for the youngest but that's about it.
 

postman

Legendary Member
Location
,Leeds
Have a word with your local MP sure he/she could stretch the expenses sheet a little more .

Just to intergrate with his/her's flock .
 
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