Is cycling an expensive hobby?
#51
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My hobbies are cycling, golf, fly fishing and shooting. Good equipment is a large up front cost for all of them, For me, golf is the one with the highest continuing cost (membership, cart fees, balls, lessons). Shooting is second (reloading supplies or ammo). Fly fishing (flies) and cycling (maintenance items) are third in continuing cost.
All give me great pleasure.
Cycling is the only one that offers me huge health benefits. A huge ROI!
All give me great pleasure.
Cycling is the only one that offers me huge health benefits. A huge ROI!
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Cycling is only cheap when you listen to your wife. If you have ever hidden a purchase or not told her about something, it ain’t cheap and your probably spending more than you should
Is cycling an expensive hobby?
When it came to buying a high-end carbon fiber bike, besides getting a good deal, I have posted, "At least I have no buyer's remorse about what I might be missing."
When it came to buying a high-end carbon fiber bike, besides getting a good deal, I have posted, "At least I have no buyer's remorse about what I might be missing."
I have read on BF that a really nice bike is lighter than a f@rt, and more expensive than a divorce.
#53
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After sailing, fishing, water skiing, motorcycles, RVs, and horses, bicycling is by far the least expensive activity I’ve ever engaged in.
Snow skiing was indirectly profitable in that we bought a condo in the Sierras which we later sold for an obscene amount of money.
All things considered, cycling’s pretty damned cheap.
-Kedosto
Snow skiing was indirectly profitable in that we bought a condo in the Sierras which we later sold for an obscene amount of money.
All things considered, cycling’s pretty damned cheap.
-Kedosto
#54
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Can we just be honest here? Cycling is expense. It requires specialized gear, specialized accessories, tools and supplies, specialized shops and mechanics for maintenance beyond the cyclists abilities, etc. All of this specialization comes at steep prices.
Obviously cyclists are willing to absorb the costs to enjoy cycling in all of its forms. We don’t need to rationalize the expenses which only increase the more you get into cycling. Cycling is a great pastime, hobby, sport, livelihood or whatever your level of participation and comittment.
But inexpensive it is not. Spend what you can afford and enjoy cycling your way!
Obviously cyclists are willing to absorb the costs to enjoy cycling in all of its forms. We don’t need to rationalize the expenses which only increase the more you get into cycling. Cycling is a great pastime, hobby, sport, livelihood or whatever your level of participation and comittment.
But inexpensive it is not. Spend what you can afford and enjoy cycling your way!
For example to take the Commuter Rail 14 miles one way, to and from work is $13.50, whereas round trip by bike is just the cycling expense …certainly much much less for the cost amortized over the life of the bike plus maintenance, by mile, for 28 miles.
Throw in the cost of an equivalent cardio work out at a gym as a further deduction, which I would not be inclined to do anyways.
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 03-01-19 at 03:32 AM.
#56
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As a person converting into more of a cyclist, that is yes and no. If you start with a used bike and keep it simple, not as bad as some (golf). But compared to 3-5 pairs of running shoes (trail and road), summer and winter gear, trail headlamps, and the all important $500 gps watch, compare over $2000 with of running stuff to my bike stuff, I would say cycling isn’t necessarily worse than a lot of hobbies.
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Cycling is an expensive hobby.
The fact that there are also other extremely expensive hobbies does not mitigate that.
The fact that cycling is a great form of physical fitness also does not mitigate the fact that it is expensive.
There are also a lot of very inexpensive hobbies.
Running and hiking(locally)immediately come to mind.
I love to cycle and I don’t mind spending some money doing so but I do always get a laugh out of people that go over the top and then try to justify it. No need to. Own up to your excessive spending and enjoy it. It’s your money.
Who am I to laugh at someone that states that they cannot tolerate their hobby/passion unless they have a $300 pair of padded spandex suspenders that they lovingly hand wash daily
The fact that there are also other extremely expensive hobbies does not mitigate that.
The fact that cycling is a great form of physical fitness also does not mitigate the fact that it is expensive.
There are also a lot of very inexpensive hobbies.
Running and hiking(locally)immediately come to mind.
I love to cycle and I don’t mind spending some money doing so but I do always get a laugh out of people that go over the top and then try to justify it. No need to. Own up to your excessive spending and enjoy it. It’s your money.
Who am I to laugh at someone that states that they cannot tolerate their hobby/passion unless they have a $300 pair of padded spandex suspenders that they lovingly hand wash daily
Last edited by downhillmaster; 03-01-19 at 07:10 AM.
#59
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I agree with most everyone here...it can be done cheap or you can go way overboard. The key thing to remember is that some folks enjoy the expensive stuff of the “hobby” while others don’t have such funds to spend and make due with what they have. It’s like buying a car, some folks can afford a Porsche while others only a Mazda.
My other hobbies are reptiles (ran a business for ten years) which can get VERY pricey. Caging, special lights, water filters and rain systems, heating in the winter and cooling in the summer all add up. I have some snakes that are worth about as much as I paid for my Trek Domane. I know folks who have paid upwards of 100k for certain snakes, which in turn have made them much more money in the long run (by breeding and selling the offspring).
At the end of the day we’re all limited to what we can invest in any hobby. It doesn’t make it more or less fun (unless you consider animal welfare in which case it’s definitely frowned upon to do it on the cheap which tends to equate into sub-optimal housing etc).
I probably spent 8-9k (including kits, shoes, helmets, bike computers etc) on bikes for my wife and I just to get started but then again I’m one of those that enjoys gadgets and likes to buy the right stuff up front so I don’t have to deal with subpar stuff later on. It doesn’t help that whatever I do, my wife joins along (and vice versa) so if I buy a Domane, she gets one too! I want a Wahoo Bolt? So does she. :-P
My other hobbies are reptiles (ran a business for ten years) which can get VERY pricey. Caging, special lights, water filters and rain systems, heating in the winter and cooling in the summer all add up. I have some snakes that are worth about as much as I paid for my Trek Domane. I know folks who have paid upwards of 100k for certain snakes, which in turn have made them much more money in the long run (by breeding and selling the offspring).
At the end of the day we’re all limited to what we can invest in any hobby. It doesn’t make it more or less fun (unless you consider animal welfare in which case it’s definitely frowned upon to do it on the cheap which tends to equate into sub-optimal housing etc).
I probably spent 8-9k (including kits, shoes, helmets, bike computers etc) on bikes for my wife and I just to get started but then again I’m one of those that enjoys gadgets and likes to buy the right stuff up front so I don’t have to deal with subpar stuff later on. It doesn’t help that whatever I do, my wife joins along (and vice versa) so if I buy a Domane, she gets one too! I want a Wahoo Bolt? So does she. :-P
#60
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Compared to my other lifelong passions - snow sports and playing music - cycling has been a LOT more expensive, but that is due entirely to the mountain biking part of it.
My road riding expenses have always been pretty reasonable. My road bikes have never been very expensive up front, and I ride them for a long time without feeling any upgrade bug. Other than feeding my $162 per year Compass Tire habit, it is a pretty inexpensive, low maintenance passion for me. Maybe even less than the snow-sports and music.
Mountain biking is an entirely different story, and I shudder to think how much I have dropped into that sport over the past two decades Many, many times more than all of my other passions combined.
My road riding expenses have always been pretty reasonable. My road bikes have never been very expensive up front, and I ride them for a long time without feeling any upgrade bug. Other than feeding my $162 per year Compass Tire habit, it is a pretty inexpensive, low maintenance passion for me. Maybe even less than the snow-sports and music.
Mountain biking is an entirely different story, and I shudder to think how much I have dropped into that sport over the past two decades Many, many times more than all of my other passions combined.
#61
Senior Member
For me, being an Audiophile is considerably more expensive than Cycling, Depending on how deep ($$) one wants to dive into a given hobby, many can be hideously expensive.
High End audio and Photography come to mind in my case. I own three bicycles and maybe have spent total $15k in recent years.
As a card carrying member of the "Lunatic Fringe" Audio/Music world, I've spent 10 times that amount over the years on "hi-fi".
The health and well being benefit of Cycling (on and off road for me) far far far outweigh the monetary costs.
High End audio and Photography come to mind in my case. I own three bicycles and maybe have spent total $15k in recent years.
As a card carrying member of the "Lunatic Fringe" Audio/Music world, I've spent 10 times that amount over the years on "hi-fi".
The health and well being benefit of Cycling (on and off road for me) far far far outweigh the monetary costs.
#62
Non omnino gravis
The type of hobby isn't expensive, no matter what it is. Value is relative. So unless your spending on cycling is far beyond your means, it's not expensive. You want expensive? Try home ownership. Without contest, I spend more money annually on cycling than I do on anything categorically "non-essential." Video game costs per year, including mobile apps, console/PC games, replacing equipment, at the absolute most $200 a year. Woodworking stuff can get expensive. A new blade for the table saw-- shopping as economically as I dare-- is still $80. If something is starting to feel expensive, then maybe it's time to step back and take a look at things. I've already purchased 3 tires in 2019, and it's just now March. That's about $140 right there. Cycling for me is easily $1,500 a year. Which probably seems like a lot to non-cyclists. That's $125 a month, $4 a day. I have more than my fair share of bills that are more than $125 a month. But there's a dude out there smoking a pack a day, spending double my cycling budget on cigarettes. IMO, that is an expensive hobby.
#63
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Its more about time being the most valuable thing to compare the different activities of one's life. So hobby versus hobby is the small question and points to the bigger question.
Quality time? One aspect is how one spends it with others as a giving rather than a taking.
Evaluating hobbies over other hobbies based on some kind of cost/benefit approach? Or stated in other terms, which toothpick is better? The round ones or the flat ones?
Quality time? One aspect is how one spends it with others as a giving rather than a taking.
Evaluating hobbies over other hobbies based on some kind of cost/benefit approach? Or stated in other terms, which toothpick is better? The round ones or the flat ones?
#64
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First I just want to say it's really interesting to hear about all of the different hobbies people have.
I guess the things I do regularly are:
basketball - quite cheap
Lifting - quite cheap now as I'm not doing any competing, but my home gym set-up cost ~$5000. When I was doing contests, the costs could add up between hotels, meals, flights and entry fees.
Cycling - as others have said, can range widely. Between my wife an I we've probably spend close to $10,000 on it. But costs should be lower going forward as neither of us will be buying a new bike any time soon.
Computer games - ~$3000 for a new laptop every few years. Could be a lot cheaper if I used a desktop instead, but I like having a laptop. Maybe $200 on games a year.
I guess the things I do regularly are:
basketball - quite cheap
Lifting - quite cheap now as I'm not doing any competing, but my home gym set-up cost ~$5000. When I was doing contests, the costs could add up between hotels, meals, flights and entry fees.
Cycling - as others have said, can range widely. Between my wife an I we've probably spend close to $10,000 on it. But costs should be lower going forward as neither of us will be buying a new bike any time soon.
Computer games - ~$3000 for a new laptop every few years. Could be a lot cheaper if I used a desktop instead, but I like having a laptop. Maybe $200 on games a year.
#65
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Just as expensive. Everyone has different levels of "want". For example, you speak about the upfront cost of just getting a bike. It can turn into a lot more than that.....a better bike, a "rain" or winter bike, a cross bike, a MTB, better wheels, different wheels, better shoes, updating the groupset, indoor trainer which can turn into a smart trainer, then zwift or trainer road, etc., etc.
It's not cheap unless you are a casual cyclist.
It's not cheap unless you are a casual cyclist.
Baloney. One can be a "serious" cyclist and spend very little money. During about 9 months of the year, I average about 250 miles a week riding, I have never spent more than $620 on a bike, I do not wear expensive bike gear. None of the stuff you describe is NECESSARY to do a lot of riding.
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I'm taking the stance that cycling IS expensive. There always seems to be something that needs purchasing or replacing or what have you. Tyres. New bib shorts. Shoes. etc.
I did a quick read of the thread and people are saying that the hobby does not have to be expensive. And I agree with that. Just like owning a car doesn't have to be expensive, eating/making dinner does't have to be expensive, etc.
But I also think you get what you pay for. Pay nice or pay twice is a saying I adhere to. And if I'm bombing down a hill at 70 ~ 80k an hour, I want confidence in my gear.
I did a quick read of the thread and people are saying that the hobby does not have to be expensive. And I agree with that. Just like owning a car doesn't have to be expensive, eating/making dinner does't have to be expensive, etc.
But I also think you get what you pay for. Pay nice or pay twice is a saying I adhere to. And if I'm bombing down a hill at 70 ~ 80k an hour, I want confidence in my gear.
#69
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I do underwater photography - mostly in the southwestern Pacific. (Live in north Texas). So considering the dive gear, travel costs including outrageous excess baggage fees, incredibly expensive cameras and underwater lighting and housings ,,,, Cycling is almost a pittance by comparison.
Then again, depending on the model, I might not want to do underwear photography....
Hobbies are as expensive as you want them to be. Some people need to have the best of the best of the best and constantly be buying stuff, others get buy with a $400 bicycle. I read someone mention road riding and the initial "starter" cost of $1000-1500 for a road bike, then add a list of crap. I road ride on a $600 bike and that is the top tier of my bike. I could do it on the lesser model and do it for $350. I also don't need special shoes, pedals, upgraded tires, clothing, etc. I don't have special pedals or shoes, replaced the tires when they wore out not to upgrade. I do have specific clothing I bought for on the bike, but they are $5-7 t-shirts, not $150 jerseys and shorts.
There are things you need to expand the hobby, sure. If you want to tour, you need a way to carry stuff, thus a rack and pannier setup is needed, or the bikepacking stuff, whatever gets you carrying your loadout. I use the same bicycle I used on daily riding a flat bike trail to moving to riding on the road to moving to all day riding with the group I ride with. It's all the same $600 bike and as I said, I could do it on the lowest tier of my bike at $350ish. You can get into cycling with a $250 Diamondback at Dick's Sporting Goods.
Compared to photography, I certainly could get into the hobby with my old $200 camera, but my knowledge and skill outgrew the $200 camera within a month. You just can't do the things you need to do with a $200 camera as you can with a dSLR and lenses. Unlike I can ride on the road without the best of the best of the best 4 ounce carbon magic framed road bike and just use my bike that I already have.
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Like every hobby, just because one chooses to make it expensive, doesn't mean it must be. Like most hobbies, it can be done as cheap or as expensive as one wishes.
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Yep and the inverse is correct as well. Just because someone takes a frugal approach, it doesn't mean it's a cheap hobby. So we are right back to it can be as expensive as anything else.
#72
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No, this is illogical. "It can be an expensive or cheap hobby" is an answer. Obviously, it is theoretically possible to make any hobby astronomically expensive--I believe John Travolta flew around in a hobby 707, for example. I think there are some hobbies that would simply defy being cheap (collecting flyable jet planes would definitely be an example), and bicycling just isn't one of those.
BTW, I think my biggest ongoing bike expense is tires.
#73
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No, this is illogical. "It can be an expensive or cheap hobby" is an answer. Obviously, it is theoretically possible to make any hobby astronomically expensive--I believe John Travolta flew around in a hobby 707, for example. I think there are some hobbies that would simply defy being cheap (collecting flyable jet planes would definitely be an example), and bicycling just isn't one of those.
BTW, I think my biggest ongoing bike expense is tires.
BTW, I think my biggest ongoing bike expense is tires.
#74
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No, this is illogical. "It can be an expensive or cheap hobby" is an answer. Obviously, it is theoretically possible to make any hobby astronomically expensive--I believe John Travolta flew around in a hobby 707, for example. I think there are some hobbies that would simply defy being cheap (collecting flyable jet planes would definitely be an example), and bicycling just isn't one of those.
BTW, I think my biggest ongoing bike expense is tires.
BTW, I think my biggest ongoing bike expense is tires.
BTW I want to get into Eroica now and that stuff is not cheap unless you have a source and build it up yourself.
#75
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OK compare with: Fishing at Buoy 10 for salmon.. on the Columbia..
Buy Truck , Boat, Trailer , licence the 3 of each, & buy a fishing licence .
poles , bait , Tackle, foul weather gear, Safety gear required by USCG , Fuel for boat & Truck & if not driving home that night ...
Hotel, Food, Drinks ,+ taxi (after those drinks)..
"a Nice Little Drinking Town, with a Fishing Problem"
..
Buy Truck , Boat, Trailer , licence the 3 of each, & buy a fishing licence .
poles , bait , Tackle, foul weather gear, Safety gear required by USCG , Fuel for boat & Truck & if not driving home that night ...
Hotel, Food, Drinks ,+ taxi (after those drinks)..
"a Nice Little Drinking Town, with a Fishing Problem"
..
Last edited by fietsbob; 03-01-19 at 12:37 PM.