What are the biggest wastes of money in biking?
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A lightweight, high-performance bike will help a rider perform their best at whatever body weight and fitness they currently have, in those moments when they are pushing the limits of their abilities. Also, some folks have been riding long enough to recognize the subtle differences between a decent bike and
a great bike, and those differences matter in their enjoyment of their ride.
That said, what matters to one rider might not matter to another. There are a lot of different bikes out there. Ride what makes you happy.
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Co2 cartridges = total waste of money
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I bought a case of 50 CO2 cartridges for $40 about a decade ago and still have many left. Typically only used them in the rain or at night when using a pump is a genuine pain. I'd consider them my best use of money for cycling.
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Hundreds of flats?
A better investment is moving to a better locale.
I have not had one in almost 1.5 years
A better investment is moving to a better locale.
I have not had one in almost 1.5 years
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It's not just about flats....I don't get a lot of flats because of using tries which have flat protection...but I still think it's better to carry a pump than a Co2...A lot of my rides are multi surface rides which involve both pavement and dirt. Sometimes I need to lower the pressure when riding off pavement and then top up the pressure when I get back on pavement. A pump is much more practical than a Co2 in those type of situations.
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I guess it would partially depend on how much value you put on the time of other people in your group waiting around for you to pump up your tire, when you could have already been rolling by using a CO2 (I was involved in this exact scenario last weekend). Of course, if you don't ever ride with other people, that factor doesn't matter. In a gravel race or MTB race, running tubeless tires, a quick plug and CO2 blast can get you back in action in less than a minute, and maybe still in contention for whatever place you were in. Of course, if you don't race, that factor doesn't matter. It's not hard to find other examples of why using CO2 might matter to someone. It really comes down to your value on time.
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Last edited by Eric F; 03-12-23 at 08:05 PM.
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Cannot we just each post "Everyone who is not me is wrong" and be done with it?
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Nah. I've actually learned, and adjusted my opinion, because of discussion with reasonable people who had contrary opinions. The "reasonable" part is important.
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It's not just about flats....I don't get a lot of flats because of using tries which have flat protection...but I still think it's better to carry a pump than a Co2...A lot of my rides are multi surface rides which involve both pavement and dirt. Sometimes I need to lower the pressure when riding off pavement and then top up the pressure when I get back on pavement. A pump is much more practical than a Co2 in those type of situations.
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I see my post is misunderstood. Some are fast to jump to a conclusion. For starters I m also overweight. The idea is that performance oriented ridders are often focused on reducing the weight of their bikes and spending much money to do this. Many ridders could lose their extra pounds which would be less of a money waste. Now if you already are at optimum weight, reducing the weight of the bike will be useful, if marginal even. The same can be said of car racers would spend large amounts of money to gain a weight advantage. It s about expectations. If your goal is performance buying a carbon light weight wonder is only part of attaining your goal. Buying that 500$ golf driver may help but so would improving your swing.
I think your original phrasing was a bit off. We all know that there's little point chasing grams when you're carrying kilos around the waist, but at the same time just because some of us are too busy with other parts of life to trim those kilos off, doesn't mean we can't buy a nice frame and hang some nice things off it.
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As has been said repeatedly, the concept of "waste of money" is a non-rational value judgement so any use of the term is in fact merely a person saying "I do things differently and you are wrong."
LiveDarkLions tried to refocus the thread, but it has proved that BF posters refer attacking one another more than discussing their own errors .... except for the few, who like myself, are never wrong.
LiveDarkLions tried to refocus the thread, but it has proved that BF posters refer attacking one another more than discussing their own errors .... except for the few, who like myself, are never wrong.
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I always carried both although since reverting back to tubeless last year, I only carry two CO2 cartridges. I probably averaged a flat every 4,000 miles with tubed GP4000/5000 tires but no flats since going back to tubeless.
I changed my mind, the biggest waste of money is on slow, irresponsive puncture proof armadillo type tires.
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Exactly.
I always carried both although since reverting back to tubeless last year, I only carry two CO2 cartridges. I probably averaged a flat every 4,000 miles with tubed GP4000/5000 tires but no flats since going back to tubeless.
I changed my mind, the biggest waste of money is on slow, irresponsive puncture proof armadillo type tires.
I always carried both although since reverting back to tubeless last year, I only carry two CO2 cartridges. I probably averaged a flat every 4,000 miles with tubed GP4000/5000 tires but no flats since going back to tubeless.
I changed my mind, the biggest waste of money is on slow, irresponsive puncture proof armadillo type tires.
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