variety

Lame thread? Maybe.
But I'm obsessed over buying and riding a road bike (CAAD10 5).

Problem is I can't afford one for the next year or two, so I was wondering what can one do in his free time to cash in more money or how can one spend less without making a huge change in his lifestyle.

Let's brainstorm!

RUOkie

Buy a used bike off CL or at your LBS, Ride the hell out of it. Save your money and pay your bills. Then buy the CAAD13 or whatever they have then.

or just go the way of Fred Garvin

LowCel 

I look around the house and eBay anything that I no longer have a need for. You would be amazed at how much money you can end up with by selling items that are laying around in your way. My new Colnago is being paid for primarily by selling rc cars and accessories.

rlevine

this. every time i find myself needing money for something new i inevitably end up selling a good amount of old stuff i've had lying around unused.

BikesAreCool123

Whenever I buy something, I think - would I rather have this or ::whatver bike schwag I am wanting:: ? Somtimes, I the answer is yes, often it is no.

merlinextraligh

We're talking $1,000 or so here. Save $3 a day and you have it in a year. If you're an adult with a hlaf decent job, that shouldn't be hard to do. No Star Bucks, commute to work, or car pool, bag lunch, one fewer dinners out a week etc.

If you're a kid, get a part time job, bag groceries, pass papers, cut grass, get a job at a bike shop, etc.

coasting 

eat less

i'm not joking. if you reduce your purchase of prepared food, you can easily save $3 a day. that's like one coffee.

lpolliard

Like everyone else in America...no payments for a year credit. Worry about it later.

Machka 

1) Pick up a part-time job

2) Live frugally ... take a close look at the budget and see what you can cut

3) Start putting the money away regularly ... as soon as your pay is directly deposited into your account, transfer $50 or $100 into a savings account for bicycles and other larger purchases.

kabex

Learn wrenching, fix up bikes and sell them for profit.

Flip vintage bikes on CL.

Buy bikes and take them apart and sell them by piece, build up fixies (make some money on the craze).

I'm thinking of selling components personally
105 groupset @ shinybikes @ $560
105 groupset @ Mexican LBS $2000

StanSeven

Not a bad idea if the person has the discipline. I get checks from my cards that offer 0% for a year. Others are 0.9%.

hao

Dude, it's a freaking bike. Don't eat out, don't buy useless stuff. Cycling is one of the cheapest hobbies around.

caloso

You probably have some bodily fluids you could sell.

AEO

do what you would do for college.
buy groceries and make food from that.
don't buy crap you don't need.
etc. etc.

hao

Btw, a lot of bike shops have financing options, if you don't want to save up.

rlevine

relative to a lot of other potential hobbies, yes. but very few of my hobbies required me to spend upwards of $1000 right off the bat. you can get an entry level mountain bike (new) for under $500. not so for road cycling. and remember that $1000 might be cheap to you, but to some others it's a sizeable chunk of change.

hao

Incorrect.

rlevine

how so?

thump55

I show my nipples for cash at the mall. Friggin' Santa is cuttin' into my clientele, but I still do OK.

I bought my first bike for $100, rode it a year, sold the Brooks saddle it came with for $85 and the bike for $360 on Ebay.

hao

https://www.bikesdirect.com/

GirlAnachronism

This is far less effective when you live in a studio...it does make looking around the house easy though--I don't even have to get up.

Remember that guy who claimed to have saved the money to buy some super crazy fancy bike by skipping coffee?

rlevine

this is true. i will concede defeat when it comes to online merchants. my complaint is that the LBSs i've been to do not carry road bikes in that price range. in fact in my experience, the local LBSs only carry bikes from select manufacturers. Trek being the most popular, followed by Giant, Specialized, etc... and as far as i can tell these companies don't even offer models in the under $500 price range. it's just frustrating sometimes. not saying their bikes aren't worth it, just saying i wish there were a way for them to come out with decent offerings in the $400-$600 range. the only one i've seen is the Specialized Allez Steel, which everywhere i read people say don't bother, upgrade to the $800-$1000 range.

and again, for some people, $800 to $1000 is enough money to have to think about. and what about those who already don't eat out and don't buy useless stuff? i think saying "cycling is one of the cheapest hobbies" trivializes the issues some less fortunate (financially) people have dropping the coin on a bike.
the upside is, once you have the bike (and the necessary gear), no more spending is necessary. of course, you'll always find yourself justifying more items, but you don't need them to engage in the sport. you have the bike, get on it and ride. that's why i stick with it, even though my $50 craigslist bike doesn't fit me and feels like it's about to fall apart under me.

kimconyc

It helps if you either have a job which can allow you to save after expenses or have some sort of positive cash flow if you don't have a traditional "job".

Here is one simple (but perhaps not easy) thing you can do:
- Get rid of your television
- You will have saved both the time and enough money to both buy and ride your bike to your heart's content.

kimconyc

Killing two birds with one stone--saves weight in both the wallet and in the ass, I like it.

tagaproject6

Depends on what you do for a living. There are plenty of ways to get extra cash, you just need to be creative. Some of the above suggestions work well, but can it be applied to your particular situation? Check out your vices if any...if you are a smoker, quit (easier said than done). Depends on your discipline and commitment.