Honestly its getting really tough out there.

Sell a kidney.

Cheap ones are available.

Doesnt have to be that expensive.

Well with all these motor crossers ripping up our woodland it is going to get expensive. Just need a good session to get your money’s worth.

It’s cheap!

call it a £2k bike (but you could be on a bike for a quarter of that)

no clubs to join,

no fuel to put in,

a good bike will last years (has anyone really worn a bike out?)

I dare say that most on here (myself in clued) will spend more in the pub per week than on riding their bikes.

As flashy said – sell a kidney!

‘sup, Jimbo! Long time, etc. Hope all’s well!

Only if you’re trying to keep up with them Joneses !

This is life, not a practice. What you saving for, slippers and bingo? Wrong forum pal

Physically or financially?

I almost spat my beer out reading the title of this topic. Silly question der 🙂

alls well flashy old bean. all is well – how’s the family?

Grand! And, …Grand! Growing fast.

You still pubbing?

As hobbies go it’s pretty cheap, as it’s much more dependant on the rider than the ride.

It’s as cheap or expensive as you make it.. How much is a good fishing rod? The same price as a length of string!

a good bike will last years (has anyone really worn a bike out?)

*waves*
Sub 5 with cable wear through frame and shock mount, both wheels covered in micro cracks round rim, forks worn through anodising and cracked leg, everything else had already been replaced already….

If we’re putting a price on fun, then it’s worth every single penny of it, and more…

Why trivialise something you enjoy by rationalising is it worth it? If you can’t afford it, then use cheaper equipment, ride from home rather than driving to the trails etc. I know people that have plenty of fun offroad on bikes cobbled together for less than my seatpost cost.

a good bike will last years (has anyone really worn a bike out?)

2 hecklers but both were about 6 years old, the enduro turned 6 when it died. It can be done really cheaply of you want to

If you don’t think it’s worth the cost then get a hobby you enjoy that is worth the cost. Or buy cheaper MTB gear.

Had a negative year last year – managed to sell more than I bought so was in the biking black!

I did managed to spend 3 months biking in Europe though… That may not have been that cheap!

Fully rigid steel 29er for a grand, then chains and brake blocks for the next 20 years. Not that expensive really.

It seems like there really are plenty of people manipulated by advertising! 😯

nope – growing family = I wasn’t at home enough and needed to move on – currently unemployed as of last week actually (my choice). If you know of anything suiting my particular set of skills get in touch!

Jimbo

It seems like there really are plenty of people manipulated by advertising!

Own way of looking at it but it’s also why people still pay for adverts. It’s what you make of it, if my only option was rigid I probably would find something else to do

Ah, get a road bike and some vagisil and be done with it 😀

Yes, it’s really worth the cost.

Excluding a second hand bike and some bib tights which were bought by an insurance company, reckon I’ve spent about £200 on bike stuff this year. Pair of shorts, a couple of new chains. Tube of chain lube, 1 pair of tyres and other consumable stuff.

When you factor in the fuel money I’ve saved by doing 3000 miles commuting I’m quids in.

Buy what you need, not what you want, pretty cheap really.

ride from home rather than driving to the trails etc

This.

That’s by far my biggest ongoing MTB related cost. Not everyone (most people?) can ride from the door, and if you can you will still want to explore – half the fun for me is going to new places.

If you need expensive kit to have fun you’re doing it wrong..

£1500 AM full suss
£250 HT
£160 rigid SS
£35 retro rigid 1993

If I only had one, it could be any of them and I’d still ride, and still enjoy it.

It keeps me sane and makes me happy – worth every penny. Not that I spend that much on it.

We are only here once it’s not a practice run,who cares what it costs if you can afford it, go out have fun or take up trainspotting it’s free

All depends what the cost it to now if it is worth it.

If riding a bike cost me £20K per year then no, it wouldn’t be worth it.

As riding a bike costs me around £100 a year (chain replacement, tyres, lubricants etc,.) then yes at £8 a month then easily worth it. Realise I am on the lowest end of the scale (rigid SS, only ride from my door)

Any other money I spend is largely replacing things with better things that never need replacing…

I’m beginning to think not

I reckon it costs me £25-30 per ride all in (inc. petrol, etc). I’d spend more than that in the pub so definitely worth it!

I used to spend a fair bit of money on the mountain bike. Not any more – most of the bike is 7-8 years old, bits chosen to minimise maintenance. I went riding in the Quantocks last week – out the door at 06:15, 94km round trip and back for a late lunch. Cost me a cheap return train fare and the price of a pasty.

When you’re on your last legs, drooling into your dinner and thinking back on the fun/adventures and madness that is mountain biking you’ll be able to answer the question yourself.

In the meantime (spoiler alert) the answer will be yes.

probably spent about 2k this year – more than ever, probably because with the kids I’m riding less so obtaining retail gratification. But previous years I doubt if I’ve spent more than £500 (excpept in 2006 when I bought an stumpy fsr) so…yeah it’s pretty cheap as long as you don’t go buying all the ‘game changing’, ‘transformative’ or just plain shiny crap advertised on here. Like I have :/

You can easily pick up a hardly used retro bike for around £50, and have 70-80% of the fun of the latest and greatest. Replacement parts are also dirt cheap.

Depends how much you ride and where, when I was riding the Quantocks every day the wear and tear during the winter wasn’t cheap. I’ve worn out XTR V brake pads in one slow 20 mile group ride. I mostly ride a cross bike now and it’s as cheap as chips in comparison, one set of disc pads all year (4000 miles) and a couple of tyres.

I have just changed my bike after 10 years, built up from bits and pieces some new, some off the bay, some from the spares box in the garage.
I commute to work on my bike, that is the biggest saving.
Cars suck up loads of cash.
Have you considered using the train on the odd occasion you want to go somewhere big? I stay in youth hostels as well.
It shouldn’t be expensive, I am a little wary of people with all the gear, no idea.

Expensive? You’re joking?

I was in Halfrauds the other day marvelling at just how much new bike 500 quid will get you nowadays. Second hand you can pick up a decent hardtail for a few hundred quid.

I just bought my first new bike in as long as I can remember. All my recent ones have been pre-loved.Like a lot of people on here I took advantage of the offer on those Cannonades at Pauls Cycles. I’ve paid less than £1300 for a seriously highly specced full suss that I expect to keep for years, as I do with all my bikes. yes they end up like Triggers Broom, but expensive? Nah! In the smiles per pound stakes I can’t think of anything that comes close 😀

30 miles on a bowl of porridge is good value imo