My cycling 'hobby' costs me around £10 per month at most (once the initial purchase of bike is counted for)
So cycling is very open to people with very limited budgets/requiring benefits to survive.
Shame they are all too bitter to ride a bike though...
£11 for an injection moulded plastic Specialized Rib Cage bottle cage does seem a bit of a rip-off, even taking into account tooling costs. They have made the same design for many years now (I had one on my 01 FSR) so the design/tooling costs will have been eaten up by now.
I did a 6 month work placement at uni working for a large German plastic injection moulding company and seeing the quantity of components that will come from one machine per day makes you realise how cheaply things can be made, if they are required in volume.
Mech hangers. Too expensive, too many variants. Sometimes too delicate.
Reverb lever repair kits- £36. Cynical people might also note that it's quite a delicate part, and when fitted as recommended is very exposed to damage.
hora - MemberI ride SLX
So just 2 steps down from top-of-the-range.
deadkenny - MemberMost things from Park Tools
If you've ever got a poo you want rid of, dip it in blue plastic, someone'll give you £30 for it.
Powerlinks in any quise seem ludicrously expensive. Same with spares for reverbs £60 for the button and hose from a discounter when you can buy a complete new one for £160. Somebody is having a laugh
Apart from 3 rides on the road bike (at zero cost), I've ridden my P7 SS every week since the summer.
And I've not changed/upgraded/replaced a single thing. It's cost me ZERO. Yup, absolutely zilch. Nada.
( I do happen to live where there's very good riding, but even so... )
