[Closed] Debt through MTB?

non ever.

None.

I only spend what I can afford at the time.

I remember being about 15 and seeing all the adverts for £3000+ bikes on finance and thinking how easy it would be... 😆

If only.

And no, I'll only get stuff that I can afford to pay for outright.

Nil. I last bought a whole bike in 2003 and I drip feed my habit and value riding over kit.

None myself.

But one of my mates once took a loan out for £1500 to build a new bike up. Bought a Cove Stifee, had some wheels built up Hope hubs on Mavic rims. Then bought some Sids which were going cheap (yeah, I know, Sids on a Stifee WTF??????). Then ran out of money for other bits and ended up swapping the lot for a Japanese import PSP (which had just come out, but still).

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[b]WORST DEAL EVER![/b]

my C456 frame was put onto a 0% card along with lots of stuff for renovating my flat but I have easily paid that amount off. Other than that I only buy it if I have the money for it.

The best way I found is to sell stuff and leave the money in paypal. Then buy stuff using paypal. A lot of my kit is off the classifieds here or off CRC who take paypal. Anything I buy in local shops is with the debit card or cash if under £20 and obviously always use cash at the bike jumble.

So none as my only item is paid off. I have enough stress over money for my main hobby to add to it.

Lol

I earn a decent quarterly bonus, performance related which doubles my wage. I should pay it off next bonus but generally let it sit on my credit card.  I've not bought anything bike related for some time but I find it's always something else the family need more than getting around to paying the card off - bad money sense I know - just been honest

A few months i will have paid of the cyclescheme for my bike. I would get another on 0% finance. Would only really do that for something the i will have for a few years rather than a holiday with is transient.

Would never ever buy on a credit card, been there done it and fortunatly have never used one for 3 years now!!

I earn a decent quarterly bonus, performance related which doubles my wage.

So its YOU is it?

..not gonna give that bonus to charidee then?

no wonder the world is going down the pan, call the daily mail etc.

£700 was the max. Built up my collections through earnings. Used to buy and sell stuff on SDH. Really stepped up when I managed to buy a Kona Stinky with 50% off. Stripped it and sold most stuff apart from the frame.

Bought a trek session 7 a few years back on 0% finance,

But since them I've bought the odd frame on credit card and paid it back payday.

I now just buy when I can afford and have done for a few years. I won't use a credit card or finance again but only out of choice.

I think if you are realistic and can afford the repayments then go for it.

I earn a decent quarterly bonus, performance related which doubles my wage.

bad money sense I know

If it wasn't for the fact that your bonus is performance related I'd say you were a banker. Oh and you also claim to be honest so I suppose that rules it out as well.

I've never borrowed to buy a bike and never would.

None - if I can't pay for it, I don't buy it.

The only debt we have is the mortgage - and aiming to get a chunk of that paid off in the next few years.

None - if I can't pay for it, I don't buy it.

The only debt we have is the mortgage - and aiming to get a chunk of that paid off in the next few years.

Occasional short-term... Bought the DH bike on credit, took a couple of months to pay for it, stuff like that.

2006 - bought some Marz 66 RC2X forks for £500 on a credit card when I didn't have the cash and was unemployed 😀 - no regrets as they are the single greatest thing I have ever bought - still going strong now.

Nope, only ever bought cash / what I have in bank after spends on household.

I was about to say getting into debt on MTB was mental as you can have good fun on a £300 bike if you have to.

Then I remembered my first proper bike was a Univega I got in 1999 with my first student loan for £500. Haven't paid any of it off yet......

So yes, I am in MTB debt.

Bought a couple on 0%, Meta 55 XT and Stumpy Elite for the wife. Both paid off fine, can't see the harm in it really unless you're hugely worried about your job prospects, both bikes long outlasted the finance.

It's like saving up, in reverse.

Buying a mobile phone contract is much the same, you're buying a phone on credit and getting a contract you could get for much less in the deal.

No, cash only or paypal from old bits. I don't like to spend on bike parts it gives me zero pleasure.
Plus I don't have credit cards.

I'm pretty determined to campaign the '50 quid bike' all this year, including a series of XC and possibly another 24 solo.

Edit, that said I do really fancy a special steel road build, but that's more to do with owning nice stuff which means nothing when youre on the road.

Never been in debt for biking, but if I didn't have a decent income I can imagine I might be.

I wonder if any of the other 'no' posters above have a car loan though? I'd rather owe on my bike personally. It's far more important to me.

brakes - I like your honesty 😆

None

No car loan either - no car

Did when I first got into MTB in the mid/late-90s. Had just got my first teaching job so figured I could pay back stuff bought on CC pretty easily.

Was right - on the whole...

Now I only buy what I have cash for at the end (or middle if I'm honest and got the GAS) of the month.

slainte 🙂 rob

It comes and goes. The habit tends to balance out eventually but unfortunately I struggle to resist a bargain.

Bike debt, not so much. Boat debt, oh yes. It's a liveaboard, not a big boy's toy. Hopefully it'll be snapped up this week!

First bike - 1992 Kona Fire Mountain bought on credit £450
Second bike - 1996 Orange P7 bought with most of a student loan (the rest went on lights) £750
Third bike - £2700 2001 Pace RC200 bought with redundancy money from a job (all of it)

After that it all gets a bit hazy, but it was all actual spending money 🙂

Yes. Why not, when 0%deals are around. You can have it now and either pay later or put the money to better use, eg pay off the mortgage. Sod the holier than thou mentality, just get what you want, you're a long time dead

Used a credit card to buy big item like a frame, but always paid off within a few weeks, usually after selling stuff. Tend to only buy components, & S/H at that. Debating buying a new frame at the moment, so would probably use a card in liue of selling the old one. Would never buy a new bike complete. I'm too tight. 🙂

I only spend what I can afford at the time.

This. Applies to cars too. And pretty much everything else apart from my house.

If you've got debts through buying bikes and now have problems paying said debts then.....listen to my story..

I Bought an unfashionable 2008 Rocky Mountain Vertex frame NEW in really nice green from a shop that was going tits up receivership on ebay and splitting their display bikes.. so they split the bike and sold me the frame for £150. or you money freaks, that's a £750 frame for £150 brand new!

I then bought some pretty much brand new 07 rebas from classifieds for £150.

That's £300 for a brilliant XC F&F with say £400 for loads of top spec 2nd hand bits.
so with bits off my old bike that's a top quality bike of its type for £600 rather than £1500. pretty much newish.

That's not on credit. That's on cash. spent when available. to own and ride a decent quality bike that'll get me loads of laughs on the best of North Wales. and If I can do it. you lot can do it. Just need to know what to look for 🙂 Credit cards are for people who don't know how to control themselves. That's where the problem lies.

We bought 2 more houses in july 2003 and stuck about 60k on 0% credit cards (remember those days) 40k for the deposit on one house 18k for bits on bobs. And 2k on my first sc bullit with some long travel marz forks.

Didn't have any kids, I was employed full time and ran the letting for a mates 35 houses in the eves weekends ( which more than doubled my wages), wife was fully employed and at the time we had 2 student houses.

Paid off the 60k in a year, didn't pay a penny of interest.

We still use debt all the time to solve short term cashflow, last year I bought the tr450 and the covert at the same time all on 0% cards, all paid for now. Debt isn't as morally ambiguous as you might think..

Does bike-2-work scheme count?

Yes got my current bike £1.6k on 0% now, pay lots of interest later. No reason not to use credit if you can afford it. It frees up cash flow for other things.

We also buy plenty of things on 0% credit cards. Why wait and save up for things when you can get them now and be using them and pay them off over the time you would otherwise be saving..

Mountain bikes are toys. Get into debt buying toys? No.

Bought my road bike with my credit card to pay off over 3 months. Other than that no.

No debts for anything, house was the only thingbut thats done now. Have a feeling we should be using our spare cash far more wisely.

Biking isn't a bad thing to get into debt for.

Credit cards are for people who don't know how to control themselves. That's where the problem lies

I'd say it's the other way round - credit cards are for people who can control themselves, and that's where the problem lies 🙂

I only ever buy stuff when I have the cash, though that wouldn't stop me then buying something on a 0% card and getting interest on the cash I've got.. etc.....

As per most, never get into debt to buy anything apart from mortgages for house. The thought of getting into credit card debt for bike related parts is insane.

Credit cards are for people who don't know how to control themselves. That's where the problem lies

I got a credit card for the first time last year. I use it when i buy anything online, and clear it at the end of the month. The next bike-related purchases i make will doubtless be on there.

If i'm ever to get a motrgage in the future, then i need to build some kind of credit history....

I admit to buying a SC Butcher frame on 0% finance over 12 months, only a few months to go now.....better than putting it on my credit card!

The thought of getting into credit card debt for bike related parts is insane.

So a 0% over 12 months on purchases card is used to buy a 5k bike. I keep my 5k in the bank and either use it against my offset mortgage (at about 3%) or earn 3.1% in my savings account. Thats 150 quid. Doesn't seem insane to me.

And the credit card gives you some protection too.

glitchy double post

Credit cards are for people who don't know how to control themselves. That's where the problem lies

And for people who now how to use them.

The thought of getting into credit card debt for bike related parts is insane.

Even if it is just for protection of purchasing online its worth it,

EDIT: was going to say something along the lines of toys19

I bought a Giant29er in Sept and a Bionicon this month.....

Enough debt is the answer :)....

Or... more than the wife thinks 🙂

All oh so sensible. Am I the only one who uses their CC to buy stuff they can't afford?

Even if it is just for protection of purchasing online its worth it,

There is a difference between using it for protection and getting into debt. The OP was stating they have £1700 of debt.

0% is fine, as long as you pay it off after the period, which most don't - hence why the banks keep offering you it!!

0% is fine, as long as you pay it off after the period, which most don't - hence why the banks keep offering you it!!
Not to mention 3% transfer fees

 

Plenty of cycling debt here but I guess I'm pretty materialistic and get enjoyment out of the stuff I buy. It's all serviceable debt anyhow not like a student getting into a £10k hole when let loose with a CC for the first time. I'd rather die broke having enjoyed buying/using bling stuff than try and take it with me (I don't have any dependants though which probably gives me a different perspective than some :p ).

Not to mention 3% transfer fees

made my mistake & learnt my lessons. got a 0% 12 month CC bought a meta 5, had a budget and a payback plan. should have been £2500. by the time it was built it was £2700 (forgot about cables, innertubes and helitape on the build :roll:) payback plan never quite went right and i ended up paying about £3k back in total.

the worst bit - i never liked the bike - replaced the frame (£850) with a £150 456 and sold the frame for £300.

don't do that anymore. next build took me 5 months - i bought a few bits each month until the parts pile totalled a bike.

Credit cards are only an issue if you have no self control.

They can actually be better than cash. For example the 0% ones let you mangage cash flow keeping the money in your account longer. Mine gives me points for flights. We get about 4 return flights (to Jersey to visit my brother in law) a year by putting everything throught the credit card. You can get cashback on plenty, nectar points, clubcard points, airmiles, give to charity etc. etc. This is not to mention the extra protection they offer when buying online (which was very useful with the old CRC shenanigans a year or so back). They are not just a method of borrowing money.

Also, does it count as debt if you spend on bikes rather than paying off your mortgage early?

I'm amazed so many live in their perfect little debt free bubbles! Not what national statistics would have you believe. 🙂

All of my bikes get put on credit, usually 0% but not always, I like the protection it offers (and have had to use it on more than 1 occasion) and also I'd rather earn on my savings or save more, than pay up front.

To the point that now the interest I earn feeds my bike habit, but still use that to pay off my 0% card. Last time round I had about £3k of bike and parts on 0% over 6 months, savings matured week before 0% ran out paid off! Credit companies secretly hate me.

I'm in about £500 worth of bike debt, although thats commuter/road bike debt not strictly MTB.

That includes a load of kit, panniers, rack, mudguards, commuting clothes etc.

I'll pay it all off before the 0% runs out and it'll still cost me less than getting the bus every day (and be 35 mins faster)

I'm amazed so many live in their perfect little debt free bubbles! Not what national statistics would have you believe.

All oh so sensible. Am I the only one who uses their CC to buy stuff they can't afford?

+lots - well said.

We have a bunch of general do-gooders methinks 😉

All my bikes and bits have been bought cash. In a triggers broom style, parts are generally swapped and upgraded around a decent frame. Though when feeling sorry for myself, I did bang a trip to Morzine I couldn't afford on the CC. Good job I was heading to a destination renowned for being cheap and cheerful eh? 😀

I can't see why some people are getting all preachy about not using credit though. Good bikes cost serious money. So if you can take advantage (properly) of a cheap finance deal, or 0% CC, then why the hell not?

I wonder how much debt a young privateer wc racer would rack up in a season. Must be loads.

I'm amazed so many live in their perfect little debt free bubbles!

Notice hardly anybody replied to my query about whether they had car loans.

😉

Don't drive (and never have, so no car loan). Lots of student loan (about 18k and climbing), quite a bit of that has gone on bike bits (check my recent buying history for proof of that).

My first (and only tbh) new MTB was a Saracen hardtrax from Halfords, bought by my Mother on finance for me, and I paid it off.

When I was 18 I was in a car accident from which I got 10k insurance payout, this was free money (as in not allocated or needed for anything) that I spunked up the wall. This ran out and I got 2 credit cards to fill the void.

I ended up having to go to my parents after about a year of living with 2 maxed out credit cards that I could only just afford to pay, so it was a vicious cycle that left me depressed and in despair.

Over a decade later, I have 3 credit cards, 1 has £0 on it, the other is a 0% balance transfer from an old student related debt, and the new one has been set up with a 0% balance transfer to sort out my SO's finances. I'm basically doing what my Father did for me all those years ago.

I think I'm getting better. As for bike stuff, other than the student loan thing, I usually do the buy/paypal route. If I do need to use the credit card I use the one that is set for every day expenditure that get's cleared at the end of the month, it's only used to give me a better credit rating.

Good to hear mate

I'm not a banker .... Quite the opposite. I clear up after the bankers. I'm a regional manager of a debt recovery agency with a studio engineering side hobby (which brings in zip nowdays)

All my cash seems to disapear into cyberspace. My payslip says one thing, my bank balance on the morning of payday says another. 

Had the £1700 debt for about 8-9 months now so I'm paying a fair bit of interest - not cool but that's the reason for my post. 

Ps no car loan. Company

does cycle2work scheme count?

Have a total aversion to debt.. so never had any, and I mean ANY (mortgage excluded).

Even paid the mortgage off 10 years early because I didnt like the thought of it hanging over me.

The result of a childhood spent hiding behind the settee from debt collectors I suppose 🙂

"does cycle2work scheme count?"

I'd say yeah! Sure as hell does

Nah, c2w is like anti-debt!

If i'm ever to get a motrgage in the future, then i need to build some kind of credit history....

This is what bugged me many years ago, you can't avoid the debt-trap temptation test! When I wanted a mortgage I had to get a credit card and use it a lot over a year or so to get any kind of credit rating, as I'd never had any credit before. Talk about temptation / testing my attitude toward money! ) All good though, just use it in place of your debit card and paid it each month on direct debit, same spend, no bother, pretty fast / good credit rating. I realised I actually fear debt and feel safer with a bit of savings.

Credit cards are a good idea for some and a nightmare of consumer pressure and debt-traps for others. I think they should be more tightly regulated, now you see ads for 'writing off your debt' there must be a lot of people who lets face it aren't intelligent enough to understand basic finance well enough to avoid getting tehmselves into a mess that some won't accept responsibility for. Maybe they have a point.

I spent a lot of $ on a bike a while ago, all on a credit card - I got a better exchange rate than with my debit card, it saved me enough for a nice Thomson post for the frame.

No MTB debts, but my car is 14 years old 😉

And with a 0.5% mortgage I'm not particularly bothered about paying that off either.

it's a great time to be overpaying your mort. - chipping away at the capital.

mort rates won't stay low forever and when they go up, you are gonna be paying more for longer.

When I was young (and naive), I thought nothing of buying bikes on finance. £100 a month here and £100 a month there seemed like a small amount to pay.

Unfortunately, due to nothing more than my complete stupidity, I ended up in something like £24,000 worth of debt. This was 10 years ago.

I've struggled ever since then. About 4 years ago, my then girlfriend bailed me out and paid everything off for me, in full (out of some of her inheritance money). I then had to pay her back but this was much easier than trying to pay lots of different loans each month.

I've spent the past 3 years of my life paying her back virtually every spare penny that I have after I've paid my rent etc., just so I can get myself out of the hole that I got myself into.

It's been very difficult and there have been times when it's got me really down, but I'm almost there now. Just £250 to pay next month and I'm debt-free. I can't even begin to tell you how happy this makes me!

I'm 31 now and because of this debt I haven't been able to save any money, nor have I been able to pay any money into a pension fund. But the most important thing for me is that I'm now debt-free, and can start saving.

I know what I've said sounds like an introduction at a therapy meeting, but I don't care. I'm very proud of myself for being able to pay it off in such a short space of time, considering that I don't earn a big salary either.

To anyone thinking about getting things on the never-never, just be careful. You can never truly afford as much as you think you can.

I'm welling up 😉

Bike on finance? People surely must be joking right. A house on finance ok. But that is about it. Anything else shouldn't be on finance. Actually it shouldn't even be allowed. No wonder the economy is screwed up... No one as any sense of money any more.

I think I'm about to...

I have a very poorly frame and no money 😥

Still have my SS though, so its not all bad!

crotchrocket +1

Excellent time to overpay the mortgage.

Never.

Most stuff gets paid for on the CC, which is linked to my current account by a DD as I couldn't even get a mobile phone contract with absolutely no credit history!

Only ever had debt in my student loan which I don't count as:
*Repayment is linked to income, so more like a tax
*As an 'investment' the payback time was a little over a year, so it could be paid off in 12 months and I'd still be in profit

I wonder how much debt a young privateer wc racer would rack up in a season. Must be loads.

No, I've never been in debt due to bikes, and I cant see that changing any time soon.

To be honest, the only reason I buy bikes and riding kit is because I've got so much money I dont know what to do with it all!

Bought one bike on 12 mths interest free and second on cyclescheme - with the cost of a well specced bike approaching the price of a nice 2nd hand car it makes sense. Far better for the money to stay with me for longer

Sod the holier than thou mentality, just get what you want, you're a long time dead

I wish I could stand by my convictions.

I don't buy bike related things that I can't afford.
Mtb however has caused me to have a number of injuries which have prevented me from working.
At various times when I have been self employed this has caused me to go into lots of debt to support myself through these periods.

I'm genuinely shocked over the mature and sensible attitude of most posters.

I thought we all had some debt as the economy is in this position due to over extending ourselves financially as a western world economy. 2 generations ago debt was frowned upon. Now days we receive a sublimal message to consume "it makes you happy" ... We all know it doesn't of course. I watched a great documentry called the history of self. It was commissioned by Sigmund Freuds nephew after the second world war

Bike on finance? People surely must be joking right

I don't see a problem with credit cards. I'm sometimes happy to pay a little extra to have something straight away. It's when you spend faster than you pay off that there's a problem.

$hit loads!

I'm crap with money. But I have a lot of fun! Paying stuff off at a decent rate at the moment. Sometimes I care - most of the time I don't really.