[Closed] Mountainbiking is just a sport for the rich?

I can sort of see where he's coming from, but its a bit of a flawed opinion that you have to be a posh toff to spend money on anything slightly out of the ordinary.
In theory it can be inexpensive, but it seems shiny things get the better of 'us' and 'we' start to miss buying things. If it plays a major part in your life then why not?

People I usualy ride with - one runs a rockers pub, one is a care worker, one is a trainee solicitor. None of us are posh, but none particularly poor either. Judging just by this site though it seems pretty solidly wealthy professionals.

I feel I should just add that the person who made the comment comes from a comfortable suburbanite background, is a white collar professional and is a rotund little couch potato. Apparently he was a "proper mountain biker" back in the day" as he had a rigid peugeot 15 years ago.

Not trying to character assassinate him - just adding some context.

If you take STW most seem to be well off, professional types. But most people I tend to meet out on the bike tend to be be 'normal' recreational bikers, working class types with one bike, who may like something better but cant afford/justify it, but are out there riding and enjoying themselves anyway without the hangups/envy/willy waving we sometimes see on here.
A sport for posh ~~~~~s? I dont think Ive ever met any one "posh" in all me (mtb)travels!

It does seem to have become a bit of a richer person's sport if you go by the STW regular's at least (refering to the "What do you earn" thread a week or so ago that revealed wages on here are generally WAY above national average).

But then it is quite an expensive sport if you're going to do it to the point where you push the boundaries on your equipment. I mean, most of us consider £500 a very cheap mountain bike these days. Compared to the sport which used to be seen as the preserve of the rich (and is now anything but), Golf, where £500 buys you a top of the line set of golf clubs now as prices of Golf equipment has come down dramatically over the years. And you can't argue that Golf costs loads to play in comparison to mountain biking, cos how much do we all spend on petrol driving to various trail centres each year?

Certainly, of the kids I've known into Mountain Biking, the ones that have stuck with it at all have almost without exception, had rich parents that have helped out financially with the sport to some degree.

And of course there's the usual "you could've bought a car for that" response from people if they don't ride that ask you how much your bike cost.

Of course it's not exclusively for the rich, but because it's not a cheap sport, primarily that's going to exclude a lot of less well off people from getting involved with it in the first place as it would represent far too large an investment for a "hobby." To make matters worse, the rapid devaluation of the £ isn't helping right now as it's pushing the prices of everything up, further alienating the less well off from trying it!

Now I love the sport, have done since I started as a 14 year old kid. I will admit though that my Dad did buy me my first bike for Christmas when I was 14, though I never recieved a penny more towards the hobby after said bike was bought. But I was desperately saving up for a bike and buying MBUK every month for 6 months or so, before my Dad stepped in and bought me the bike for Christmas, so undoubtedly I'd have tried it anyway.

There are exceptions to the rule, but certainly most people that I know that ride, and most I come across that do, are reasonably well off themselves, or have had financial support from parents when starting at an early age. Much as I'd like it not to be the case, and that MTBing really was a sport for all classes, sadly due mainly to economic reasons it isn't!

And like Golf used to be, it's now seen as the "socially mobile" sport to be seen doing by many people. Though of course there are those of us that have been riding a long time, and just love riding and don't care what anyone else thinks! 😀

Hmmm, MBoy Im with you on your last comment, but the golf thing? £500 They pay that just for one stick dont they? The balls are about £3 each!
Anyway old, young, fast, slow, gears or not lets all just have a good time!
😉

I would tend to disagree ,lots of people love the sport and ride an entry level bike, as far as beleving what people quote as there income on a mtb website ,good luck!. My self, I have no job(as of april last) but a very modest income and spending my time in my campavan cycling the best spots in OZ(after touring round it). all you need is a bike, and some dirt!!

All hobbies are expensive. Some people choose the hobby of drinking all day, others chose to smoke, some have massive train sets ans people do actually collect stamps while some even play golf.

Its a decision we make where to put our disposable income.

Ask him what he does of the weekend.

Also the majority of people who I ride with/ meet on the trails are well educated, comfortable professional people.

I tend to agree though. But as I always said, Mountain biking is the new golf.

Mmm, it's hard to assess someone's class when you see them sat on a MTB.

IMO, someone's 'class' is often your own perception of them based on your own preconceptions of wealth. I'll wager that there are a lot of really good riders out there on sub £500 bikes who aspire to nothing more; equally, I'll wager that there are an awful lot of riders out there on somewhat more expensive kit and debts up to their armpits.

I'd wager that there are very few off-spring of the aristocracy mixing it with you at Chicksands. Now, to me, a "[i]posh twunt[/i]" might be that member of the aristocracy. At the same time, some chav from the inner city estate may see me as a '[i]posh twunt[/i]" 😉

Sometimes, people mistake all the equipment, clothing and image associated with a sport for the sport itself, and can't see the point of buying specialist kit for an activity because they have never done any activity themselves.

Your colleague is just ignorant; no-one's 'posh' when they're cold, wet, hungry and knackered. But it doesn't sound like he'd ever understand that, so you should punch him.

… although he sounds pretty unhappy to start with. He's probably envious, too. He probably fantasises about strutting in to the office looking windswept and interesting, attracting females, instead of oozing in on his own slime.

Your typical working class sport is probably [i]watching[/i] football which you could argue is equally expensive than mountainbiking.

We may spend a few thousand on a bike initially with the odd upgrade along the way but the yearly running cost aren't too high (or maybe I just haven't counted). But it often costs greater than £500 for a season ticket, then many travel to away matches too, buy strips too then of course there seems to be the obligation to get hammered in the pub beforehand.

Yesterday I was riding some local dh/jumps and there were some kids on £200-300 bikes doing fine and riding pretty well. I started out on a £70 bike and didn't have trouble keeping up with my local xc club rides.

To do MTB to a high level, ie: compete and travel far and wide does require alot of money. If you have good riding on your doorstep it can be done fairly cheaply.

I guess with mountain biking, its sometimes obvious to see where money has been spent, nice kit, bike etc. Compare it to following a football team, where you'll have a season ticket, foreign cup games, transport, clothes etc and it probably doesn't look quite so expensive.

Powerboat racing, now I'd say thats a posh sport, doesn't really compare to riding muddy bikes into a headwind 🙂

No

The guys I ride with mostly are bike mechanics. Definately not rich!

hmmmm............

I ride bikes
I sail
I can't stand watching football

does that make me posh? Always makes me laugh the phrase "everyones shi* smells the same", i beg to differ, (looks arround office at well fed, middle aged workforce), judgeing by the smell in the little boys room poo smell increaces with earnings.

All hobbies are expensive. I can see alot of people riding less and less in the months to come due to bills, prices, job losses, kit prices rises. Kids will take up more money and riding will fall bythe wayside. Sad really.

Mountain biking is a minority sport and for whatever reason seems to attract a high proportion of reasonably comfortably off professionals, probably mostly in the 25-45 age group. I would bet that if you talk to most people that fit into their category they spend more on drink, drugs, meals, clubbing, clothes, big TV's, cars etc that we do. Its just a lifestyle choice

Don't the "poor" spend all their money on beer, fags & lottery tickets? 🙂

I think mountain biking (as with most other 'sports') can be expensive, but don't have to be.

It depends if you have to buy all the latest bits and pieces, or are happy with what you have. And I am sure i would have had just as much fun cycling if my bike had cost half what it did.

And as others have already said it depends where your priorities lie. Where I used to work there were smokers who would go on about my bike everytime it was on the roof of my car - can't believe it cost so much etc. etc. When I pointed out that it cost me £70/month for 1yr then it was mine and I have owned if for getting on for 7yrs it didn't seem so expensive. Compare that with £42/wk on fags, erm.....£168/month....hmmmm.

I think golf is a similar thing - you can pay stupid money on golf equipment, but it doesn't mean you will play better or have more fun.

I admit that I was privately educated and don’t really work as I have a substantial trust fund. However I only own 2 decent bikes (Ok they are very bling) and I ride alot due to the love of bicycles and dirt, always been the same. Just cus I’m well off doesn’t mean I’m any less of a biker, and certainly not ATGNI, I’ve paid my dues.

The appeal of MTBing to me (when I was a poor 20-something earning under £10k) was that I just had to buy a bike and the rest was pretty much free.

I didn't have to drive to the coast (like windsurfers) or fly to the Alps (like skiers) to do my chosen sport.

Of course, now I drive to other parts of the country and fly abroad to bike - but I don't have to.

I think those who assume there's a high price of entry for MTBing are mugging themselves to extent. It's easy to buy a good entry-level or secondhand bike for £300 and have a brilliant time.

Mountain biking can cost slightly less than naff all, if you want it to.

[i]"I can see alot of people riding less and less in the months to come due to bills, prices, job losses..."[/i]

I'd have thought the opposite. If you already have the kit, to ride need cost nothing, absolutely zilch. A lot of people may actually ride their bike more.

[i]"Mountain biking is a minority sport and for whatever reason seems to attract a high proportion of reasonably comfortably off professionals, probably mostly in the 25-45 age group."[/i]

Possibly because it [i]is[/i] accessible and can offer an adrenaline rush with minimal risk.

"I can see alot of people riding less and less in the months to come due to bills, prices, job losses..."

What does riding a bike actually cost? A bit of food that you'd have been eating anyway and a bit of tyre and brake pad wear?

I live just down the road from the Arsenal stadium and there are a lot of posh and non-posh people who are season ticket holders, cheapest of which starts at just under a grand a year. That'd buy a lot of bike, equipment and travel expenses.

Then again, there are people who'll have a couple of pints in the local every single day, and that comes to about the same. Add 10 fags a day and you'd be close to the price of a decent full-sus bike after a year.

Plus you don't *have* to travel to ride. When I was younger I was quite happy just riding around the local woods and bridleways, just had OS maps of the area and we went off wherever looked interesting.

It is perceived as expensive and this is perpetuated by the mags. £500 bikes are labeled as entry level and are always criticised. TO many people this money spent on a bike is crazy, especially as you can get one in Motorworld for not much more than a tenth of that. Its a bike not gold! Keeping it running is very expensive. Brake pads at 15 quid at set! for a month maybe in the winter. Transmission overhaul maybe a hundred every year!
to the enthusiast with money its nothing but to many its ridiculous.
finally you can get a year old motocrosser for 3 grand and something twice as old for the price of a downhill bike. Whats better value? You do wonder at times

stumpy01 has it spot on. I have two small kids so going to the pub every weekend is out. That has freed up more than enough cash to buy a nice bike. I do have a habit of mashing drive trains tho', which means MTBing is hardly a "one off" purchase for me. And then there's the "old" bike which of course needs bringing up-to-date...

This isnt an expensive sport at all. A good entry level bike can be had for a few hundred, and a second hand good bike for abotu the same. Sure it's not as cheap as a football and throwing your shirt on the lawn as a goal but that hardly counts. I tend to ignore anyone who has such stupid views as your colleague, my other spot - now thats quite pricy - £3-400 per board (need 2 to be comfy) and 3-500 per kite and need 2-3 at least to be able to go out regularly. In both cases though, that kit will last you a long time - 2-3 years for kites and 10+ for bikes, with minimal kit. So really all we're discussing is the perceived notion, perceived by a fool who has no idea. Let him think that.

I bike to work, although expensive my bike cost about the same as paying for a bus to work for a year, so really my bike doesn't cost me anything. In 18 months i've had one new chain (and that was only coz the 2 month old one had snapped). Biking doesn't have to be expensive, people tell themselves they 'need' stuff to justify buying bike bits all the time, but mostly it's wants not needs.

strutting in to the office looking windswept and interesting, attracting females

I've been riding MTB's since about 1990. When can I expect this to happen ?

"Wants not needs" is so right.

Damn my weak will.

Mountain biking is probably perceived as a rich barstewards activity because the ostentatiously rich can't stop prattling on about their £1000 watches, £50k motor cars, £200 sunglasses etc etc on forums, and being all 'bike chic' in the trail centre car parks whilst the normally incomed bikers just get out and ride the bejoolas out of the damn things then have a laugh and a pint about it aftewards.......

i am a right posh ****, honest...

bog trotters:
nurses & physios
bus driver
school kids
vet
doctors
teachers
managers
builders
computer and IT professionals
managers
engineers
electrican
students
accountants
solicitor
bank manager
etc

so, a mixed bag. My current bike is worth about £300 ie a fifth of the cost of my camera...

Hilldodger, Do you not think that people who are as you call it 'bike chic' unable to ride the beejoolas out of their bikes and have a pint afterwards?
A bit of generalisation there mate.

Not really, but they sure can't form grammatically correct sentances innit 😉

In answer to the original question: Nah.

Because the poor and dishonest can buy great nicked bikes cheaply, and loads get nicked.

trail centres car parks seem to be split 50:50 between trades vans and bm's/audis/ rep mobiles.

hilldodger - Member

Not really, but they sure can't form grammatically correct sentances innit [:wink:]

But bad spelling is ok?? 😉 😉

My tuppence:

I think alot sports can be expensive. €150.00 for a pair of running shoes. FFS!

€400.00 as a starting price for a canoe, without paddle, lifejacket etc.

Clmbing rope, harnesses, climbing shoes etc.

Even football with replica shirts at €100.00 or so.

Also as said before, other pastimes are equally expensive.

Snobbery in MTBing is another thing though, look at me, not my friggin' bike, before deciding to talk to me...

I'm pretty much homeless, jobless and live out of a bin bag.

So i welcome all the to my minority.

if its got wheels or t*ts its going to cost you in the long run....

Even the cost of the bike is not ridiculous with some credit - bearing in mind that people are happy to load up all sorts of stuff like TV's, gold clubs etc on credit.

Taking maintenance and breakages out, a £1000 bike will still be worth say £400 after a couple of years, if looked after. Therefore cost is £300 per year or about £25 per month.

It doesn't have to be expensive I ride a GT avalanche 2.0 2005 model. The only changes I've made to this since 2006 are the inner tubes.

I've got the usual basic gear.

You could probably buy it all for under £300.

Doesn't matter, just get out, have fun and whether it be a £50 bike or a £5000 bike, more people cycling is a good thing (isn't it?).

COnks

he majority of people who I ride with meet on the trails are well educated, comfortable professional people

As well as being an avid MTB'er of 2 decades, I also play squash, and have done for probably the same period of time.

Squash = £50 for a good raquet, @£7 for a court each week. Over a period of 20 years... do the math!

Teacher,Lecturer,Cad Designer,Plasterer,Farmer,Builders,Paramedic,Sales Rep,Engineer - no one gives a fk about what you are riding as long as theres some banter to be had.Most of the lads are just glad to be out of the house !

trail centres car parks seem to be split 50:50 between trades vans and bm's/audis/ rep mobiles.

And a lot of the fancy motors at trail centres are probably on credit, just like the bikes.

pardon? am I to believe that some of you are from the poor?

oh how unfortunate. cake?

can be cheep, or expensive, personaly depspite starting a new job ive still not got any bikes worth more than about £800 (2 hardtails worth about the same). Tempted to buy a prophet, but seems pointless as ive moved down south.

Ah, the British obsession with class and social standing. The Frost Report, anyone?

[img] http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:Z4XkozUPUIfnrM:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ [/img]

thomthumb - Member

trail centres car parks seem to be split 50:50 between trades vans and bm's/audis/ rep mobiles.

a lot of cars i see in the trail centres are worth less than their bikes,
mine included, i have a really rubbish car though, i double the value of it when i load my bike into it. 😀

it's all about what you wish to spend your money on,

it can be as expensive as you like, or as cheap as you like.
bought a second hand bike off here for a friend for £200 ish,
an older specialised hardrock with everything upgraded, sids lx/xt.
just look at this for an example,
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/forum/classifieds

generally (as a rule of thumb), your less likely to find footballers and other "pitch" sport players on the trails.
its not a class thing, its a difference between running around in a box chasing a ball, or going somewhere, sometimes in a competative manner, in a linear styleee (be it walking, running, climbing, cycling, kayaking, rowing.....)

and imo its a good thing, its bad enough having to put up with the yobs shouting at the telly in the pub :p
not a lower class, a lower end of the species IMO :p

ce:

I think alot sports can be expensive. €150.00 for a pair of running shoes. FFS!

Ain't no running shoes cost that much, apart from Asics Kinsei. And they're for fatties anyway.

There are lots of kinds of mountain biker. There are a lot of people who splash out on flash kit because they can, and do it for a few years then get bored and move onto the next trendy "adrenaline sport" - kite surfing anyone? Wake boarding? However there are also people who buy a cheap bike and rag it around their local woods.

Takes all sorts.

I have an obscenely large income, own my own morning suit and have monogrammed cufflinks. I've got no car, a secondhand 5 year old TV and a geriatric stereo. The most I've ever spent on a bike is £1,100.

I am rich, and a posh tosser. But it's unclear that either of those things are necessary for the riding that I do.

🙂

With regards to the comments that MTBing is not expensive, here's the contradictory view.

Even £300 is a lot of money to spend in one go for some people. And especially when it's "Just a pushbike" as seems to be the most often comment.

I think the "working class rule of thumb" shall we call it is if it costs more than £50 it's too expensive, but anything under £50 (including a night on the beers) is an acceptable expense for a hobby. Yup, fags at £5 or more a pack and beer at £2.50 per pint ain't cheap, but for many they're addicted, and they don't see the cost! Also, they justify it by saying that "it's only a fiver or a tenner here and there, you never notice that really do you, but I can't afford £300 in one go on anything!"

I of course agree with most people's views on here, the average person having just given up fags and binge drinking could afford a very nice bike within a fairly short space of time if they redirected their money, and you don't need a nice bike to enjoy the sport. You can have most of the fun on a £300 bike for sure. And you don't need to spend money going places to enjoy it either.

FWIW, my main bike cost me less than £1k. It's worth more cos I was shrewd when it came to buying the bits to make it by sourcing them 2nd hand off ebay or from here, or from Chain Reaction for the new parts. Of people I ride with whenever/wherever, my bike is usually worth significantly less than most people's. Who's having the most fun? Well, that's hard to quantify. I think I'd have less fun if I was worried about the depreciation I was subjecting a brand new £4k bike to though personally if I had paid for it out of my own pocket.

Even £300 is a lot of money to spend in one go for some people.

isn't this very condescending ? Particularly when 'fags' and binge drinking are mentioned...

trendy "adrenaline sport" - kite surfing anyone

Tell me about it, I've deserted my local beach because of the number of new-starters clogging the place up. Right pain in the rear. Wish it had never left the stage of "ooh is that a parachute?"

isn't this very condescending ? Particularly when 'fags' and binge drinking are mentioned...

Nope, £300 is a lot to me (despite not smoking or drinking) and I'd not spend it willy or indeed nilly, the statement isnt condescending at all though.

In summing up for the defence then m'lud, the case has been clearly made that mountain biking is not just a sport for the rich, to get back to the point of the thread.

As in just about every other human activity, you can either throw money at it if you have it and want to, or you can do it on the cheap if you want/need to. Either way you will still get huge amounts of enjoyment, buzz and benefit out of it.

Any sport (or at least any I would want to do) needs participants from all walks of life. Any arguement as to relative enjoyment depending on income, cost of the kit you use etc is total tosh. The moral high ground is reserved for those who are bloody good because they have spent a lot of time at it, but at the same time encouraging anyone wanting to learn

isn't this very condescending ? Particularly when 'fags' and binge drinking are mentioned...

Nope, £300 is a lot to me (despite not smoking or drinking) and I'd not spend it willy or indeed nilly, the statement isnt condescending at all though.

Thank You Coffee King. I'd never spend £300 willy nilly either, but I can at least usually justify my larger purchases. It was certainly not meant to be condescending, merely a generalistic observation of the way in which most people I have worked with respond to Mountain Biking. Most of these guys think nothing of spending £50 getting hammered, or on going to watch their footy team play. But a few hundred quid on a bike is seen as frivolous spending to them! 😕

im only 17 and have 5 bikes i quite often get accused of being rich and so on, although my argument is that every bike i have iv earned through working at the LBS for the past 2 years, we might spend £1000 on a bike but would you spend £1000 on a tv?? i defently wouldnt but i know many people who would.

MBOY has made a pretty accurate point.Doing my job I meet loads of people who you could describe as poor.They don't realy have hobbies or pastimes as such.When they get some money its spent in a hand to mouth fashion.Taxi's,fags,beer, drugs are only a few quid a time if the money's in their pocket the spend it.They never accumalate even a few hundred quid.
Members of this forum and less well of mtbers aren't poor they just haven't much money at the moment.

we might spend £1000 on a bike but would you spend £1000 on a tv?? i defently wouldnt but i know many people who would

Good point. I spose it's all about perceived priorities. Many people would consider a telly more important than a nice bike.

I come from a 'poor' background, and can see why mtbing is seen as a 'Middle Class' sport. For many people on lower incomes, bikes are seen merely as a mode of transport, rather than something to have loads of fun on. Plus, MTBing is targeted at people with a fair bit of disposable income; you don't really see ads in the Sun, or on telly, for bikes. 'Cycling' is not seen as a 'cool' activity, sadly. And seeing as how many leisure activities are promoted through competitive sport, cycling is one of the more spensive ones, specially compared to footy.

I dont give a stuff about what type of person is into Mountain Biking, if whoever I,m riding with is good to get along with then fine..if there a big headed showoff knob then I don't pay any attention to them. If you like riding and can have a good banter share your knowledge and skill then great. It doent matter if your bike costs £300 or £3000, its the love of the sport and common intrest thats the important thing.

Besides you can always spot the dicks there the ones who ride by and dont return a hello and think their gods gift to mountain biking. Lke a group of posers who whooped and pushed past on the trail and barged forward at the begining of a section one with his ipod attached to speakers on his camelbac, I laughed as I rode past him as he had just hit a tree. I enquired to the health of the tree.

Judging by some recent posts on this and other threads, this forum - not, I might add, mountain biking in general - seems to be overly populated by social climbers and snobs.

In my experience, no group bleats on about class, wealth and social standing more than the social climbers.

Snigle
:o/

Sounds like your mate is just trying to wind you up or he is some kind of inverted snob!. Its a sport for those who like to ride bikes. Anyone who actually rides would tell you its a sport for all people whatever their income. IME the people who don't do it are usually put of by the mud/fitness/ aspects or not wanting to crash. Its not a sport where u NEED heaps of cash. Very few bikers I have met over the years would I describe as rich in terms of cash (most spend their money on bikes & not in pubs).

Sounds like your friend is trying to see the world in terms of "havs" & "have nots". He wont have much fun doing that, life is far more complicated!

I cant claim to be "working class" but I could never be accused of being posh or god forbid middle class

Gentleman's Relish Anyone 🙂

"working class rule of thumb"

Mate, that does come over a little bit condescending. Not disagreeing with your point though. It's the same logic that gets people to sign up for rip-off car loans because they're "only £20 a week".

Still, a bike can be had on the same terms - and usually interest free (unlike most consumer goods).

This thread would have been far more accurate if the word "Mountainbiking" was substituted for "the stw forum" in the headline.

"Mountain biking? Surely that's just a sport* for posh twunts?"

Tosh - end of.

can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be,find a lot of couch potatoes use these sort of excuses to defend their laziness.

I used to be the guy on the specialized hardrock and before that a GT and before that a fully rigid marin pine mountain that i bought for 50 quid (i loved that bike!). both were stolen, so in a fit of rage i vowed to build a better, faster hardrock with better-than-RST suspension. i sold the GT and spent the money on parts for my hardrock beast. Then the police found my stolen hardrock! so i sold that on ebay and used the money to buy some new second hand forks. Then i found my dream frame on STW! It was a bargain. i built it up with parts off my hardrock and now i'm happy as a pig in poo. If it ever got stolen i'd be back at square one but i'd probably build the same bike from a second hand frame. I'm not posh, educated maybe, resourceful for certain.

mountain biking is for the rich you want to try racing motocross.i feel like a millionare now im into mountain biking instead.i am feeling the need for more and more and more bikes though 😆

I used to shoot as a hobby, again it covers the whole spectrum from the retired factory worker who rough shoots on the local farm to the rich city types on the organised driven shoots.
My gun cost £500 and a morning shooting clays was £50 + travel expenses. Now I mtb my bikes were £1,000 each and a mornings biking is FREE!
Its horses for courses really any hobby you take seriously can seriously damage your bank balance.
As for the class issue I have found a massive mix of people on the trails all of which on the whole seem really decent.
All in all a much friendlier bunch than the shooting crowd!

I have a couple of good bikes (Orange 5 & DMR Switchback), and I prefer riding quality to cheap. But I'd still ride if all I had was an entry level.
Good technique means you'll be faster on an entry level than someone on a top of the range bike who's not so good. So, I reckon mountain biking's for anyone. And whatever bike you've got, learn some skills and you'll embarass your mates who ride top of the range!

Just noticed the comparison of 'would you spend what your bike costs on ____'
Well, my bikes cost more than my van...
...and my motorbike went for waaay less again.

I had ace fun on my old Hardrock that I bought for £140 - I have much more fun now on my Pitch though.

This forum does seem to be quite ridiculously affluent and perhaps a little snobby at times, however.