[Closed] MTB is a cheap sport

It's not cheap compared to say....jogging. But it's cheaper than offshore powerboating.

But really I think it's cheaper than golf or similar for what you get out of it.

I get nothing out of golf so on a money for enjoyment scale it's a dead loss to me. Likewise my golf playing mate thinks bikes are really expensive "for what they are"

Value for money, certainly.

I dunno, I've had cheep bikes before and they were great, the only problem is that expensive bikes are better in every other way appart from cost so now I can afford it I buy loads of kit! These days I can spend more than I paid for my first proppper bike in a weekend roadtrip just on fuel, food and repairs (so excluding accomodation, the car, running the car, and wear on the biks)!

So yes it's cheep, but only as cheep as you want it to be. Same with golf, you could buy some secondhand clubs and play on municipal courses, of £500 for each club, join a propper poncey country club/golf course and buy a villa in Spain.

I've never had a cheap bike really. Not because I have money coming out of my ears or anything, but bikes are my little extravagance and I believe that it's a hobby worth spending on. It gives me a lot in return.

It can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be.

It's not cheap compared to say....jogging.

I've an inbred commuter that cost about £50. Bought cheaply on ebay, sold forks and gears and some other bits. Left with sliddy dropout inbred, hope/mavic wheels, lx hydro disks and p2 forks for the price of a tank of fuel (which I've saved many times over by riding to work). Bargain.

Cheap compared to my wife's hobby, horses...

Depends what you mean by "sport" Messing about in the woods on a cheap bike isn't expensive.

But you won't see too many keen amatuers who take part in races competing on Hardrocks.

[b]jimjam[/b] - Member
It's not cheap compared to say....jogging. But it's cheaper than offshore powerboating.

But really I think it's cheaper than golf or similar for what you get out of it.

proper running is probably more expensive than mtb. a pair of shoes £60-75 every 10 weeks.

That's only £750 a year, I'll wager a hell of a lot of folk spend more than that on cycling!

proper running is probably more expensive than mtb. a pair of shoes £60-75 every 10 weeks.

That's about what I spend on routine maintenance and replacing things as they wear out. Upgrades/new bikes/new shiny things on top of that....

Mountain Biking is more expensive than golf, bike costs more than a set of clubs, maintainence costs more than club membership

Very sweeping generalisation there.

jambalaya

Mountain Biking is more expensive than golf, bike costs more than a set of clubs, maintainence costs more than club membership

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. I'm sure you could steal some clubs and putt some balls around your street but the truth is anyone who is into the sport will spend quite a bit. You can easily spend a few hundred quid on one golf club and my nearest golf club's annual membership fee is £915 a year.

Anyway what I meant was that it was cheaper, relatively speaking for what you got out of it. Meaning, for an initial outlay of maybe 300-500 quid you could get a vehicle that could take you anywhere and do some very exciting things, and make you fit while your at it. Or for the same outlay you could buy some some fancy clubs, in a bag. And not have anywhere to properly use them for free.

Jesus sometimes posting on this site feels like arguing with children.
{We've edited your post to remove an unnecessary reference to children with a disability - we don't expect to have to remind you again about choosing your words more carefully - Mod}

Jesus sometimes posting on this site feels like arguing with children

Does not compute, so will ignore that statement and argue on a point that is irrelevant. 😉

relatively speaking for what you got out of it.

I'm not sure you can quantify it
I spend far too much on MTBs and - TBH - getting less out of it as time goes on, I tend to spend a lot more time on the road bike and motorbikes
The road riding is cheaper for me than MTBs

It's cheaper than shooting, that's for sure. But by the time you factor in upgrades, broken bits, worn out tyres, transport to/from your rides, it's not what I'd call cheap at all.

Anyway what I meant was that it was cheaper, relatively speaking for what you got out of it.

That's so subjective though, it's not really that clear cut. Someone may love golf, have a cheap set of clubs and play at 'pay & play' type courses. Whilst they've bought a £6000 MTB, but not really enjoyed it.

You can spend a small fortune on just about any sport! I imagine an average set of clubs rivals an average MTB - £1500 or so?

It's a fairly daft comparison though, with the exception of sports that have a big initial (and unavoidable) outlay (motor racing, horse riding, sailing etc) most sports are as expensive as you make them!

My road bike cost me £110 all in - currently running at about 5p per mile

That's so subjective though, it's not really that clear cut. Someone may love golf, have a cheap set of clubs and play at 'pay & play' type courses. Whilst they've bought a £6000 MTB, but not really enjoyed it.

Of course it is subjective, and naturally I will be biased and will argue that I see more value in a bike. As I see it if I wanted to play golf 3 times a week, even with basic gear the average cost would be about 1k a year, just for the privilege of playing. whereas I "could" buy a rigid singlespeed with v-brakes for not much money and ride it 3 times a week for next to nothing for several years.

@jimjam - I spend way more on mountain biking than I did on Golf and I have decent clubs (which last longer than the typical bike and require virtually zero maintainence). I wasn't a member of a club but there are plenty of places to play pretty cheaply. As I've posted before the bikes cost more to service than does the car.

I think MTB is a relatively expensive sport.

The cost of all my bikes and bits are cancelled out by the money I save on commuting costs.

[i]My cost of all my bikes and bits are cancelled out by the money I save on commuting costs[/i]

me too.

although workign at home puts me at a bit of an advantage re: commuting costs generally.

I think MTB is a relatively expensive sport.

Still cheaper than jogging though.

Still cheaper than jogging though.

I reckon jogging [I'd hate to call what I do as running] costs me around £40/pa

njee20 - Member
That's only £750 a year...

MTBing is as cheap or expensive as you want/can afford it to be.

Just like the OP I Run a Cheap older Kona for DH that owes me nothing...

Same goes for my SS and Geared HTs.

Theres Plenty of bikes in my garage, the total value of the lot probably doesn't even equate to the RRP of a new five... None of my bikes are new or shiney but they meet all of my needs...

I personally don't fancy spunking several grand on a new bike every ten minutes.
But I wouldn't begrudge those with the means doing so, it all adds to the great 2nd hand surplus that those of us lower down the food chain generally benefit from...

Of course it can be cheap - I spoend very little riding to ride most of the time with occasional train fares or petrol shares.

Less than £500 a year would be my guess on my spend

It's a fairly daft comparison though, with the exception of sports that have a big initial (and unavoidable) outlay (motor racing, [b]horse riding[/b], sailing etc) most sports are as expensive as you make them!

Wish that happened with bikes...

It's a fairly daft comparison though, with the exception of sports that have a big initial (and unavoidable) outlay (motor racing, horse riding, sailing etc) most sports are as expensive as you make them!

Depends on the boat with sailing.

Plenty of Laser's for <£500 if you just want to race at your local club. And for the cost of a new carbon FS bike you could buy a Folkboat in good useable condition and live on it!

But really I think it's cheaper than golf or similar for what you get out of it.

My mother wouldn't agree, though I do. Which just goes to show how personal "what you get out of it" is.

Most sports/hobbies can be as expensive or as cheap as you want them to be. MTB was cheap for me, now it's expensive, but still worth every penny.

For me it's not cheap, but if I didn't do it, the money 'saved' would go behind a bar or into a lap dancers knickers. Make of that what you will!

i just love coming past pepole on 3k or 4k bikes and knowing i have less than ten times the amount of money in mine!

that sounds rong. i ment ten times less

I used to ride a mountain bike in the Lakes that cost me £140 - now I ride one that if I added it up would probably have cost at least £2500 and I've spent a fair bit on a car that will fit bike easily in the back, and several holidays based around biking. Don't regret any of it though.

i just love coming past pepole on 3k or 4k bikes and knowing i have less than ten times the amount of money in mine!

Why?

cost of all my bikes and bits are cancelled out by the money I save on commuting costs

If I were to commute by bus and tube, it would cost £1,500 a year.
My commuting budget is £500 which more than covers bikes, repair and maintenance costs, clothes, lights, etc.
Therefore I save £1,000 a year on travel costs which I happily spend on my hobby.

i just love coming past pepole on 3k or 4k bikes and knowing i have less than ten times the amount of money in mine!

I'm far from being a Pro so I get great satisfaction in knowing that my 5k DH rig will be able to take everything I can throw at it and much more.

For me it's worth it and I enjoy it.

Jesus sometimes posting on this site feels like arguing with autistic children.

My son is autistic and I find that offensive

because why spend 4k on whats pretty much a pro bike when a lot of pepole cant use them to what the bike is capable of. lots also think buy new parts will improve there riding and this is not always the case some/ most times its just lack off practice.

not sayin anyone on hear is like that. and if i had the cash i would probly spent it on bikes its more the pepole who give it a go on a 3k bike just annoys

I'm far from being a Pro so I get great satisfaction in knowing that my 5k DH rig will be able to take everything I can throw at it and much more.

bet all your parts are choosen on what looks pretty no matter what

I go through expensive periods and cheap periods. Currently it has been an expensive period but barring any damage causing crashes should be going into a cheap period.

Watsontony, So are you saying ones spending should be linked to their ability to use the product to it's full potential?

Can't be bothered to explain why that's ridiculous. Anyone?