"Cyclists racing into debt to own top bikes"

So who’s got Di2 on a Deore budget?

Sam Clark, from Lloyds Bank, said: ‘The number of commuters travelling by bike is fast increasing.
‘With different options and flexibility available for consumers to finance a bike, [loans] could continue to be more attractive to commuters in the future.’
Britons in the North, the Midlands and Yorkshire – where the Tour de France started last year – were most likely to take out a loan for a car or bike.
Figures by Privilege insurance show that almost 100,000 bikes are stolen every year, including 6,000 worth more than £1,000.
According to Privilege cycling uptake jumped from 34 per cent to 41 per cent in the seven months after the 2012 Olympics.
A separate study by Wheelies Direct found sales of hybrid bikes doubled between 2006 and 2012.
The same research forecast that the bicycle market will grow by a quarter between 2012 and 2017.
On average, it cost cyclists nearly £300 a year to replace their bikes, up from about £220 just six years ago.

Daily Mail article

In my first week of Uni, I did spend a good chunk of my student loan on a new frame (0% for 12 months).

Not trusting myself, I gave my parents the full amount up front and they took out the ‘loan’ for me.

Who here buys a bike when they don’t have the cash right there and then?

No.

I’m lucky enough to have enough cash to buy bikes when I want to if I don’t go crazy. So I don’t go crazy.

Did C2W one year. Wow, that was annoying…

I thought C2W was a great way for STW’ers to by their CX bikes (that’ll rarely be locked up at their work) on the cheap.

Why annoying? Were you the organiser?

Did it once when I first stated riding again. Spent £2.5k on a road bike and an MTB, paid it off over a year on a 0% credit card. Since then I’ve always paid up front, except on C2W.

Since then, The Fun Police have limited my bike purchasing/upgrading to something every 18 months, no more than 3 bikes at a time, and my tastes have got cheaper. Due something new next year. Torn between a blunted Day One commuter, a 29er, a proper CX or a dream audax build, either Enigma or Mason.

I need a lot of brownie points in the next year!

I found C2W a breeze with Evans. Shame HMRC were the last employer in the **** country to set up a scheme 👿

Way back in ’94 I spent my student loan on a shiny new Cannondale, and I’ve had a CTW bike but other than that all bike stuff has been bought with cash monies, saved up for if its too much to afford straight away.
I can see the argument for using credit to buy a decent commuting bike if you can’t afford it up front, as it’s a mode of transport that you need to earn money so to speak but a bike that’s only used for pleasure?

£300 to replace their bikes? I’d hardly call that racing into debt. Unless they are replacing them on a weekly basis.

Why annoying?

By the time I’d got charged a mark-up by the shop, filled in the paperwork, then changed jobs, had to pay the balance and was still getting wheedling emails years later demanding another $30 to finally own a bike I’d sold ages ago, the dubious benefit of saving a few quid had been thoroughly forgotten. YMMV

🙂

I get finance for everything. Simply don’t have enough up front for most things and have always had a hole burning in my pocket when it comes to money.
My last finance deal ended a few months back and was for some forks and wheels for my big bike.

Funnily enough, two days ago I applied for a Tesco credit card, 0% for 21 months with which I intend to bring my hardtail up to speed. Ten speed that is, plus some new forks.

I don’t see owt wrong with it if you are careful. I just can’t save as something always seems to come up. Having the cash leave my account on the 1st each month to me, is essentially similar to saving….just, sort of backwards.. 😀

I dont see anything wrong with borrowing 1+2k. It when its 4k+ that its ridiculous especially as Im struggling to see why mtb’s are worth 5k+. Thats my personal view though as I am tight with money.

Nope, I save and use cash. I’m not against loans or finance, but for your hobby..?

I dont see anything wrong with borrowing 1+2k. It when its 4k+ that its ridiculous especially as Im struggling to see why mtb’s are worth 5k+. Thats my personal view though as I am tight with money.

What about two 2k bikes?

I see many here are sensible.

I think the article quoted more for people’s debt. The £300 was running costs p/a. Still less than a tank of petrol in Blighty, isn’t it?

There’s nothing wrong with finance, in fact, if used sensibly, it’s the smart choice.

I don’t see owt wrong with it if you are careful. I just can’t save as something always seems to come up. Having the cash leave my account on the 1st each month to me, is essentially similar to saving….just, sort of backwards..

The test I’ve always used though is, if I lost my job tomorrow, for how long could I manage my debts*?

*actually, I could pay them off with a week’s salary. Debt scares me!

In the days when I was racing (and I earned about half what I do now) I racked up a reasonable 5 figure debt – not just bike kit but race entry fees and travel abroad, coaching, physio etc etc. It took me 3 years of zero expendable money to put myself back on an even keel. When racing I was able to persuade myself there was stuff I ‘had’ to have, now I’m better at realising it’s just a hobby – I’m much less obsessive.

If I persuade myself I need a new bike (as in an actual bike, rather than a Trigger’s broom style slow replacement) I’ll probably use a 0% option not because I couldn’t afford to pay for it out of savings but because it seems to make financial sense.

2k bikes? Max that Ive borrowed is 1k (Blur4x frame) and most recent 1k (Planetx bike).

What a great semi trolling article of crap by Andrew clickbait

Many people pay ridiculous amounts every month for cars they don’t need and can’t really afford, so I see no reason why it should be any different for bikes.

Agree lots of people pay upwards of £400 a month to rent a car to look good to strangers on their street. Literally.

Silly headline…here’s a more relevant one…

Motorists racing into debt to acquire vehicles that are disproportionately expensive, large and inappropriate to their needs (and driving skills).”

Ok it doesn’t make such good click bait but I would wager it affects more of the population…

Nuts beaten to it!

Always had the money and never borrowed but it doesn’t surprise me people on low incomes borrow a couple of £k for a bike while they have no reserve fund in place if they lose their jobs or for an emergency.
I’m self employed so get paranoid if I don’t have a years living costs in reserve in case of another recession/work downturn (having been through a couple) so I simply wouldn’t borrow for a bike and make do with what I had.

MrSmith – Member

Always had the money and never borrowed but it doesn’t surprise me people on low incomes borrow a couple of £k for a bike while they have no reserve fund in place if they lose their jobs or for an emergency.
I’m self employed so get paranoid if I don’t have a years living costs in reserve in case of another recession/work downturn (having been through a couple) so I simply wouldn’t borrow for a bike and make do with what I had.

I’m amazed the country is in such a state when STWers are all perfect like you 🙂

This place is comical, honestly, I’ve never known such a bunch of superior beings all in one place.

I don’t earn much but tend to put a standing order of 100 pound out from my earnings per month and build it up so I can afford parts or frames from that pot. I couldn’t even think about going on finance.

i’ll start by saying that Mail article is a rehash of a complete bunch of guff by Critchlow in the Telegraph, so treat it with the respect that sort of heritage might deserve

Di2 on a Deore budget?
that’s me, but then i have bike wheels that are worth more than my car, my watch costs about £25, my television was free and i don’t spend vast amounts of money on beer or any other weekend drug habit

where i prioritise my debt is up to me

Superior? No I’m sorry I agree with MrSmith. When did it become ok to be a debt-nation?

I’m a self-confessed all the gear type however I can’t simply justify buying all the gear. I look at carbon full sussers and think VERY nice. The latest Fox 36’s are VERY nice. I’d love those. I really would. Can I justify the expense? No.

I stretched to a new Commencal frame last week- I put the secondhand proceeds of my previous frame against it. Even then I felt ‘guilty’ at buying a new frame. I guess if you’ve been stung/know harder times when younger you don’t run into credit that easy.

Like cars bikes are depreciating items too- yes you get all the joy and thrills from riding your top-end bike but how many times a month is that? You’d still get all the joy and thrills from riding a lesser alu frame. They aren’t bad- they are bloody good nowadays.

Mountain biking has always had element of ‘must have that £1,000 pair of Jimmy Choo’s’ female equivalent type (because its the best/I’m worth it etc)- so who’s the ‘superior’ ones…..

It aint those who worry about debt.

I would NEVER buy a bike on finance.

Being a student a see how much money I have at the start of the year and divide that by 9 (the amount of months at uni and student finance only just covers the house) then keep the that budget each month, whatever is leftover at the end of each month I then allow myself to spend on bikes/holiday ect. This technique has worked for the past 3 years and I have managed to get to now with 3 nice bikes all of which were paid for upfront

Cash only for me.
I do understand folks who do use finance and think why not if they can afford it..

I’ve lost track of what’s considered an “expensive” bike these days but personally wouldn’t see £2k as anything excessive.
I save more than that a year on travel fares by using a bike to commute to work and the bike “running costs” are more than covered by scrapping the gym membership and riding more 😀

I save more than that a year on travel fares by using a bike to commute to work and the bike “running costs” are more than covered by scrapping the gym membership and riding more

This is how I justify part of the bikes cost- no gym fees but also I put in the cost to sanity. Sometimes a bike ride just stops anxious/makes you feel sane once more = priceless.

I do understand folks who do use finance and think why not if they can afford it..

If people include CC purchases then all my bikes have been “on finance” – you can take advantage of on the spot deals, get purchase protection and product insurance. Usually try to pay it off before the interest period but even if it takes an extra month it’s not a lot of extra cash.

Prefer this to sitting in front of a screen frotting over my next purchase while anxiously looking at my stash wondering if the price will jump before I pluck up the balls to buy.

But then I guess saving does have the advantage of giving plenty of time for the “my next bike – talk to me” posts
😉

got to the stage in life where i can pretty much buy whatever i want.
still use 0% to buy bikes. why use your own cash in the bank when you can use someone elses?

My latest bike is on credit. I had every intention of buying it up front but 0% interest for 12 months seemed stupid not to take the offer.

Cash for me except one bike which was on 0% finance with enough cash in my bank account to pay it off immediately. Just worked better for cashflow that way. (Strictly speaking I do use credit cards but paid off in full each month). I do seem to have stopped buying bikes recently although some of my recent upgrades cost more than my cheaper bikes…

If you read the story (I read the sake story on a different newspaper website earlier) the study has lumped together “bike or car” loans. From this that have come to the conclusion that Britons are over their heads I have debt to purchase bikes.

Bonkers poor journalism as usual.

I’ve got 3 bikes at the moment – all were bought on the C2W scheme.
The last one is ‘paid off’ next month.
I’m going to have a break for a year then maybe replace my Boardman Hybrid with something like an Arkose or Planet X London Road.

C2W is a no-brainer for me, and at my skill/fitness level, £1k bikes with a few upgrades are perfect.

I’d love a £5k road bike, but wouldn’t get into debt over it.

Bonkers poor journalism as usual.

TBH the writing is poor but the angle is right. I’ve been thinking this for a while- with more and more bikes costing silly prices and 0% finance abound its only going to get worse. More and more cyclists will think its the ‘norm’ and to keep up with other riders kit levels. What would you do?

When it all hits the secondhand market- would you spend 1k+ on a 2-3yr+ old bike frame that was crazy prices new? I wouldn’t.

People use credit to buy nice things they can’t afford. What a surprise! 🙄

It’s only debt if you can’t afford it though. If you are sensible and you pay it off then 0% finance is just like saving but you get the stuff at the beginning!!

did c2w once (for a bike that I’m pretty sure still gets used more for commuting than hobby) and when I was 16ish I got an MTB on unofficial credit – basically gave the LBS owner a load of dated cheques but apart from that nope. Mortgage is the only thing I have hanging over me. I don’t lik ebeing in debt, bikes (and cars and anything else) I pay cash for.

That said it’s a big birthday next year, may be tempted to spaff on a posh bike, so might consider 0% if I haven’t saved enough. Dunno, may have come to my senses by then and purchase something more sensible/2nd hand.

Last 2 bikes were through finance type arrangements, first one was 50% paid then the remaining 50% paid over the next 3 months. The frame had to be got earlier than planned or it wouldn’t have gone ahead.
Second one was a demo that I wanted, arranged finance on it and it will be paid within the year, made a big difference to me and my riding and not a tough thing to do. Again it was at a one time only price so just pulled the purchase forward.

Not a bad thing really.