The thread about buying “the wrong bike” got me thinking – just how expensive is mountain biking?

Some rough figures: Let’s say you’ve bought a bike for £2K and it’s your only MTB. I’ve seen on here figures of 30% depreciation in the first year then 10%/yr after that. I don’t know if that’s right but let’s use them as a starting point. This year I’ve done around 1500 miles mountain biking, or probably will have by the end of the year, I suspect that’s higher than most but again let’s use that.

2000 * 30% = 600
600/1500 = £0.40/mile

So without taking in to account any upgrades or replacements for broken parts or fuel to get to wherever you want to ride, post ride beer, etc. it’s costing 40 pence per mile.

So will the cost drop in subsequent years? Yes, but not by much. It’s more than likely that with the mileage you are going to have to replace much of the drivetrain, probably the brake pads and possibly the tyres, we’ll assume you aren’t replacing XTR. Year two costs:

Depreciation: 2000 * 10% = £200
Drivetrain: £100
Tyres: 2 * £35
Brakepads: £20

That’s £390

390/1500 = £0.26/mile

So even in the second (and subsequent years) the mileage cost is in the same ballpark as running a car – http://www.theaa.com/resources/Documents/pdf/motoring-advice/running-costs/petrol2014.pdf.

Obviously adjust figures according to the cost of your bike and your annual mileage and how often you break things. There’s a lot of variables as the wear will depend on where you ride and the conditions. The formula is:

((Bike cost * depreciation rate) + service costs + replacement/upgrade costs) / annual mileage

Just don’t think about it.

Job done.

*closes eyes, places fingers in ears and goes ‘Nah!Nah!Nah!’*

But I have 🙄 The bank manager will be sending the boys around!

Ride more.

Depreciation: 2000 * 10% = £200

10% Depreciation seems a bit light!

I didn’t read any of that. Jeez, over thinking it me thinks all that typing. I’ve spent loads but never it’s bothered me as I’ve have had loads of larfs, holidays, some very nice bikes and feel pretty healthy. I also have buff legs. So I’m happy.

Interesting. From my point of view however a car is for transport and riding is for fun. I’m happy to spend money on fun.

Life’s to short to think about **** like that, get out and ride your bike.

Oh well.

Well looking back at the money I’ve spent (I don’t replace my bike every year), would I do it again? Hell yes! I’ve got a decent amount of disposable income and would rather spend it on my hobbies/pastimes/sports than wandering sheep-like round shopping centres buying “stuff” I don’t need.

Interesting. From my point of view however a car is for transport and riding is for fun. I’m happy to spend money on fun.

Is the correct answer…

If you played Golf it’d cost you far more (clubs, silly trousers, memberships, fees etc)

If you did windsurfing/kiting – the kit is similarly expensive

Sailing – several orders of magnitude more

etc etc etc…

As hobbies go Mountain Biking is fairly cheap. Cheaper still if you don’t swap bikes every five minutes.

…Oh and don’t even start to think about the cost of going to see the football or the rugby on a regular basis 😐

Oh and don’t even start to think about the cost of going to see the football or the rugby on a regular basis

Not a chance I can get paid to go and see them I still don’t bother. 😆

Basically costs me a drivetrain, pads and a couple items of clothing. Say £300 a year.

Currently hovering round £1 per mile mark this year. Let alone the beer money for post ride conviviality.

Not sure my road riding is any cheaper either.

*YAWN*

The only two things you need to consider are:

1. Can I afford it?

2. Do I enjoy it?

If the answer to both is yes then there isn’t a problem at all.

It’s no good spending on something you don’t like and equally it’s no good doing everything on the never-never.

Depends how you do it, you can fall for all the marketing hype and keep buying the latest and greatest….. or you can do it on a budget.

Im shit on a bike, but it makes me smile and keeps me fit. My 1st bike was a rockhopper for a couple of hundred and did a shit load of riding. Afan was a bit uncomforable on it though, so I’ve upgraded to a 1year old full suss at 25% of its price when new. Still got the rockhopper, its on town bike/top of the downs duty now.

My wife has a horse.

MTBing is cheap by comparison.

OP – you need to factor in the smiles per mile, I think once you do you’ll find its money well spent.

The only two things you need to consider are:

1. Can I afford it?

2. Do I enjoy it?

If the answer to both is yes then there isn’t a problem at all.

+1

remember you don’t necessarily need to have the latest/blingest/lightest/trediest/enduro specific kit to enjoy yourself

Your thinking too much. Who cares how much it cost or how much you spend in a year. You can’t put a price on the smile that you get when out riding your bike.

Some people have more disposable income then others but we all do it for the same reason!!!

You missed off the other costs:

Cost of an estate car with towbar Vs a small car.

Cost of a house with a garden/garrage/shed for fettling and storage in an area near some trails, insted of a flat near work.

If you’re self employed, the cost of spending an hour being unproductive whilst riding a bike (I don’t know how people on £600 day rates relax on holliday, I find it bad enough knowing I’ve paid £100/day to be somewhere, let alone several times that in lost earnings!).

Just don’t think about it.

Job done.

+1, i could afford all my bikes at the time I bought them, why worry about what they’re worth in the meantime.

Sailing – several orders of magnitude more

Not nececeraly, I’ve got a competative boat in my fleet, cost £2.5k, and the running costs aren’t much higher than a bike, new sails are the biggest cost, arround £700 for mine which is comparable to a mid-high end set of wheels, and replaced on about the same timescale. Everything else is just wearing out stuff.

The biggest difference is in resale values, I could sell my boat tomorow for what I paid for it, and the only costs over the year would be maintenance, storage fees, club membership, insurance, race entries, etc (probabaly arround £600 total this year). So it’s a bigger capital expence than mountainbiking (although £1k would get a decent 2nd hand dinghy and a new sail just as it would a new bike), but overall I reckon it’s cheaper as the equipment has a much longer usefull life (and hence 2nd hand market).

I buy second hand all the way… it can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. BB’s, chain, sprocket every now and then. I doubt you get much more fun out of it spending, that comes from ability and learning. At the same time if people have fun spending money on it thats damn nice and cool too… nothing wrong with spending money on something you love and gives you joy.

There was a great article in Dirt about a UK kid living in france who rode his bike in to the ground and just kept riding it, I think even without a chain at one point (a bit easier in france though).

I think some of your estimates were a bit cheap! But then it will obviously vary massively from person to person.

Rather than using depreciation I made a quick estimate using life expectancy of parts.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/pdLrtD]Costs[/url]

So for a average bike (worth approx. £2000) that comes out at £225 a year in maintenance and £545 a year on parts.

However I fear the real cost is much higher!

(EDIT: the annual maintenance on the frame was servicing the rear shock)

Folk are confusing cost with worth 😀 I was pointing out the cost not whether it was worth it – which of course it is!

There are certainly sports with higher entry level costs: hang-gliding would be pretty difficult with only half a wing.

Second hand is far better value in a pass-time where your frame can get dinged within 5 minutes of getting a new bike.

I think your comparison of price per mile is a little off though. A fairer comparison would be pence per hour. It’s not really a mode of transport as we normally end up where we started from.

Money saved by bike commuting ££££££££££££

Money spent on all bikes ££££££££

YAY !

I’ve not read the thread but why do folk NEED £2K bike, high end kit etc – this is why it costs, it can be much cheaper.

please mummy make it stop why oh why does this thread keep coming back every few weeks 😈

It costs a small fortune…but the rewards are priceless

It’s not money per mile that is the point with MTBs. More like money per day out, or per year of hobby. I’d wager most people spend more on the car they use to drive to the trails…

If you just want to travel cheaply, get a half-decent road tourer (etc) and you’ll probably be around 10p/mile, maybe lower if you are slumming it. Depends whether you count the cost of extra food (calories are actually quite expensive), or would do other exercise anyway, or want to factor in the health benefits…but either way it’s not expensive unless you want to make it.

Rather than using depreciation I made a quick estimate using life expectancy of parts.

Except when bushings need sizing I service my own forks, I’ll be doing my own shocks as well. I also service my own wheels.

So there goes a massive chunk of the yearly cost. Annual cost of the drive train is a bit ridiculous, you can get XT groupsets for 127 quid. I don’t replace mechs and shifters each year unless it’s on a downhill bike.

Many of my old mans Hope brakes are 10 years old as well, so there goes even more cost. Contact points don’t cost 5 quid a year to maintain either.

I think some of your estimates were a bit cheap! But then it will obviously vary massively from person to person.

How do you service a tyre?

The problem is you’re not comparing like with like.

I reckon I spend <£250 a year on my commuter, and do 4-5k miles on it, i.e. about 5-6p a mile.

If I went out and bought a forest rally car, or a hill rally car, I would be paying at least 10x what a normal car costs per mile, at a guess.

Even a cheapish commuter is, in the scheme of things, equivalent to a pretty nice car (Golf GTI or similar). If you went out and bought a new £300 road bike every year it’d get you from a to b with maybe new brake pads no bother. If you bought a city bike with hub brakes and enclosed chain (£500 perhaps for a decent but not boutique one?), you wouldn’t even get through them and could probably run it for 2-3 years without anything needing replacing (maybe tyres, cheapo at £15 tops once per year).

Contact points don’t cost 5 quid a year to maintain either.

Pedals?

Tom, I’ve seen some of your bikes on this site, and I suspect that like me, you don’t, you just get a spare from your box of bits/spares.

A commuter simply doesn’t (or rather won’t unless you commute across Coed y Brenin or similar) get much wear and tear. My commuter is three years old and has had: one new tyre, one new chain and two sets of brake pads, total cost of about £70. The bike cost just over £1K so let’s say the total is £1100. Biking to work rather than using public transport saves me roughly £30 per week.

So in forty weeks, let’s call it a year to account for days when it’s icy, etc, then I’ve recovered the cost of the bike and my commute is basically free plus I’ve got the health benefits and don’t have the stress of being part of a traffic jam.

It’s a hobby and something I do to relax, having a hobby is what makes going to work bearable for me or it would just be work, eat and sleep.

Does anybody keep a tally of how much they spend in the pub or on going out for dinner with the Mrs?

Does anybody keep a tally of how much they spend in the pub or on going out for dinner with the Mrs?

On here?
Some of them have spreadsheets 😀