How much do you spend on bike-related stuff?

[thomas]

This week I have been brooding over what must be the most unpleasant ritual in the course of the financial year, the income tax declaration. uch:

While crunching numbers I calculated how much I spent for bicycle-related items (frames, components, clothes, shoes, etc.) in 2008 and couldn't believe my eyes! The number on my calculator didn't even include the frames and the other articles I had ordered from overseas.

How much do you spend on average a year? I have set up a little poll on top of the thread.

 

[kiwisimon]

last year i spent a ton on bike stuff, this year only will be buying a BMX fork and replacing stuff that wears out.

 

[kpykc]

A lot and there seems to be no end to it. S1 looks complete now (thank god), but I still want some nice stuff for Soma
And if you add all the expenses for all the events (rides and races) - entry fees and travel expenses...

 

[Phil]

Spending too much money on bike stuff is like saying you're too rich--I suppose it's possible, but it's better than the alternative

I've been buying a bike about once every 6-8 months for the the last couple of years, but I think I'm finally done with that for a while. Plus finally have most of the clothes/shoes I need.

So I fully expect this year to be much more frugal: just a bit of spending on travel, race/event fees, and wear items like tires and chains. Oh, and maybe a new saddle, and seatpost, and some deep drop bars. And I still want a 'cross chain ring. And spare road shoes. Oh, and I've been wanting rollers for ages. And if I DON'T buy another bike, well, I'll have spare cash for a Powertap, and then...

 

[Wolfman]

I just paid my taxes this year too Thomas and the wife helped me out with the accounting. I kept the credit card statements hidden as I wanted to maintain some "privacy", but I could have got into deep trouble I think.

I got the new bike, then a load of new clothing, some upgrades here and there, as well as the Garmin. It's wierd how you make these purchases. In my case, I usually think at first that something is totally ridiculous (say, titanium skewers), a couple of weeks later I'll find myself clicking around on the internet bored out of my skull and making these types of purchases. The strength of the yen also gave me some extra motivation to get really quite superfluous things, like some windbreak socks, the titanium skewers, or even the Garmin - which isn't really essential and a photocopied piece of paper is all you really need.

All going to plan, 2009-10 should be more limited in bike related expenditure.

 

[Edogawakikkoman]

I haven't bought much at all in the last 2 or 3 years. Biggest fork out was for the Garmin 705.
I'm even rotating old tyres.

I'd love a new bike but I've decided not to get one unless I move from D grade into C grade. Should be good enough motivation. Providing my 2 racing bikes don't disintegrate first. The older they get the slower they will get too. Replacing components is not economical either. The mark up is too high.

My spending ability diminished when I bought the car last year.
Actually diminished more 2 months after that when my wife bought herself a car as well She hasn't ridden her TREK in over a year either! ( I should sell it when she isn't looking and just say I threw it out).

 

[kiwisimon]

The older they get the slower they will get too.

Mate that isn't necessarily the bike's fault

 

[Davad]

I spent well over half a million in December 08 buying and building up my Izoard, but that outlay was offset, at least psychologically, by the knowledge that if if the yen hadn`t been so strong and/or I had purchased everything in Tokyo, I would have spent about 1.5 million. A kind of, `can`t afford not to buy it` phenomenon. There is also the very real concept that, unlike most other kinds of shopping (or shopping addiction), spending money on bicycles and cycling gear is essentially a direct investment in one`s physical health, with potential cost-offsetting benefits for years to come.

My only worry is that now that the roadbike is finished, my 12 year old mtb is crying out for replacement, with this:/Users/davad/Desktop/Bikeporn/1228-4249-full-intense_uzzi_vp-55.jpg

Wiggle, here I come....

 

[Davad]

This is what I mean,

http://www.highlandbikes.com/products.php?plid=m24b0s239p1228

 

[trad]

"tenetur seipsum accusare.....'' ........or..... ''no man is bound to accuse himself.'' I'm a US guy, so I'm pleading the Fifth Amendment on this....

What I do know that going Ti on a roadbike definitely curtailed need to change/upgrade for me.

In my house, I justify the purchases with what I might spend otherwise...
- gym memberships - 20k-40k a month
- golf - 40k to 80k a month, plus pricy food and expensive equipment i'd need to buy
- therapists for my family (i get mighty irritable when I'm not biking),
- etc....

 

[maverick_1]

Spending too much money on bike stuff is like saying you're too rich--I suppose it's possible, but it's better than the alternative

I've been buying a bike about once every 6-8 months for the the last couple of years, but I think I'm finally done with that for a while. Plus finally have most of the clothes/shoes I need.

So I fully expect this year to be much more frugal: just a bit of spending on travel, race/event fees, and wear items like tires and chains. Oh, and maybe a new saddle, and seatpost, and some deep drop bars. And I still want a 'cross chain ring. And spare road shoes. Oh, and I've been wanting rollers for ages. And if I DON'T buy another bike, well, I'll have spare cash for a Powertap, and then...

wow..many things!

 

[AlanW]

I find it fairly easy to justify buying nice bike stuff, following the "Boots" theory of economic injustice

i.e if you get decent stuff and look after it, it will last a long time and you enjoy the benefits the whole time.

I used to spend a far greater proportion of my income on bikes & bits when I was a student than I do now...

 

[lmlloyd]

A couple years ago I spent a decent amount of money building up my Surly, and this year I am spending a fair amount of getting a folding bike for my next trip to Tokyo. Otherwise I don't spend a whole lot on bikes. Of course, I just like to ride around on bikes instead of having a car. I am not a serious road racer like a lot of you guys.

I like big heavy bomb-proof bikes with lots of cargo capacity, and they tend to be cheaper than the feather light carbon fiber jobs you roadies go in for.