I-Like-To-Bike

Yes you are!

Roody

He's probably buying real light tires that cost $100 each and don't do much to protect from flats. And then maybe he replaces his tubes instead of repairing them/

I think we've hit on a dichotomy between utilit cyclists and recreational cyclists. Most of us utility riders buy cheaper components and gear that is tougher and lasts longer. I wouldnever say one approach is "better" than the other. Everybody does what works bewt for them, and what they can afford. Diversity is one of the coolest things about cycling!

banerjek

Nope, I buy the durable tires I can find. It just so happens that huge sections of my route are littered with glass, tiny bits of metal, sharp chip gravel, blackberry thorns, etc.

At about 700 grams each (700/28), the Marathon Plus tires I ride for commuting are among the heaviest on the market. Previously, I rode Armadillos which are no lightweight tire either. When I'm riding with others, I hear them gripe how bad the road is and I'll be thinking how great it is. My racing bike does have lightweight tires, but I rarely get flats on it because I tend not to ride it through garbage.

I replace tubes more often than repair. That's partly because the bulk of my repairs are done in the dark when it is cold and wet so I don't like to screw around, but also because I get home pretty late and have other responsibilities to worry about too.

In my experience, "cheaper" can be a relative term. Cheaply made components are actually more expensive to use because they fail so often. On the other hand, once you pass a certain point, you've already paid for durability and the extra money just buys weight reduction. I'll sometimes spring for that on the racing bike, but my commuter is steel and it has a lot of MTB components on it to handle abuse.

grapetonix

$2000 in a year??? Holy Mother Of God. I have now had my aluminium MTB ($300) for nearly 10000 km odo, four years or so, and the only replacements are brake rubbers (three or four times, can't remember), a punctured tube sometime, and brake/shifting cables (three or four times). I also bought kevlar shielded tires but that was just for fun. I do all weather riding and those 10000kms cannot have cost me more than $500 in bike parts (bike was $350).

grapetonix

$2000 in a year??? Holy Mother Of God. I have now had my aluminium MTB ($300) for nearly 10000 km odo, four years or so, and the only replacements are brake rubbers (three or four times, can't remember), a punctured tube sometime, and brake/shifting cables (three or four times). I also bought kevlar shielded tires but that was just for fun. I do all weather riding and those 10000kms cannot have cost me more than $500 in bike parts (bike was $350).

jwc

My only failing is packs and panniers. I have the same problem with camera bags...own several. Don't need them all, but I can't resist.

I wouldn't be able to estimate my bike expenses per year. I'd guess for maintenance and repairs, less than $100.00/year. I just mounted all new tires on three of five bikes, but mainly because two haven't been riden in so long that the tires dry-rotted (one was my dad's old Raleigh 3spd). One only new tires because one split after running over a thorn...big thorn and I wanted the tires to match. Basic maintenance I do myself.

ItsJustMe

My only maintenance is tires and chains. This past winter I let the chain go too long and wrecked a freewheel, which cost me $12 to replace. I finally replaced the crappy Kendas that came on the hybrid, so that cost me $60, but should last several years (the Kendas were $5 junk and lasted me 2 years). I pay $4 each for chains (Nashbar tandems split in half) and go through a couple a year. I bought a new helmet last year, and a new mirror for it. I'll probably need new brake pads sometime this year, the ones I'm riding on are > 2 years old (I don't need to brake much on my route). I bought 3 new tubes one time and just patch; I'm up to 3 patches on some tubes but I won't buy new ones until there's at least as much patch as tube there.

If I had to guess, I think I'm spending about $200 yearly, for the about 4000 miles I ride (strictly commuting, no weekend rides, I have plenty to do on the weekends already). The first year was another story, I probably laid out $1000 getting new gear. I could probably get by with $50/year if I really were hard up for cash.