For me, weather conditions make all the difference in terms of affordability of cycling.

During the summer, my simple 2k EUR road bike with ordinary derailleurs and chain is pretty reliable and barely requires cleaning or maintenance, so cycling during the summer is fun and affordable.

But if I were to use that bike during the rest of the year, half the parts would start breaking down in a matter of weeks, and the ensuing maintenance hell would literally remove all the fun.

To make cycling fun in winter, too, I would need something like a road bike with gear hub and belt drive. But that's ungodly expensive, so I just only cycle in summer. :)

Everything is relative to your income and tastes. Some collect fine art masterpieces while some collect Brooks Saddles.

If the intent is addressing cycling purely as a hobby (not a mode of transportation), and one that a person has a passion for, it is relatively expensive for the "average" (whatever that means) person. And you also throw out idiotic comparisons like collecting vintage yachts or meditation.

It probably should be noted that this is on a bike forum and no hobby is that expensive if it is your hobby, or you have unlimited funds. You can always point to something else.

In comparison to soccer, basketball, running, walking, even skateboarding; cycling is not that cheap. And for other non-sport/equipment hobbies like bird watching, or gardening it really seems expensive.

John

I looked to see how this got neccroed. Surprised to find it had never died! Just chugging along for over a year and a half. It may be some sort of record.

i would go with no, but it could be yes. after buying very nice road bikes for 200 or less on craigs list, bikes originally going for much more new.

the health benefits and fun make this quite inexpensive, my other hobbies not so much. ...and one more thing, buying used has taught me bicycle mechanics.

Haven't flown in awhile, eh? I was seeing 90/hr in the midwest and closer to 140/hr in the sunbelt, just the plane.

I like motorcycling, flying, cycling, and hiking. Hiking is the cheapest (but where I'm at, still involves driving to a trail). Cycling is a cheap hobby for me, although I think video-gaming as a teenager was about the cheapest $/hr hobby I've ever had.

For me, compared to my other hobbies, cycling is more expensive. Playing basketball and reading/listening to books are my two other hobbies that I consistently engage in (basketball not so much right now).
Basketball costs: Pair of sneakers $100/year and if I want to play indoors gym membership $300 a year.
Reading/listening to books: At least two books a month or about $600 a year.

One thing I find telling, reading through the responses, are the other hobbies many forum members engage in, boating, skiing, cars. Those are not poor men's hobbies. Not throwing any shade, but cycling's demographic definitely skews upper middle class. That alone is suggestive about its relative cost. A $500 bike and $100 for accessories may not seem like a steep barrier to enter the hobby, but if you're struggling to pay your rent or mortgage...

It's not a hobby -- it's my primary transportation, and it is cheap. Cars are one of my hobbies, and they are expensive.

Expensive? Pish posh! Here's my winter bike a decade ago when I actually rode daily through the winter -- mind you, it's only 5 miles round trip.
The bike was $160 used, and had barely been ridden. Cannondale H400. It's a very tall frame though, making it tough to sell. I'm 6' even and can barely straddle it.. never had trouble, though.

The studded snow tires are expensive; I lucked into them because a friend had these and they were the wrong size for him. I got them for $20 apiece, which was the reason I tried them in the first place. Having ridden them, they are totally worth the $60 each or whatever they cost now. They're Nokians, but I'm sure Schwalbes are just as good. It makes riding on ice like riding on a wet road. I think of it as cheap transportation and free exercise.

In this picture, it's still derailered...that didn't last long on our salty roads so I converted it to 3spd internally-geared hub with chain drive, which worked a treat!
No need for belt drive, this works fine.

A frame with horizontal drop-outs would have worked finer still, but with the help of the internet, I got it worked out. A chain is $10 and lasts one winter without doing anything. If I had an attached garage, I could hose off the salt every few days and let the bike dry and I'm sure the bike would be in better shape.. as it is, it's about worn out after ten winters, but I have no complaints.
cheers -mathias

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0ab596bb87.jpg

Different strokes. For me, cycling with 3 gears is not fun. I'd rather take the bus. :)

Horses for courses. It's pretty flat around here, and like i said, it's 4 km to work... I used the 3spd hub as a lark and because it was cheap and I wanted to try it.. I was surprised how much I liked it around town. It's a different kind of riding.

I'm on the lookout for a good-quality early 80s mountain bike with horizontal dropouts to convert to a Shimano 8- or 11-spd IGH for touring on trails. Sheldon Brown had an article on the advantages of touring with an 8spd IGH bike, and it sounded pretty convincing. Also I like to wrench ;)

When I was little -- say 15 or 25 years old -- I wouldn't have been caught dead on a bike with internal gears!
cheers -mathias

For me, counting direct expenses over years, cycling had been cheap.

Indirect expenses, like travel to foreign lands to ride bikes, ambulance rides and hospital stays, cross continent moves for better cycling, have been expensive.

Savings by not owning a car for the last few years is a drop in the bucket to those expenses.

Health benefits are immeasurable.

It was today.

Thankfully I also live in a flat area, but there are more reasons why one might need gears. :)
My commute takes me from one side of Amsterdam to the other, straight through the city center. That means I'm constantly accelerating or decelerating due to traffic lights, pedestrians, and various obstacles. And so I'm also constantly shifting, to maintain some semblance of a stable cadence.

Incidentally this is also the reason why light-weight bikes aren't just for those riding hills. They're also for those of us who ride through cities where you need to stop every 500 meters!

I haven't flown in almost 20 years, and back then got a discount on the plane rental because its flight instructor owner was building hours for his ATP certificate.

Agreed! 3 gears is 2 too many! 😊

Otto

Organ playing
 

My other hobby is/was playing the organ. Getting started in organs cost as much as a new Pinto in the early 70s. My ride back then was a Varsity. Back then organ playing was expensive after you figured in the cost of the instrument, lessons and sheet music. i wasn't an organ major so I didn't incur that kind of expense.

I have never been a professional. My highest level of accomplishment was playing in some rural churches where the organist passed away years ago.

Nowadays if you want to get into organs the home instruments are at bargain basement prices for even large instruments. I you play by ear and don't need sheet music its even cheaper. I you want instruction just go to YouTube.

Yes, if you want it you can still pay big bucks for pro gear and some organs have held their value.

So compared to cycling my organ hobby is cheaper. My last full size organ was only $200. Most used bikes I see on CL these days for something mid range is often a lot more than that. My last bike was $600 three years ago. I shop for bargains for gear and use alternative clothing for cycling.

Get that full squish mtb and never look back!

Per mile, mtb is several more times expensive than road. Expensive repairs are more common due to the intensity of the terrain, as well as the frequency of falls (both high and low/no speed) which can easily result in repairs, as well as the dirt/sand/mud getting in the drivetrain and wearing it out at a blistering pace compared to a road drivetrain. Of course your riding conditions may differ from mine. Even my best road rides don't bring a smile to my face like a mediocre technical mtb ride does.