amerpie

I'm poor. That means I'm always looking for ways to save money while trying to continue to cycle with appropriate gear.

What follows are my favorite substitutes for the stuff they sell in bike mags,

Sunglasses - Remington Shooting glasses, $8 a pair

Base layer stuff - Wool and poly undershirt on sale at Dicks

Socks - 1) Army wool socks 2) regular cycling socks with a $4 poly liner

Sports drink - Gatorade powder from the supermarket

Energy Bars - Granola (century tested by yours truly!)

WD-40 for chasing the water off my drive train after wet rides

Spire

What's Dicks?

You can also try to save money through other means. Eat out less etc... I think there have been a few threads on that in the no too distant past. A search should reveal them.

amerpie

Dicks is a giant sporting goods store that I'm actually ashamed to shop at. It eats all the little stores in the towns where it opens.

It's also the place where I bought the $100 bike that eventually led me to the emergency room and a real LBS for my 2003 Cannondale.

Raiyn

Sounds like Wal-Mart for the Field & Stream set

edit: spelling

Spire

Never even heard of it, what parts of the US is it in at this point? Raiyn is right, it sounds like a baby-WalMart.

D*Alex

Dick's is quite common here in upstate NY. I'm almost certain that there would be one in either Plattsburg or Burlington...

Dick's is really mostly sneakers, athletic apparel, etc, and only about half the floor space is really used to stock sporting goods. Lots of very fat people shop there-that should just about say it all. It's kinda like Canadian Tire, except for the slightly athletic suburbanite crowd. A little of everything, but most of it is cheap stuff.

Dick's was the place I once worked a temporary job at, assembling cheap bikes for the spring display. It took about 4 of us 1 day to assemble 50 bikes, without any tools more specialized than a socket set and a crescent wrench. Not one bit of grease went into any of those bikes, not a single bolt was checked for torque, and one guy actually ruined a headset on a bike, which we put on the floor anyways...For this, we were payed a grand total of 50 cents above the minimum wage at the time. I was the only one who had ever worked on a bike, too.

dragracer

No....That would be Bass Pro Shops..... Their national headquarters is just up the road - - - LINK

RonH

Here is their website.
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/home/index.jsp

The first bike that came up in all the bicycle categories was a Huffy.
No wonder you ended up in the ER.
Luckily you found a good LBS.

I'm all for saving $$$ but...

Pete Clark

Unfortunately, hype and excessive costs are not limited to the fashion industry.

I'm almost afraid to list the substitutes I have used, some corporations might get wise and find a way to make me pay higher prices for them.

DanFromDetroit

Instead of PowerBars, Panda Bars. They come in licorice too.

Instead of 8USD a 4oz. bottle of super high-tech lubricant, Mineral oil. It's a little messy but it is 2USD a quart.

Instead of cycling jerseys, soccer jerseys from the thrift shop. No pockets in back, but at 1.50USD a piece who needs pockets.

Instead of Gatorade, Orange juice, water, and a little salt.

Instead of Sidi Storm winter riding shoes, big ugly, insulated green boots. Since all my friends and neighbors think that I am insane for riding in this weather, who cares if I am both unfashionable *and* insane.

regards
Dan

Maelstrom 

I will play the sounds like game...sounds like sportcheck and sportmart (same company) in Canada.

Well...more money saved. Make your own sports bar using granola and gatorade powder and a bit of creativity. They usually taste better and are cheap.

bikerTeen

There IS a Dick's in "Burlington" (Vermont)...
It's actually in my hometown outside of Burlington where they dug up a big field and put in dozens of "big box" stores (Wal-mart, Circuit City, Dicks's, Linens&Things, Home depot, Toys R Us, Shaws, Bed Bath and Beyond, Marshalls, etc.), lots of apartments, traffic lights and traffic jams.
It was marketed to the town as a town-square type project that would be pedestrian-friendly... but that seemed to get lost in later stages of planning.

ARRGGGH!!!!

[/off_topic_rant]

Louis

I've often thought the name "Dicks" to be quite appropriate.

greywolf

that NOT very appropriate !! think of all the members (excuse the pun) named Richard !

Louis

Our oldest son (34) is named Richard. You can imagine the
nickname hell he has endured, having me for a father.