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Frank the tank
Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 990
Location: Hucknall Notts
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 Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 2:34 pm |
| jermas wrote: | Why are 10 spd chains 3-4 times the price of 8 spd?
Why are cycle specific lubricants 10 times the price of "standard" oils?
How can gear shifters cost more than my laptop I'm writing this on?
Brake blocks £6.00 for a tiny piece of rubber?
Cycle helmets -made in China-flimsy bit of plastic and polyestyrene-lets say £80.
Wheelset-don't get me started.
The list is never ending.
I'm not saying that these products are poor quality, far from it but the price being charged for some items just can't be justified. |
I refer you to my answer I gave yesterday.
Drinking in bars since 1977. |
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bexley5200
Joined: 17 Jul 2003
Posts: 414
Location: northampton uk
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 3:35 pm |
ultegra 9 speed cassette £20,10 speed £40 105
scott cr1 carbon flat bar,Giant defy 1 winter bike |
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holmeboy
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 228
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 8:22 pm |
| Frank the tank wrote: |
Cycling can be as cheap/expensive as you wish it to be. |
Please tell me how I can make cycling cheap and still do a lot of miles (even just counting going back and forth to work) and not be uncomfertable or at risk?
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volvicspar
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 131
Location: Swamp
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 8:38 pm |
Write to Santa and ask for cycling bits, used to work for me..... 
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dmclite
Joined: 14 Dec 2008
Posts: 1438
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Geoff_SS
Joined: 19 Dec 2007
Posts: 1029
Location: Derbyshire UK
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 9:05 pm |
| holmeboy wrote: | | Frank the tank wrote: |
Cycling can be as cheap/expensive as you wish it to be. |
Please tell me how I can make cycling cheap and still do a lot of miles (even just counting going back and forth to work) and not be uncomfertable or at risk? |
Buy a second hand good quality steel frame (eg Reynolds 531) or even a complete bike. They're good to ride and there must be 100s around now. You don't need expensive ergo-power or any combined gear/brake levers or even indexed gearing come to that though D/T shifters can be indexed. I've got perfectly good wheels that have many miles in them already and still many to come.
One of the most comfortable frames I've ridden is 60 years old and was nearly 50 years old when it was my long distance Audax bike complete with full mudguards and carrier rack.
If you want a modern bike, my wife has a hybrid Marin which weighed in at about 10kg before I fitted the 'guards and rear carrier practicality demanded. She's had it about 6 years and ridden it over 30,000 miles including many 100 mile plus days. It cost about £700 (ish). That's pretty cheap cycling in my book. We do all the repairs maintenance ourselves - her the routine stuff and me the more complicated. I wouldn't let her ride anything that was dangerous and she wouldn't ride anything that was uncomfortable.
Geoff
Old cyclists never die; they just fit smaller chainrings ... and pedal faster |
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holmeboy
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 228
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 9:33 pm |
Please, inexpensive lights that'll let me see in the dark (can't eat that many carrots and don't want skin like ex Mrs Andre) and won't fall off going over potty Holes! Already bought most of my cycling kit from Aldi's, tried the gell saddle from Asda and wore it out but still had a sore ars* anyway. Have got about 8 worn out cheap pumps in the garage and my Mountain bike (old) needs a new front fork, were can I get a cheap one of them?
Santa would be alright if he existed and was't bank rolled by ME! CYCLING IS EXPENSIVE. no doubt about it! 
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Geoff_SS
Joined: 19 Dec 2007
Posts: 1029
Location: Derbyshire UK
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shouldbeinbed
Joined: 16 Sep 2009
Posts: 271
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KevinMcC
Joined: 26 Jul 2009
Posts: 85
Location: Paisley, Scotland
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 11:43 pm |
Halfords Carrera TDF- not great but good enough for me at £230
Jersey- red with reflective, very breathable, 3 pockets one zip pocket- £10
Specialized helmet- £20
Shorts- not bib shorts but padded and comfy (slight belly holds them up  ) £12
Lights- £40 from LBS sale rack
Water Bottle and Cage- £4 from tesco
ars* that wasnt sore- rode through it till my bony ars* got used to it
money I would have saved if I could get off my ars* and cycle to work instead of sleeping in and getting the train- circa £350 (damn my comfy bed)
the joy of cycling- priceless
as has been said, cycling can be cheap if you dont want all the latest kit. You mention safety- old bike well maintained will be safe.
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volvicspar
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
Posts: 131
Location: Swamp
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Posted Sun Nov 8, 2009 11:52 pm |
The trouble is if you work 12 hours shifts your unlikely to have much time to hunt bargains - that's if you can even be bothered after work. (I couldn't)
Personally I don't find cycling expensive at all - I've spent less than £50 on my bikes in 6 months, and my bikes were cheap to start with but that does not mean everyone can ride so cheap. Parts new are pretty expensive.
it's possible to find some great bargains - but he may not have the time to do that, especially if he has a family to look after ? (don't know if he has)
Token
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GiantMike
Joined: 11 Aug 2009
Posts: 104
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:19 am |
I've spent around £2000 since April 2009 on bikes and bits and had st!tloads of fun on all 3 of them.
I could have spent £150 on one bike and had as much fun I guess. You get what you pay for and should buy what you can afford.
However, the economics of cycling are bizarre with some items costing far more than their real value or cost of production. This is because there is no real competition in the market, and that's because people are prepared to pay the high prices for shiny new kit because it's shiny new kit and they think it will give them a competitive advantage, and it may.
I built my first 'Cross bike cheap and it was surprisingly competitive.
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shouldbeinbed
Joined: 16 Sep 2009
Posts: 271
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OffTheBackAdam
Joined: 25 Feb 2007
Posts: 841
Location: United Kingdom
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 9:27 am |
| jermas wrote: | | the price being charged for some items just can't be justified. |
The price is being charged because enough people will pay it.
If enough items are sold, the price is justified.
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ednwireland
Joined: 12 Aug 2008
Posts: 53
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 3:24 pm |
| holmeboy wrote: | | Please, inexpensive lights that'll let me see in the dark (can't eat that many carrots and don't want skin like ex Mrs Andre) and won't fall off going over potty Holes! : |
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25149
delivery is slow (they ae definitely onthe slow boat from china ) seen a couple of people rave about them on forums, i buy a lot of electronics direct from chiina , and stuff that cost 50 quid here is shipped from HK for a tenner.
lights just seem to be the current ripoff i mean 700 quid for a set of lights you have to be kidding (i''ll let you know how i get on i commute in the north west of ireland with no street lights anywhere - for miles)
as for cheapness i do my own maintenance everything i buy has to be discounted (buy your summer gear now, cheap arm warmers leg warmers from pbk)
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holmeboy
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 228
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 4:08 pm |
| shouldbeinbed wrote: | | holmeboy wrote: | Please, inexpensive lights that'll let me see in the dark (can't eat that many carrots and don't want skin like ex Mrs Andre) and won't fall off going over potty Holes! Already bought most of my cycling kit from Aldi's, tried the gell saddle from Asda and wore it out but still had a sore ars* anyway. Have got about 8 worn out cheap pumps in the garage and my Mountain bike (old) needs a new front fork, were can I get a cheap one of them?
Santa would be alright if he existed and was't bank rolled by ME! CYCLING IS EXPENSIVE. no doubt about it! |
Troll or Plank?
If cycling is so expensive use another form of transport and get a Gym membership. Then come back and tell us how much you've saved.
Google, ebay, work intranet, bike fairs, freecycle, put a wanted ad in the local paper - trust me you'll be amazed how many people have bikes in the shed they want rid of for little or nothing - Pal of mine did this and got over 80 to pick from in a week and a half. Maybe use a bit of initiative and lateral thinking and work it out rather than whinging so much and so very very wrongly (buy a car and see the difference).
Get off your sore ars* (adjust your saddle BTW that may help that one) and find the better deals and options.
and here's me not even a rocket scientist |
How does geting a gym membership (I use the local council run gym,monthly direct debit) get me to work? I/We've already got two cars.
Have googled/e-bay'ed, have found bargains (ultegra group set under 400 pounds)#
Have already got 4 bikes, should i throw them away and buy a cheapy?
come on serious cycling IS EXPENSIVE!
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holmeboy
Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 228
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 4:12 pm |
| Geoff_SS wrote: | Why do you need a new pair of forks? My mountain bike is about 30 years old and the forks are still perfectly OK. Ah, I bet you want front suspension. As I said, if you want modern gizmos then you have to pay for them, Believe it or not front suspension isn't a necessity. I've ridden down huge flights of steps on my rigid bike. Can't do it now because of infirmity and injury but that's the only reason. Crikey I used to ride motor cycle trials on a 1933 350cc Ariel with all of 2" fork movement at the front and 0" at the back 
8 worn out pumps? I've never worn out a pump in my life. I've bought better ones but the old ones still work. Get a track pump for home use and (hopefully) you'll rarely need to use the one you carry.
Cycling can be perfectly cheap if you want it to be and not by buying poor quality cheap stuff, either.
Lights? I rode all my long audaxes with a front wheel driven dynamo and an LED rear light. As I've said I made my own rechargeable battery system for commuting. Believe it or not people have been commuting for many decades without having to spend a fortune.
Geoff |
No original forks were suspension, now seized. I'm trying for rigid, have bought coupla forks from local charity run shop for 4 pounds (now that is cheap!) but unfortunatly thread/diameter means they don't quite fit. 
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shouldbeinbed
Joined: 16 Sep 2009
Posts: 271
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 4:43 pm |
| holmeboy wrote: |
How does geting a gym membership (I use the local council run gym,monthly direct debit) get me to work? I/We've already got two cars.
Have googled/e-bay'ed, have found bargains (ultegra group set under 400 pounds)#
Have already got 4 bikes, should i throw them away and buy a cheapy?
come on serious cycling IS EXPENSIVE! |
New caveat serious cycling now.
2 cars, 4 bikes & gym membership  (was thinking the fitness angle with the gym rather than getting you to work, hence the suggestion of other forms of transport!) - no wonder you find it expensive - do you NEED and REGULARLY USE them all enough to justify them as a neccessity and not a luxury?
if not downscale and economise to what you NEED rather than what you CHOOSE TO HAVE. I'm sure for the on-costs of one of the cars or a serious bike you could have some pretty decent kit for the rest.
WHY do you have so much and WHY are you a serious cyclist. you choose to have it, you choose to be, you've made leisure/commute/serious rider lifestyle choices and have picked on something that has an shoddy economy end, a large entirely reasonable middle and a small expensive top end - if you choose to be a serious cyclist and play at the top end by choice then you have to take the financial consequences, As Frank has said, its called market forces. Serious cyclists will pay serious money for serious kit.
If someone was holding your loved ones hostage and threatening to send them back a finger at a time if you didn't own 4 bikes and kit them out from the top of the range stock then I might be a bit more sympathetic to your complaints.
Serious cycling has always been expensive if you've knowingly chosen to participate in the costly end of things theres not much point in complaining it costs money.
FCN 7 & 9 |
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MrChuck
Joined: 15 Feb 2005
Posts: 692
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 4:49 pm |
Just for commuting it shouldn't be too bad- drivetrains, rims and tires last for thousands of miles and if you err on the side of durability rather than bling shouldn't be too expensive to replace. Thing is you forget the months/years you don't spend a penny.
As for things like lights I think realistic expectations are needed. Sure, decent ones are expensive now that they exist but you can still get something as good as you could have done 10 years ago for the same money or less. So if you want expensive stuff (i.e. lights you can actually see where you're going with) you'll have to pay for it, if you want the cheap stuff it's still out there.
Things like MTBS are a different story though, especially in winter with things like brake pads £15 an end and much more wear/damage. Mine seems to need a constant trickle of spending to keep it running well.
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brownleather
Joined: 03 Nov 2009
Posts: 107
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Posted Mon Nov 9, 2009 5:08 pm |
If you can afford to have 4 bikes, 2 cars and gym membership, you shouldn't be moaning about cycling - you should perhaps consider cutting down if you can't actually afford what you have.
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