Do you think cycling is expensive or appropriately priced? Comment below 👇

Cycling is indeed expensive. I currently have 2 bikes (Giant Defy and Canyon Grizl), and the dollars add up to get everything set up the way I needed them to be. I paid for them on a payment plan, so it lightened the blow. A lot of the cost comes from experimenting (as a 5'3" guy) with clothes and accessories that would work well with me. It was a very high barrier of entry.

Anybody who spends that much money on a bike you better be a professional you better be making money with that bike. The rest of us don’t need them and everything’s got expensive not just Bike double the price.

After shopping around with the Pros Closet, Red Barn and Buy Cycle I realized I need to go back to basics. Racing in the 1990’s I was on STI 8 spd carbon triangle Trek and an aluminum Cannondale. I decided to go new rim Trek AL 2 with Claris and square taper BB that was on clearance for $ 750. Got some Aliexpress components to eventually upgrade tp 11 spd and carbon rims after I burn through the drivetrain. The frame rides and handles nice.

I feel the most important thing, is having a group set that will allow you to find right cadence , anything else is not as important unless you are in competition / racing . Like i.e tiagra is more than enough , and worth the price over a Claris

Watching from the UK. I think there's a sweetspot price wise, where you can get 95 % of superbike performance from mid tier components. For me mechanical 105 or Ultegra, quality handbuilt alloy wheels and a well made alloy or steel (even custom) framset will serve you well. There's a new phrase to describe the proprietary over complication of modern bikes, thats contributing to them getting more and more expensive, and thats TESLAfication!!!! I say keep it simple. Here companies like Fairlight or Mason provide well designed bikes, at reasonable cost with quality metal framesets. Not cheap, but not silly prices either.

I sold my 2022 Allez Sprint Comp that I got half off because a 2015 Cervelo is wayyyyyy more comfortable to ride and less expensive to maintain.

Purchasing my first new bike was a significant expense, and I had to wait a long time to afford it. Prior to that, I used my dad's bike and later bought a Trek FX with drop bars for $300 from Facebook Marketplace. This was a big difference to the $2,000 I eventually spent on my new Giant TCR. I believe that anyone who no longer needs their bike, has upgraded to a new one, or owns multiple should consider selling them at an affordable price to those looking to enter the sport. That’s something we can do as a community but I’m not sure what these brands can do because there is no way they’re lowering prices😭.

To the question of what can be done about the high cost: Honestly , probably nothing. I think most sports that adults choose for hobbies (golf, tennis, cycling, cars, etc.) seem to all cost or can cost an arm and a leg. I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon. Maybe if more people become aware of things while they are growing up, they might try to pursue careers that will make it easier to afford certain hobbies. But, the more people interested, the higher the demand and, the higher the demand, the higher the prices 😮 Appreciate your video!

I will agree with you that once you get into cycling it is expensive. I was used to buying Walmart bikes when I was in college and throughout my military career. Those bikes worked for me since I mainly road my bikes around my neighborhood for exercise. When I bought my first bike at a local bike shop, I almost got a heart attack when I saw the prices. During the pandemic I got into cycling since my kids were out of high school and were off at college. My bikes (road, gravel, and mountain) would be cheap for cyclist into cycling, but for someone who is new to cycling would think I'm crazy to see how much I put into my bike fleet. Since I do it for exercise and I am not a fast rider and don't do aggressive trails, my bikes work for me. For someone who is really interested into cycling, I would recommend them buy a used bike and maybe have a friend look it over to make sure it is a good deal. That way they could avoid a Walmart bike and get a bike that could help them fall in love with the sport...and if they don't like it, at least they had a quality bike and didn't spend too much money on it.

It's only expensive if you buy the latest junk from big bike. My main fixed gear steel bike has all top level components with Reynolds 725 steel, comes in at 17 pounds weight, has thin aero tubing. You can put this together for like 900 brand new in the winter when prices are low. It's like a rocketship, you don't need the latest tech.

Love your channel. My journey as a very novice cyclist is that you should take a utilitarian approach to it. Learn the fundamentals so that economics of it don’t still you from doing the thing you like/love. From the illustrious perspective from all the trail riders I’ve come across “run what you brung” the goal is to just get out there and explore your journey.

cheapest thing ive ever done. Buy once cry once on a dream build and your running costs for the next 3 years are just replacement tires/tubes and maybe 3 sets of brake pads. Ive never seen anyone online get more punctures/sliced tires than me (50+last yr and 30+ so far this yr total) I have at least 1 tire made non repairable every month and running any one of my "worlds lightest" bike builds accounting for the horrible road conditions here costs me less than ~180/mo all in. The additional food cost however of burning 10k cals a week is far more than the bike maintenance costs tho, and your gonna have that even if your riding a beater bike.

My commuter (electric) bike was a little pricy, £1200 for a good e-bike, nothing fancy just well built, but I've rode so many miles on it I think it's been 100% worth it. Now I've just bought a normal pedal bike from the same make for about £400 for leisure rides and riding with friends.

When companies are a monopoly it gives the consumer no choice but to pay what they ask. As long as people pay it they are going to keep the prices as high as they can. Doesn't make sense to me that a bicycle can cost more than a motorbike. Some people will argue that the high price tag bicycle is a high level race bike, Really? Those people are pretty damn stupid. I'm just thankful I'm not in the market for a new bike and hopefully never will be again. Of coarse I do have to replace things that wear out, but there is a lot of stuff on ebay which are greatly discounted from what they cost when the manufacturer introduced them. I'm all about shopping for bargains from now on.

The commercial aspect of cycling has glorified it like running. When we use to run, we use to just pop on whatever cheap trainers and a black bin bag if it was raining. Mileage got done.. A lot of hype for lackluster watt output. Cycling is cool, and theirs different ways to cycle but I agree, it should be much more accessible. It's a dangerous sport too, which is an aspect I've ignored for years (mostly because I've cycled daily in a major city since I was 13 haha)

The cycling companies seem to only be focused on profit. They convince the consumer that they need all these gimmicky parts and materials that are way overpriced. There’s no reason a good steel or aluminum frameset should cost over $500. Anything over $2,000 for a bike is too much for the non professional cyclist.

Since the pandemic prices went nuts. I can afford to buy from the western brands but i refuse to pay that much. Chinese bikes for me from know on.

Besides KZfaq what is your career / job ? (If you don’t mind me asking) I assume it’s in cycling but intrigued what you do

Cycling is expensive, riding a bicycle is not.

In my opinion the industry don’t want ppl who might not be privileged enough to enter the sport. One of those person could probably pick up a bike and participate in Tour de France and win by will power. Big industry tent to do that often. For example you have to get yourself to a privileged status to ever participate in Wimbledon you can’t just pick up a rack and just be the best tennis player.

In Answer to ' What Can We Do?' Before you mentioned Eastern Cycling being generous to you, when you touched on the lack of Repurposing I thought: approach Eastern Cycling to partake in a Community Based Repurposing Initiative, in which you go find the parts, from wherever they're being scrapped, gather them together and build Bikes via a Workshop, or so. Bikes that you give to those participating in said Workshop, which you'd run. You could run them every Fortnight, for a few months or so, if that's how long Building a Bike takes: they build their own Bike - they'd otherwise be unable to afford them; this is how Eastern can confirm their Ethos; supporting underprivileged people into the Sport! (Also, Business-wise: As a result, they will have the same Brand Loyalty to Eastern that you do). Invite Eastern Cycling to support your Initiative by providing you with New Components/Sets/Parts (you'll know which to ask for), which'll enable you, as well as all taking part in your Initiative, to build complete Bikes. In return you name them as Sponsors or say " In Association With ", you also link the Workshop to a Race, or a Tour in which the Bikes made from said Repurposed parts are used. This could happen Annually! 'Recycled Riders'... 'Repurposed Riders'... You Know the vibes! You can do it, that's why it's in your heart! Started from the Hood, too, my passion is Music and Art, did my own thing and made my own Inroads into places I wasn't necessarily confident were fully accessible to me, by Faith. (God helps folk even if they don't believe in Him, so that's not a prerequisite!). You're taking the right steps by asking... I wish you Good Fortune and Great Success.

I’ve tried my hand at just about everything from hi modulous carbon to titanium frames, 99% of people don’t need it. Always remember steel is real, 105 is for the people and entry level wheels all year round. 💯 🫡