I have a spreadsheet that sums a bunch of household expenses. I was curious so graphed out the money I've spent on singlespeeding.
I do almost all my own maintainance, own a bunch of tools and I'm certainly not afraid of used stuff. I save money when I can, I'm easy on gear and yet that number is still creeping up.
Here's a graph of the total cost of singlespeed and replacing busted and worn out stuff. I'm also including chain lube and would include fork oil and sealant if I didn't already have some. I'm not including the cost of tools I buy, or parts I already have laying around (like the chain I just replaced), or the indoor trainer so I can stay fit in the winter darkness.
I love the bike to pieces, as much as the day I brought it home, but looks like riding this bike costs me $700 a year and that doesn't include race registrations, energy bars, clothes, shoes, etc.
Even with the aggregate number creeping up to $3k I think it has been money well spent for many hundred hours of singlespeeding.
I bet I'll be horrified to find out what less thrifty folks are spending!
I base bicycle purchases on the wife-o-meter. I have no idea what goes in or out of our bank account. I run it by her "I would like to purchase bicycle part X. it costs $___. I did some research and ths is the best deal for me. Can I buy that?" if the answer is yes, finances are good. if the answer is no, finances are not-so-good. since we both got better jobs this year, I have been allowed to buy more bike stuff lately. nothing fancy, but I have a decent SS hardtail and a SS CX bike that I enjoy. with that and a happy wife, life is good.
Pay to play, that's all it is. If you think $700 a year is a lot, then absolutely don't take up fishing or dirt bike riding. Ask me how I know. I hear golf is the same way.
graphs and everything! My wife is a really good accountant, and she will not buy that b###. You need to think of it as a gym membership! Hide some beer money in there somewhere!
BAM!! Winner right there. People I used to play golf with ask how much my bikes cost. When I tell them they're stunned. But not so much when I tell them about the 15k a year golf club membership, cart fees, balls, clubs, etc. Cycling is really a cheap hobby when you think about the costs and all the benefits it provides.
I still kid myself about cycling being inexpensive compared to other hobbies. It does amortize out over time, I guess.
The reality is that riding SS could be inexpensive if I didn't like to upgrade from time to time. That being said, I honestly think both (all three?) of my SSs are "upgraded" to exactly where I need them to be parts wise and should require virtually nothing for the next year or more. We'll see.
I did just put my very first SS back together. I scavenged it to build SS #3 a couple of years ago and for awhile called #3 a parts bin build. That's no longer the case, so lots of the parts are going back on the original SS and it's now rideable again.
If I had stopped at the cog and spacer kit, it wouldn't be that much. But I just had to put a dropper on my Les. But other than that, I don't think I've spent much on it. It just happened to be in good shape from when it had gears
The cost of my singlespeed since purchase has been nonexistent after the first year upgrades. There are several factors that work in your favor. Everyone wants to check out the craze and then they realize we're crazy so parts are dirt cheap. Wheelsets for 100, bike for 200, carbon rigid fork 50, and I already had sealant. I specifically left it heavy so I can train on it and get in a great workout on group rides. New chain 10 bucks. 15 for cogs. Friend just got a carbon wonderbike SS for 1k.
XX1 cassette on sale for 324 dollars for my geared bike.
Upgrades aside, you can't get much cheaper than a SS. My last one, which was my main bike for 7+ years, was limited to tires, chains, chainrings, cogs, occasional brake pads, and grips.
Bottom brackets don't seem to live through nw winters. Headset maybe 2 years, hopefully the slamset will last. I guess the big expenditure was a new rear wheel with used Chris king hub, the other hubs (hope and i9) were takin too much maintenance. I seem to need new pedals every 2 years too...
And then my crank broke... Never broke a crank before.
And now my fork is clunking when it isn't locked out...
Anyway can you guys provide a rough idea what your cost per year is? And maybe how much rain you ride in?
My TCO is low as just about everything I've purchased for my bikes (most are top notch components, Chris King/DT/XTR/...) has been used off eBay, so I don't track/graph any of it. The other reason I'm not focused on it is that I bike commute to work frequently so the cost savings in reduced auto mileage is another big plus...
A rigid single speed is even more cost effective unless you rattle your brains from picking bad lines or crash
The one CK component that pisses me off are the bottom brackets. I have two of them (on my 29er single speeds). They need cleaning and re-lubing once every year or two when they start making a bit of noise.
All the other BB's that I have (many are 10+ years old) are ZERO maintenance even after getting dunked in water crossings, during rain or shine races and on sloppy rides along bootleg trails, etc. (Shimano BB-UN92, XTR and SRAM GXP).
I'm running Chris King stainless steel cogs on my two main SSs and they last a really long time. So aside from a chain and chainring every other year or so, the only wear item would be tires and brake pads. Tires are getting pricey, but I get them on sale for ~$80/pair and pads are cheap.
My riding is typically dry and while I do not ride while it's actually raining, I do ride in mud and gritty dirt during the winter.
Hmm. SRAM B.B. aren’t lasting more than 16 months for me. Brown cubes instead of ball bearings. FS and ss. Headset lasted 3 years (cane creek 40), brown cubes again.
I found that un51, un71 also lasted forever for me.
Sorry to hear that Chris king B.B. doesn’t last forever without maintenance but 2 year between service seems reasonable. Price though is nuts. Crack is cheaper? When my wheels mfg bearings go out I’ll invest in their stainless bearings, or maybe Phil wood bearings. Or maybe I’ll find a pf30 ck B.B. for cheap?
The ck rear hub is cooler than anything. High pride of ownership that’s for sure.
The other puzzle is.that xtr pedal surface wears quickly, looks like 2 years and theyre shot.
Hmm. SRAM B.B. aren't lasting more than 16 months for me. Brown cubes instead of ball bearings. FS and ss. Headset lasted 3 years (cane creek 40), brown cubes again.
I found that un51, un71 also lasted forever for me.
Sorry to hear that Chris king B.B. doesn't last forever without maintenance but 2 year between service seems reasonable. Price though is nuts. Crack is cheaper? When my wheels mfg bearings go out I'll invest in their stainless bearings, or maybe Phil wood bearings. Or maybe I'll find a pf30 ck B.B. for cheap?
The ck rear hub is cooler than anything. High pride of ownership that's for sure.
The other puzzle is.that xtr pedal surface wears quickly, looks like 2 years and theyre shot.
The two Chris King BB's I have came with complete (used) bike purchases so no sweat from a $$$ perspective. I mention it because that is the only BB I've ever had to service.
Shimano square taper BB's are the gold standard (I've destroyed Phil Wood square taper bottom bracket bearings in < 2 years). Older Truvativ "SRAM" BB's have also withstood 10+ years of MTB hell (one on a single speed and the other on a geared bike).
Chris King hubs are awesome (DT Swiss too). I have 3 sets of each of them that are all around 10 years old and show no signs of wear after doing nothing other than basic maintenance (without the CK hub tool) clean and reapply ring drive lube or DT grease.
Servicing a hub is commonplace across manufacturers so I have to problem with performing basic maintenance every year or two on them.
Yes, XT and Xpedo SPD pedal surfaces last longer before wearing out compared to XTR. I tend to steer clear of weight weenie stuff for this reason and the increased potential of breaking that sort of stuff.
I had been using the whatever Shimano obb bottom bracket with great results. Built a new bike about a year and a half ago with a CK bottom bracket, sorry to hear about their troubles.
Built a nice wheelset about 6 years ago with Hadley hubs, Stans hoops. Carried these over to my new bike. An occasional broken spoke, but wheels have been great, and have yet to service the hubs. lol
I've spent so little on biking over the years that keeping up with costs is not worth the effort, just spend as needed. Biking is a lifestyle. Life is good.
Edit: Failed to mention I went full rigid on the latest build, no ongoing costs there, nor weight.
I normally cheap out on things. Lower end components (that I replace myself) and compromised choices. My FS is a used Nine that I pretty much rebuilt all of the parts from over time.
When it came to buying my steel SS I decided to go all in. King feels/components, Fox 34 fork, XTR brakes, etc. This was a "one time" shot so I decided to do it right. Out the door of the shop I think the credit card was more than $4K lighter. But to date, other than a handlebar (warranty replacement) I have not put a penny into the bike.
And it is the best...bike...ever...
Meanwhile I continue to rack up (cheap) purchases on the FS.
Sometimes you need to spend a lot to not spend a lot.
Of all my bikes my Monocog and fixed gear road bike are by far the cheapest.... Long lasting frames that I've owned for 10 and 20 year respectively. Steel drivetrain parts. Wheels, bars, stems and saddles bought used (or got 'em for free). Cheap spd pedals, durable square taper BB's, no upgraditis.
Only running costs are $10 chains, tires, cables and brakepads.
I used to do a VERY cheap form of motorcycle road racing. Even on that VERY cheap version, I was paying WAY more than that for a few hours of track time per month.
- EXACTLY what I was thinking; my wife used to give me crap about my bikes but she realized how much money I save in healthcare costs by staying fit........it all works out in the end........
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