| Year | Cost |
| 2016 | 2845 |
| 2017 | 665 |
| 2018 | 1296 |
| 2019 | 2136 |
Digging into the details, bike costs include race fees, apparel, accessories, and outliers like two runs through TNGA - while there is no entry fee, logistical costs can add up to a few hundred not to mention the wear and tear and required gear.
2016 was a bit of an outlier. That was the year I built my full suspension, even while my spending habits were changing. In 2017, I was a bit more frugal, but as my income increased in the second half of 2018 so did my spending. I thought I was smarter than that, but that's textbook consumer behavior. I did take notice of it in 2019 when I bought rollers, a GPS (worth it), and fancy bike shoes (definitely not worth it). I also completely rebuilt the road bike - cables/housing, bar tape, chainrings/cassette/chain, wheels (the old rims had been worn out for longer than I care to admit), brake pads, and tires which I had quite an unlucky streak with - destroying three in less than a year.
Competitive cycling is quite a bit more expensive than I would've guessed; it's not just the initial purchase of a bike. It's deceptive since there are no direct costs with going for a ride. I will say that it's significantly cheaper when you can win consistently. Can it be done cheaper? Probably. Especially if you pick one discipline, but that's not as fun. I will say I've largely kicked the habit of upgrading components - just do it right the first time. It can certainly get way more expensive too.
As far as transportation goes, I bought my commuter bike in May 2017 for $70 (less than the cost of a campus parking pass), put a couple of new tubes in and rode it for a couple years. I just recently replaced the tires and brake pads. In general, I don't track my commuting/around-town miles and often use my other bikes, so I can't accurately analyze those costs. But, I think riding for transportation can be done cheaply when weight, speed, and performance aren't significant factors.
Part of what got me looking into this is that my commuter bike is starting to see up to 70 miles (5 hours) a week. At that rate, things will start to wear out, and I don't really want to put money into it (even though 8 speed parts are dirt cheap). It's also a tank and not something that makes me want to take the long way home. Despite my cost analysis, I'm looking for a new "commuter" bike. I use quotes because this will likely become my go-to bike for all urban rides, bar rides, maybe even long road rides and light trail rides. The main things I'm looking for in a do-it-all bike are wide tires, carbon fork, full hydraulic disc brakes, rack/fender mounts, and the ability to run single speed (difficult to find these days) because I know I'll get that itch at some point, and I'm trying to avoid reasons to upgrade in the future. At first I was thinking an aluminum frame, but the Niner RLT Steel has really caught my eye, just waiting for a used one in my size to pop up.
Isn't that beautiful?
*Edit: After some more thought, it seems racing is expensive while cycling is only as expensive as you want it to be.
