The Comparative cost of scuba, including instruction

[jellycatsdad]

Mountain Climbing. Hiking. Outdoor wilderness camping can also be expensive if you want top end gear, but still possible to do economically.

Hiking and outdoor camping can take you to some truly spectacular unspoiled places.

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Just wait until you start climbing outside. I know a few who are trad climbers and camp off portaledges. Now that’s respect.

 

[Umuntu]

cycling has become scene and judgy now - sure scuba has GUE, Scubapro and Apeks but if you’re not showing up to the weekly club ride on a Specialized S-Works/Cervelo and wearing full Rapha/Pas Normal Studios kit and don’t have the Strava stats to talk the talk, you’re nobody. I ride a very, very, very modest steel-framed road bike with a proven but “old” Shimano 105 gruppo but I see even 20-somethings on the latest carbon frame with full Di2/SRAM eTap/Campy EPS in full Rapha kit.

I live on a listed national cycling route and one of the “steepest” hills in the county is nearby. I see it every weekend near my home. Middle Aged Men in Lycra who think they are in the Tour de France with all the promotional logos on their clothing. Why would anyone pay premium prices to look like a billboard? The Tour de France riders are sponsored to wear that $$$$.

I have a pair of cycling shorts, I need the padding , but for me it’s underwear, I wear baggy shorts over and T-shirts in summer.

One of the local recycling centres resells bikes (and other stuff) from the network of recycling centres. I have bought a few classic old road bikes there for less than $30 each, put on new tyres and sometimes wheels and chains and they are great bikes.

Also, as a kid, my brothers and I did all our own bike repairs, just buying parts. Mostly puncture repairs, brake pads, gear change adjustments etc. Judging by how busy the local bike shops repair desks are, nobody seems to have the confidence and skill to repair a bike anymore.

 

[BoltSnap]

nobody seems to have the confidence and skill to repair a bike anymore.

Or the time.

 

[Umuntu]

Or the time.

For some, but for many it’s the confidence and the belief that they lack the tools and skill.

I had a Dutch girlfriend in London who grew up riding a bike to and from school and to her horse every day. One of the vintage classic bikes I bought was for her. Her Dad used to maintain her bike for her as a kid and teenager, and so she never learned how to maintain it. And she did want to learn how to maintain it. She was eager to learn how to fix her bike and signed up for a course.

Both of my sons live in London and commute daily to and from work by bike. It’s quicker and cheaper than public transport, and they get some exercise. One has a folding electric bike and the other has a classic vintage bike, and everything vintage is considered cool in London these days.

On the other hand, the explosion in cheap rental bikes has imploded the bike market for sales for most bike brands, and the whole bike industry is struggling with profitability at present.

In bigger cities if you want to learn to maintain your bike there are small clubs which have all the tools you need and can drop in and get help if needed.

I recently spent a year in La Rochelle and there was a similar club there “Vive le Vélo” where I bought a second hand classic road bike and a few evenings a week you could drop in and use their tools and get help if needed to maintain your bike.

 

[jellycatsdad]

I live on a listed national cycling route and one of the “steepest” hills in the county is nearby. I see it every weekend near my home. Middle Aged Men in Lycra who think they are in the Tour de France with all the promotional logos on their clothing. Why would anyone pay premium prices to look like a billboard? The Tour de France riders are sponsored to wear that $$$$.

I have a pair of cycling shorts, I need the padding , but for me it’s underwear, I wear baggy shorts over and T-shirts in summer.

One of the local recycling centres resells bikes (and other stuff) from the network of recycling centres. I have bought a few classic old road bikes there for less than $30 each, put on new tyres and sometimes wheels and chains and they are great bikes.

Also, as a kid, my brothers and I did all our own bike repairs, just buying parts. Mostly puncture repairs, brake pads, gear change adjustments etc. Judging by how busy the local bike shops repair desks are, nobody seems to have the confidence and skill to repair a bike anymore.

I prefer the sottovoce look for my cycling and scuba kit. It’s why I won’t wear team replica kit or Scubapro wetsuits(well OK, Henderson is kinda loud with their branding too) - most of my kit has minimal branding, even Rapha Core/Club isn’t too obnoxiously branded than say, Castelli or Pearl Izumi.

Here in the Bay Area, we have a few such places who will help you fix a bike and they stock used parts and such. You just won’t find the scenester there.