Most of the work you could DIY in 15mins or under (replace bar tape, change chain, change cassette, change brake cable, change brake pad). I’d only pay a shop to bleed my brakes. Also, how TF are you going through saddle once per year. lol. Obv you must be a bit neurotic about its appearance because there is no way that functionally it depreciates to replacement state in a season.
Your costs are super high, but maybe that’s what it’s gotta be for you.
I similarly have 2 young kids and ride 6-8hpw with a high ftp. I probably replace a chain 3x a year, brake pads once, tubeless tires one or twice (bc of irreparable tears), cassette maybe once (not too particular about ‘optimal’ performance), but DIY. So I’d say I’m probably at about $400-500 per year. That’s half of you buy pretty much just bc there’s no shop labor baked in (or saddle!!).
I agree that $1000 is a lot and I prob wouldn’t be paying $1000/yr to maintain by bike hobby or at least I wouldn’t be happy about it. Watch a YouTube and get your hands greasy. It’s very easy once you know how
Also, buying a new bike will have no impact on these costs you’re curious about. You will incur them all as well, just on a new more expensive bike (with potentially more expensive parts associated with it)
This doesn’t impact brake bleeds at all. It’s not like you’re disconnecting everything - you’re just using bleed ports on the calipers and lever. The only time integrated headsets get to be a pain is if you have to service the headset (rare) or disassemble and pack the bike in a bike case. I’ve got one fully integrated bike, two semi-integrated right now.
Honestly, I don’t spend a ton in maintenance. Other than tires, sealant, and brake pads I have a huge crockpot of wax. Haven’t had to replace a chain, cassette, or rotor on any of my newer bikes yet. The only replacements I’ve had to make are on the MTB from a couple really horrible muddy races. Everything else has been pull it apart, clean it, put it back together.
Yes.
However since all the parts have “0” wear, they will not need to be replaced right away.
I got 23 years out of my trek 5500. It’s still a runner. I take it on camping trips. The main reason for my upgrade was cost and availability of parts. When a front chain ring has to come from Japan because no one makes them any more. It was time. You should check with your LBS about them providing a free tuneup/once over the first year.
Newer bikes have more speeds, which require narrower chain, sprockets and chain rings, they wear out faster.
Since 2004 when external bottom brackets were introduced we’ve seen bottom bracket life decrease as a result of poor fit and finish by frame manufacturers causing bearing misalignment and premature bearing failure.
Old bikes had cup and cone headsets which costs pennies to regrease and fit new balls, shoddy tolerancing of integrated cups causes premature wear on cartridge bearings which cost £10-60 each.
The only thing cheaper about new bikes are tubeless tyres, I go through far fewer tubes patches and tyres since switching to tubeless.
Thanks for all the comments. I think I could prob spend $500 or less if I didn’t still race my bike. I’ve replaced many items not because they didn’t function but to get my bike “race ready”. Chains, derailleurs, tune ups, etc.
A lot is self inflicted. But very enjoyable to not hear any noises while I ride
And I should have clarified- I’ve only replaced my seat twice in the 8 years. I upgraded to carbon sworks last year though so if I average that out annually it’s prob $100 per year but not incurred every year.
Ok lol good to know about the seat!
I splurged on a $6k carbon bike with carbon tubeless wheelset before my second was born. The bike is sweet and I ride it always, but sometimes I’d like that money back. It’s really not that much better than my aluminum framed bike w similar carbon wheels, carbon seat/seatpost. The Bb is also quite creaky too but when you DIY sometimes you just never bother! Ha
Sorta? They require the same lubing and such but because all parts are reset to perfect condition you’ve basically just delayed the larger service items like cassettes, chainrings and other components.
I’m like 40k miles into my 5yo road bike and the shifters have started to fail. You’d never have that issue if you bought a new bike every year or two. But that’s like a $400-$500 repair and not a $4k cost of a new bike.
Agree! I’m in Marin so I have discovered it. I have a Santa Cruz Highball that I rode a lot for the first few years and spent a lot! Now it mostly sits in my garage but I take it out when I ride with my oldest who is starting to hit some trails. Don’t get me started on the amount of time/effort I have spent messing around with the tubeless tires, seating them, sealing them, etc. On the other hand I have a single speed Bianchi Roger that gets no service love from me but works well enough to tote the kids around on the back and some shorter commutes. I often consider swapping all my bikes for single speeds at some point in the future.
IMHO it is worth having your bike checked by pros once a year, perhaps more often if you abuse your bike. Having your cables replaced at that point doesn’t cost much and keeps LBS in business. I agree with you when it comes to chains, cassettes and the like.
Not a bad idea to get another set of eyes on your bike once a year, but I wouldn’t shy away from bearing work due to cost of tools. For a press fit BB, a length of all-thread and some washers and nuts can do the job for ~$5 in tool cost. And if you want to get fancy and service pretty much any bearing you might encounter, you can go nuts and spent ~$50 on a tool. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CNX5CRVH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
I’m not saying all bearing work is easy, but it’s not rocket science and well within most DIY skillsets. Bearings are cheap and the tools are cheap (more than pay for themselves with one DIY service), so worth considering. And almost all mainstream OEM’s have gone back to threaded BB’s, so it’s as simple as screwing the old one out and screwing a new one in, no “pressing” involved.
It is a matter of degree in my opinion. The more often you do certain jobs, the more it makes sense to do them yourself. Just today I bought a nicer chain breaker so that I don’t have to use my multitool for that. I also have nice Shimano cable cutters (bought it from a friend whose bike shop went belly up) even though I have yet to replace a cable. I also finally bit the bullet and bought a nice floor pump (a Silca Terra).
I think I need to replace my BBs every 2–3 years. That means I am less practiced. However, there may be other factors that may change the calculus: I recently moved and the bike shops here have crazy wait times. Think weeks. Add to that really bad delivery times for basic equipment. I had to wait for 5 months for a SRAM Force D1 lever. Nuts.
I’ve started to do this as it’s a new bike. Well, thrice since July. Wipe down or rinse fairly regularly.
Just changed over my cassette to my winter wheels this afternoon.
I’ve got a free check up but not expecting to spend on the bike, other than the £1 on a degreaser and £12 on the adjustable spanner I needed today. I’ve got a bucket of swisstop rim pads but ill need to figure in disc pads now I’m disc brake I suppose.
I would say $300- $400 with hydraulic brakes. New tires, a cassette with a chainring, a chain and maybe a brake flush (maintenance) each year.
Maybe new parts every couple years but it’s usually not needed.
Ha, @NickZambeck literally picking up my Cervelo from Marin Service Course this afternoon. Got the bottom bracket replaced and a few other minor tweaks. Which prompted my original question. Hadn’t been before but had heard about it and seen some of the affiliated riders. When I went there to drop off my bike, the eye candy was unbelievable. Luckily, I was with my 6 year old son so I had to practice restraint, lest he witness a complete lack of self control and me walking away $12k poorer. Waiting another two years before upgrading when my youngest is out of diapers.
