Underrated point. Someone always brings up the cost of bikes in these threads and it's silly. Sure, some hard core cyclists will put $20k into the hobby, but it's not at all necessary.

I've got maybe $1200 in my total set up, and I could have done it far cheaper if I'd been picky about shopping sales and buying used.

The bike was around $750 new, $80 for an ergonomic saddle (saves on padded shorts, but YMMV), $60 for a helmet that fits well, $100 for pedals with toe clips so I can wear street shoes, and a few accessories here and there.

I put in 30-50 miles a week on average and I've had the bike for better than 2 years with no major mechanical issues. I don't know where that puts me in terms of milage over the average cyclist, but I have a great time and get plenty of exercise without breaking the bank.

Fair, from that perspective it does make sense.

When I lived in small town USA where there is nothing to do but meth and everyone knows everyone else’s business the dream of packing your shit in a backpack and getting into the car and driving 4 hours away feels like freedom. You can go to a city or town and get away from it all.

That's mainly because they quit running passenger service on those train tracks running through town 50 years ago.

I do agree and I did got my own bike for free from trash pile through her connections to local biking community.

But she is making full use of the specialized equipment and bikes so i will not fault her for doing it.

Yep. Even the actual race bikes being used in the Tour de France right now are only $10k or so. The only sports car that little cash will get you is a used Miata.

Everyone's finances are different, your economic guardrails won't necessarily make sense for someone else. I've built plenty of commuters that have rolled out the door of my local coop for < $50 and I put love into every single one of them, every single one of them was (Mostly) solid. But I also have a $3.5K dream build that mostly just hangs on my wall made from vintage new-on-shelf parts, an ode to late-90s / early-00s roadie aesthetics.

Yeah I would generally agree to that. I got mine for £600 and admit it's more than I really needed. But it's a pretty nice bike and I use it a lot. It was the cheaper model from the more expensive brand so my thinking was it's probably a pretty good frame and I can replace other parts as I go.

Replaced the tyres after about 2 years, new ones cost like twice as much but marathon plus touring tyres should last far longer and are much more puncture resistant.

And where do you get a modern road or gravel bike for $600 or less? Even used ones are often more expensive.

A nice road bike is a lot of fun and paying $2k for it is similar to buying a gaming pc. No one really needs it but sometimes it's ok to spend money on having fun. And even $5k is not a bad decision if you have the money and value fun more than money. My road bike only cost me 700€ (plus all the additional cost for new tyres, saddle etc) but in the next couple of years I will definetly buy a second one that will be more expensive.

I do agree, but in her defense she is making full use of it and over time has progressed from the basic commuter to more advanced bikes which have had significant increase to speed and enjoyability/comfort of the ride. Up until now she has already rode 5k km just this year, planning to finish this year with 10k km.

For everyone else I do agree and have a basic commuter that I literally got from a trash pile through her connections to local biking community.

@Jarix @Shellofbiomatter The overwhelming majority of trips aren't aimless wandering in search of freedom, they're utilitarian trips to the grocery store, library, a friend's house, your kids' school, etc. The percentage of people in sprawly countries who truly live too far away from daily necessities to get there by bicycle if the roads were designed for safety and comfort is far too small to justify adopting standards that force even cities to make their streets bike-unfriendly.

I hundered percent did this on my bike. Ive done it in a car, but you can "take a road and see where it goes" on a bike.