What I Spend

[mountainFrugal]

Endurance sports are addicting. This comes along with lots of different gear to move through every conceivable environment or condition. I am guilty of this on many accounts... bikes tended to be the worst though in the past. The joke is what is the proper number of bikes to own? A: N + 1...where N is the current number of bikes one currently owns. Care must be taken! A word of warning from a recovering bike-aholic.

That said... Looks like a really fun ride. Mountain bikes are my favorite form of transportation. Not as fast as road bikes, but you can still get an excellent work out in while moving over varied terrain. Also, you can get off the streets and away from cars.

[2Birds1Stone]

Nice bike!! If it makes you feel any better, I spent $4300 on my Trek Fuel EX8 =D and have absolutely ZERO regrets.

[ducknald_don]

Nice. I've owned a few Trek bikes and always liked them.

[Scott 2]

@2Birds1Stone - You must have access to some great trails and skills. What do you do about servicing all the high end components? There's a lot to know, tools to have, etc. Watching videos of serious mountain bikers, I am struck by how explosive the sport is. Far from the endurance bias I associate with biking.

I am finding the hard tail overkill for my local bike path. That ride is more fun with the front shock locked out. Easier on my butt and faster. I think some of this is due to having a lower end fork. I also haven't tried to tune it. Constrained to mostly flat paths, dialing in preload and damper settings is boring.

Now I'm looking at driving places, to find more interesting terrain, which I have mixed feelings about. There's a certain hassle factor. Depending on the car. Loading and unloading the bike. Watching trail conditions. Etc. There's also a lot of skill development involved, which has pros and cons. I am well outside of the "good exercise" territory already. It's hard to say how far I want to take this.

A decent bike rack would lower the barriers, but is also more money. If interest lasts into the spring, I may install a trail hitch on my SUV and get a rack. My wife also got a bike this Summer. We're still figuring out how big bikes will be in our life.


@mountainFrugal - There's definitely temptation to try the wide variety of bikes. I figure so long as I buy used, I can converge on my favored setup(s), relatively cheaply. Maybe over a year or two. My hybrid came with an adjustable stem and coil spring seat post. I've learned I don't like those. They are on the short list for replacement. I also want to learn about bike geometry and fit, so I have more preference than "medium".

Already this summer, I resisted a used fat bike for $800. It probably could have been flipped for a couple hundred more, so riding would have been free. We have a solid winter, but biking in the cold might not be fun. I have a hard time trusting traffic, so road bikes haven't tempted me. With my skill level being so low, this is all very much a moving target.

I do remain interested in both a single speed and something like the Priority bikes L-train. Over the long term, I dunno if I want to be on the maintenance hook, especially hydraulic brakes and shock service. While I'm enjoying the Trek, I've also been eying the single speed mountain bikes from bikes direct:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gra ... -bikes.htm
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/gra ... -bikes.htm

There's an elegance in the simplicity.


@ducknald_don - Buying used pushed me towards Trek. They are the dominant vendor in my area, so I've been finding the most inventory. From what I understand, their mountain bikes do carry a brand premium. I wonder if buying new from a direct to consumer vendor would offer similar results, with less hassle than my current used Trek strategy. On the other side of that, my Dad got a new single speed off Amazon. He had to true the wheels himself, because it came with loose spokes from the factory.

[theanimal]

You mention you have an SUV. If you put the back seats down, you should be able to fit your bike inside the car. Your wife's should fit as well. If they don't fit, you can take off the front wheels and just reattach them when you get wherever you are going. No bike rack necessary.

[Scott 2]

Is there some trick to loading and unloading the bike easily? The rear seats on my CRV don't fold totally flat, so I find getting that last couple of inches takes some work. Lifting, repositioning, padding, etc. Taking the front wheel off helps, but it's still 5-10 minutes of effort. I've had my best luck putting the rear end in first, drive side facing up.

I've got a Honda CRV, which is built on the Civic platform, so it isn't the biggest. I did find a person who took out their back seat and installed mounts. This looks like a cool option, though I'm not ready to take the car apart for it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oMK5rBlf24

With two bikes and no rack, are you stacking them like pancakes?


A hitch mounted tray style rack looks so painless. If I get into driving the bikes places, spending ~$500 would feel alright. I can see there's other downsides though. Securing the bikes. Drag. Installing / removing the hitch rack. Cargo access. Etc.

[Western Red Cedar]

I rarely try to put two bikes in our SUV, though I have done it before. I basically lay them flat like pancakes but it takes quite a bit of strength to even load one.

A bike rack may make a lot of sense in your case, but I would encourage you to think more about riding to regional trails before picking up the rack. This may require some comfort riding on roads though. It wasn't until DW was regularly using our shared car for work that I really began traveling longer distances on my bike (20+ miles). I realized later I had a mental block about how far I could go, and what I could do on a bike. Once I started riding to other towns and state parks that were 10+ miles away, I recognized it wasn't as challenging as I thought and more fulfilling than driving to a trailhead.

I am also likely blessed with access to great trails and natural areas, so your circumstances may differ. Whatever you decide, it is great to see you pedaling down the cycling rabbit hole.

[jacob]

Is there some trick to loading and unloading the bike easily?

Take the front wheel off and load flat with the rear wheel towards the driver.

[theanimal]

Ya what Jacob said. If I am putting in 2, I put the second one on top of the first in the opposite way (rear wheel towards the trunk). My seats fold all the way down but yours should still fit. It takes ~30 sec tops with one bike. Maybe 2 min with two.

[mountainFrugal]

You can add an old blanket/beach towel in-between the bikes before stacking them to offer more protection for the bike components rubbing on each other. A separator blanket will also help keep the pedals from getting caught when removing the top bike at your destination. Put the larger bike in first on the bottom. If you have another person help you load, have them open one of the back doors and grab the rear wheel to help slide it into place. This will put less strain on your back leaning into the vehicle.

[2Birds1Stone]

@Scott 2, yes we have some incredible trails where I live. I've been an active rider/trail ambassador for the past ~5 years and there are ~20 trail systems within 45 minutes drive. Each is typically a moderate difficulty (blue) loop with anywhere from 10-20 black/double black diamond options which usually divert from and reconnect to the main loop. They range in distance (10-30 miles) and difficulty but all could be ridden on a decent hardtail. I do take my bike to other places which make better use of the full suspension (think big drops and lots of gnarly rocks), and bought it to have the option of doing more of this style of technical riding. As far as maintenance, there isn't much to do besides making sure you service the shocks (oil/seals) every 100-200 hours of intense riding.

Hardtails/Rigid MTB's require very little maintenance. My main bike for the past 5 years was a Specialized Fatboy and the only thing I've done is replace the chain/cassette one time and otherwise just make sure to lube the chain between rides and make sure that the gears are indexed properly. It's time for new tires after several thousand miles on the bike, but it's held up incredibly well. Air suspensions do require more maintenance but not a whole ton.

As far as getting your suspension dialed in, check the Trek website which should have a suspension setting calculator for most bikes that is based on your weight. I find it to be a great starting point with minimal tinkering required after that.

[Scott 2]

Thanks guys. I'll report back after some practice trips. I'm going to try a strap on the rear of the bike, to get better leverage when loading it. I'm hesitant to risk messing up the bikes by stacking them. My wife's cruiser is 34lbs! But maybe as I get better at loading, my perspective will change.


@western red cedar - I'm tired after 10 miles on the mountain bike. Covering 20-30 miles via bike gives access to the more interesting trails, but also requires a 2 mile stretch of roads I'm not comfortable with. So, maybe it becomes feasible. But my endurance, tool kit and skills all need work.


@2Birds1Stone - Sounds like a great location for biking. I appreciate the tips.

I found a site called mtbproject.com - From what I can tell, my area is mostly green and blue trails. Given I have zero experience, that is fine for me. Until I am confident on the blue, I will avoid the 2 miles marked as black diamond.

I checked the Trek suspension calculator. It doesn't cover my bike. I've read up on the basics though. Unless I take the fork apart to switch springs, all I can do is dial preload or damper settings. That doesn't look too complicated. But I need the terrain that provides feedback on my changes. I'm not sure how relevant the shock will be to green and blue trails.

[Scott 2]

So mountain biking is hard. Terrifying even. Far outside my comfort zone. But I tried:

I figured early on a weekday was my best bet for low traffic. I learned you yell "solo" or "two" or "last one" when passing:


My first clue this might be more than I can handle. I walked it. I can do some green trail. Blue was too much.


I didn't realize views like this were by me:


Declines don't photograph well. Going downhill to either roots or a ditch. This was on the easier end of what I skipped:


I don't have the tools to ride my bike over this.


I did sort loading the bike. Propping my rear tire on the seat ledge helped:


Though I should have brought a tarp. Even after spraying the bike down, it was dirty. Also, I lost my rear tire reflector!



I'm glad I made the effort. For a first time out - I didn't get seriously hurt. My bike still works. After the couple hours, I am far more comfortable on my bike.The hydraulic disc brakes saved me multiple times. I appreciate the value now. I am happy about all that. Way better than spending my morning in a cubicle.

I did over extend relative to my abilities, to the point where a lot of this was stressful, instead of fun. I walked more than rode. I got lost repeatedly, despite frequently checking directions on my phone. When going the wrong way means paths that are too hard, it is frustrating. The fork between two 18" dirt paths can be really important. I'm not used to that. I might not even see it.

My local forest preserve is more like a manicured park. The trails are 10 feet wide, with finely crushed limestone. If there's a chance of standing water, they post notice. Well, until they rebuild that part of the trail, to make sure it stays dry. Whenever they spread fresh limestone, there are even signs - "warning loose gravel".

I thought that was a green trail. Maybe it technically qualifies, but it is more of a suburban bike path. Now I know. Green means I can probably do enough to enjoy it. Blue means walking my bike through deer paths (or worse), hoping someone doesn't run into me. I mercifully didn't wander onto any black.

Having seen the blue trails, it's possible to get seriously hurt. I don't know I'm willing to take that risk. At least, not with my current bike skills. I'm still open to trying more green, but I need to pay much more attention to the maps. Walking my bike through miles of blue felt bad, especially when others zipped by. While the selection bias is obvious, the skill gap felt massive. I put myself and those other riders at risk. Lesson learned.

[mountainFrugal]

A+ for exploring a new area. . Looks pretty. An important MTB lesson is you have to "ride your ride". I walk stuff all the time. Your bike looks dusty and happy to be out of the stable.

[theanimal]

Well done, you're living! Mark me as another one who walks if need be. Looks like you got the bike in the car situation figured out. Looks like plenty of room for your wife's bike too if she wants to join you.

[shaz]

It's nice to see you are continuing to try new cycling experiences! It looks like you have beautiful places to ride. Riding with someone who has greater skills is the fastest way to increase your skill level, especially for things like learning how to pick a good line. A local bike shop or community college might host intro to mountain biking classes if you don't know anyone who can lead you around trails and help you practice basic skills. It won't be very long before those blue trails look like good fun instead of a death trap.

[Scott 2]

Thanks all. One of the things I learned, is mountain biking includes hiking. Obvious in hindsight. Even if my skills hadn't failed me, the bike could.


@shaz - I agree, in person instruction would be of great benefit. With my wisdom teeth coming out mid-month, I haven't pursued it. My fall season is broken up by that, and then braces shortly after.

Knowing this, I've been harvesting capacity built over the summer. I did a slow 6 mile trail run earlier this week. I tried the mountain biking yesterday. We're going to hit a river float later this week. It's a rush of activity, before the dentist ruins my fun times.

[Scott 2]

We loaded my wife's bike into the car today, for her first ride away from home. She learned to ride this Summer. It's a big deal:



Despite the 26" tires, her bike was much harder to load than mine.

The front of her cruiser is very tall. Loading it last (not pictured), we had problems with fit - to the point where we took off the front tire. In doing that, we learned her dynamo hub has cables that need to be disconnected. Then we couldn't get the tire out of the brake. I made the mistake of messing with the barrel adjuster, instead of deflating the tire. More time wasted. Then the fender presented problems, in positioning her empty fork. We almost gave up.

Heading home, we put the tall end in first (pictured). It took a minute or two. No wheel removal required. Spatial awareness has never been my strength. The worst part was the goose poop on her tires. I still didn't bring a tarp.


I don't think either of us is eager to stack the bikes. We've had some preliminary talks about the expense of a hitch and bike rack. If we're interested in biking places together, come Spring, we may pull the trigger.

[Scott 2]

August 2022 Total (Couple) - $3571
Exercise - $1039
Healthcare/Medical - $872
Home Maintenance - $580
Groceries - $399
Utilities - $253
Clothing/Shoes - $203
Pets/Pet Care - $117
Entertainment - $45
Automotive - $43
Streaming - $20

Spent $3571 against an estimate of $5419. About half the underage is unspent discretionary. Some medical billing is delayed.

Food was $300 under budget. No strategy though. We started the month with high inventory. My wife wasn't feeling well. Upcoming dental has me eating like a 5 year old. That all lowers costs.

Exercise was high, because I bought a new bike, repair stand, parking, parts, tools, etc. We are approaching the saturation point.

Hidden in the numbers, is a decision to stop the expensive gym. After September, that will free up $140 per month. Plus gas.

We did splurge - $100 for a small step stool and $200 for a large one. These replace a wobbly plastic stool and garbage picked wooden ladder. They will serve us well into old age. The large one:




September 2022 Estimate (Couple) - $5910
Big number. With my wisdom teeth coming out and the cat's annual checkup, we'll spend more.

There's $1800 allocated to discretionary, which we are unlikely to get through.

My wife said "it's too much!" I kind of agree. But the budget is there. I'll do my best to spend it.


Overall
Inflation is eroding our wealth. The markets are down again. I haven't had the heart to calculate real returns. At the same time, we've made downwardly mobile lifestyle choices. Our bare bones expenses have fallen even faster. The net effect is leading richer lives, while feeling poorer. We are priced out of things we no longer want.

It feels confusing. Is there a problem to address???

With positive returns, I'd have zero doubts about our lifestyle choices. If we are on a failure trajectory, a few years of expenses won't matter. So thus far, my answer remains to stay the course.

[bostonimproper]

I think the desire for more of a buffer, whether or not you need it or plan to use it, is totally understandable from a psychological safety/perceived optionality perspective.

Good luck on the dental stuff! Hope you have an easy recovery.