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The bike will wear down more than cheaper bikes, unfortunately. Chainrings, derailleurs, cassettes on mid-range bikes are made of lighter metals and to tighter

The bike will wear down more than cheaper bikes, unfortunately. Chainrings, derailleurs, cassettes on mid-range bikes are made of lighter metals and to tighter tolerances than those on cheaper bikes. You'll replace them 3x as often and pay 3x as much for the parts, so maintenance is an order of magnitude more expensive per kilometre. There are some exceptions: higher-quality bottom brackets seem to last longer, and on a cheap bike it may not be worth replacing them at all. Maybe wheel bearings too. And some basic services like chain lube are going to cost the same (whether you do it yourself or take it to a bike shop). But overall, the cost of maintenance goes up faster than the initial price of the bike.

eezurr 6y ago
Thanks for the info! Could you give me an idea of the yearly cost to maintain a mid-range bike?
- dmurray 6y ago
  Depends on so many things - principally the distance you ride, but also the riding conditions, how you store it, whether you keep it clean, whether you can do minor/moderate service yourself. Personally I budget about €200/year for my €1200 road bike for 2000 km/year. I store it indoors, ride it 20% in the rain, don't take great care of it otherwise, and take it to the shop for anything more than changing tubes/tyres.
- FridgeSeal 6y ago
  The cost of some chain lube, grease, a citrus based bike cleaner and a couple of brushes should total less that $50/60 (they often come in bundles) and will keep you covered until they run out (approx 8-12 months, less for the chain lube). I clean and re-lube my road bike when it gets dirty or starts making noise (literally once every 3-4 months), and it gets ridden 3-5 days a week. I clean and re-lube my mountain bike slightly more frequently because it gets far dirtier and gets ridden far harder - usually if it starts making noises, or anything feels (too) gritty or it's just too dirty. Once a month it usually gets a quick clean. All in all, it's a fairly minor amount of time, money and energy. As for component wear, I'm going to disagree with the OP - my friends and I have found that better components _tend_ to last longer, up until the point of diminishing returns (race level componentry). For example SRAM GX would be preferable over NX/SX for quality and lifetime.

eezurr 6y ago

Thanks for the info! Could you give me an idea of the yearly cost to maintain a mid-range bike?

dmurray 6y ago
Depends on so many things - principally the distance you ride, but also the riding conditions, how you store it, whether you keep it clean, whether you can do minor/moderate service yourself. Personally I budget about €200/year for my €1200 road bike for 2000 km/year. I store it indoors, ride it 20% in the rain, don't take great care of it otherwise, and take it to the shop for anything more than changing tubes/tyres.
FridgeSeal 6y ago
The cost of some chain lube, grease, a citrus based bike cleaner and a couple of brushes should total less that $50/60 (they often come in bundles) and will keep you covered until they run out (approx 8-12 months, less for the chain lube). I clean and re-lube my road bike when it gets dirty or starts making noise (literally once every 3-4 months), and it gets ridden 3-5 days a week. I clean and re-lube my mountain bike slightly more frequently because it gets far dirtier and gets ridden far harder - usually if it starts making noises, or anything feels (too) gritty or it's just too dirty. Once a month it usually gets a quick clean. All in all, it's a fairly minor amount of time, money and energy. As for component wear, I'm going to disagree with the OP - my friends and I have found that better components _tend_ to last longer, up until the point of diminishing returns (race level componentry). For example SRAM GX would be preferable over NX/SX for quality and lifetime.