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 kee

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.