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Shopping for bike parts is the hobby? is this caused by soulless consumer culture where retailers present themselves through advertisement as the source of drea

Shopping for bike parts is the hobby? is this caused by soulless consumer culture where retailers present themselves through advertisement as the source of dreams? At least here in Japan .. Outdoor is a section in the mall, not a place you go.. and you cant just go climb a mountain in your old clothes, you need all the gear, and the gas stove to make the high altitude coffee at the peak, because someone said that tastes better..

nicoburns 5y ago
It's not necessarily just buying parts. It's the knowledge associated with building and fixing them. That's no different to any other engineering hobby.
foo_barrio 5y ago
Some people build guitars other people play them. They are related disciplines and guitar builders know how to play a guitar but it's not their primary pursuit. Biking is no different no? Some people are interested in how to setup and combine components in an optimal way. Others want to ride.
- em-bee 5y ago
  indeed, building vs using is an entirely valid hobby. some people like to repair cars for fun, or restore old ones. i knew someone who restored old steam engines. or people who like to restore/build computers from used parts and give them to kids who need one. i built my own bike when i was young, but mainly because it was cheaper to get a quality bike that way and easier than saving up the money for a brand new bike. in the end riding is more interesting, so now that i can afford it, i just buy what i need.
dagw 5y ago
Shopping for bike parts is the hobby? I knew a guy like this. He also had 2-3 other bikes that he actually rode, but he spend a lot of time and effort (and money) building his Dream Bike. He was always waiting for some part to be shipped from some tiny manufacturer in Italy or Spain or Japan or Canada, and by the time it arrived he would have read about this other company that had an even smaller/thinner/lighter part, so he would order that as well and wait until he had both parts before meticulously compare them. And once he had managed to finally assemble a complete bike it wouldn't take many rides before either something broke or he decided something wasn't quite perfect so he would take the bike apart again and try to find an even more perfect part.
pjc50 5y ago
And people wonder why NTFs have taken off. They allow you the benefits of the spending money experience, including the difficult and time-consuming procurement; and the ability to lord your knowledge of a technical subject of the others. But without the inconvenience of taking up space in the house or being expected to actually ride the bicycle or take the photos or trim the bonsai.

nicoburns 5y ago

It's not necessarily just buying parts. It's the knowledge associated with building and fixing them. That's no different to any other engineering hobby.

foo_barrio 5y ago

Some people build guitars other people play them. They are related disciplines and guitar builders know how to play a guitar but it's not their primary pursuit. Biking is no different no? Some people are interested in how to setup and combine components in an optimal way. Others want to ride.

em-bee 5y ago
indeed, building vs using is an entirely valid hobby. some people like to repair cars for fun, or restore old ones. i knew someone who restored old steam engines. or people who like to restore/build computers from used parts and give them to kids who need one. i built my own bike when i was young, but mainly because it was cheaper to get a quality bike that way and easier than saving up the money for a brand new bike. in the end riding is more interesting, so now that i can afford it, i just buy what i need.

dagw 5y ago

Shopping for bike parts is the hobby? I knew a guy like this. He also had 2-3 other bikes that he actually rode, but he spend a lot of time and effort (and money) building his Dream Bike. He was always waiting for some part to be shipped from some tiny manufacturer in Italy or Spain or Japan or Canada, and by the time it arrived he would have read about this other company that had an even smaller/thinner/lighter part, so he would order that as well and wait until he had both parts before meticulously compare them. And once he had managed to finally assemble a complete bike it wouldn't take many rides before either something broke or he decided something wasn't quite perfect so he would take the bike apart again and try to find an even more perfect part.

pjc50 5y ago

And people wonder why NTFs have taken off. They allow you the benefits of the spending money experience, including the difficult and time-consuming procurement; and the ability to lord your knowledge of a technical subject of the others. But without the inconvenience of taking up space in the house or being expected to actually ride the bicycle or take the photos or trim the bonsai.