Cycling vs. motorcycling

A friend of mine races bicycles. He "persuaded" me to do a cyclocross race in November.

I borrowed a 20 yr old rigid mtb and got my ass kicked.

2 months later, I'm selling motorcycles and buying bicycles that cost as much...

My question is directed at those of you who cycle a lot, especially if you do so competitively.

Which costs less? Which consumes less time?

I have been rationalizing the new bike(s) by telling myself consumables (gas, tires, race fees) will be cheaper and less frequent, and I can ride as hard as I want whenever I want on local MTB trails. No track required.

...but the time commitment of cycling isn't making the wife happy. Probably worse right now while the days are shortest, and I have to ride before the kids are in bed.

That said, which is really cheaper? My most expensive motorcycle was $3300...

 

Roadracing is more $ imo. As you said, the consumables are whats the (huge) difference. Especially if you factor in crash damage repairs or engine rebuilds.

I raced mtbs in XC, 12 hour endurance (solo and 2 man), and point to point (ORAMM, Snake Creek Gap TT, Fools Gold 50 ml, Black Bear Rampage 40 ml, etc) from 02 till 014. Spent tons of money (yes, one can spend a million dollars on cycling). Still have several bikes but just ride for fitness now, since my bad crash leaving perm injuries in late 012 (sans 1 race in 014). 4-5 of the old race bikes are all ti or alum hardware, highend wheels, $400 pedals, alum or ti BBs, Extralite UL (very hard to find in the country) or Thomson Masterpiece posts, 99 gram stems, carbon everything, Hope Mono Mini brakes, etc. The HT race bike was 18lbs. FS was 21lbs. 5" travel "trail bike" was 22lbs.

The good news about cycling tho...its not about the bike. If you have a decent bike and your the strongest man that day, you win. ..well, 98% of the time. You can be THE man at descending..but only gain maybe 10 seconds on a long descent. But then turn around lose 10 minutes on the same distance climbing.

Main draw back money wise, is bicycles when sold complete don't keep they're resale value as well. Good news here, is most of the components transfer to the next frame. Altho theres exceptions to this.

 

I'm sorta of in the same boat. Due to my racing injuries I may be done with MC racing(or not lol). I set a goal of doing a bike race while I was hurt and it was great motivation to get healthy again after getting hurt. I'm racing an old 2009 CAAD9 and did my 1st 4 races last year. I know stuff isn't cheap but I think racing a motorcycle, if you're serious has to be more. I think back to some of my weekend tire bills and shake my head!lol I think used2bfast is right in that your fitness is more important than blowing insane money on a bike and gear...let's be real, we aren't going to be racing for a yellow jersey! To me the cool benefit is the training and racing is fun and as a by product you get in really great shape! BTW you should try a Crit....elbow to elbow action, loads of fun!

 

Bicycles are cheaper, no question, and yes a fit bicycle racer on a mid range bike will crush someone that isn't as fit on the latest and greatest bicycle. You're not going to go significantly faster on a bicycle that costs 2K more. I usually tell people it takes at least a year of regular riding a bicycle to be competent. Now if you're a 2:20 marathoner that might be a bit different. That actually happened to me, a friend was a 2:20 marathoner and I was good for just under a 6 minute 10K running pace. He killed me on a run/bike race even though I had a lot more time on the bike. He was almost as fast on the bike and much faster on the run. He couldn't do crits, which were my favorites, required a different skillset.

 

My brother raced WERA with me in the late 90's. He didn't really dig it and got into bicycling a couple years later. He now had a living room full of $7-10 grand bikes. He is really good, but I think he's nuts.

I did it with him for about a year and I just don't get it. Every time we were out, all I could thing about is how much more fun this would be if I could twist the throttle.

 

Bicycle racing is cheaper than motorcycle racing for sure. Some bikes aren't cheap though. The time commitment to be a competitive bicycle racer is exponentially more than motorcycle racing though. I raced a couple seasons cat 1 xc mountain bikes and you have to put in alot of hours every week. Don't get me wrong, it is fun, rewarding and worth it if you can make the time. Mountain bike racing seems to be a natural transition for roadracers. I think it has to do with being on the edge of control at times and pushing your own personal limits. As mentioned, one great thing about bicycle racing is You are the main factor in being competitive.

 

Do bmx riders pull tail at the coffee shops?

 

Training to be competitive in cycling is going to take more time I would think. Guys I know that race bikes typically ride between 200 and 400 miles a week (Cat I and II, Masters state champ, Pro/AM levels). They are at the pointy end of the field. The whole wide base to build a high peak applies. It takes a hell of a lot of commitment to be good at both for sure.

I do think cycling is a great boost to motorcycling fitness but I don't think MC racing contributes too much to cycling prowess (road racing, not MX / MTB)

 

I've built lots of piston engine powered bikes and now lately a few human powered ones, and I could easily build 4 or 6 (depends upon mtb or road) top shelf pedal bikes for one good championship winning dinosaur burning one, so I think bicycles are considerably cheaper. You can spend $12K on a road bike, but it's not really better than an $6k one - just make it light and ride the thing. You can spend $20K on a road race motorcycle, but the $30K one is a good bit better. Just my opinion from doing both - the engine is the difference.

 

Yes, time dedicated is huge with cycling. At least if you wanna be strong. I rode 5-6 days a week. The 7th day I hiked. Most strong mtb racers all train on the road. Just more conducive to training. Took me 5-6 dedicated seasons before finally starting to win chit (09 Gone Riding Ga state champ in 50+ Open). Usually did 22-24 events a yr at my peak.

I do miss the fitness. Resting HR after walking into the doc office was 44-45bpm. Waking HR was 37-38bpm. Back in the late 90s when I drank and partied alot, it was 65-70bpm with crazy high BP(even w meds) w chronic Gout issues (even w meds). All that went away completely after getting into cycling hardcore.

I'm 51 in this pic mid week up riding the 6 Gap area (Suches Ga). 2nd from left in green. Finally got my first XC win the following weekend.


Pic from that first win. Flat Rock in Columbus Ga. Bike is an early (XC only version) Intense Spider. Fought Van Council (owner of Van-Micheal Solon's. Trains under Carmicheal. Same guy that trained Lance Armstrong. F'n monster on a bike lol) the entire race.

 

Kids (3 yrs and 4 months) are the reason bikes are on hold. I just can't be gone for a whole weekend, or even a whole day right now.

I leave for the closest track to me at or before 5:00 AM on Saturdays. If I start pedaling at the same time, I can put in 30 miles and be home in time to help make breakfast.

That's what I'm hoping anyway...

I bought a fat tire bike. It's entry-level, but will improve my fitness and remain fun even after I add real racing bicycles to the fleet.

My goal is to get in shape this winter, suffer on the fat bike this summer, and buy a CX bike in the fall. Then I'll know where I stand, and can rationalize a good hardtail purchase for spring 2018 to really race.

The Mohican 100 is close, and hard.

 

Bicycle racing would take alot more commitment. Couple of young guys around here are national level pros... 2 rides a day with loads of intervals totaling something like 5 or 6 hours. Mostly they ride alone or with a more focused group. Injury is probably the #1 biggest issue. Just taking a couple weeks off can set back training. Its just like work!

 

You and I are in the SAME boat. Two kids (2 and 4 months)... I wasn't racing, but coaching with a track Day org. I also love mountain biking. I couldn't have both. I now have 0 motorcycles and no trailer and selling my truck.. left with a full suspension and hardtail 29ers on the garage and haven't looked back. Cost is WAY cheaper. You can definitely spend a ton of money buying into a good bike, but the consumables and what not way cheaper. But also time was huge. For a track, I had to leave for a whole weekend including a Friday. For MTB, head out in the morning for 20 miles and back in 4 hrs.

Did a 25 mile race on October. My first. Finished 4h in my class and plan to do many more in 2017.

 

There's a local group of guys who build old bmx bikes and go bar hopping.with them..they have a fb page apparently to organize. Sounds fun.

 

Short days are killing me. I can't wake up at 5 and (safely) ride right now.

 

I have my tri bike on a trainer in the basement for the winter.

Zwift is great!

 

Since I stopped roadracing. I'm too busy, and respect my customers to much to be racing right now. I can go to race bicycles and just worry about me.

I have four Specialized bikes. I race a couple of times a year. 40 miles per week biking, and 12-15 running. It's not enough to do what I want. Although, I did take 3rd in the state championship last spring. The bikes are still expensive if you don't have a friend to hook you up. Entries are cheap. I think the last one was $50 for the race. Woke up at home, left around 8, warmed up. raced, ate lunch, home by 2.

You can still get into money. A regear for my carbon HT was a over $200. Had to change parts to do it.

I enjoy it a lot. I still have problems pushing the front after all the roadracing. I have found some great Michelin front tires that are helping.


So, cheap, but still spendy. But takes a lot of time to be good.

 

I didn't race this year for the first time in 13 years, but did do about a dozen bicycle races. Its hard to balance both.

To answer your question, motorcycles are far more expensive. My most expensive weekend was when I crashed in Nashville, and even with a new Zipp wheel the entire weekend cost me less than $1000.

The time commitment is far worse though. There are some folks that can get away with training a few days a week, but typically you need 200 miles.

 

Motorcycles far surpass bicycles in terms of cost. The closest you'll get is cost to get started. Bikes can cost about the same assuming you're not comparing a complete race build on a new motorcycle. But motorcycle racing gear is a good bit more expensive unless you buy a lot of used stuff and even then it's still more. But the gap really opens up after your cost to get started. Depending on where you live, you will probably travel far less with a bicycle, entry fees are likely lower, and then the cost to operate your machinery. Bicycles need chain lube and ocassional brake fluid with maybe an annual suspension service. Motorcycles obviously need so much more. The biggest cost to operate with bicycles is honestly probably dietary stuff and gas to and from the course. This is all coming from a mountain biking standpoint but I doubt that makes much of a difference.

 

Racing motorcycles is more expensive than racing bicycles. As Redtailracing stated, the start-up with getting a bike and gear is the most expensive part. But the costs of frequently replacing motorcycle tires was exorbitant.

The time comparison is tougher to calculate. Bicycle training includes shorter mid week rides and a longer weekend ride. I think you can be competitive in road racing with just 150 miles per week. Racing motorcycles on the other hand, includes track time, travel time to the track, maintenance etc.