What is your "inexpensive" hobby that turned out to be expensive/ you gradually invested lots of money into?
Edit: so it turns out that every hobby can be expensive if you do it long enough.
Also I love how you talk about your hobby as some addicts.
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Bicycling for me. Started off with a cheap old bike that I tried keeping in as goid condition as possible without spending too much on it. Problem with old bikes is wear and tear so things break and new old parts are hard to cheaply. So it became a hackjob. Then got me a new one and realised riding on roads only got boring so I started experimenting with gravel and singletrack.
Guess what? Time for a new bike. And a more expensive one. Carbon. And to maintain it I needed more tools. Also new tubes as the spare ones I had didn't fit that big of tyres. Also moved to a new place and now I got a MTB arena within a few km from home. So of course I had to get me one of those. And to maintain the suspension I needed new stuff, oils and tools.
Clothing. Bags. Events. It becomes a lot after a while.
Also planning for bike nr4, a steel fatbike. Promised myself not to buy anything this year, but the year is soon over...
Did I mention bikepacking? Yeah that is another big black hole of expenses. But a fair bit of overlap with backpacking so costs are split.
I remember when I first got into cycling I went to get new tires and noticed two tires that looked the same to me but one was more than double the cost of the other. I asked the guy what the difference was and he just said, "maybe half an ounce." It's unreal how expensive cycling stuff can get.
Marginal gains. Expensive marginal gains. I'm glad I'm not into that. When it comes to saving weight it is far better for me to shave it of me rather than the bike. And cheaper too!
In my opinion they aren't even gains. Making the bike more efficient just makes it less exercise efficient. You have to bike longer to get the same workout.
But it will run quiter. And I can attack KOMs harder. Et cetera.
But yes for working out a watt is a watt is a watt
Upgrading the drivetrain can make sense. Perhaps the brakes. Shocks if you are mountain biking. But no one needs a carbon fiber frame unless they are competing.
I have a $2200 road bike, a $600 mountain bike, and a 20+ year old hybrid that I bought on Craigslist for $100. Guess which one I enjoy riding the most?
That being said, the latest bikes with their electric wireless shifters, disc brakes, built-in phone holders and no cables anywhere are making me a bit jealous. But I've been able to resist the urge so far.
The Craigslist hybrid? Riding the beater is often so much fun because you feel like you are allowed to ride it hard. Or it couldbe the older geometry making it more lively.