I have a quite crappy old used bike that I got for basically free. I’ve had it for 3 years and have spent around \~25,000 yen maintaining it/replacing broken parts , about \~8-9,000/per year (had to replace chain, stand, tires, in addition to regular upkeep).
I’m trying to figure out if this is isn’t too bad, or if at this point it would’ve been cheaper to get a newer/more expensive bike that was in better shape. How much do you all spend keeping your bicycles in shape each year?
EDIT: Daily mild use (25-50km/week) in downtown city areas
UPDATE: Thanks for the feedback everyone! General consensus is that this is definitely a lot, but not implausible for an old used bike. Probably will be worth it to get a new one.
42 comments
0 yen. Current bike on 3 years. Tires are probably punctured, should probably have it checked, but it still gets me from point A-B so eh, plus it’s just a regular mamachari. Unless it’s a special bike, i don’t see myself spending more than a bike’s worth in maintenance.
Well, I got a second hand bike 3 years ago and have paid like 3000円 in total for everything since. 1 time I did a general maintenance check for 500円、and like 2500円 for one time I had to replace a tube.
25,000円 seems kinda high for 3 years but maybe I’m just lucky?
Had mine from a fellow countrymate that was leaving Japan and i did not do a thing on it so far. Should probably look up how to change tires on japanese bikes though.
3000 over the course of 2.5 years for a quick tune up and lube.
If you have a mama chari the rear brake is a huge pita, but aside from that you can probably handle most maintenance yourself, and have a pro do things like tune ups.
Tbh I can do tuning myself and derusting+lubing chain, but my LBS does it for so cheap and within 30min I’m paying for convenience.
0 for the last 3 years but it was a brand new mama-chari that I ride maybe 7km a day for commuting
I’ve had my bike for 4 years and changed the inner tubes of my tires once. I guess it depends how hard/often you ride it and how expensive of a bike it is.
Bought a giant bike 5 years ago. First was 2500 since the gear broke after a year. then around 8k this year for new tires and inner tube..
About 1,000-2,000 yen a year in punctures. I can fix them myself, but I only carry my kit when I leave the city. Then 2,000 a year total in degreaser and lube. I usually clean it up three times a year.
New tires every 2-3 years for 3,000-6,000.
I just had someone take apart my bike and do a full service on it. Derailleur hanger snapped, went into my back wheel, derailleur got busted. All said and done 15,000 including the new parts. That was the first time in 7 years. I probably could have done it myself for less but I wanted to toss my buddy some work.
Depending on how much you ride, you’ll need a new chain and tires every 1-3 years. Those are consumables. Cleaning your chain and removing links can give it some more life. I bike about 18km to work and back five days a week.
Close to 6k~ per year since getting my road bike in 2020.
Usually been tire/tube issues (thankfully) but that’s to be expected I guess if frequently riding on varying journey lengths.
I went to school by bike for six years. The tires burst twice or so, my 100 yen chain lock broke once and I lost my 100 yen bungee cord that I used to tie my school bag on the back of my bike maybe once, and that’s it.
If your bike is costing you that much, I don’t think it’s worth keeping.
I bought a 2nd hand bike from the Treasure Factory around 12k yen. It’s been 7 months and it works totally fine. I don’t use it daily, only once or twice a week for around ~3km to my nearest station. I bought a wheel pump from amazon (1k yen) and that’s all. I may need to bring it to nearby bicycle shop for fully checking it next year. But 25k yen per 3 years seems much than I actually expect.
Fortunately I’m able to maintain my family’s bicycles on my own. Learned how to tune the cadence via YouTube and the rest based on experience.
This depends on your bike and how particular you about how well maintained your bikes are. For a cheap city bike that you ride for two years, approximately the price of the bike…
0
I live in Nagano, so my situation might be different to you.
But I used to have a mamachari. The damn thing needed something fixed every other week. Yes, I lived in a really hilly area, some roads are pretty tough.
Eventually had enough and went to the 2nd hand store and bought a mountain bike. Maintenance turned to zero, aside from reapplying lube after winter.
I also found a new hobby thanks to this. One of my teachers saw my mountain bike and was like “oh cool, you ride? Wanna ride together?”.
Own three bikes, all MTB about 60,000 a year.
That’s parts, servicing, tuning and upgrades.
However If my wife asks, I tend to lose a nought or two. I am sure she does the same with her bikes.
what the hell? Bought my bike for 2万 4 years ago. A foldable hummer.
The only thing I had to maintain was me being drunk and losing my lock.
Buy a new bike. You’ll save money
Early year 4 for our second hand e-assist mamachari (was 2 yo when we bought it from a shop).
Just went in for the big maintenance. Rear tire needs to be changed, brake wires are worned out. I grease 3-4 times a year the chain so it’s in good shape.
Cost 24000 for the repairs. So let’s say an average of 10000 a year.
We use the bike every day.
I have a quality road bike and only had to spend money on tubes and lubing the chain. Never had to replace any other parts.
I allocate 1000¥ a month and I’ve barely touched it.
Had to buy a tire repair kit a couple months ago and that’s almost it.
Maybe I did a general check (brakes, chain, gears, grease) 2 years ago, might have cost a couple thousand yen? Not even sure…
What kind of bicycle are we talking about though? Daily errands?
but do you have bike insurance? that is the most important thing.
If you spend 5,000 yen on a bike tool kit on amazon and buy tubes/tires/parts on amazon too, then you’ll pretty much be able to repair anything yourself after watching some YouTube videos.
The only thing that adds up in cost for me is getting flats. Luckily I haven’t had one in a while, but I used to get them at least twice a year.
Aside from that just keep your chain lubed up/clean and that will last damn near forever.
If your bike has disc brakes you’ll never have to worry about eventually burning through the braking surface on your wheels either- which does happen.
Rim brakes need cleaning and replacing every now and then if your ride at high speeds and brake aggressively. Cheap and Super easy to replace though. Slow~medium speeds, and those brake pads should last you a looooooong time.
If you have the super shitty drum brakes… well they stop you and need little maintenance, but blegh they sound awful once they’re worn down.
This year: tires 1万, chain + wax 1万, front wheel 7万, crank arm 1万, helmet 6万. Soon: tire 1万, skinsuit 8万, handlebars 5万, pads + rotors + cables 2万.
I got a mamachary from the local disabled rehabilitation group. They get old bikes out of the trash and build one out of the parts they’ve scavenged off the busted bikes. Bought it at a charity auction that supports their activities. Maybe ¥8000 I think. Took it in to get new brake pads last year. Cost about ¥3000. Dude said my bike was worn to shit. Advised me to buy a new one. I said thanks. My shitty little crapbox is still going along. I even added a fancy led light and a plastic box on the back. Looks like shit, but I can hold a tonne of shopping and I can see where I’m going coming back from Gyomu Super with a load of late night discounts and a big cheap 1L of umeshu. I spend more on that one booze/snack run than my annual bike maintenance.
0 yen. I bought a second hand bike 4yrs ago and still hasnt done ANY maintenance on it. And tbh i treat my bike like a shit. I dont even lock it anywhere i park it, could care less it getting stolen lol though the tire rim is getting rusty now
Depends on how much you ride it.
I ride mine enough that I have to change the tires about once every 2 to 3 years. Plus brake pads once a year or so. Add the cost of repairing flat tires, random stuff that gets broken from time to time, etc and its probably about 10,000 Yen a year on average, about the same range as what you are describing.
If you buy a new bike, you’ll probably spend way less than that for the first year or two, but once its broken in thats not an unusual amount to spend.
Been tempted to splash out and buy a Van Moof but was put off by, among other things, the salesperson telling me to expect a lot of costs relating to maintenance and fixing issues… so I gave up.
I bought a new mamachari maybe 10 years ago for 4-5 man(large ones are more expensive, its nothing special pther than size) and have since spent maybe 1-2 man total on all repairs including replacing both front and rear tires, break cables, lock, shortening chains and other minor stuff. I use it a lot so thats all normal wear and tear except the lock which was a lost key
2.5 seems a lot, are you buying premium parts for an old beater?
why do you replace chains every year?
All bikes at home in the 12000-25000 yen range. Kids use them everyday to go to school, and me 80% of the time to go to work (8min one way for everyone I’d say).
We have to change 1 tire (out of 6) every year I’d say, which costs about 3000-5000¥. One kid kept using his bike with a punker tire instead of telling us, cost 12000¥ to replace the back wheel bearings. I was not happy with him!!
It could depend on many things like road conditions and bike quality, but to it prices feel expensive
ummm probably 1000 yen in like 3 years? Had to replace my seat..
I’ve had to replace both tires once and replaced three tubes in seven years. Maybe a grand total of ¥15,000.
Reading some of the figures ITT and I have visions of the ridiculously rusty (and dangerous) chains and near flat and worn out tires which Japanese people appear to believe is the normal state of a bicycle.
Replacing the chain and tires once a year is perfectly normal even for a city bike if you ride it often.
Bought mine 8years ago .
It’s MTB WITH 29 inch tires.ive upgraded tue wheels and the rubber for puncture less trim .
Never had a flat since .
Air pumping every 3 months and 55-6 to the chaine .
So yeah and hour a year and almost free.
Zero. I have a BMW -goes vroom vroom for red light to red light. Haha
Should’ve bought a new one, it’s like 1.6 for a pretty solid one I’ve had for over a year, use it to go to and from work 80 mins total, maintenance it needed so far has just been pumping the wheels with air once a month (free)
Sounds completely reasonable to me for keeping a regularly-used bike in good shape. Those spending significantly less are probably either (1) not using it much, or (2) not doing maintenance properly. The fact that lots of people in this thread are claiming they haven’t replaced their chain, brakes and tires in years means they’re almost certainly riding an unsafe and inefficient bike. I have a fairly new road bike and it costs more than what you’ve quoted to maintain it.
Less than ¥2000 per year? I try to do quarterly cleaning sessions with MucOff. I add a little oil to the chain as needed. Replaced the inner tubes last year. Thinking to take it in for an all over safety check since it has been five years since the last check.
My biggest expense this year was buying panniers for CostCo and IKEA trips.
Sounds like you might be throwing good money after bad.
I bought a new bike from Asahi and I haven’t had any issues in my first year besides it not being great for the long bike rides I put myself through.
0 yen spent on it since purchase
It might be worth buying a new bike. Mine was around 3.5万
Depends what bicycle. I use road bikes and yearly maintenance is very cheap. The largest expense is the tires, which I have to replace once in two-three years and which cost about 10k for a set. Also bar tape, which is about 2k yen, gets replaced once per one-two years.
Chains last very long, but even if it has to be replaced it’s not that bad. Sometimes brake pads and cables, but they also last long. Wheels seldom need replacing, but a set of wheels lasts so long you don’t really think about it. Nothing else.
Like nearly everyone else here, I bought mamachari second hand for ¥2000 and have not spent a single yen on it in the 4 years I’ve had it.
….well technically I bought it for ¥4000. I am fond of this story so please let me tell it: I bought the bike from a bloke I met at an English comedy gig, and he mentioned he had just listed his bike on Sayonara Sales for ¥5000 and was getting all sorts of ridiculous offers (crazy low balls, wanting him to deliver it, the usual). I said I’d buy it from in the form of paying for his drinks that night but I only ended up buying him ¥2000 worth of beers. When I went to pick it up I insisted on giving him the full price he wanted–another ¥3000–to which he politely refused but eventually caved and accepted ¥2000. So yeah, ¥4000 all up.
In terms of maintenance, ¥0 unless you count the ¥500 rego. I bought a couple of ¥100 accessories. The local bike shop has a free air service which I use about every two weeks, and I feel bad I’ve never bought anything there. When I need to, I absolutely will be going there but it’s been 4 years now and haven’t had any maintenance issues yet. I keep it clean by it the occasional wipe down with a soap and water, and rub a tiny bit of vegetable cooking oil on the chain occasionally, but not too much as otherwise it’ll attract dirt. I ride it about 10km per day every week day.
Ir has a sticker on the stem that says “ANYONE. Enjoy Bicycle Life.”, not sure if this is a common brand but I’ll definitely be peeling it off and keeping the sticker whenever I try to sell it (I’ll probably list it for more than I paid and make a profit haha)
I bought an old 電子 assist bike (probably about 10yr old) for ¥15,000 and after 6 months the original battery crapped out. Had it refurbished for ¥25,000, but I shouldn’t really need to get that serviced before the bike completely dies.