My bike upgrades got out of control… had to save money somewhere

Cycling really is a dangerous hobby for your wallet 😂

I recently did a bunch of upgrades on my bike and somehow every “small upgrade” turned into another expensive purchase.

First was the tires. I switched to Continental GP5000 S TR and immediately understood why everyone talks about them. The ride feels faster and the confidence in corners is noticeably better.

Then came the brake upgrade. I replaced the brake pads with SwissStop (because apparently stopping is also something worth spending money on 😂).

After that I upgraded a few other small things:

new bar tape

better bottle cages

new chain

some maintenance parts

None of these seemed crazy individually, but somehow the total added up very quickly.

By the time I got to replacing my bib shorts, I was like… okay, maybe I don’t need another $200 pair right now.

So I started looking at more affordable options.

I spent a lot of time comparing Przewalski, Neopro and YKYW because those seem to be mentioned a lot when people talk about budget bibs.

I honestly didn’t expect too much because I’ve always assumed cheaper bibs would have a big compromise somewhere.

But I ended up going with Przewalski, and so far I’m actually pretty happy with them.

Cycling is funny. You start by buying a bike, then somehow you’re upgrading wheels, tires, pedals, clothes, tools… and suddenly your “cheap hobby” isn’t cheap anymore 😂