Kitesurfing is cheap and not dangerous
Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2012 1:42 am
I used to think kitesurfing was expensive, then we didnt have wind for a few months so I started mountain biking. Mountain biking is in a completely different category of expensive compared to kitesurfing. When you ride a mtb hard you constantly need service and break parts. I can do my own service now - but I had to buy a ton of tools. A friend of mine uses the bike shop and spends roughly 250/month in service. There are also a ton of things to upgrade on a bike. Kiting is so simple and there is hardly anything you can do to upgrade. My bike cost about 4K, then about 1K in upgrades and $500 in tools. Riding about 3-4 days/week, my operating cost will probably be about $50 a month which represents wear on the drive train, tires (which run about $70 each) and suspension servicing. You also need a backup bike so you dont miss any days in case you break something that takes a few weeks to get parts for. My backup bike cost about 1K. If you break a wheel that will cost about $500, if you break a chain that will be about $100. A rear derailleur will run you about $150.
Mountain biking is way more dangerous than kitesurfing. In our area, people have to get airlifted out of the trails a few times a year. I broke a few ribs (not actually a big deal) already in just a few months of riding. The other day I slammed my head into the ground and thought I might have a concussion. There are many more bolts and other parts that you need to make sure are tightened properly because if they come apart while riding you can get thrown, get speared in the chest by the handlebars etc. All the riders I know have broken at least one bone mountain biking. Everyone is routinely covered in scabs. MTB is similar to kitesurfing in that if you arent crashing you arent pushing yourself hard enough. The crashes just hurt a lot more. I try to be careful because I am mainly mountain biking to stay in shape for kiting.
Today was the first day Ive kited in a few months and it was great and I felt a lot safer than mountain biking technical trails.
Mountain biking is way more dangerous than kitesurfing. In our area, people have to get airlifted out of the trails a few times a year. I broke a few ribs (not actually a big deal) already in just a few months of riding. The other day I slammed my head into the ground and thought I might have a concussion. There are many more bolts and other parts that you need to make sure are tightened properly because if they come apart while riding you can get thrown, get speared in the chest by the handlebars etc. All the riders I know have broken at least one bone mountain biking. Everyone is routinely covered in scabs. MTB is similar to kitesurfing in that if you arent crashing you arent pushing yourself hard enough. The crashes just hurt a lot more. I try to be careful because I am mainly mountain biking to stay in shape for kiting.
Today was the first day Ive kited in a few months and it was great and I felt a lot safer than mountain biking technical trails.