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Home / Mountain Bikes and Gear

Have Your Ever Purchased a Bike on Credit?

Good mountain bikes are expensive. When it comes time to buy a new one we can either take advantage of financing to make a purchase, or we can save our money and wait.

By Jeff Barber
March 12, 2023

9 comments

Singletracks may receive compensation for purchases made through any affiliate links in this article.

Good mountain bikes are expensive. When it comes time to buy a new one we can either take advantage of financing to make a purchase, or we can save our money and wait. Decisions, decisions…

If you answered yes, how did you finance your purchase: credit card, bank loan, borrow from a friend, or another way? Would you do it again?

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Jeff Barber

Jeff Barber has been mountain biking since 1992 and has tested hundreds of mountain bikes and components. He is the co-founder of Singletracks and serves as Editor in Chief. Contact him at [email protected].

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9 Comments

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GoForIt California // 2019
Mar 18, 2023

Bought my bike with no money down and no interest for 12 months. Paid the bike off within the 12 month timeframe. Purchased carbon rims the same way. No interest, a small payment each month, seems like a no brainer.

2 reply

SteveHunt Florida // 2012
Mar 16, 2023

You can certainly make a strong case that just buying a $5000+ bicycle is financially irresponsible but it’s your money so go for it if MTB is your thing. Financing such an expensive toy that no one actually needs is certifiably insane….especially in light of how many thousands of bikes will be flooding the used market at half price as the irrational buying spree of the scamdemic crashes to an end. Even as the prices tumble, if you can’t afford to buy it you dam sure can’t afford to finance it (do the math).

2 reply

Bryan Beach 2015
Sep 28, 2023

You are incorrect. I've afforded 4 bikes on credit, that I didn't have the cash for, and I paid them all off over the course of a year or two with no interest.
I always take advantage of 0% interest deals, because it's exactly the same as "saving up" to buy the expensive toy you want, you just get the toy now, instead of later. Plus, financing forces you to allocate the money, whereas if you're "saving up", you might dip into your bike fund to pay for other things.
Ps, don't say "scandemic".

0 reply

Jerry Bob Alabama // 2022
Mar 26, 2023

Well said. With very few exceptions, bicycles not being one of them, if you can't pay cash for it, you don't need it. Frankly, the idea that a bicycle would be priced high enough for this to even be a question strikes me as patently absurd.

0 reply

SteveHunt Florida // 2012
Sep 28, 2023

Just because you “did it” doesn’t mean I’m incorrect. I’m glad you had the discipline to not end up paying a bunch of interest but one of the many reason they offer those deals is because most don’t have the discipline. You are not the buyer they’re after because them financing your loan and not getting interest means they loose money every day of that loan. Why would they offer zero interest financing? They blundered forecast and have way too money tied up in way too much inventory on hand, the market is shrinking rapidly, also too many brands in a rapidly shrinking market means lots are going out of business and/or some consolidation maybe similar to the cell phone industry. I was in a Specialized shop a few weeks ago, there was a brand new full power Levo sitting there of the exact build as a friend had who was there with me…it was $2500 less than what he paid 10 months ago. That would be even tougher to deal with if he was making payments and brutal if he was also paying interest. Can you imagine the day when you try to sell in the used market after payments, interest and price cuts by the manufacturer…no sir I’ll stick with buying used and only with the cash in my pocket.

0 reply

Trail529 Texas // 2014
Mar 16, 2023

I borrowed money from my 401 to purchase a nice bike, that way my payments were going back to my account and it wasn’t going to impact my total earnings much. Would I do it again, not sure but maybe.

0 reply

Sam James British Columbia // 2018
Mar 13, 2023

I once bought a Production Privee Shan frame on credit from a shop in the UK because I had just bought a Saracen Ariel that was such a disappointing bike that I just couldn’t bear to ride it.

0 reply

OhioFatBiker Ohio // 2016
Sep 27, 2023

The Poll results are interesting. I am curious how it lines up with actual sales data. One person’s huge spend is another person’s play money, it all depends on your circumstances. Being comfortable saying “that is not in my budget” and content to either live with it or work to change it brings a lot of peace of mind.

0 reply

Bryan Beach 2015
Sep 28, 2023

Yes, it's the only way I can buy a $4,000 mountain bike.
I always take advantage of 0% interest deals though, and my last bike I had paid off in about 6 months.
Also, my local bike ship was running a crazy deal on everything in stock, right before Trek came and took over the store. So if I had waited and "saved up", I would've paid about $500 more. So you get it when the deal is right. I have excellent credit, but not a lot of cash, so financing is my way.

0 reply

First published March 12, 2023 @ 3:09:00