Mountain Bike Maintenance Cost (Monthly/Yearly With Numbers)

Unlike street bikes, your mountain bike gets put through a lot of wear and tear because the terrain on which you use a mountain bike is vastly different from the road, which is why maintenance is vital.

You should expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $800 per year in maintenance and labor cost for a premium mountain bike. More budget-friendly mountain bikes will be cheaper to maintain, expect to pay anywhere between $100 to $300 per year for maintenance.

Hardtails Maintenance Cost

In terms of labor, almost every part of a mountain bike can be fixed in less than an hour, especially if a professional is doing it. So, if you have multiple problems at once or want to have multiple parts serviced, you can save a lot of money by getting a professional to do as much as possible in one session.

Instead of explaining each part, we thought you might appreciate having a table that shows the most significant parts and how much it costs to service them. Ideally, you would bookmark this page so that you have this information with you at all times, or you can save the table.

Part	Cost Of Labor	Individual Part Cost	Estimated Yearly Cost
Chain	$40 to $50 per hour	$20 to $50 twice a year	$40 to $100
Derailleurs	$40 to $50 per hour	$20 each, Every 3 years	Approx. $13
Suspension	$25 to $150 (rebuild)	$80 (Quality product)	Approx. $105
Brake Levers	$45	$180 every three years	Approx. $20
Brake discs	$50	$70 every 700 miles	$13
Disc Brake Bleed	$40	Included in the labor cost	$40
Tires	$40 to $50 per hour	$65 twice a year	$130
TOTAL	$280 to $580	$415 to $465	$361 to $461

This table is an estimation based on personal experience and sourced information from parts and service providers throughout the USA and abroad. The yearly cost is calculated by how often a part needs to be replaced or serviced. The labor cost is the least accurate as we cannot account for all the variables.

If you take good care of your mountain bike, then a lot of those costs won’t apply to you simultaneously, and in most cases, but throughout the year, all the costs do add up.

You can expect to pay around $450 per year for your hardtail mountain bike. If you decide to cut out labor costs, you can save a significant amount of money, even hundreds of dollars over five years.

Full-suspension Mountain Bike Maintenance Cost

You can take everything we said about hardtails and apply the same logic to a full-suspension mountain bike. However, you need to add a few extra costs because maintaining a full-suspension mountain bike requires a little bit more effort and a few more parts than hardtails.

So, instead of your suspension costs working out to approximately $110 per year, on a full-suspension mountain bike, you should plan to spend around $200 every year. These costs can vary depending on the quality of your mountain bike.

Also, after every ride, you would need to spray down the shocks and suspension on both the rear and the front of the mountain bike.

Keep in mind that you have extra bearings on the moving parts of the frame, they will need to be lubed yearly and this will cost you another 45$ or so, as a result, you will spend at least 135$ yearly on maintenance for a full suspension.

Mountain Bike Monthly Maintenance Cost

If you bought an average mountain bike from a place like Walmart, they often have plans that you can take, covering the cost of maintenance and even the parts. These usually work out to around $60 per year, and you can take them up for up to two years.

For premium mountain bikes, you are looking at roughly $50 to $100 per month. Remember, there will be some months where you don’t have to spend a cent, but on average, this is what it works out to be.

Another thing to add that many people don’t talk about is a lot of the maintenance doesn’t involve you removing or replacing parts of your bike. Instead, you can prolong the lifespan of every component simply by taking good care of the bike, such as cleaning it after every ride.

Mountain Bike Yearly Maintenance Cost

Even though we gave you a table near the beginning of this article, estimating the yearly cost of your mountain bike maintenance can be tricky. We need to try and consider several factors before we can try and give you an average estimate. These factors include:

• What trails you are riding on? (The terrain)
• How often do you ride?
• How hard do you push the mountain bike?
• The quality of each component that makes up your bike.
• How well do you take care of the bike after and before each session?

With that in mind, the average amount that you would spend on your mountain bike, whether it is a Hardtail or full suspension, is approximately $500 to $1000 per annum. In that cost, we have included a complete overhaul.

Getting your bike overhauled includes entirely stripping and then cleaning every part, adding oil and lubrication to parts that need it, and then reassembling the bike. During this process, you might be expected to replace small parts, which can work out to approximately $50, so in total, you are looking at $200 for a complete overhaul.

That price is if you take it to a professional. I highly recommend that you get your overhaul done by a pro. It can take several hours, and they will have everything they need to make the process go smoothly.

Mountain Bike 5-year Maintenance Costs

When you look at your 5-year maintenance costs things, start to look rather costly. See, every five years, your bike is going to need some heavy-duty maintenance. Perhaps your frame is starting to lose its durability, which can cost quite a significant amount of money which we will discuss in the next section.

At this point, your brake levers might need replacing, and unlike the brake discs, they can cost up to $200. The brake levers are something that people usually replace because they want a different lever and not because it requires maintenance, but after five years, you might have to replace them.

If you are a casual rider who goes out every other weekend, my honest opinion would be to get a new mountain bike every five years. You can make some money back by selling your old one, so the cost can be slightly reduced.

Also, your maintenance costs might start increasing every year; why? After five years, you most likely have no original parts left in the bike, and the parts you do have might start falling apart at an accelerated pace.

Mountain Bike Wheels Maintenance cost

People often mistake wheel maintenance for tire maintenance and vice versa. However, they are entirely different. Your wheels should last a few years. There are instances where you have to replace the wheels. For example:

• After an awkward landing, your wheels can bend.
• An accident could damage your wheels.

In these cases, you would need to replace your wheels. Carbon wheels are the best and can cost up to $1000 for a set. However, for a general set of mountain bike wheels, you can expect to pay $350.

Should You Service Your Own Mountain Bike?

Before we give you a definite answer to this question, it is essential to remember that you should teach yourself some level of maintenance when it comes to mountain bikes. You never know when you will need to make an emergency fix while in the middle of nowhere.

Doing it yourself is best for all minor maintenance, such as changing the tires or replacing your chain. Not only do you learn more about your bike but, you can save a lot of money.

However, even if you have a decent amount of knowledge, there are certain times when you want to take your bike in for service and have a professional do what they know best

Why Should You Service Your Mountain Bike?

Your mountain bike goes through a lot of wear and tear, especially if you ride on technical tracks. If you don’t service your mountain bike, you might end up with a problem while riding, which is one of the worst things that can happen to you apart from an actual injury while on the track.

At the end of the day, mountain bikes are not built to last forever, and eventually, they will require maintenance. If you put things off long enough, you might end up with more significant problems than you initially would have.

For example, if you do not replace your tires, eventually, they could cause problems with your wheels, and while tires are relatively cheap to replace, your wheels are one of the most expensive maintenance costs of your mountain bike.

Is It Hard To Service Your Own Mountain Bike?

Servicing your bike can be challenging at times. It is a lot easier to drop it off by a professional and let them do what they know best. However, if you take the time to learn how each part of the mountain bike works, you can service the bike yourself, but yes, it is challenging.

Final Thoughts

We are all different. For some people, maintenance is a hassle that they try and avoid. For others, it is part of the entire experience, and especially for technically-minded people, working on their bikes is fun.

Maybe you will like to read the following articles:

• The Average Price Of A Bike Tune-Up
• How Often Do You Really Need to Wash Your Mountain Bike?
• Can a mountain bike get wet?