As I’ve recounted here in the past, one of my hobbies is bicycling. I’ve already told the story of how I’ve compared the price of bicycle inner tubes for a mail order vendor (Performance) versus a local vendor. Now that I’ve had my annual horrible bike ride where I ended up with multiple punctures and riding a couple of miles with a flat rear tire, I’m prepared to bite the bullet and get some new bike stuff.

In addition to the tubes, I could really use some new clothing; I wear a pair of cycling shorts every day and while I have a nice selection of jerseys, some of them are 20 years old or older, so getting a bit more clothing would be nice.

While I was considering an order this weekend, I decided to check out the price on a new bike jersey and some shorts at my local bike shop (which, really, I would like to support). The difference in price, however, was stunning, and there was no way I could justify buying these items locally.

Low end cycling shorts–

Performance price: $19.99 ($15 if I was a medium instead of a large!)
Local price: $38.00

Low end sleeveless cycling jersey with front zipper and rear pockets–

Performance price: $14.99
Local price: $55.00

Tax on the local prices and shipping and an Internet discount coupon code on the Performance items are not factored in; those come out to be about a wash. Keep in mind these aren’t totally apples to apples comparisons; the jersey available locally is a name brand rather than Performance’s house brand and is more decorative, for instance. But one of the things I’ve learned on the journey through frugality is that I don’t necessarily need the best stuff; I like to have nice stuff, and this is nice enough. It’s also affordable enough. So while I’d love to support my local bike shop more, I have to support my bank accounts and pocketbook first, and having an option like a mail order vendor helps me do that.