[Gigachad]

Low Tech Magazine has always been more of an entertainment blog with creative and unusual solutions. Their stuff rarely seems to be practical or reasonable but it is a fascinating read anyway.

>I paid twice the base cost of my (admitedly secondhand) bike, repairing it these last 2 years.

Because the base price of a bike is just about nothing. So it makes sense that skilled labor quickly overtakes the cost. And you usually get a hefty discount on the price of the bike when you buy it second hand considering just about everything on the bike excluding the frame is a consumable item.