To be fair (as a hobbyist cyclist myself), there are multiple sub-hobbies. The act of riding is one. The act of assembling, repairing, maintaining, and upgrading a bike is another. Some people really enjoy geeking out over the latter.
"There are two ways you can get exercise out of a bicycle: you can “overhaul” it, or you can ride it. On the whole, I am not sure that a man who takes his pleasure overhauling does not have the best of the bargain. He is independent of the weather and the wind; the state of the roads troubles him not. Give him a screw-hammer, a bundle of rags, an oil-can, and something to sit down upon, and he is happy for the day. He has to put up with certain disadvantages, of course; there is no joy without alloy. He himself always looks like a tinker, and his machine always suggests the idea that, having stolen it, he has tried to disguise it; but as he rarely gets beyond the first milestone with it, this, perhaps, does not much matter.
The mistake some people make is in thinking they can get both forms of sport out of the same machine. This is impossible; no machine will stand the double strain. "
Jerome K. Jerome, Three Men On A Bummel, 1914[1]
(The very-much underrated sequel to Three Men in a Boat -- probably because of the title! -- in which the three men take a trip across Germany on 1 bike and 1 tandem).
True. I enjoy both. A couple of my bikes are assembled from old frames and parts. Hiding under the shabby exterior of each bike is a finely tailored machine. But these bikes are also work horses.
