Cycle versus car - false economy?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Petrichorwheels

Senior Member
My main use for a car - were I to have one - would be to go to the German discount supermarket for my groceries. There isn't one within easy walking distance, nor is there a bus service to the nearest one. So until last summer I'd been getting a taxi - either there and back to the nearest, or bus to another, and taxi back. It used to be a weekly expense of £10 - £15 but since getting my bike last summer and fixed up with roomy racks and baskets front and back, I think I've gone the taxi route maybe half a dozen times in nearly 18 months, which by my reckoning means the bike has paid for itself and anything else I get from it - pleasure, for instance! - is free.

great nitty.
Bought a brommie years ago and reckon that it paid for itself in not a lot of time in shopping trip savings.
Don't use that bike so much now but the principle holds. I still shop by bike.
Quality panniers, even though price might seem bonkers at first, also well worth it if you can afford them.
My Ortiebs have been going strong for near on a quarter of a century - also paid for I reckon.
I see a German theme here - quality lugging stuff, cheap(ish) non ponced food prices.
 
Can't say as I'm too enthusiastic about taking the bike on days like today though..
Hence my continued occasional use of taxis!
My issue isn't so much the actual weather or even the darkness, but rather the conditions underfoot/underwheel of the tracks I use to get there - although they are tarmaced or compacted stone, they mainly run through woodland so despite being quite sheltered from the worst of the weather, they can be VERY slippery/slimy with leaves etc, which I consider is best avoided when heavily-laden with a week's shopping.
 

Peter Salt

Bittersweet
Location
Yorkshire, UK
Blanket statements never work - you can't say cycling is always cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Everyone should examine it on an individual basis and take into account many, many variables.

For a lot of people, it's not only fuel cost but also parking OR fuel + bus fare for things like park-and-ride. Cycling makes you healthier and will likely reduce illness-related bills and sick days in the long run.

Emissions - I believe there's a very interesting study, that compared an average car pollution to that generated while cycling, depending on what the cyclist ate to fuel the ride. I do believe cycling was always better than taking a solo car ride but things looked very different when you had a passenger - e.g. two people in a car had a lower environmental impact than, let's say, one bloke on a bike that ate a sandwich with imported cheese.

You could literally write an entire book about this subject.
 
great nitty.
Bought a brommie years ago and reckon that it paid for itself in not a lot of time in shopping trip savings.
Don't use that bike so much now but the principle holds. I still shop by bike.
Quality panniers, even though price might seem bonkers at first, also well worth it if you can afford them.
My Ortiebs have been going strong for near on a quarter of a century - also paid for I reckon.
I see a German theme here - quality lugging stuff, cheap(ish) non ponced food prices.

I invested in a luggage block and a Kanga rack for the front, and have a large sturdy rectangular wire crate thing for the back, which I attach with reusable cable ties. Brilliant - the front block keeps all the weight on the frame and the rear crate thing means I can fill it up then bungie anything bulky (like a large pack of loo rolls) on the top of it. Sometimes I'm so well-loaded I could almost lean back on my shopping if I wished ... I also use the crate thing when I'm taking my knitting machine out and about; its plastic tool box of accessories fits snugly into the crate and the machine itself gets bungeed on width wise; stops the accessory box from bouncing about too much! I just have to be extra careful going through some of the ridiculous bike barriers round here.
 
I use my bike for some shopping in decent weather
But I don;t if I need a lot of space or need stuff that will end up as a lot of weight
basically it needs to fit into my paniers - which as a pain to put on - and my backpack

In summer this comes to about 1 or 2 trips a week - including Tesco and the Farm shops plus one extra trip in the car for heavy and bulky things like Cornflakes and loo rill etc
OK - I could buy small packs of stuff but then I end up paying more and/or miss out on multi-buy options - whcih changes the financial economy figures a lot

In my case it is not car or bike - I need both unless we make big changes to our life - like not not looking after grandkids and picking them up from school (30 minutes away on the Motorway!)
Hence we need the car anyway so the only cost of using it for shopping is fuel - wear and tear is mostly used up in travelling to see family (see above) and holidays

The bike is actually optional - it is an ebike and so cost over £1000 - currently would cost about £2000 to replace.
Economically that is not justified in terms of fuel saving for a 5 minute trip to Tesco - I would be better off cutting out trips to farm shops and JUST shopping at Tesco - the farm shops are 5-6 times as far away.
I have the ebike so I can save a bit of money using it - and I prefer it - but the main point if reducing carbon foot print where possible
 

EltonFrog

Legendary Member
Excellent work - that's got to be a great saving against the cost of taxis!

My situation is similar as the nearest half-decent supermarket is 6-9 miles away depending on the route. Can't say as I'm too enthusiastic about taking the bike on days like today though..

Indeed, I looked outside with a view to cycle to the local shop for Earl Grey tea, saw it was precipitating down and thought, feck it, I’ll use the Lapsang Souchong instead. I refuse to be put upon.
 

Mike_P

Guru
Location
Harrogate
No idea on cost equivalent but my legal ebike is often quicker than the car given Harrogate's often grid locked roads which bridleways and related back streets nicely provide avoidance from. Also quite often the ebike gets used for very light loads using up coupons etc which would not be economical to do by car.
 

rogerzilla

Legendary Member
On top of that it's not really a fair comparison as you're counting the cost of consumables / maintenance / other bits for the bike but not the car. For me that £500 would be lost entirely (and more!) on tax, insurance, servicing and MOT.. although how legit the inclusion of these is depends on whether you'd be looking to get rid of the car, and if not what the difference in mileage travelled would be.

Starts to get complicated when you really try to boil it down!
Not really. The problem with car ownership is that all those costs are incurred whether I drive to work or not. My tyres generally need replacing due to age, not wear. There is a small increase in depreciation but an extra 8,400 miles in 3 years doesn't have a huge impact.
 

Jenkins

Legendary Member
Location
Felixstowe
For me there's no way of comparing costs.

Drive to work and it's 3.5 miles each way direct (due to fuel costs) to a mostly sedentary office based job.
Cycle to work it's generally a 25 mile round trip as there's no fuel to pay for and I can get some fresh air/exercise and take in a bit of countryside before & after the mostly sedentary office based job

Shopping
Most of the shops I use are up to 2.5 miles direct by car with Aldi being a 15 mile round trip.
Going by bike I make the local shops part of a 10+ mile route and the Aldi can be part of a 50k route (as it was yesterday). Also going by bike there's limited carrying capacity so I don't buy unneccessary bits as I can't generraly get them home.

Then how do you put a monetary value on the health benefits - both mental & physical - of cycling?
 
Last edited:
Whenever I have tried riding on a bus route in a town/city then I always beat the bus
Even if the traffic is fairly clear
but if the bus stops at most of its stops then the bike will pass it and pull out a lead that the bus can't beat

In my experience - I presume a busy city just makes the bus slower
 
I don't think food consumption need to be increased if you are just cycling unless it an endurance ride or a race. The body is remarkably tolerant. If it's hot day maybe water and that's it. I know that when I do recreational rides where distance is involved and a cake or pie is consumed I know that it is not replacement for energy lost but pure pleasure. All I actually need is liquid and I will be none the worse. Unless we are talking abut 30 miles or more.

I alway considered fuel cost savings, impact on ecosystems etc are just unplanned bonus. Just the thrill of riding even to the supermarket is enough. I am much fitter for it. I also tend to take different routes for variety.
 
Top Bottom