Cycling Costs versus car ?

[The Eighth Man]

I think you only make big savings if you sell your car, if not you still have to tax it, insure it and MOT it. You only save on fuel, you do need £200.00 gore-tex cycling shoes to drive your car in winter but you do need some good kit if you want to use your bike all year round and that starts to chip away at the fuel savings that you have made. I ride my bike because I enjoy it

 

[joolsybools]

I think you only make big savings if you sell your car, if not you still have to tax it, insure it and MOT it. You only save on fuel, you do need £200.00 gore-tex cycling shoes to drive your car in winter but you do need some good kit if you want to use your bike all year round and that starts to chip away at the fuel savings that you have made. I ride my bike because I enjoy it

Not if you don't have a car in the first place

It's definately cheaper than public transport for me

 

[MikeMc]

Not to be too strident but...

the intangible costs of the CO2 emissions, land used for motorways and car parking, the 2,500 people killed each year. So all that's got to add 10p per mile. At least.

 

[joolsybools]

Not to be too strident but...

the intangible costs of the CO2 emissions, land used for motorways and car parking, the 2,500 people killed each year. So all that's got to add 10p per mile. At least.

Is that really true that 2.5k peeps are killed every year? I bet only about 3 of em are killed by cyclists

 

[al78]

Not to be too strident but...

the intangible costs of the CO2 emissions, land used for motorways and car parking, the 2,500 people killed each year. So all that's got to add 10p per mile. At least.

But those costs are borne by society, not the individual, so arguably shouldn't be included if we are looking at a personalized cost comparison of the two transport modes.

In my case, if it weren't for the fact that I am susceptible to fatigue and thus cannot sustain five cycle commutes per week for more than two weeks at a time, I am stuck with the costs of car ownership. I would estimate that the cycling costs are less that the fuel and wear costs if I were to drive all the journeys I currently cycle, but there is not that much in it.

 

[buggi]

That is a good point, if you keep your car you are only saving on fuel. And either way you need fuel, whether it is to fuel your body or fuel your car. It costs me £10 a day to drive to work. It costs me £10 a day in food AT LEAST to feed myself when i cycle in because i absolutely raid the restuarant and vend machines

 

[MacB]

That is a good point, if you keep your car you are only saving on fuel. And either way you need fuel, whether it is to fuel your body or fuel your car. It costs me £10 a day to drive to work. It costs me £10 a day in food AT LEAST to feed myself when i cycle in because i absolutely raid the restuarant and vend machines

Not a fair comparison restaurants and vending machines are going to cost you. If you take food in with you it's much cheaper, I doubt if I ever exceeded £3 per day.

 

[GrasB]

For buggi the real cost is £10 a day due to the way she buys her food. Flip this around in the Lotus when possible I use expensive 'race octane' unleaded that isn't supplied at normal petrol stations, but I could use the cheapest stuff I find so do I put the fuel cost at what I spend on fuel or what I could cost me if I went for the cheapest option?

 

[mgarl10024]

My Marin bike gets 3 free safety checks, one every 8mths. I took my bike in for it's first 8mth check, having covered 1,500 miles.
I needed new brake pads (clipable ones, replaced both back and front for £5.10) and a new rear derailleur cable (£2.50). My chain is also starting to wear so I'll need to factor that in.
1,500 miles for a £7.60 and a chain ain't sounding too bad.

 

[subaqua]

Not to be too strident but...

the intangible costs of the CO2 emissions, land used for motorways and car parking, the 2,500 people killed each year. So all that's got to add 10p per mile. At least.

am sure that the local roads you use wouldn't be macadamed if the motor vehicle hadn't been so prevalent. we benefit , albeit a small amount, from the infrastructure put in for the motorvehicle. and how would your bicycle have got from factory to shop were it not for the road network.

as much as some hate anything mechanised for transport, there are benefits for all.

 

[snailracer]

My slowish commute works out about 50 kcal per mile. I don't eat more, I have the opposite problem of needing to lose the flab

 

[al78]

and how would your bicycle have got from factory to shop were it not for the road network.

Although we are talking about car usage here, not the whole road network.

I doubt his bike got from the factory to the shop in a car.

 

[J4CKO]

I am kind of stuck with owning a car as I get a car allowance as par tof my salary, I have to product details each year to say its
MOT'd, taxed and insured. To be honest, being a bit of a petrolhead I do still want to own a car, my wife has one but the logistics would be difficult if we both need it at the same time so I just put up with the cost, I offset it somewhat by doing my own repairs and servicing
and cycling when I can. Have toyed with the idea of a cheaper car but I wouldnt save so much via cycling and my car isnt worth much these
days, to buy a more economical small diesel would cost more than the extra petrol it uses for the tiny milage it does.

I have decided to not use the staff canteen this year, it is expensive, taking food in is less than half the cost, a sandwich, even the meanest Egg Mayo on white bread is nearly two quid, go for the more esoteric ones and it goes up to £3.50, bag of crisps, a drink and a chocolate bar and its potentially six quid a day, that is exclusing going over for a coffee in the morning, £2, perhaps some toast or a Bacon butty, before you know it its a tenner a day.

I take Porridge or a Bagel and drink the free instant coffee, cost for a scahet of porridge is about 20p, bagels are similar, a sandwich costs perhaps 50p to a pound to make at home, less if being really cost concious.

 

[StuartG]

I'm amazed at these costs. I daily commuted 18 miles in central London on a 10 speed touring bike. The bits were built to last and they did. The only thing I recognise is the brake blocks which are a good idea.

The mistake is using a 'Ferrarri' bike for commuting if the cost is why you do it. A simple tough (and less expensive) bike will do the job. Chains and rings last for years. Enclosed sturmey-archer jobs will go through grit, snow and mud for decades with just the odd squirt of oil to keep things quiet.

 

[mgarl10024]

a sandwich, even the meanest Egg Mayo on white bread is nearly two quid,

I can fully understand the merits of people who have a cooked meal at work, but have never understood people who buy sandwiches in work at those sort of prices, so I think you've made the right decision in order to save money there. Sandwiches don't take long to make and are easily transportable.
As a cyclist, I can even understand those who buy fruit in work (as fruit can be quite heavy - e.g. a bag of apples).

Back to the thread though - I know that by looking at my waistline that I am eating more than is required, so I don't buy the "I cycle so I need to spend more on food" argument. If you are someone who is perhaps the correct weight and very careful with what they eat - then you may need to up your intake due to cycling, and then maybe it costs more. But I suspect that there are more people who are already eating over the odds and for whom cycling is a way to lose weight and one that shouldn't require extra eating!