Cycling is cheap - and expensive

[Simontm]

In the year's commute, I save £2,344 in rail costs. The service cost me £135 including parts and have spent about £300 in kit.

 

[Moon bunny]

Back when I was a councillor we had a debate about the recovery after the troubles ended, encouraging tourism was on the agenda and we were given a list of average daily spending for participants in different leisure activities, cost of equipment excluded, cycling came near the top of the list, ahead of motor-touring and .equine activities but below aviation and golf, if memory serves me right. All those pies and cakes need paying for.

 

[RichK]

Cycling for the sake of it - leisure, racing and fitness - is expensive.

Cycling as a means of travel - commuting, touring and going to the shops - works out quite cheap over time.

I use the 'excuse' with the chief accountant that savings from the latter fund the costs of the former.

 

[400bhp]

9p per mile for the commute

 

[NorvernRob]

I've spent almost nothing in the last 3 or 4 months.

However, in the 14/15 months before that I spent somewhere in the region of £7,000 on bikes, kit, tools etc. I daren't add it up as it's probably more

 

[jnrmczip]

The amount of money I save on not parking, buying fuel and so on the bike pays for itself

 

[Cyclist33]

Indeed, other than walking the three miles to work, my option is a 6 quid daily bus ticket which would be about 1500 a year.

Haven't bought a bike for anywhere near that much.

(Yet.)

 

[jnrmczip]

Indeed, other than walking the three miles to work, my option is a 6 quid daily bus ticket which would be about 1500 a year.

Haven't bought a bike for anywhere near that much.

(Yet.)

I love the yet part. To be honest neither have I and if I added up all the costs would probably equate to about a £3000 bike or more. Only reason I even have the car now is to ship the family about or I probably wouldn't have one

 

[Cyclist33]

I reckon my average Total spend per bike is about a thousand.

 

[jnrmczip]

I've had a £500 and £850 (current) so I'm probably saving a few gran a year and also getting fitter

 

[Cyclist33]

Oops I misread your previous post as "equate to £3000 a bike or more"... Which seemed quite a lot!!

 

[biking_fox]

For a lot of activities you don't notice the sunk costs and so assume they're cheaper then they really are, Whereas for cycling you do seem to notice every extra. Partly for example a lot of people assume they need a car, and so the cycling costs come on top of that. Wheras if you compare owning a car to just owning a bike (or two, and the odd taxi when you CBA) it still works out ridiculously cheap.

 

[contadino]

Unless I ride regularly, I get fat, wheezy and risk putting my back out. It may sound a bit clichéd, but you can't put a price on that.

 

[Mandragora]

It's too far, too hilly, and I'm too fond of being in bed until 7 am for me to say I save money by commuting on my bike. However, I spend all summer happily cycling, camping cheaply in France, instead of a more expensive holiday, so that's a couple of grand right there every year, I think.

 

[slowmotion]

I reckon it costs about 8-10p per mile, ignoring the capital cost of the bike. Money well spent.