Cycling more expensive per mile than driving?

[scotsbikester]

Random thoughts.

I'm about to move over to immersive chain waxing. All the parts are ordered and on their way.

I'm constantly on the look out for some low key money making thing to do in retirement. So I thought "does anybody charge for rewaxing chains". If it's worthwhile should I put some money into some kit and try it myself. It turns out people do charge. Mainly bike repair shops, obviously. Though the people I've ordered my own chain from will rewax, but only chains bought from them.

What I was very surprised at was the cost. £30/40 ish. I know there are always costs that an outsider hasn't thought about but that seems like quite a lot to me. Given that the wax "consumed" in each waxing will cost about 30p. And I'm not complaining about anybody making money in an job where it's probably very hard to make money.

But the sums:

For a cyclist who stays out of the rain, and mainly rides on clean tarmac, the rewaxing interval is suggested at about 300 miles. That works out at 10p a mile. My electric car costs less than 2p a mile in electric. OK, petrol/diesel costs more than that, though a high mpg diesel probably gets down to about 10p a mile.

I wondered how many people pay for that service. Though given what some people spend on bikes, maybe they do. There's a bespoke builder near me whose bikes "start" at £15,000.

Irrelevant to me of course. I've bought a second hand crockpot off ebay, and 500g of wax for £25. Rough calcs get that to 0.5 pence per mile, and a lot less the more I do it. Though I have treated myself to a new cassette and chain.

 

[Gillstay]

I have heard of people in Londinium getting charged £30 for a puncture repair so that could look cheap.

Also a battery check up for a cycle is sooo much cheaper.

 

[super_davo]

If it costs 30p to wax a chain, and you are getting 300 miles from it, that's 0.1p per mile, not 10p per mile. On a cost basis, the extended life of chains and cassettes makes it worth it.

 

[scotsbikester]

If it costs 30p to wax a chain, and you are getting 300 miles from it, that's 0.1p per mile, not 10p per mile. On a cost basis, the extended life of chains and cassettes makes it worth it.

Could I respectfully suggest you read my original post a little more carefully.

 

[scotsbikester]

I have heard of people in Londinium getting charged £30 for a puncture repair so that could look cheap.

Also a battery check up for a cycle is sooo much cheaper.

Yes indeed. We all have different attitudes to what we think is worth spending money on. If one has the money, but not the time, paying somebody else £30 to repair a puncture is reasonable. Especially considering what a finger trapping, nail splitting frustrating experience it can be getting the tyres off. Though I think people should repair their own punctures, as that's very definitely something one may have to do oneself, sometime.

I do work on my own bike (hell, I actually built the thing from scratch) because I like learning things. And I like a bike because it's a machine one can completely understand. But changing tyres is one of my least favourite bike related activities.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

How long does it take to re-wax a chain, an hour with removal and refitting? I'd be charging at least £70 if it was my full time job. If you work from a shop you have rent/mortgage, electricity and business rates business rates to cover before you even open the door. Mobile, you've got to lease or buy a van, put fuel in it, buy a shed load of tools, make wasted journeys to people who have booked an appointment and either aren't in or won't open to door.

Then you'll want a pension to retire with, costing an absolute fortune for the self employed, at least three months money in the bank to cover sickness and holidays and to be able to dip into when work is slack. Then have enough to pay your tax bill when it drops on the mat next year.

I could go on with all the other costs a small business has to absorb but I'd miss the England game tonight. And if you want to know the reason bike shops are disappearing like flies it is because people can't accept this.

Sorry, but if you want people there to provide a service you can't expect them to live on your small change.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

With the exception of "superbikes," the answer to the thread title question is...

No.

 

[fossyant]

I'm about to move over to immersive chain waxing. All the parts are ordered and on their way.

There in lies your problem.

Nothing wrong with oil and a wipe with a rag ! Rags cost nothing, old t-shirts that have gone baggy, and oil costs me about £12 a year for a large dropper bottle of finish line wet - used on my commuter, CX bike and MTB - where wax isn't as good for corrosion resistance.

 

[fossyant]

With the exception of "superbikes," the answer to the thread title question is...

No.

Had my superbike 30 years - no expense spared... worked out quite cheap actually over 30 years.

 

[scotsbikester]

There in lies your problem.

Nothing wrong with oil and a wipe with a rag ! Rags cost nothing, old t-shirts that have gone baggy, and oil costs me about £12 a year for a large dropper bottle of finish line wet - used on my commuter, CX bike and MTB - where wax isn't as good for corrosion resistance.

I hope this doesn't come as a surprise, but there are a lot of opinions and experiences which differ from yours.

But if you are happy with rags and oil, good for you.

 

[scotsbikester]

How long does it take to re-wax a chain, an hour with removal and refitting? I'd be charging at least £70 if it was my full time job. If you work from a shop you have rent/mortgage, electricity and business rates business rates to cover before you even open the door. Mobile, you've got to lease or buy a van, put fuel in it, buy a shed load of tools, make wasted journeys to people who have booked an appointment and either aren't in or won't open to door.

Then you'll want a pension to retire with, costing an absolute fortune for the self employed, at least three months money in the bank to cover sickness and holidays and to be able to dip into when work is slack. Then have enough to pay your tax bill when it drops on the mat next year.

I could go on with all the other costs a small business has to absorb but I'd miss the England game tonight. And if you want to know the reason bike shops are disappearing like flies it is because people can't accept this.

Sorry, but if you want people there to provide a service you can't expect them to live on your small change.

I don't "want people there to provide [this] service". I made it perfectly clear that I'm going to do it myself.

 

[Alex321]

I don't "want people there to provide [this] service". I made it perfectly clear that I'm going to do it myself.

And most people will also do it themselves, so it becomes much less to run a bike than a car in immediate operational costs per mile.

When you factor in other costs such as taxation, depreciation, insurance, repairs you can't reasonably do yourself, the bike becomes much cheaper, even if you only buy second hand cars and do as much of the servicing/repair work yourself as you reasonably can.

 

[scotsbikester]

And most people will also do it themselves, so it becomes much less to run a bike than a car in immediate operational costs per mile.

When you factor in other costs such as taxation, depreciation, insurance, repairs you can't reasonably do yourself, the bike becomes much cheaper, even if you only buy second hand cars and do as much of the servicing/repair work yourself as you reasonably can.

Sure, I was only really making a comparison of the marginal cost.

Yes, I imagine most people would do it themselves. I'm not in a cycling club, or anything like that. But setting up for waxing seems almost the perfect thing to be done as a collective activity - "Pete's got all the kit in his shed, shall we have a chain waxing sesh next Saturday" - kind of thing.

 

[Drago]

An hour to re wax a chain? In terms of the value of my time I'd be less expensive to just slap in a new chain.

 

[rogerzilla]

My biggest commuting-related expense by far was shower gel. If you run a fixie/SS/hub gear, the maintenance costs are some chain oil, a new chain every couple of years (depending on mileage) and some brake pads, a tyre, and maybe a brake cable at the same time. Derailleur bikes can cost more to run, because expensive stuff wears out