biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
Cycling more expensive per mile than driving?
- Thread starter scotsbikester
- Start date
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scotsbikester
Über Member
Ah, I see. Not quite sure where the "exaggerated shock, dismay or moral outrage" are that Drago seems to have inferred. Perhaps he is overestimating the frailty of my personality.
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scotsbikester
Über Member
Ah, right. I thought that you had experience of both, sorry for the misapprehension.
- Location
- Glasgow
I have no experience with all of that, but to respond to your OP "cycling [can be] more expensive than driving per mile" I think you need to compare the running of a car by getting all repairs/maintenance done by a third party (mechanic) to the same for a bike.
Like for like, the car will always be more expensive to run imo.
- Location
- Inside my skull
Cheaper and quicker to buy a new chain and fit it.
Sea of vapours
Guru
- Location
- Clapham, Yorkshire Dales
Top reason, and for that it works supremely well. That is a sufficient reason in itself; very, very comfortably.
As to immersion versus drip wax, I've done both and dripping wax on is exactly as fiddly as *neatly* dripping oil on, which is too fiddly for my liking. Immersion takes me a total five minutes work per chain (from on bike to back on bike) over an elapsed two hours (melting the wax). Clearly, if touring / travelling, then drip wax has considerable and obvious advantages.
scotsbikester
Über Member
Yes. As I've said, I was mainly comparing the marginal cost. And even then only very casually, and perhaps a little flippantly. I'm very sorry I wasn't a lot more clear in my original post.
You are completely and utterly correct, I am sure, that doing a full examination of the TCO of car vs bike, the bike would be cheaper per mile.
scotsbikester
Über Member
Thanks for a very useful reply.
Yes, I should have made it clear in my original post - cleanliness is pretty much my only reason for doing this. My bike is 9x3, so components are not particularly expensive. My mileage is low and gentle. But I'm fed up of marks on clothes, filthy hands if I have to work on the rear wheel/derailleurs/cassette/chainset. I'm fed up of having to step gingerly round the bike in the dining room (or cover the drive chain with a sheet). I'd like to occasionally wear ordinary clothes if I'm nipping into town/the shops/to friends.
And it's especially good to hear from somebody who has tried more than one way. So many internet/forum discussions go down the spiral of "I do it this way, so any other way is rubbish". Originally I thought of the drip wax way (and I will buy some, for occasional top ups, or if I'm away without the slow cooker, as I will be soon), but I did indeed wonder if it would be just as time-consuming as using oil. Plus there have been several opinions that it's not quite as efficient as immersion, or as clean. Once I've got the routine sorted, and a little "waxing station" I anticipate a three chain system. So one long session, alternating with two very short chains switches.
SuperGalactian
Well-Known Member
In comparison with cars, I am shocked whenever I buy new bike tyres. I tend to buy mid-range ones, but the tyres on my wife’s C1 are not very much dearer.
However, while the initial cost and upkeep of bicycles is surprisingly high, they can be pretty much a lifetime purchase if well maintained (I bought my day-to-day Claud Butler in 1985). Above all, you don’t need to buy petrol, nor a gym membership.
However, while the initial cost and upkeep of bicycles is surprisingly high, they can be pretty much a lifetime purchase if well maintained (I bought my day-to-day Claud Butler in 1985). Above all, you don’t need to buy petrol, nor a gym membership.
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fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
I recon it costs me £8-£10 a day to drive to work - £4-5 fuel and about £5 parking. That's £30-£40 a week depending how many times I'm in the office. That's bike and wine money.
Don't forget to factor in depreciation - which is eye watering for an EV.
Don't forget to factor in depreciation - which is eye watering for an EV.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- The Urban Fringe
Thats a fair observation.
Middling quality 40 profile tyres for my Volvo can be had for a hundred quid apiece if I shop around.
A pair of really decent 700c tyres on my felt road bike costs more than a
one-er. Considering the materials, energy required in construction, transport costs for bulky/heavy items that are car tyres I fail to see the justification for some bicycle tyre prices.
Alex321
Guru
- Location
- South Wales
Materials and energy costs are only a small part of the cost, and there is also the factor of quantity. I think far more are made of any given car tyre than of any given bicycle tyre, which means development costs can be amortised over a much larger production run.
All uphill
Still rolling along
- Location
- Somerset
So £400 for a set of middling quality for the car.
I just bought a set of tyres for my bike -Zaffiro Pro, middling quality.
£22 for a set.
You can do anything with numbers, can't you?
Punkawallah
Veteran
According to t’Magic Box and AI Overview, motoring costs between 30p and 63p per mile depending on initial and ongoing costs. Cycling costs between 5p and 32p per mile, depending on initial and ongoing costs. So the answer to the OP is ‘motoring costs more per mile than cycling’.
No need to thank me. I live to serve.
No need to thank me. I live to serve.
- Location
- Inside my skull
Not even close to cost of running a car
