Does being a commuting cyclist make you a tight git?

[fossyant]

Funny how all the Yorkshire folk appear when you talk about being a tight wad

 

[middleagecyclist]

Don't forget the possible saving on Gym membership by cycle commuting. That should be factored in as well.

 

[Andy_R]

I've been cycling to and from work for around 3 years now, and at the moment my bike is out of order. So instead its a 20 min walk and 25 min bus ride to and from work each day. I don't mind it, but its the £3.80 return fare i'd rather not have to fork out. Am i just being tight? It could be cos i love my cycling, mind :P

£3.80 a day, 5 days a week, 47 weeks a year (annual holidays 25days), saving of almost £900 per year. No, you're not being tight.

 

[gambatte]

Funny how all the Yorkshire folk appear when you talk about being a tight wad

You say that like its a bad thing?

 

[gambatte]

if it weren't for a Yorkshireman and a Scotsman, fighting over a penny, you'd not have copper wire...

 

[Bigsharn]

Best reason to have a second bike, as a spare for commuting if the first one goes kaput.
I used to commute by bike as I did 5 miles a day round trip, and it cost £3.80 on the bus, using one of the least reliable services in York for two of those journeys.

 

[fossyant]

Nah, you've given us some nice Countryside.

 

[wmtlynx]

I think if you're tight, then you can be naturally drawn to the simplicity and cheapness of push bikes. The tightness started when I let my girlfriend borrow my car when hers developed a faulty wheel. We were going to fix it when we had an available day. Several weeks went by with us sharing my car, until her insurance renewal arrived. Then £20 for another hub turned into several hundred pounds to make it useable again. By this point we were just seeing how long we could go with just one car. Questions were raised as to what happens when we both need the car at exactly the same time; no giving each other a lift then. So trial runs on public transport were done, along with walking home the 7 miles. And, this is where the bike comes in. I had done trial runs before, but never actually relied on the bike for work.
Now every day I cycle, I don't have to pay the £5.70 in train/bus fare or clock up huge miles in the car going to mine and my girlfriend's places of work. So far the bike saves £2 a day in petrol, plus around
£1000 a year in not maintaining, insuring and taxing a second car. Not to mention no more waiting around for public transport, which takes a minimum of 42 minutes door to door, if there is a bus due when I need it to be, arriving when I need to aswell.

Cycling is a win-win situation financially. And I'm getting fitter every day!

 

[derrick]

I commute by bike because i can't sit in traffic jams, gone right of driving over the last ten years or so, using the bike saves me 30 quid a week fuel, more money to spend on bikes, not going to add up what i have spent on bikes and gear, but i feel i am well in front.

 

[gambatte]

Nah, you've given us some nice Countryside.

'Given'? nah - we'll let thi come and see it....

 

[fossyant]

'Given'? nah - we'll let thi come and see it....

Oh yep, Got Pennines on my doorstep, but I need to do some riding out that way !!! Driven through, need to ride through !

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Clothing's an odd one. You can't just count it simply as a cycling expense because all the time you're wearing bike kit, you're not wearing out your work/everyday clothes. Cycling shoes, for example, seem to last forever (because you're not wearing them out walking around on them) and, as a result, everyday shoes seem to last much longer (because you're not wearing them out....etc).

It's not a ''break even'' thing, but cycling clothing does make some savings elsewhere.

(Oh, and for the record, I was born in Yorkshire)

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Since I stop buying a monthly bus card, I resent buying a day ticket. I would say cycling is more expensive in the short term for me, because of the bike bits, N+1 I'm considering, and so on.
But I am saving myself a whopping 1.5 hours a day by commuting by bike instead of using public transport!
This saved time I currently spend on CChat cuddling my cat

 

[Tynan]

I resent having to pay for anything I've got used to not paying for

that said I've just paid the bike shop £185 for new running gear, mind you it was the cheapest campag 10speed compatible kit on the market and a tired rear derailleur was serviced and nursed back to convalesence for free bythe friendly mechanic

 

[Miquel In De Rain]

Don't get the bus, get a spare bike.

Or two.

My other bus is a bike.

Mine costs more than that - about 4p or 5p a mile ! Rims/pads/chain/sprocket/tyres each year - about £200 for approx 4500 commute miles.

I was joshing,I never believed mine costs 1p a mile.