Does Cycling To Work Save You Money?

[Lovacott]

The other day, one of the lads at work said "you must be saving a fortune on petrol now you're riding your bike" and I nodded and agreed.

But then a few seconds later, I piped up with "but"....

Although every 500 miles of cycle commuting saves me £60 on fuel, it takes me five weeks of cycling to do that 500 miles.

And in the last five weeks, I've spent way more than sixty quid on my bike.

Over the last five weeks, I spent out on two new tyres, new chain and freewheel, saddle bag, a couple of inner tubes, new pedals, a pair of ski gloves, can of WD40 and a chain checker tool.

So the answer to the question "you must have saved a lot of money...." is a resounding no.

But it was never the reason I started cycle commuting in the first place.

I'm not some kind of tight arse you know.

(I just wanted to have one).

 

[ColinJ]

@DCLane keeps a running count in his forum signature... currently showing "Commutes to work: 1169 saving £11690 in fuel and parking"!

 

[classic33]

Often the biggest saving isn't monetary, but time.

Of what is listed,
"I spent out on two new tyres, new chain and freewheel, saddle bag, a couple of inner tubes, new pedals, a pair of ski gloves, can of WD40 and a chain checker tool."
how much of that will you be replacing in the next 500 miles? Starting out being the most expensive time/period on anything.

 

[Lovacott]

@DCLane keeps a running count in his forum signature... currently showing "Commutes to work: 1169 saving £11690 in fuel and parking"!

I have free parking at work but not at home. There are 10 residents parking spots in our street of forty houses and all of us pay for permits to park.

Trouble is, that it's not often that you can find a spare spot and most weekdays, I have to leave the car in the town centre car park for £3.00 per day.

So most days I cycle to work, it costs me £3.00 before I even put my backside on the saddle.

Of course cycling is cheaper than driving, but only if you give up the car altogether and just use the bike.

For my ten years spent living in London, I never once owned a car (pointless in London). It was bike for work, bus, tube or walk for football or nights down the pub. I probably saved a fortune on car ownership but that was not my reason for not owning a car.

Living in Devon though, you kind of need a car (things are very far apart down here).

For me, saving money was never a motive when I recommenced cycle commuting eight months ago.

I just wondered if I could do it and to answer my own question, I did it.

That's pretty much it.

 

[Lovacott]

Often the biggest saving isn't monetary, but time.

Of what is listed,
"I spent out on two new tyres, new chain and freewheel, saddle bag, a couple of inner tubes, new pedals, a pair of ski gloves, can of WD40 and a chain checker tool."
how much of that will you be replacing in the next 500 miles? Starting out being the most expensive time/period on anything.

Some things (like tools) I will never buy again (unless I lend them out and don't get them back!!!).

Tyres, they will probably be good for at least nine months to a year.

Chain and Freewheel would be an annual event.

The point I was trying to make in the OP was that people at work question my motive for cycling to work and many assume that I am simply trying to save money. Fact is, I've spent more on my cycling setup costs over the last eight months than I would have spent on a year of driving.

If I was looking to save money, I would go on compare meerkats and chop fifty quid off my house insurance.

I wouldn't get up at 4.30am and cycle up a 400 foot hill in the pitch black when it was pissing with wind and rain.

 

[screenman]

The other day, one of the lads at work said "you must be saving a fortune on petrol now you're riding your bike" and I nodded and agreed.

But then a few seconds later, I piped up with "but"....

Although every 500 miles of cycle commuting saves me £60 on fuel, it takes me five weeks of cycling to do that 500 miles.

And in the last five weeks, I've spent way more than sixty quid on my bike.

Over the last five weeks, I spent out on two new tyres, new chain and freewheel, saddle bag, a couple of inner tubes, new pedals, a pair of ski gloves, can of WD40 and a chain checker tool.

So the answer to the question "you must have saved a lot of money...." is a resounding no.

But it was never the reason I started cycle commuting in the first place.

I'm not some kind of tight arse you know.

(I just wanted to have one).

There are far more costs to running a car than just the fuel alone, the average in the UK being around 40 per mile.

 

[Lovacott]

There are far more costs to running a car than just the fuel alone, the average in the UK being around 40 per mile.

If I use my private car for work, I can claim back 28 pence per mile so if we take 28p as a baseline, cycling is cheaper than driving.

But I think you are missing the point.

Nobody gets up earlier to get soaked with rain and cut up by car commuters just to save a few pence per week.

I could save more by cancelling my NowTV and Netflix packages than I could ever save by cycling to work.

 

[screenman]

If I use my private car for work, I can claim back 28 pence per mile so if we take 28p as a baseline, cycling is cheaper than driving.

But I think you are missing the point.

Nobody gets up earlier to get soaked with rain and cut up by car commuters just to save a few pence per week.

I could save more by cancelling my NowTV and Netflix packages than I could ever save by cycling to work.

Do you realize how tight some cyclist are? Believe me they would.

 

[Lovacott]

Do you realize how tight some cyclist are? Believe me they would.

From what I see locally, you can't be considered a cyclist unless you have at least two grands worth of bike underneath you.

 

[screenman]

From what I see locally, you can't be considered a cyclist unless you have at least two grands worth of bike underneath you.

You must live in a posh area, the majority of bikes being used daily are nothing like that, just that they may be the only one's that come to your attention. I wager 90% of the people on this forum do not own a bike anywhere near as costly as that.

 

[Lovacott]

You must live in a posh area, the majority of bikes being used daily are nothing like that, just that they may be the only one's that come to your attention. I wager 90% of the people on this forum do not own a bike anywhere near as costly as that.

I'm talking about the club cyclists with all of the kit and the three grand road bike.

I'm not one of them. My bike is a shitty old 20" Apollo hard tail MTB with a few inexpensive upgrades and a fair bit of fine tuning.

While they may whizz up the hill past me in the summer months, they are strangely absent since it got dark and wet in the evenings?

Meanwhile, cheap as chips me will continue to build leg strength and stamina over the winter ready to whoop their arses in March.

Like I said earlier, it's not about the money.

 

[Slick]

I tend to agree with the OP as monetary savings were never my motivation and I've certainly spent more on my bikes than my cars although if you want to get precise, you need to factor in the purchase price for a fair comparison.

As far as workmates go, they have given up trying to understand why I cycle in when it's lashing outside and I've given up trying to explain it. Just enjoy your own journey and every now and again pity them for theirs.

 

[steveindenmark]

This is a complicated issue. I dont look at it in monetary terms. If it were more expensive to ride a bike than drive a car. I would still have a bike. But not so many of them.

 

[rivers]

If I use my private car for work, I can claim back 28 pence per mile so if we take 28p as a baseline, cycling is cheaper than driving.

But I think you are missing the point.

Nobody gets up earlier to get soaked with rain and cut up by car commuters just to save a few pence per week.

I could save more by cancelling my NowTV and Netflix packages than I could ever save by cycling to work.

By cycling to work, I get to have a lie in (if you can consider getting up at 6:30 a lie in). I know how long it takes me to go to work cycling (1:08 this time of year, 1:01ish in the summer), whereas the car can be anything from 40 minutes to 2.5 hours depending on traffic.
I save time and a small bit of money cycling to work (petrol and parking charges).
And don't get rid of netflix, get rid of your TV license. You'll save something like an extra £4/month.

 

[rivers]

I'm talking about the club cyclists with all of the kit and the three grand road bike.

I'm not one of them. My bike is a shitty old 20" Apollo hard tail MTB with a few inexpensive upgrades and a fair bit of fine tuning.

While they may whizz up the hill past me in the summer months, they are strangely absent since it got dark and wet in the evenings?

Meanwhile, cheap as chips me will continue to build leg strength and stamina over the winter ready to whoop their arses in March.

Like I said earlier, it's not about the money.

They're probably on their turbos zwifting away.