Does Cycling To Work Save You Money?

[classic33]

Agreed, driving with out having clear windows is extremely dangerous. That's why the responsible drivers leave their engines running to warm up the heater and keep the windows clear when they drive off!.
Believe me, to the vast majority of the population owning even a modest £3k car is viewed as a sign of greater achievement in life than owning a £3k carbon bike. Anyone who spends more on a bike than they could get the most ratty old beater of a car for, is considered to be downright weird.
The groups with the highest car ownership round my way are mostly Asians, and many of those came from poor backgrounds - or their parents did. As soon as they achieve success in running a business, or just get a half decent job working for someone else, they get themselves an expensive car. The more bling looking it is and the more performance it offers, the better they like it. They don't go out and buy fancy bikes!
Only a small minority of the public do any cycling out of choice, and the number that exclusively cycle out of choice and don't even have a car, is even smaller still. Any adults, especially males, who can't drive in their twenties are generally regarded as somewhat odd!

I'll remain "downright weird" and "somewhat odd" any day, if car ownership is the measure being used.

The owner of a local specialist heavy haulage company is a cyclist. Still prefers to cycle to & from work, rather than drive. But at times he has to drive.

To turnabout something you said, I doubt you even a own a bike, much less ride one. Basing this upon your replies that imply that bikes cost nothing to buy, nothing to keep running, and can easily be replaced if damaged or stolen. They're all typical driver response's to cycling as is the one above(Which neatly avoids nearly every point raised).

It matters not to me, if the person starting out cycling starts with one costing less than £100 or goes all in, having decided they'll have one bike only so spend that much more on it. That's their choice to make, not mine.

And a responsible driver wouldn't leave a car engine running when they are not near the vehicle. It's also illegal.
"Stationary idling is an offence under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which means leaving the car running with the heater on the windscreen is off-limits.

The Act enforces rule 123 of the Highway Code which states: "You must not leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road."

 

[icowden]

And a responsible driver wouldn't leave a car engine running when they are not near the vehicle. It's also illegal.
"Stationary idling is an offence under section 42 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which means leaving the car running with the heater on the windscreen is off-limits.

The Act enforces rule 123 of the Highway Code which states: "You must not leave a vehicle engine running unnecessarily while that vehicle is stationary on a public road."

Whilst I agree with you entirely, the Act does not appear to cover driveways, which is the main place a vehicle will be left idling to defrost the windscreen.

 

[mjr]

Agreed, driving with out having clear windows is extremely dangerous. That's why the responsible drivers leave their engines running to warm up the heater and keep the windows clear when they drive off!.

Run the engines to warm up the heater? Didn't we stop doing that in the 1990s once car batteries improved and we're now using 60Ah ones instead of 30? Or is the electric element in your heater broken? If so, maybe you should do a bit more maintenance on your car!

 

[Johnsco]

Car batteries come in many different capacities ... Mine is a 95Ah battery.
BUT
Car heaters work by circulating the liquid engine coolant thru the heater matrix and blowing air across it to heat the inside of the car.
At least ...... That's how every car I've ever had works .... and every car I've ever worked on - from an 850cc mini to a 5.7 litre chevrolet.
The warming up of the coolant is helped by the vehicle thermostat, which shuts off the main car radiator until working temperature is reached.

 

[I like Skol]

Car batteries come in many different capacities ... Mine is a 95Ah battery.
BUT
Car heaters work by circulating the liquid engine coolant thru the heater matrix and blowing air across it to heat the inside of the car.
At least ...... That's how every car I've ever had works .... and every car I've ever worked on - from an 850cc mini to a 5.7 litre chevrolet.
The warming up of the coolant is helped by the vehicle thermostat, which shuts off the main car radiator until working temperature is reached.

Exactly. Some modern cars do have an auxiliary heater to speed up the process of providing warm air to the interior (like my wife's German saloon car) while others have excellent electric heated windscreens, but this is still a minority which mjr seems to have miscalculated?

 

[MichaelW2]

The groups with the highest car ownership round my way are mostly Asians, and many of those came from poor backgrounds - or their parents did. As soon as they achieve success in running a business, or just get a half decent job working for someone else, they get themselves an expensive car. The more bling looking it is and the more performance it offers, the better they like it. They don't go out and buy fancy bikes!
Only a small minority of the public do any cycling out of choice, and the number that exclusively cycle out of choice and don't even have a car, is even smaller still. Any adults, especially males, who can't drive in their twenties are generally regarded as somewhat odd!

The paradox of cycling is that it is fairly cheap and accessible compared to all of the alternatives but is seen as too expensive and too cheap. It is seen as low status but only done by white middle class males. Bike infrastructure is objected to by petrol head conservatives but also seen as a warning sign of gentrification by poor ethnic minorities in inner cities. Cycling is regarded as slow and inefficient when it doubles up commute and excecise times and urban journeys are generaly quicker door to door by bike. Even the shower is classed as time wasted when taken by a cyclist but not by a driver at home or even in the gym.

People are not rational and don't know what is good for them. We need a cultural revolution. I would re-educate the lot in nice residential facilities at government expense. They will learn to recite the Little Red Book of Cycling during self criticism sessions.

 

[simongt]

I found a tin of chilli con carne at the back of my cupboard the other week. It went out of date in 2016.

Hah, that's nothing - ! I have a can of WW2 issue dried eggs from the USA which I 'inherited' when my mum died last year. So, do I open the can and see what the contents are like or sell it on EBay - ? And no, I have no idea why she kept it all this time - !

 

[mjr]

Exactly. Some modern cars do have an auxiliary heater to speed up the process of providing warm air to the interior (like my wife's German saloon car) while others have excellent electric heated windscreens, but this is still a minority which mjr seems to have miscalculated?

Maybe. It seems like VW cars (definitely Golf and Tiguan) have an electric heater that activates when it is cold outside, the engine is cold and the heater control is on maximum. VW own Seat and the heater parts I replaced were VW-marked, so this may explain why my 1990s Seat had it.

I'm surprised that pre-ignition demisting still isn't a required thing and I didn't find any estimate how many cars no longer force drivers to choose between fuming their neighbours or running them over by driving blind. What kind of barbarians are motorist regulators?

 

[Anonymous1502]

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).

If you don't have a car at all it saves a lot more money as car insurance is expensive+ leasing costs if you are leasing the car.

 

[simongt]

Some modern cars do have an auxiliary heater

'Modern' - ? Back in the early seventies, the VW 411 had an auxilary petrol powered cabin heater that worked independently so you could start it up a while before you set out and then get in to a toasty warm car without having to start the engine.

 

[tyred]

I know someone who puts a 2KW fan heater in the car for 10 or 15 minutes before leaving for work.

 

[Cycling_Samurai]

[QUOTE="Lovacott, post: 6237521, member: ]

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

(I just wanted to have one).
[/QUOTE]
I see what you did there.

 

[Ste T.]

Saves me £130 a month.
£100 in bus fares and as its 40 minutes each way daily I've been able to save £30 a month Gym fees.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

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).

So your contention is that you’ll spend way more than £600 every year for the purposes of cycle commuting? Plus also you spend less than £600 per year on fuel for your car?

 

[Lovacott]

So your contention is that you’ll spend way more than £600 every year for the purposes of cycle commuting? Plus also you spend less than £600 per year on fuel for your car?

If I wanted to save money, I wouldn't have taken up busting a gut over ten miles of shitty cross country roads at god knows what time in the morning.

I would have simply cancelled my Netfilx or NowTV sports subscriptions and driven to work in my nice warm car.

Instead, I jump on my bike at 5.45am and hurtle along pitch black country lanes because it makes me feel good both physically and mentally. There's a cat in one of the villages I cycle though who sits and waits for me. That kind of thing doesn't happen when you are in a car.

Fact is though, everyone at work thinks I'm cycle commuting to save a few quid which couldn't be further from the truth. Hence this thread.