Does Cycling To Work Save You Money?

[cyberknight]

All of the above
Saving on the cost of buying a car , VED, insurance, wear and tear before you even put fuel in it for it to sit at work for 8+ hours a day unused.
My new commuter cost £400 on c2w , i actually had £450 to buy a few bits over a year and i usually spend around £30 a month ish in bits / clothes etc( but thats over 3 bikes used for work and leisure but costs are put in here ) so £67.50 a month , in fuel alone i would use at least £80 a month in total to run for a year and after that cost goes down to £30 a month when the bike is paid for .

 

[Sharky]

Cost wise not much in it. When I commuted into London, couldn't do it every day, so there was the dilema of the train season ticket. Should I buy a monthly or yearly to save money or not buy a season ticket at all and pay singles or drive into London (yes you could do that in the 70's) on the days you could not cycle.

When I was poor, I tried to not buy season tickets, but when I was in a better paid job, just bought an annual season ticket regardless.

For me, it was never about cost saving, it was more about time saving. I could get 2 to 3 hours training in on the days I cycled, with out impacting too much on family life.

 

[Archie_tect]

I know people who have put their car through an annual service with MOT and added a zero to your figure. I know someone who had the engine rebuilt on their Seat Ibiza and added two zeros to your figure.

Cor Sleuthey, you know people who are getting seriously ripped off by their car mechanics!

 

[kingrollo]

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).

IME no - the fun fitness and health are the gains. And petrol is the cheapest part of running a car.

I've been WFH and hating it - where as my colleagues love not having to commute - I miss it.

 

[Lovacott]

I know people who have put their car through an annual service with MOT and added a zero to your figure. I know someone who had the engine rebuilt on their Seat Ibiza and added two zeros to your figure.

I'm getting shot to death here based on the thread title.

But if you read my content, you will see that I one hundred percent agree with every word you have just said.

I've never once owned a bike which needed a £1,000 gearbox replacement.

 

[cyberknight]

I'm getting shot to death here based on the thread title.

But if you read my content, you will see that I one hundred percent agree with every word you have just said.

I've never once owned a bike which needed a £1,000 gearbox replacement.

indeed our last car was going to cost £800 as something was farked and i had read the engine was not much cop and tended to go after 40.000 miles

 

[kingrollo]

As a slight aside - the better cyclists at the club I am in - tend not to ride the boutique bikes. Boardman, Giant tend to dominate - it's as though the legs do the talking.

.....whilst I'm there on my flashy Italian thing ...farting around at 13mph !!!!

 

[MichaelW2]

The cheaper option of public transport takes about an hour and costs £1000 per annum.

So many people think that any amount of money spent on cycling above the student/unemployed budget is somehow wasted or excessive. These are people who happily spend money on lifestyles in excess of student/unemployed level. The notion that any money spent on cycling is "wasted" begs the question, what is the cost of the alternative? As you say, public transport for poor people is not cost free. An annual bus pass starts at around £500. After 10 years which could be the amortised life of a bicycle, you have spent £5000.

 

[Lovacott]

Agreed. My student houses were £17 and £10 a week for a nice house by a beach in N. Ireland. Son no. 1 pays £400 a month for similar at the moment in Lincoln. And no, I'm not that old.

My daughter is at Falmouth University and pays £400 a month for a houseshare with two others.

Insane.

 

[Lovacott]

An annual bus pass starts at around £500.

But once you've got the bus pass, you are sorted. Meanwhile, us cyclists are forking out daily for GoreTex jackets and padded underpants.

 

[Slick]

It turns out that the other 30 people at work have been running a book on me. A sweepstake where the winner is the one who most closely guesses the number of days I cycle to work before throwing in the towel.

The longest guess was 200 days which is the barrier I broke through yesterday morning so they did the pay out to the winner yesterday afternoon. The winner was my boss and I suspect that the 200 day guess was him being diplomatic?

Some of them had put their fivers on me only lasting a week with the majority thinking I would give up once it started to get dark in the evenings.

I reckon that is pretty standard fare in most work places. Probably, or certainly one main reason I took to cycle commuting was when the first time I did it, everyone laughed and said I wouldn't do it again. I moved house, about 15miles from work and they laughed again and because it was quite hilly they said I wouldn't cycle in from there. Then just like your mob they reckoned would give it upon winter but I just kept turning up on the bike, which is why it's rarely mentioned anymore. Eventually even the most ardent non believer is turned.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

But once you've got the bus pass, you are sorted. Meanwhile, us cyclists are forking out daily for GoreTex jackets and padded underpants.

People who use public transport need coats, hats and umbrellas too.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I reckon that is pretty standard fare in most work places. Probably, or certainly one main reason I took to cycle commuting was when the first time I did it, everyone laughed and said I wouldn't do it again. I moved house, about 15miles from work and they laughed again and because it was quite hilly they said I wouldn't cycle in from there. Then just like your mob they reckoned would give it upon winter but I just kept turning up on the bike, which is why it's rarely mentioned anymore. Eventually even the most ardent non believer is turned.

in most places I worked I was considered weird for cycling to work in all weathers, more so when people found out I had a driving license but didn't drive, two places I worked I used to drive the company vans.

 

[sleuthey]

I'm getting shot to death here based on the thread title.

But if you read my content, you will see that I one hundred percent agree with every word you have just said.

I've never once owned a bike which needed a £1,000 gearbox replacement.

As @kingrolli says , the fuel is cheaper than the other aspects of running a car. I think you have just had a few weeks where your bike has required allot of maintenance all at once but from now if you keep riding as you have the price per mile will come down.

 

[PapaZita]

But once you've got the bus pass, you are sorted. Meanwhile, us cyclists are forking out daily for GoreTex jackets and padded underpants.

Daily? Maybe I‘m just one of those typical tight cyclists, but I tend to wash the padded underpants and use them again.😀