Does Cycling To Work Save You Money?

[gzoom]

Currently through my first winter commuting on the bike, loving it so far. For the last 15 years+ I've only ridden a road bike, so enjoying the freedom to explore muddy tracks on the hybrid over the last few weeks....

Ofcourse, mud + rain + salt on the roads + pot holes = rusty chains, and knackered rear hubs. I've done 1300 commuting miles in 10 months, but the bike will be in need of a rear hub service/likely new chain soon. Components are cheap Deore level so I'm budgeting under £100 at the Halfords. So 7p per mile in maintenance costs is still far cheaper than using any car, though surprisingly my EV car is close at 5p per mile for fule+tyres but not counting insurance. But driving the car is simply no wear near as fun, plus I would not be able to eat like a pig without worrying about been too overweight for the frame of the bike .

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Ofcourse, mud + rain + salt on the roads + pot holes = rusty chains, and knackered rear hubs. I've done 1300 commuting miles in 10 months, but the bike will be in need of a rear hub service/likely new chain soon. Components are cheap Deore level so I'm budgeting under £100 at the Halfords. So 7p per mile in maintenance costs is still far cheaper than using any car, though surprisingly my EV car is close at 5p per mile for fule+tyres but not counting insurance

To put in in perspective, your bike maintenance is still more per mile than my car maintenance, which usually involves nothing more than a DIY oil change, a quick look at the brakes, and topping up all the fluids as needed. Bike maintenance 1-2 p/mile max.
I tend to use my MTB's rather than hybrids when the tracks get as soft and muddy as the ones you've been riding on. I find the 2" wide tyres float better, maintain better traction, and the bikes don't get into such a filthy state as riding through mud on road-oriented tyres then slipping and sliding and throwing mud up everywhere due to wheel spinning.. I use the same style of mudguard as you on MTB's.

 

[simongt]

if people only do short journeys when their internal combustion engine is cold it chucks out far more pollutants per mile.

and of course, as I've said in a post b4, the number of drivers of diesel engined vehicles ( yes, it only appears to be diesel engines ) who leave their engines running for up to half an hour at a time whilst the vehicle is stationary; for what reason - ?

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

People leave diesels running to warm them up and defrost their windows. (would you rather they left their windows frosty and took out more cyclists they couldn't see instead?) The downside of having a high thermal efficiency is slow warm up. If you're only driving say five miles in a diesel on a freezing day, the damn thing is barely warmed by the time you get to your destination.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

People leave diesels running to warm them up and defrost their windows.

Have they never heard of scrapers or de-icer? And a car will warm up quicker when it’s driven.

People need to stop using their car like an overcoat.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Have they never heard of scrapers or de-icer? And a car will warm up quicker when it’s driven.

People need to stop using their car like an overcoat.

If you actually drive motor vehicles (and I seriously doubt some people on here ever have driven by some of the comments they make) then you will be well aware that a scraped windscreen will often refreeze as soon as the vehicle is driven unless it's electrically heated or has warm air blowing on it.
Cars cost a fair bit of money to own and run, so people expect a bit of comfort out of them in return for their outlay. If they fancied freezing their nuts off and getting rained on they would ride a bike instead wouldn't they?
In the eyes of the majority of the public, bikes are just for poor people who can't afford cars - much like buses. To use a bike is seen as a failure, not a positive.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

If you actually drive motor vehicles (and I seriously doubt some people on here ever have driven by some of the comments they make) then you will be well aware that a scraped windscreen will often refreeze as soon as the vehicle is driven unless it's electrically heated or has warm air blowing on it.

I don’t have that problem, but then I use an appropriate concentration of de-icer in my windscreen washer bottle and use a £2.99 windscreen cover from Lidl on frosty nights.

 

[Archie_tect]

You can take a driver out of their comfy polluting car and get them on a bike but you can't make someone change their driver mansplaining mindset.

 

[Johnsco]

You can take a driver out of their comfy polluting car and get them on a bike but you can't make someone change their driver mansplaining mindset.

Not at 73 years old - in the middle of winter - you can't.
I cycle - That's why I'm here
BUT
On a day like this it would not end well for me.

 

[12boy]

For the last 30 or so years of work there were lockers and a shower. For most of that I rode a 'Dale mtn bike and bought others later but just cause I wanted them. Maintenance was cheap because I did it myself and I live in high desert where rain isn't much of a problem. Sometimes I would drive for the job and often left my car in covered parking for weeks at a time.
Besides the greatly reduced vehicle cost I benefited by:
Having an hour or so ride at the beginning and end of work kept me fit and allowed me to eat piggishly without gaining weight.
Reduced my stress a lot, both by riding and hours spent working on bikes, although those were giveaways.
Never paid a penny for gym membership, although I do have some weights and a bench I've used for 45 years.
Hardly ever sick and recovery from injuries has been a lot faster.
Replacing drinking and dope with a bike addiction has saved some money and my liver.
As a truly crap driver, riding instead of driving has maybe saved the lives of people I may have otherwise had accidents with.
All in all, bicycles have been good to me.
..

 

[Ming the Merciless]

You can take a driver out of their comfy polluting car and get them on a bike but you can't make someone change their driver mansplaining mindset.

Carsplaining 😀

 

[gzoom]

Having an hour or so ride at the beginning and end of work kept me fit and allowed me to eat piggishly without gaining weight.
Reduced my stress a lot, both by riding and hours spent working on bikes, although those were giveaways.
Never paid a penny for gym membership

Its -3 with wind chill for my commute tomorrow and I have access to car that lets me warm up the cabin to what temperature I want whilst I'm still in bed!! So you can imagine the temptation, and for a few days last month when it was pouring down with rain I gave in

But for the reasons you stated above and because its 2020 the car wouldn't be touched this week!

 

[classic33]

If you actually drive motor vehicles (and I seriously doubt some people on here ever have driven by some of the comments they make) then you will be well aware that a scraped windscreen will often refreeze as soon as the vehicle is driven unless it's electrically heated or has warm air blowing on it.
Cars cost a fair bit of money to own and run, so people expect a bit of comfort out of them in return for their outlay. If they fancied freezing their nuts off and getting rained on they would ride a bike instead wouldn't they?
In the eyes of the majority of the public, bikes are just for poor people who can't afford cars - much like buses. To use a bike is seen as a failure, not a positive.

I don't own a car.
I don't drive. Nor can I.
If the cost of ownership of a car is excessive/expensive, maybe consider a different form of transport. Maybe even a car that costs less than £1000, outright. Less outlay, therefore less should be expected from them.
If you put laziness before safety, get off the road. Tank driver slits on windscreens are a danger to other road users, whatever your opinion of your driving skills.
If cycling is seen as a sign of failure, you have to question who has actually failed.
I was seen as "mad" for doing 250 miles a weekend, to & from work. I got there when those with cars were unable to. After the first winter, the opinion on cycling to work changed for most, but not all I worked with.
I can't remember freezing my nuts off* either. Like any activity, you dress according to the conditions.
When cycling, you're generating heat, as opposed to losing it sat in a car.
I cycled to work in temperatures well below zero, with no I'll effects.


*Nothing to do with losing them.

 

[12boy]

Coldest I've ridden to work was -24C. The ice was cold enough to not be slick. Only 3 miles each way but no problems.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

If you put laziness before safety, get off the road. Tank driver slits on windscreens are a danger to other road users, whatever your opinion of your driving skills.
If cycling is seen as a sign of failure, you have to question who has actually failed.

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!