A car, a motorcycle, keep using the push bike...or something else?

Earlier this year I gave up the motorbike and sold the car too in favour of commuting on the pushbike...but all is not well!

The push bike (aside from the purchase) is costing me more money than I ever anticipated, in clothing or components or servicing or whatever. So much so that I am questioning whether it is actually worth bothering anymore.

So given that I have very little to spend on either form of transport, what should I do...oh and any suggestions would be useful too!

Oh I have been using the wife's car this week to commute and it has been bliss! But then there is virtually no traffic!

[fizzwheel]

Are you paying a bike shop to service your bike, if so, some basic tools and some DIY knowledge will save you a fortune.

It is a steep start up cost, but once you've got what you need cycling will start to pay for itself and the benefits of it arent just financial...

But theres no substitute for having a car when you need it or the weathers bad. You can pick up a little run about for not much money for the days when you dont feel like cycling to work.

[Viney]

You sold a MOTORbike and a Car in favour of a pushbike! Thats one hell of a lifestyle change that for sure. However, im sure that the pushbike is still darnsite cheaper than either of the above or public transport.

I can only echo what Fizz of Wheel has said. Do your own maintenance and if you have a special bike thats not really sutied to commuting, maybe think of getting a steed that is more sutible. Saying this my mates Trek over 2 years ended up being known as triggers broom but it had done somwhere in the region of 10000 miles. It ended up getting knicked out of his back garden.

[pookie]

how far is the commute? assuming its cycling distance what about a cheap hack 125/ 250 as an compromise.
Are the costs of servicing still less than the other modes of transport making it cost efficient? Aldi do a load of cheap decent cycling gear every now and then.

I'm still umming and ahhing about a riding into work 23 miles. What is the commute like on the cayo? I'm not decided on a road or cylco cross

[Bri w]

Get a scooter thingy. 100+ miles per gallon + cheap to insure and tax. Used to do the cycling bit into work but got fed up of 12 miles into a strong breeze and driving rain.

If we add up the costs of a cheap(ish) motorbike and using some rough figures as I don't know your circumstances but:

cost of a cheap SV: £1,000
Insurance £500
2 self services £100
1 set of tyres £200
tax £70

Cost of bike to own: £1,870 (for first year obviously)
You then have your fuel so if you do a tank a week on your commute let's call is £20 a week, every week.

£1,040.

so each year your costs of ownership will be roughly £1,910 to keep it serviced, insured, taxed maintaned and fueled.

Only you will know if you can afford this, but I'd be shocked if your push bike is costing you that much.

I know (as someone who has spent a significant amount on cycling over the last year) that you can spend fortunes. However, if you want to keep it cheap, some decent cycling gear may cost you £500 and you can get a lot of stuff for that as long as you shop around in sales, or places like aldi when they have their deals on.

Plus, you're getting fitness to last a lifetime if you keep it up, making you feel better etc.

the best thing sounds like it would be to grab a cheap bike, use that a couple of days a week and the push bike the rest.

Have you considered the cost of helmets, gloves, motorbike gear etc? These obviously have to be replaced at some point and aren't necessarily cheap.

My vote is keep the push bike, but have a look and see if you can fit a cheap motorbike in there somewhere.

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by EssexDave

cost of a cheap SV: £1,000
Insurance £500
2 self services £100
1 set of tyres £200
tax £70

Cost of bike to own: £1,870 (for first year obviously)
You then have your fuel so if you do a tank a week on your commute let's call is £20 a week, every week.

£1,040.

In cycling distance no way do you need an SV. Sledgehammer to crack a walnut!

Get a 125:
Bike £400
Insurance £100
2 self services (not that they cost £100 on an SV anyway! More like £30) £15
1 set of tyres (which will probably do 2 years) £50
Tax £15

and 110mpg, £9 a week...

£650 a year, probably end up spending close to that on push iron bits.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

In cycling distance no way do you need an SV. Sledgehammer to crack a walnut!

Get a 125:
Bike £400
Insurance £100
2 self services (not that they cost £100 on an SV anyway! More like £30) £15
1 set of tyres (which will probably do 2 years) £50
Tax £15

and 110mpg, £9 a week...

£650 a year, probably end up spending close to that on push iron bits.

You can probably get by on less than £100 a year once you've got set up with decent gear. Components can be cheap for a commute - no need to buy the top stuff.

[Jayneflakes]

Hmm, servicing costs a fortune if you take it to a shop, so a few tools and a bit of common sense can help a treat. There is not much on a push bike that cannot be serviced at home, but if you get stuck, there are many good service books out there.

Good kit helps a treat, I use Hope hubs and mavic rims on my bikes with DT spokes all hand built by me, but these cost nearly £300 excluding labour. My Hope Hubs are now ten years old and other than an occasional tweek have never needed any serious work. If you are putting in serious miles on a push bike, good kit lasts, but it does have a higher price tag. I also change my chain every 500 miles which prevents wear to the rear sprockets, modern nine speed cassette clusters cost over £50 for good quality, so a £20 pound chain every year keeps the cassette going for years. I also use Middle Burn chain rings, not soft Shimano ones which wear out very quickly. I built my bike ten years ago and only stopped recently riding it, but with good kit and home servicing it lasted well and is still in excellent condition. The cost though was £2K.

Before I started riding my own motorbike, I lived and breathed Cycling and spent thousands on the sport and I miss it daily. I am thinking of taking up Roller Blades next though. this could be my next commuting weapon.