Bike is too expensive, what would you do?

[c_dug]

So the situation is this, I do a 22.5 mile each way commute 5 days a week, if we disregard holiday then my commute is a smidgen under 12,000 miles a year.

My best estimate is that I am using £2200 a year in petrol (35-40mpg, £25 per tank). On top of this I would say in tax, insurance, MOT, tyres and general servicing I could add at least another £1000 to the annual bike costs. And I've not even started to account for the cost of the bike itself and the wear and tear on my gear. I think a fair and encompassing way to summarise it would be to say the bike costs me an average of £3500-£4000 a year to commute on. An annual zones 1-6 travel card would cost me £2,224 so basically break even with the cost of petrol but I loose out on the other £1500-£2000. Most of my travel would be off peak so the train might even cost me less than that by oyster.

That's quite a bit of money!

So what would you do?

I really don't want to get the train in, but for £2000 I'd consider it! The train takes an hour and I live and work 30 seconds from the station at each end. By bike it is anything from 25 minutes to an hour, on average it is 40 minutes.

If I didn't ride to work I'm not sure I could justify having a bike sitting outside doing nothing I could probably afford a nicer bike with the extra money but I don't have a garage, anything more tasty would go missing.

I'm just a bit at a loss of what to do, I really don't want to get rid of the bike but keeping it doesn't seem to make sense! I don't have a car so the bike is the main mode of transport for me and my girlfriend, but £2000 is a lot of cabs and trains!

Advice please!
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[MarJay]

Move out of London and get a job elsewhere.
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[c_dug]

No chance, I work at the Science Museum, I have an epic job.

That is not an option.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[Monkeypony]

Buy a push bike.

Cycle 2 - 5 times per week

Save 40 - 100% of commuting costs.

Cancel gym membership.

Invest savings in new bike/lid/kit

Job done!
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Current bike - 2018 H2-SX, 2004 SV1000s, 2016 Aprilia RSV4 RF, 2017 Sherco SERF 300, 2003 Suzuki DRZ400 (stolen - AY53 JUU)

[Marmalade]

As your only transport I would keep it.

You can go out, get to wherever, whenever you want without waiting for a taxi and planning around public services.
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Nobby the Bastard: How yo tell the difference between the actual japanese and her just screaming because she's had live fish stuck up her arse? [url=https://www.nicks-shop.co.uk/bcf-goodies-15-c.aspGet BCF stickers and things here[/url] Reflective helmet stickers - Legal requirement in france - Clicky

[iooi]

[map]

A quick question. Would reducing your mileage declared to the insurance save you any money off that? Also if declare not using bike for commuting? (I ask the question but in reality I doubt it as IMO not declaring these is more a scam/excuse for insurers not to pay out should the worst happen).

I'd say keep the bike for a run-around as no other transport. You've already invested in the gear so that's not an ongoing cost. Whether you go down from the XJ900 (reading your sig.) is debatable. IMO really depends on the weekends away factor or just an around town hack needed. Plus also debatable if a smaller bike (eg CB500) would save money in fuel and other consumables.

For me it would also depend on the circle of friends, how far they are and transport to/from, shopping needs, etc. Walking and cycling are good exercise and a scooter has lots of storage capacity for food, beer, etc.
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...and the whirlwind is in the thorn trees, it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks...
Gibbs, what did Duckie look like when he was younger?

[c_dug]

I've toyed with the bicycle idea mentioned above but one of the guys on my team at work is a very keen cyclist and said that even he wouldn't want to do a 45 mile round trip daily.

The question of would downsizing save me money also crossed my mind, the thing is a lot of my non-commuting journeys are with the OH on the back so I can only feasibly go so small before it becomes impractical. Also I'm not sure which of the costs would fall and by how much, obviously my MPG may go up, but would tyre usage go down, insurance? Lots of variables and I'm not sure if I could save enough to justify the move, I'm very happy with the divvy.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[P.addy]

I do 25>28 mile trips on motorways on a Varadero 125. Good on fuel, tyres every 10k, maybe longer, basic servicing needs, cheap as hell to insure etc.

270 miles to a tank that costs £18 to fill from the warning light.
£20 a week on fuel, £17 tax a year.
£1200 in fuel per year.
£200 in tyres.
£20 in brake pads.
£50 in oil roughly.
£80 insurance.
£30 MOT

Basic bits like spark plugs, air filter and general upkeep can't come to more than £100 a year.

Just shy of £1700 a year.

If I did that mileage on the TL...
120 miles to a tank that costs £20 to fill.
£45 a week in fuel, £78 tax a year.
£2700 in fuel per year.
£300 maybe £350 on tyres.
£40 in brake pads.
£100 oil and filter.
£200 insurance.
£30 MOT

Just shy of £3500, double the Vara...

Drop to a smaller bike If it helps, I can hit the limiter in 5th, 2 up on my bike on the motorway... it isn't fast, but it will do the job.

Ideally, something a little bigger may do you more favours, but you could also have 2 bikes

[c_dug]

My worry is that a 125 would be stolen in no time, the divvy really isn't a desirable prospect for any type of thief.

The second bike option does appeal a bit but I'm not sure I could actually save money that way, it would have to save me something silly like £2000 to justify having the two.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[P.addy]

I have 4 road bikes currently, all insured for <£300.

When I can be bothered to ride, I ride the slower one.

When I want to go on a hoon, its £20 to fill the tank and do so, I then do the servicing by mileage rather than time. So I'll service the TL twice a year, maybe. So it costs fuck all extra really. Tyres get used less and you save money on the fuel to make use of the 2nd bike.

Easier than it sounds, the worst bit is when you have 4 and there is MOT/tax on all of them, stagger them if you end up getting 2

[garth]

I'd buy something that is better on fuel if it's that much of an issue, I can't stand trains, or people.

[iooi]

[fozzym]

I've never lived in an area where public transport is a viable option and as such motoring has become an integral part of my life. I really can't imagine not having a vehicle under any circumstances.

I'm currently looking for a job closer to home (for various reasons) even if i'm successful and can cycle to work or get a little scooter, I don't think I'd get rid of the car and my bikes are for fun so they won't go!

I suppose it comes down to money and how you want to spend it. If you want to sell the bike and try the tube then there is nothing to stop you going back to biking if it doesn't work out.

I'm in a situation where both my wife and I have a car and I have two bikes, regardless of how much they get used I can't see any of them going. I guess we will possibly go down to one car when we both retire.

[map]

[esullivan]

I need a zone 1-5 ticket, which costs £2072, but otherwise I am in a very similar position, with 12,000 miles a year. My calculations are vastly different, with only minor tweaks:

* My bike averages 70mpg, or 0.089 a mile, according to fuelly, so about £1,000 in fuel.

* The NC has an 8,000-mile service interval and I probably run through a set of tyres every 10,000 miles or so, so let's call it £1,000 in maintenance/other consumables (a dealer service -- still under warranty -- and a new pair a year).

* I'd also need to consider depreciation because I bought a new bike, but since I have a new model, it's a bit of a guess. Can I sell this bike for £3,000 in three years? Possibly, if I take care of it. I bought it for about £4,500 with part-ex, or do I consider the full £6,000 cost? I don't know what's appropriate, but let's call it another £750 a year, then.

Total: £2,750. That's probably not very far off, give or take £500? But let's not stop there:

Now consider my time: Biking saves me at least an hour a day compared with the tube. Let's call that 240 hours a year (five days a week * 48 weeks a year). If I value my time at anything over £3 an hour, it's financially worth it to take the bike. I'm a programmer in the finance industry. I make quite a bit over £3 an hour, so even if I calculated any of the above incorrectly, there's still quite a margin to play with.
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Current: '14 VFR800X Test passed 31/10/12.
Previous: '12 NC700S, '11 CBF 125, '04 SH 125.

[G]

What's your accommodation situation at the moment?
Could you move closer to work?

Having a quick look on spareroom, there's a few that could be of interest - for instance, within 2 miles there's a few double bedrooms in shared houses for a smidge under £500 all in. More options if you go to 5 miles and that's easily cyclable.

Ok, that's going to be pushing £6k a year, but if you're spending £4k a year on transport, I presume you're spending a good chunk more than £2k a year on accommodation as it is.

[c_dug]

Not really feasible to move that way, I rent a flat with my girlfriend. £6k a year on accommodation would be nice but we've done our time in shared places!

I wouldn't mind moving to that side of London if I had the money but as it stands it isn't within our means. For comparison my sister lives in West London, she pays a bit less than us (not much) and gets a converted garage in a rough area. In east London we have quite a nice one bedroom flat in a not terrible area.
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I am a bellend, I am a man of constant sorrow, I am a gummy bear, I am a rock.

[G]

Have you looked at what you could get for £4k over what you're currently paying, however?

Oh and actually... I'd also consider an electric pushbike.
You'll have to spend a bit on batteries, but if you can charge up at work, you should be able to do the whole journey on battery power alone.

You are only supposed to be limited to 200w before it needs a number plate etc, but so far a lot of people take a 'liberal' interpretation of the law. Not seen any officials get interested in them yet, though they may at some point.
500w is good for maybe 17-19mph on the flat, maybe a bit more on a road bike with skinny tyres and drop bars.

[J.M.]

[goto10]

[G]

Oh and as it seems your girlfriend works fairly centrally, if you could get something to the south fairly equidistant between them, could maybe find a very significant extra bit of cash to spend - ie, maybe £6k extra a year savings.

[Kai.Wilson]

how long does a commute via bike take and train?


Way I work out running cost is time also.

The bike takes 15 mins, the bus 45 mins each way.

So that bus is 90 mins in total.

I am on £6.40 an hour so times that by 1.5 for an hour and a half the 5 for the amount of days a week I work, then a year is £2500

Time is money

[stinkwheel]

Buy an electric scooter.

You'd probably even be allowed to park it inside at work.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[G]