Commuting - How much have you spent

How much have you spent on your commuter setup?

I feel like that is a loaded question. Are we talking in the last year? All time? Only bike related items, or clothing included? Do consumables count? All the tubes I've ever purchased, or only the two currently on my ride? Do upgrades count? My bike was functional when I purchased it, but I've certainly put money into replacing/upgrading parts. Does that add "value" to my ride? If so, how much?

If I were to guess, I would say that my CURRENT setup (i.e., equipment currently in use) cost me somewhere in the ballpark of $950. Total money spent......I don't know...thousands.

$650 for bike Raleigh Detour Deluxe--included fenders, rack, lights
$160 tires-studs
$150 panniers
$15 lock
$18 wool socks

Already had helmet. I will be buying some rain pants and other clothing soon, which I estimate will cost $200.

Clothing, bike, accessories for original cost and then maintained cost per year (cables, chains, etc.) I am trying to average things out.

this is for a project.

I don't have a bike dedicated for commuting. As it turns out, the bike I tend to ride to work most days is my SSCX. I bought the frame (On-One Pompino) for $129. Pretty much built up from the spare parts bin.

See the avatar picture. Currently has slicks and fenders for the commute.

My bike (Nashbar etc) was around $400-450 by the time I got around to new wheels. Chains, tires, tubes lube etc is running about $150/yr. $40-$50 for lights.

Maybe $1200 total over the past four years, including everything but clothes or cyclist costumes. That's probably close to a lower bound because I'm pretty cheap with it.

Caad8 105 $1350
helmet $60
shoes $80
wheels $80

Sounds like a poll might be a nice option for a thread like this. In fact, didn't someone put one up last year?

Anyway, I'll assume that the question relates to the current primary commuting rig. EDIT - this made me curious, so I did a spreadsheet to tally everything and corrected my initial guesses.

In that case, I think I'm in for about $3,100 or so for the bike itself, when you include all of the panniers, lights, etc. add $150 for the set of studded snow tires that I keep on hand, so let's round it to $3,300.
Clothing is harder to nail down since alot of it is also used for trail running and other outdoor ventures. Bike specific: Shoes $250 or so (2 sets), helmets (2) $150, rain gear $350, gloves (3 weights) $200,glasses $60 so about $1,000

So, I guess all told, that's about $4,300 for bike and gear. This bike is only a year old now, so it is still new-ish, and maintenance costs have been 0 so far. However, here's what I'll assume based on past IGH bikes:

Maintenance on the bike is near nil. A $20 chain once a year and $30 disc brake pads every, well, I haven't had to replace them yet. Tires are $75 each, and I buy on average 1 per year (rotate front to back, put new rubber up front)
The IGH is allegedly maintenance free for its lifetime (Nuvinci N360), so I'm a guinea pig on how long the hub lives. 2k miles thus far, still like new.

I thought about doing a poll just didn't know how the best way to increment the results. I am working on a project that calculates initial set up and yearly cost of commuting.

I thought about doing a poll just didn't know how the best way to increment the results. I am working on a project that calculates initial set up and yearly cost of commuting.

ahh. cool.

I've spent an awful lot. It's been worth it for the joy I get out of cycling. I could have gotten most of that joy for a lot less.

I should be a good test case for you.

I reentered the world of daily year-round commuting in May 2011 when I bought a hybrid commuter bike for $569 new. The bike had a rack and fenders; I have added panniers, lights (including a dynamo), blinkies, lock, clipless pedals, studded tires for winter, etc etc. and am now at $1657 for equipment, including the bike. I've spent $583 for warm weather clothing and rain gear, and $1044 for winter clothing, some of which is rarely used. I've spent $319 on parts and maintenance, including a cassette, two chains, a tube, a crankset, and a replacement RD cable, for a grand total of $3603. I've ridden 5777 miles to date, putting me within $400 of breaking even at the IRS rate of $0.555 per mile.

96% of my miles have been commuting miles, and the vehicle I'm not using is an SUV.

I haven't bought any new clothing or gear for a while, so I expect to be recouping the initial investment in the next few months--certainly within two years of the time I made my initial purchases. If I don't do N+1, I should end up saving about $1200-1500 per year, steady state.

Thats a bit of a loaded question. Got one of my favorite commuters for $100 used in need of TLC. Thing is - there isn't a bike on the market that comes with either Schwalbe Marathon Supremes or Nokian 240s. And of course, I have a habit of buying up discontinued goodies simply because they're usually cheaper than the newest stuff - and in many cases - better quality. So have replaced a lot of components. On that particular bike cash outlay is probably under $600 and it runs like a watch. Kinda hurts to say it performs as well as a couple bikes I've sunk thousands of dollars into - and its a lot older. :notamused:

Bike, lights, racks, fenders, bags - easily $2000. Every bearing set on the bike is the sealed variety requiring zero maintenance - which I think pays for itself. Clothing not included, although I pretty much wear street clothes and normal foul weather gear and not too much cycle specific stuff other than cleated shoes, helmet, and padded gloves.

Average gym membership is $500.00-600.00 annually (source (https://www.google.com/search?q=average+price+of+gym+membership&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a))

Average cost of owning a dependable car is 59.6 cents per mile, or $8,946 annually (source (http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/aaa-study-cost-owning-car-rising.aspx)).

My $2000 bike plus one new $30 chain every year has otherwise cost $0.00 dollars over the past five years.

Car/5 years = $44,730.00
Gym/5 years = $2,500.00
Bike/5 years = $250.00 for the new chains I install myself plus regular use of chain lube @ $20.00/year.

It does not take a math genius here.

I feel like that is a loaded question. Are we talking in the last year? All time? Only bike related items, or clothing included? Do consumables count? All the tubes I've ever purchased, or only the two currently on my ride? Do upgrades count? My bike was functional when I purchased it, but I've certainly put money into replacing/upgrading parts. Does that add "value" to my ride? If so, how much?

+1

I guess about 900$ for the current set-up.

I estimate roughly $3,500 or so maybe more on bikes and gear. Maintenance maybe a few hundred bucks a year for tires, tubes, chains/chain rings etc. People freak out when they pry and I admit to spending over a grand on a bike but its easily justifiable when I havent bought ANY gas to get to work all year or paid the expense of owning a second car or gym fees for fitness. I figure I could spend a couple hundred bucks a month on commuting gear and still be ahead ...can't get the wife on board with that idea yet:)

Thank you for the input. I would enjoy hearing from others. I do want to apologize for those that feel this is a loaded question. I do like hearing from those that also got a used or Craigslist bike, or discount gear. The more variety of input the better my results will be, a more complete average.

For those that ride street clothing how far is your commute or do you wear cycling style urban clothing?

For my current "commuter" (although I'm no longer actually commuting):
--Bike - Free (traded an older bike to an lbs for a new city bike)
--Panniers - about a hunnert bucks
--Tires - Contis, about $40 each
--B-17 - $100
--Lights - about $700 (yup)
--Misc carp - ?

I guess what I roll around on is about $1500 worth of investment

Cumulative over 5 years at least $1000 from trial and error of testing out various setups.

I used to limp along on Xmart bikes mostly bought used or given to me. My current Trek 520 with replacement rack,titanium, winter tires, panniers, studded tires,...... About $2,000. But that will last for a while. I added a spare front wheel with dynamo, spare narrow wheel with flat spokes. Things get changed around for weather conditions. Forgot the moose mitts (poagies) for winter.

For those that ride street clothing how far is your commute or do you wear cycling style urban clothing?

I can comfortably ride 30 miles in anything. After that flat seam pants/shorts that may or may not be cycling specific work better for me.

How much have you spent on your commuter setup?

I've put over $2000 into a frame* I picked up on Craigslist for $10! That includes a Zimbale 17L saddlebag and a Topeak trunk bag, but not any of my shoes, clothes, locks, portable tools, helmet, or helmet accessories. It does include shipping for most of the parts, components, and accessories below, only a few things my LBS had, although I make a point to get some things through them. The bike is now set up exactly the way I'd like it (other than two more lights and some more reflective tape!), and I would have ended up spending even more to set up any new bike the way I want anyway and be left with a pile of parts that I had to remove.

I managed to get a fair amount of my gear on sale by signing up for several e-mail lists and constantly searching online, if I had to replace everything at full value it'd be a few hundred dollars more, but I suppose that offsets the extra pricey tires (purely because they matched the frame color) and the tire I destroyed on accident. The front wheel I got a deal on from Craigslist, it'd cost a lot more retail.

Nitto Big Front Rack
Paul Components Gino light mount
3W flashlight
Velo Orange front wheel stabilizer
Bikebrightz light
Airzoundz air horn
aftermarket waterbottle cage mount and three cages (air vessel, water, coffee)
Honjo fenders
leather mudflaps
PDW Fenderbot light
"L" fender brackets
Ergon pedals
pedal extenders
Carradice SQR bag support
Zimbale 17L saddlebag
Carradice Cape Roll
Mars 4.0 light
swept back handlebars
ergo grips
extended stem
flashlight holder for handlebar
1.7W flashlight with strobe
Soma bar end lights
bell
heavy duty rear wheel
Salsa heavy duty skewers
spent too much importing two of the last red Panaracer T-Serv's in 1.75" from Australia
(ended up only mounting the front one and keeping the other for a spare)
Schwalbe Marathon on the rear wheel
Zefal locking seatpost skewer
Selle Anatomica Titanico saddle
wheel reflectors
reflective tape
vintage reflector for front of front rack
"shark tooth" for front deraileur
new rear deraileur (longer cage, better quality)
twin legged kickstand
long seatpost
11-34 cassette for better range on the hills on my commute
Topeak trunk bag mounted on the Nitto front rack

replaced shifters (three speed (front) broke, upgraded rear to 8 speed)
destroyed a perfectly good low mile Vittoria Rando Pro by misadjusting brakes :/ minus another 50 bucks right there
upgraded brakes to Tektro 720's, cartridge pad holders, and nice cartridges
splurged on anodized brake straddle carriers to match bikes paint
front wheel (LX hub, RhynoLite rim)
metallic braided cable housings and new cables
new crankset + a 22 tooth chain ring
new bottom bracket

* Well, it was a little more than a frame, it lacked wheels, seat, and seatpost, and the front shifter broke within a couple of weeks. Quite literally the only thing that survives from the original equipment now other than the frame and fork is the headset and front derailer.


Helmet + EVT Safe Zone mirror + PB Blaze headlight + PB rear helmet light + aftermarket visor, and reflective tape, would cost about $200 including shipping to replace, but I got the helmet and I think one of the lights on sale.

I have no idea how much I've spent on clothes, my clothing costs are complicated by being both big and tall. Between nearly full time work and also school much of the time, I need several days worth of outfits on hand as I simply don't have time to do laundry every day. That said, I do wear the same wool sweater and wool tights almost every day for most of the year.

As far as yearly costs go, I don't need the bike shop for much, but do occasionally find myself there for their mechanic to do something that I haven't learned how to do yet, like index deraileurs or measure replacement spokes. I'm putting over 2,000 miles a year (I ended up borrowing a car for about 2 months this year) on my bike, and that is on rainy, gritty roads much of the time and I'm not as diligent as I should be about keeping my chain, cassette, and rims clean. I don't know how often that is going to cost me, but I expect to eat (fairly inexpensive 8 speed) cassettes and chains pretty regularly. I'm tempted to get an ultrasonic clenser big enough to put a cassette in, that'll be another expense that is purely commuting related.

I'm lucky enough to be able to park my bike in a locked cage at work, so I actually don't bother to carry a lock with me on nights I am only going in to work and don't plan on making any stops on the way in or home. When I just have morning classes in the late fall, winter and early spring I use a big, heavy, bike specific chain and a small u-lock to lock up. I think the chain was $60, don't recall how much the OnGuard MiniBulldog was. In summer and the nicer parts of fall and spring, when I have afternoon classes, or if I need to lock up somewhere higher risk than the community college I use a second u-lock with the first and the chain. I got the second u-lock on sale for a steal at $10 online. I suspect it's not the greatest lock out there, but given the fact it mostly gets used as a second lock I didn't figure it needed to be. In fact, I was considering one of those aluminum locks as my second lock so as to save a little weight, but I couldn't resist the price on the one I got. I figure a Palmy lock spray painted black wouldn't obviously be an aluminum lock to a thief.

I also have another mountain bike that I actually occasionally use for mountain biking in the summer that I am setting up as my snow and ice commuter. That'll probably only be a handful of days here in Seattle, but I hate to rely on the bus, especially on those days. I managed to pick up studded snow tires (Nokian Hakkepelittas) for $30 from Craigslist from a seller who converted to 700cc. That saved me about $100 if you include shipping. Other than wet weather brake pads, I may only be adding a few mounts for lights I already have for this set-up and run a courier bag I've owned for years and use mostly for things other than riding. Hard to quantify the costs of that bike, it'll get used very rarely for commuting and as far as my significant other is concerned its raison d'etre is for us to go mountain biking together. Otherwise I don't think I'd get space at our apartment for a bike I may or may not need for only a few days a year! Some years in Seattle it doesn't really freeze or accumulate any snow at all. Thankfully she's a mountain biker!

Oh, and one more thing. ;) I invested in a plethora of AAA and AA rechargeable batteries for all my lights, as well as a charger and a battery tester and some cases for the batteries. Definitely a commuting expense!


I think it is great that we often encourage people to commute and even tour on whatever bike and gear that they happen to have on hand, but realistically, for myself, it's probably well over three thousand dollars to get completely set up with all the accoutrements, just for commuting. That cost has been spread over nearly two years now as I've put money from almost every paycheck into parts and accessories and that doesn't include my touring rig that I commuted on for the first year. I'm really hoping that with a few more lights and a few more pairs of bib shorts, and another pair of wool tights, that I'll be basically done dumping money into commuting except for replacing worn out socks, chains, and cassettes. Although even the best tires may not last me more than a few years if I'm lucky and given the conditions I ride in nearly every day, I expect I'll be replacing rims and buying a spoke tension meter so I can build my own wheels, so you can add that pricey tool and those parts to the cost. I don't mean that in any way to discourage anyone from doing it, it can definitely be done for cheaper, especially if you aren't a Clyde, riding in the rain, up hill both ways. ;)

i comute on my fixed gear so here goes, 120 for the bike as a 10speed, 80 for the wheel, 30 for chain lockring cog, 100 for a brooks, 25 for campy cranks,90 for nitto stem, 30 for tires, 15 for tubes,,40 for pedals, 80 for shoes , 50 for a helmet , 100 for a bag that should cover it.

grand total $660

in uk pounds for current setup:
to replace bike right now with uogrades and lights etc: 1200

All told, I am into my commuting rig, for between 3-4 thousand dollars. That includes extra warm clothing (that I might not have felt a compelling need to buy, if not commuting.) initial bike purchase, upgrades, etc...

I didn't include normal wear and tear/routine maintenance items.

$550 for a Torker Graduate and another $150 for lights. Everything else I've scrounged or already owned. I will need to buy tires this year so probably $120 for those.

I bought all my bikes and cycling stuff brand new, I have about $ 4500 dollars invested into my 3 bikes plus all the accessories. It was well worth it...and the investement has already paid for itself.

240 on bike

30 for tires ( didnt like )
another 40 on tires

40 on front light ( broke )
another 20 to repair

13 for back light

30 new pedals

and 10 on a cheapo speedometer for fun

so £383

this bike will pay for it self in 7 months :)
im planning on getting better mechs so maybe 9 months

Not enough :)

Something in the range of nine or ten cents per mile looking at the recent 25,000.

Since Oct 1991 I have ridden 61k miles.
Three bikes in that time, $400, $1000, and $1150.
No major component changes on any of the bikes, just a new saddle on one of them.
Say $500 in tires, tubes, lube and such, another $200 on helmets, gloves.
$200 for lights, odometers.
Add $1000 for stuff I may have forgotten (likely way more than reality, but what the heck)
For my newest bike, $150 in tires, $40 in fenders, $50 for other high visibility items.
Roughly $4700 for 61,100 miles. I would say probably $50,000 of those are pure commuting, 10,000 or less just fun rides.

7.7 cents per mile.

Interesting, as the fun ride miles go up, so does the amount I spend on my habit.

I actually find it the other way as I commute I find I spend more.

I bought my bike just to commute and nothing else so I have a complete breakdown. My products are the top of the line (bike was a long time ago) haha, but I want something comfortable for my 29 mile commute daily.

Used Cannondale R3000 Si - 500
Gatorskin tires - 80
Front Pannier bag - 10
Chain lube - 9
Spare tube - 9
Topeak portable pump - 13
Sram tape - 12
Pearl gloves - 14
Schwinn helmet - 17
Planet bike gel saddle - 40
Planet bike safety lights - 15
Pump for home - 35
Crank brother pedals - 30
Shimano shoes - 55
Cleats - 20

Grand total: 859

"For those that ride street clothing how far is your commute or do you wear cycling style urban clothing?"

I don't have "cycling clothing." To work I wear the exact same khackis or dress pants that I would otherwise wear. I even put my evo mini bike lock in the rear pants pocket of all of my pants including jeans, khackis, and dress pants. My bike commute is 4.4 miles each way.

"For those that ride street clothing how far is your commute or do you wear cycling style urban clothing?"
I missed that part of the question. I wear bike short of some sort and SPD shoes, but not a jersey. I commute 5.5 to 10.5 miles each way, depending on my mood.

I missed that part of the question. I wear bike short of some sort and SPD shoes, but not a jersey. I commute 5.5 to 10.5 miles each way, depending on my mood.I missed that part of the question too! When I used to commute and for most of my current "urban" rides I just ride in street clothes. For commuting I used my work clothes and work shoes.

While I have no idea, I just returned to CONUS and ordered a new (used) bike (Bacchetta Giro 26att). I have taken the time to set uf a spreadsheet to trak all of my bike related expenses so that I can accurately answer this question in the future.

My initial purchase price of $125 for a used bike I intended to use for exercise has lead to probably several thousand more in gear and clothing. Most of what I've spent has been on extras, as the only extras the bike came with was a water bottle cage. I guess I spend about $100/year on the bike itself, and that's on parts to replace parts (like chains and cables) I've worn out by riding it.

How much have you spent on your commuter setup?

I have no idea how much $ I've specifically spent, and I don't care.

Now that I have my summer and winter commuters set up, it gets more cost effective with every ride.

All I need to know about cost is that it's been worth it.

I had to pay enough to get the Rohloff Hub, and Schmidt Dyno-hub and Wired LED lights.

I've spent less than I would on insurance, repairs, gas, tolls, parking, inspections, etc.

The bikes I use the most for commuting are the Koga and the Litespeed Huffy. I'm not counting maintenance, clothes, lights or shoes. All told, I have around 1100 into the Koga as it sits (not counting panniers and lights) and around $300 into the Litespeed Huffy. More with the custom head badge, but that was just silly bling.

http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/photo.jpg


http://i936.photobucket.com/albums/ad205/aolk67/Litespeed/photo-48.jpg

About $1000, I searched out a nice high end frame on ebay for a real great deal. Then I mostly used Nashbar and Amazon to purchase all nice quality components and accessories to build it up into a nice daily rider and commuter. This includes different sets of tires for the seasons and off road or on road. As far a clothing is concerned, maybe an additional $500 for clothing to cover all seasons also.

It's usually hard for me to keep frame up builds inexpensive...the little things catch up (especially wheels). Donor bikes work well (I did that on the Koga), but you miss out on the exact customization.

so far over $300 but I know I'm not done yet.

Luckily I wrote down all my recent purchases for my new commuting rig.
Diamondback podium 2 $524.99
cateye strada 2 cadence $36.50
shimano a530 pedals $39.14
parktool grease $6.57
new bike pump $26.28
cycling shoes $51.97
nashbar purchase consisting of $79.93
bottle cage/bottle 2x
nashbar fr1 saddle
stem bag

extra tube $7.56
hex tool $8.09
2nd hex tool $6.97
21 multi tool $11.60
wire cutter $25.98
jersey $35.25
cork tape/kool stop dura 2 $28.39
jagwire cable set $36.25
total crap combined $925.72
stuff attached to bike plus bike $745.20
still want to purchase a pair of mtb shorts, a plain jersey and maybe a pair of more suitable gloves..althougb I won't use the jersey until spring
still cheaper then buying the motorcycle I always wanted.. :-P

maintenance costs shouldn't be too bad, I can replace the usual stuff that gets worn down, chain, cabling, tires, tubes, installing accessories. Will take the bike to the lbs for trueing rims, replacing cassette, major works if required, but that's about it.

Initial set up:
vintage centurion with a set of super nice wheels= 300
rear rack=4 (used REI dividend)
collapsable basket!=20
put on turkey wing break levers for the city=60 (including labor because i didn't know how to do it at that point)
toe clips=10
pedals=30
bar tape=15
front rack=22
lights=40 (20 each set; first set got stolen)
bell=5
fenders=30
helmet=50

All told, about $600


Expandable/recurrent expense in 2012:
new break and shifter cables and housing-- maybe 12
tubes=12
new tires 40 (old ones worn out)
snow tires (moved to a snowy city this year)=56
true wheel=28

total about 150

I do usually ask for the cheapest possible, do a lot of the installation stuff myself, and I don't have any cycling specific clothing or bags.

I live in a major metropolitan area, so I save about 1400/year on metropass. Even with all that I've spent on bikes (and I just bought another one today...not out of necessity though) it still comes out cheaper.

Initial set up:
vintage centurion with a set of super nice wheels= 300. . . . Picture! Must - - Post - - Picture! A Centurian in the very early 80s was my main squeeze for a couple of years and I loved it. Post a pic of yours! :)

and around $300 into the Litespeed Huffy.

How did you get a Litespeed for $300?

Two bikes, one 10 speed and one MTB, (Miyata/Trek). Both bought on eBay, figure $900 total with shipping. Upgrades, figure $600 each bike. Helmet: $250. Clothing: I wear street clothes, so no additional cost accept a lined brief; however my commute is normally under 5 miles r/t.

However, my man hours in tweaking, experimenting, upgrading and minor maintenance has been significant over the years. It's a hobby, so I don't mind...but if I were to add that up it would be a big number...maybe 10x the attention I need to give my cars. Tools? I have tools for my car, but additional tools for my bikes has probably added $500 or so.

How did you get a Litespeed for $300?
Lucky. I bought it frame/fork for $100, used a donor bike I had gotten for $50 for the majority of the parts and wheels, used cheap used origin 8 Gary bars, a rack I bought at a flea market for $5 and a parts bin, but perfect, stem. The only things I spent money on were the Suntour commands at $40, the brake levers at $20 and the tires for around $50.

Not bad for a $300 bike :)

The secret to good purchases is not needing things. When you want something, you pay for it. When you just look around for what comes up, you can get some good deals.