DnvrFox

All costs of your biking divided by your mileage.

Include - bike cost (you can handle depreciation any way you like)
Accessories
Repair and parts
Fuel for the rider
Accidents and injuries
Clothing
Udder Balm
Anything else you might think appropriate

Deduct if you like
Costs saved at a health club
Lower medical bills due to exercise
Savings in car/auto costs
Whatever else you might think of.


Figure your costs any way you might like
Annually
Over the life of your bike
Over the life of your biking
Whatever suits you.
Estimates are fine and even encouraged!

Then indicate your costs on the poll, if you would like.

Just for fun, no big point being made here!!

https://www.intergis.com/Products/Res...ack_calc_.html
indicates car total costs are 35 cents per mile.

You guys using metric will have to convert!!

georgesnatcher

I figure that if I had not been riding I would be dead. Had some heart problems. Docs said that if I had not been riding and in shape I would probably of had the big one. Thats kind of priceless.

DnvrFox

It can't get any less expensive than that!!

L J Horton

Are you asking cost per bike? Many of us have several bikes.
I especially liked your break down of items. "Udder Balm" being one of the most important. I wouldn't dare leave home without it!
Actually, I don't keep track of mileage. Mileage, like speed is one of those things I don't care about.

DnvrFox

I also have several bikes.

I just sort of lumped them all together.

Whatever you like. This is a VERY informal and quite likely a rather inaccurate poll!!

L J Horton

Ok. I guesstimate 20 miles per day 183 days per year. That gives me a grand total of well over .20 per mile.

spazegun2213

$800 for the bike, and $200 for the rest.. and 1011.07 miles.. so that about $1.00 a mile... Best $1000 EVER.

also this is all from may, so 6-7 months.

miamijim

I'm about a buck a mile.....

3000 miles this year....I'm always buying little do-dads and misc. stuff.

I'm glad I dont have to do this for my car......

DnvrFox

Okay - but don't forget your bike still has value and you could sell it for $???.??, reducing your net out-of-pocket.

I.e., if you could s[ell it today for $500, your cost to date is only $500, not $1,000.00

Rich Clark

Almost all of my miles are commuting miles. It costs about $9 a day to do the same commute by train or car. If (conservatively) I average 3 days a week on my bike for 48 weeks, that's about $1300 a year I save right there.

While it's true that in 2000 and 2001 I had some significant capital outlays on cycling, replacing my old or inappropriate bikes with newer, higher-end gear, it's been a year now since my last big expense ($700 for the Fuji) and I don't really see anything else coming up anytime soon, besides routine maintenance and parts replacement. It would be hard to spend even half of that $1300 on clothes and parts.

Add to that the fact that, like georgesnatcher, I'd probably be dead without the cycling, and I consider the whole thing to be a net profit, both in fiscal and quality-of-life terms. As a multiple heart-attack survivor who's now achieved measurable reversal of my coronary artery disease, to me the cost of cycling is meaningless compared to the cost of not cycling.

RichC

DnvrFox

I think I need another category on my costs. "I MAKE money riding my bike" or something like that.

Great testimonial to bike riding, Rich.

I feel the same way.

Haven't had any heart problems so far, but it sure helps with my general fitness.

Hey, it got up to 50 degrees F today, and I got a great ride in.

sch

My first pass on costs, based on usual life span of
components was 10-12c/mi, but I did not count
cost of clothing, cost of driving to club rides and
costs of century rides. Adding clothes and fees in
would bump this up to at least 18c/mi... Clothing was
a bit of a stunner: $1700 since '96: 6 shorts, 6
undershorts, gloves, sweatbands, leg & arm warmers,
6 undershirts, 7 SS jerseys, 6 LS jerseys, variety of
poly pro LS under shirts, vests (fleece and nylon),
rain gear, jackets and shoes, a big item. However this
stuff wears out very slowly and all, except one pair of
shoes tossed, and worn out gloves, are still in active
use. I elected to not figure out car costs, but this
would probably add a significant increment. Too bad
I can't commute: it is 83mi each way, but not every
day. Century fees have a significant component to
charity, as much as 25% on some. Another intangible
cost is washing the stinking clothes. Steve

nathank

for me it's really tough as i have 4 bikes and mountain biking is one of my big hobbies... but i'll try for JUST commuting:

bike: old MTB, say $600 value - current value = $250 = $350 / 4 years = $87.5/yr
normal tires: 2 @$25 per 2 years = $25/yr
snow tires: 2 @$40 per 3 years = $27/yr
tubes: 3@$5/yr = $15/yr
clothing: mostly from MTBing...
accessories: rear rack + panniers = $100/4 yrs = $25/yr
maintenance: $50/yr
Fuel for the rider: <not including>
Savings in car/auto costs: not including b/c to do so i would EARN money per mile!

commuting distance = 4000km/yr = 2500 miles/yr

---> total costs = $229/yr
-> $.09/mile

but i do not own, maintain, insure or repair an automobile (rent on average 2 times per year)

nathank

oh, i just reread and noticed it is "costs of CYCLING" not just costs of commuting...

uh, then mine are much higher as i have 2 relatively expensive bikes ('01 Specializied FSR XC Comp)...

rough rough estimate: $2000/yr and 10,000km (6250miles)/yr = $.32/mile --- although since most of my recreational miles are offroad and mountainous this underrepresents the pleasure i get from those miles - would be more like twice the miles if i were riding on the road...

but since i ride for FUN i don't really care what it costs per mile --- i am fit and healthy and the money is save by not having a car pays for my hobby.

chewa

The bikes I ride are 21 and 40years old, so no depreciation (in fact they may be going the other way)

I do my own repairs.

Parts and clothes probably less than £150 a year. I save £25 a week on train or bus fares.

Hey I'm quids in! I'm making money!

Michel Gagnon

It depends what I count.

My commuter is my former touring bike. Bought as such is 1980 for $400, then added roughly $600 in maintenance, tires and parts over the last 23 years, plus about $400 in cycling shoes. I have cycled approximately 70 000 km with it and it still is going strong.
Unit cost: $0,020/km (or $0,032/mile)

My recent tourer is, well, more recent. Bought in 2000, with extra tires and modifications, plus the luxury of a Schmidt dynohub. It has cost me so far about $2200 (including some maintenance) and I have done 16 000 km with it.
Unit cost: $0,138/km (or $0,22/mile)

I haven't counted the deprecated value of those bikes, which is close to nil for the old bike (that's why I kept it instead of selling it second hand), but could be $500-800 fot the newer one. I have also counted the cost of cycling shoes, but the last two pairs are Shimano SPD and I wear them as my daily shoes (i.e. less wear on non-cycling shoes).
For commutes, the alternative is on foot ($0, plus lots of shoe wear) with an average of 2 bus tickets per week ($3,16). When I commute on foot, I use up 1 pair of shoes ($250) + 1 pair of overshoes ($30) per year, whereas I now use 1 pair of cycling shoes per 3 years.
There is some saved money on gas, parking, car maintenance... for leasure activities done by bike. But then I should add the cost of child trailer, trailercycle, child bikes... although otherwise, I might have spent on skates, piano lessons...

Regards,

Poguemahone

Gawd. I have no clue. Last year it was probably around a penny a mile, this year it's probably more in the 20 cent plus range, because I bought the Surly and the 72 PX10 (even together less than many folk's bikes). Plus I bought some tools and a trailer (and old french parts on ebay), about 1200-1500 USD total. Hmm. I think I average 80-100 miles a week on the bike, though I have no real idea, I don't have a computer or odometer, and after running cross country in High School, I swore I'd never keep exact counts of miles ever again. 300-400 a month, 3500-5000 in a year. Yep, that's more than 20 cents a mile, I guess I have to punch that button. On the other hand, with the exception of the Surly, I'm pretty sure I could sell all my bikes for more than I paid for them. In some cases, far more. And then you've got to factor in the two frames I found at the thrift store, stripped for parts and sold on ebay for far more than I paid for the entire bikes. I'm stopping before this math crap drives me insane.

closetbiker

I put down 3 cents per mile adding up the cost of the bike and yearly expenses. This is about 10 times less than the cost per mile for my last car (both car and bike lasted 11 years before retirement).

I could add in the costs not incured doing things like going to a gym or other physical activities like playing hockey or golf or whatever but I think the real cost savings is invisible and something Rich touched on. The improvement in health is invaluble. There is no price tag on being alive and you could easily add in the income someone is making to the costs of cycling because they are making money because they are healthy from cycling and not 6 feet under or in bed and sick.

DnvrFox

Although not a lot of folks responded (24) it was surprising to me that over a third had costs of 15 cents per mile or more, with 20% with costs over 20 cents per mile.

I would generally have suspected that costs would run near 5 cents per mile or less.

Thanks for all the responses.

This has been an interesting project.

Michel Gagnon

Well, the Canadian Automobile Club estimates that operating a car comes to $0,50/km (or $0,60 U.S. per mile). The CAA estimate is all inclusive for a mid-size or compact car (I don't remember), yet it doesn't account other goodies that many car drivers buy along the road:
- windshield washer;
- wheel covers ;
- CDs for the car;
- suncreen, etc.

With all that, I bet the total cost of a car would be closer to $0,65 or $0,70 U.S. per mile for a mid-size, and could jump well above $1,00 - 1.50 for a large vehicle. Got to amortize that Hummer...

In that light, $0,20/mile isn't excessive for some "luxury cyclists" or "infrequent cyclists".

Regards,

RiPHRaPH

thinking on the fly here. i don't count depreciation because biking is not a business accounting procedure. i think in terms of replacement value. if my pedals brake (as they just did...broke the spindle after 20,000 miles and 8 years) i need to pay $64.99 for new LOOK's on sale.
however, i didn't need to buy my new ksyrium elite's to replace my open pro's. i did need to buy a new bell helmet (44.99 on sale) and a new micro saddle bag ($4.99) -new stem and tires in recent months.

but averaged out over the lifetime of expected milage i'd get out of them, after the initial cost of $2200 for the road bike and $400 for mountain bike, plus $100 in clothing per year (over 10 years thats a grand) although you have to wear clothes to drive your car. do they count clothing expenses for driving?

i'm going for $5000 spent over 10 years. 22,000miles over that time. so that's 22.7 cents per mile.

honestly, i'm on the same ultegra kit i bought 15,000 miles ago. i spend on some lubes, degreasers, a new chain each year. new bar tape each year.

every single piece of clothing i own was bought on sale or closeout. i'm not a team jersey guy (i'm not sponsored by them, so...)

i may be forgetting the $12 i spent on my pedal wrench or the $14 on my chain whip, but i bike pretty inexpensively. a few flats replaced per year, some CO2 cannisters...

***the savings in Lipitor each year (my cholesterol is 180 with a perfect ratio)***

my clothes last a long time. i replace more out of want than need. even if i added another grand thats still 27.2 cents per mile.