Originally Posted by
tjspiel
And like I said, a backup bike does no good if there's a mechanical issue on your way to work. It's more important in my mind to have a plan for that situation than to have a backup bike. Yes, if you crash and your bike is out of commission for awhile, a backup bike would be handy. But what if your ankle is broken in that same crash?
Problem - solution. That's the way I look at it. From my perspective.
Riding bicycle to work: nice.
Public transport: suck.
I do what I can to go to work by bicycle, whenever possible. That's why I have a cheap backup bicycle. Just in case. It costs me about 10 euros per year extra. No big deal. And it does come in handy when I can't fix my main commuter quickly.
So, if commuting bike no1 gets ****ed up on the way to work, I call, say I'll be late (or someone picks me up if it's an emergency). That doesn't happen often. However, if it can't be fixed within that day, instead of using public transport, I ride backup bike.
One more point. When I was talking about bicycle commuting, I had in mind a person who is not crazy like myself and who doesn't use bicycle for enjoyment, but because there is no affordable alternative transport. In that case, there just has to be a backup bike (no bus/train lines near, or too few departures per day, no car, motorcycle etc...).