Let's look at car costs. The average person has a car for 3 years. My present car cost me $16k. I have a 5 or 6 year loan at $325 a month. Insurance is $75 a month and I spend at least $40 a week on gas. A few times I year I get my oil changed at perhaps $25 a pop. I think those numbers may perhaps be average. We'll say, minus extra's that's $4,900 a year. From a purely monetary perspective that's like a new $14,700 bike every 3 years.

Now, the question is this: What is the opportunity to ride the bike to work instead of the car? Personally, that's difficult for me as my work lies at the exit of a highway. For me to get there, I have to go along two other highways. It's only about 17 miles away, but most of that is on two highways and we have legal issues with that here. Sure, if I were going to college again or working in the city itself I could definitely ride to work and would, but implied in the question of cost of a bike versus a car is the notion you'd be riding the bike instead of the car and while that might be fine for doing light shopping or to the movies or something, it's not often practical for some that work.