It occurred to me this morning to ask this here. For a short commute it makes sense to use your bike instead of a car but for longer distances, even though more gas would be used, if you have a gas efficient car, one might be better off using the car. Here's why: a longer bike commute requires more food and laundry.

Right now my meals are based on my activity level. When I introduce about 3 hrs of cardio I will b increasing my carbs and protein and that costs money. Food actually costs more than fuel. That combined with laundry detergent and hot water, and parts and nick knacks for the bike, add up to an equation that at the end of the season doesn't save me money.

Anyway I thought I'd put this out here for discussion, what do we think about the distance affecting the potential cost savings? I'm thinking that over 25 miles round trip there is no cost savings if your car gets 25 mpg commuting and gas is $2.00 pr gal.

Don't expect gas to be at $2.00 for too long. Predictions are already putting the price of gas near $3.00 by mid summer.

Also in your calculations bear in mind that you already eat, and you already wash clothes. At best you will only marginally increase your expenses in these areas.

For me never. I purchase way too much gear, clothing, etc to satiate my addiction.
It has never been about the money but staying in shape and avoiding a 90 min car commute that bores the heck out of me.
One could save money if they ditched a car all together.

You may want to also consider the exercise you get... if you did not cycle for that distance, how and where would you get that same amount of exercise? If it is by going to a gym... factor in that cost too.

Eh, I commute because I enjoy it. It's good for me, good for the earth and most importantly; I do it because I can. I don't think I'm saving much money, but I'm enjoying myself.

It allows us to have only one car, so I'd say that's some pretty big savings.

And time is a biggie for me, so if I stopped my 90 minutes of bike commuting each day, it would be replaced by 50 minutes in the car, leaving only 40 minutes for any kind of cardio to net out to the same amount of time...

I could probably be saving money if I were only maintaining one bike. My problem (like Datajunkie) is that I am always skeeming about my next shingy new bike part. And I spread those desires across 5 bikes; so I don't save any money.

On the other hand, It could be argued that I would be spending money on bike parts even if I were not commuting.

It ain't about the money for me, but since it is to you, you'll realize your cost savings by avoiding that first trip your fat, lazy, non-riding butt makes to the ER to restart your heart from a McMuffin attack.

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And i eat the same amount whether i'm exercising or not. So for me cycling is always cheaper.

You're trolling, right?

When my ex totaled up my expenses for an 18 mile round trip commute she came up with $6.00 a month.

For your trips in a car, you're looking at about $40.00 a month for gas, and you still haven't included insurance, maintenance and depreciation.

And what Chipcom said.

Extra food and laundry costs? Really? You are over thinking this thing. You need to ride more.

"If you're thinking too much, you're not riding fast enough."

Cycling is the cheapest form of transportation available to me. However, the cycling hobby/obsession has cost me a bundle. I am thousands in the red if I compare my discretionary spending on cycling recreation to what I saved in gas and automobile costs. However, since much of my commuting has been transformed into recreation, my commuting costs have technically plummeted.

But it could save you money. My co-worker commuted 28 miles round trip, seven days a week (yeah, he works way harder than I do) last year from May through october. On a walmart bike that didn't fit him. Something like over 800 miles a month. I figure he saved about $1200 or more last year. Of course, this year he wants a road bike that fits him, and he is a small person, hard to find a frame in his size. He'll end up spending about a thousand on the new bike, but still be ahead.

You start saving money ... the moment you stop buying more bike gear.

So never.

I'm not saving anything by bike commuting. There's a school bus that goes exactly where i'm going, and with my summer job I get to ride the town bus for free. But i'd have most of the bike gear for weekend and road rides that I have now. Might as well put them to good use more than once a week, eh?

that said, I also have access to a car when I need to go farther than I can feasibly bike.

You save some serious coin when you replace a car with a utilitarian commuter bike + public transport, as I have done.

The cost savings is secondary.
I've reached that age where it's dangerous to look at food.
For example, if I look at a cheeseburger, the molecules transfer through my eyeballs, bypassing the digestive tract, and land on the sides of my stomach.

You and me both!... I think I'll start holding my breath when riding past the local McD's, just in case.

You save money when/if you sell the car.

If you consider the car/taxes/insurance/depreciation a fixed expense, then no... you'll never save much money riding a bike. The only exception I've seen is the people who have to pay large parking fees if they drive.

Since I don't have to buy a newer motor vehicle, I've eliminated having to make loan/interest payments for the next several years. By having an older vehicle, insurance and licensing fees are at their lowest, and with the lower driving miles comes lower maintenance and fuel costs. I was always a fan of eating lots of food, so the food bill is close to being the same, though I suspect it is lower since using the bike and not the SUV, I've learned to eliminate frivolous trips to the grocery store or fast food restaurants that otherwise would have been an easy jaunt by motor vehicle.
I didn't save very much money over the past few years since I used most of those savings to upgrade my bicycle fleet and cycling gear, but at least I have something more to show for my money spent than just a hand full of gas receipts.

My payoff was immediate, when I take into account that because I ride my bike I don't join a health club. That would cost far more than the trinkets I buy for my bike.

Something else to consider is car maintenance. If you drive it less, fewer things wear out.

My POS car will last longer if I ride more. Getting a car fixed can be *way* more expensive than getting a bike fixed.

Also consider: you should be getting a couple of hours of cardio a week anyway. You'd have to do that laundry.
I don't spend squat on my bike anymore, after the first couple of years. Chains, brake pads, tires. I did have a broken axle this year, so that cost me $100, and I picked up a spare helmet and a couple of other things, so $80 there, and new studded tires for $130, but that should be it for several years. On an average year I spend < $100, and if I for some reason can't ride, I use the treadmill or something else and have to wash just as much stuff.

Plus, I'm on a well, so washing doesn't really cost me much, I'm not paying much for water.

But honestly, I'd still ride even if cars and gas were free. I'm not doing this to save money.

It bears consideration that different people eat differently. You and I, for instance. From the OP I gather that you watch not only what you eat, but also the amount. I, on the other hand, eat as much as I want of whatever I want. I would eat this way whether I rode or not, so riding or not riding doesn't save me any money. Riding does, however, keep me from getting fat.

I don't eat more just because I rode a longer distance.

Likewise, longer distance does not generate more laundry for someone like me. I don't stop mid-ride to change clothes. I may stop and add or remove a layer for weather related reasons, but that is rare. Usually if I wear it to ride to work, I put it on again to ride home; again, with consideration to the weather conditions.

The only reason I see to choose driving the car over a bike is time constraints.

So I don't look at bike commuting as saving any money from those points of view. I do see bike commuting as saving me all the money associated with owning a second car.