[SDCBC] Sprinter good!

[JonIsaacs at aol.com]

In a message dated 3/16/08 8:18:06 PM Pacific Standard Time, 
tvandaelen at accelrys.com writes:

> Just curious, has anyone ever calculated the cost of bike commuting? 
> 
> E.g.: 
> $3000 bike, depreciating $1000 per year 
> Parts: $20/week 
> Extra food: $15 week 
> Clothing: $250/year 
> other? 
> 
> That's $3000/year. My commute is 7.5 miles each way, 3500 miles/year. So 
> over $1 per mile??? 
> 
> If I add my non-commute miles it brings it down to less than a dollar. So 
> thats not too bad I guess. 
=========

Hi all:

Certainly one can spend $3000 for a bike that is replaced every 3 years and 
certainly one can spend $20 a week in parts and $250 in clothing.   But there 
are more cost effective ways to commute.  I know people who have been riding 
the same simple MTB on a 25 mile/day commute for more than 10 years.  
Maintainance costs on a MTB are much less as the tires last longer, one gets fewer 
flats.  The 7 speed drive train is less expensive to maintain.  One of my favorite 
commuter bikes is a 1989 Specialized StumpJumper outfitted for the road with 
1.25x 26 tires and fenders for the rain.  

For someone like that the cost looks like this:

Total mileage:  200days @ 25mile/day = 10,000 miles/year

- Bike:  $400 replaced every 10 years = 0.4cents/mile

- Lights: $150 replaced every 5 years = 0.3 cents/mile

- Clothing cost:  (shoes, cleats, new jerseys, shorts):  $100/year = 0.01 
cents/mile

- Repair costs:

- Tires:  5000/miles set @ $15/tire = 0.6 cents/mile

- Driveline $20/2000 miles = 1.0 cents/mile

-Wheels:  $150/25000 miles = 0.6 cents/mile

- Misc:  $100/year = 1.0/cents/mile

- Food...  0.0 cents/mile

Total costs:  4.9 cents/mile

It can be done cheaper, but I would guess about 2-3 cents/mile would be the 
minimum.  My own costs are somewhere in the middle...  Properly maintained a 
good quality road bike will last many years but will have maintainance costs 
somewhat greater than a MTB or Hybrid style bike.

A deeper analysis would include reduced health care costs, possible reduced 
gym costs, possible reduced parking costs.  In my situation biking to work 
instead of driving saves me $1000/year in parking costs....   



So as they say:

Cost of bicycle commuting:  $0.05/mile - $1.00/mile

Pleasure of bicycle commuting:  Priceless

Jon







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