$$ bike repairs, but still cheaper

Than owning and operating a car several times per month.

Well, have dropped enough coin for bike part replacements and some repairs in last 2 months. About $170.00Can over 4 different situations. Highlights:

1. Replaced bike v-brakes completely by LBS. : Spring broke. Maybe someone can tell me how dangerous it was because I've been biking on this unawares until today it felt "funny" /wrong to me. Bike mechanic told today he wouldn't ride the bike. Had my bike cables and houseing replaced too.

2. Bought 1 replacement tire --a Schwable Marathon flatless tire. (we'll see about this. But I like Schwable.) : Dearie told me my tire had alot of gashes.

3. Bought 2 bike tubes: Had a flat tire which didn't show up until AFTER a 93 km. ride --with 50 km. on the Trans-CAnada highway, a major 4 lane highway. A fine black wire from shredded, rethreaded radial tire shreds, punctured my tire and caused a slow leak. Thank God, I got home!!

4. My whole handlebar set was crooked...too loose. No charge to fix, it was a gross oversight...

With such bike repair discoveries and fixes, I always feel relieved. :)

You are absolutely right, it is WAY less expensive than a car and of course better for your health!

AS for your brakes, I too, would not ride my bike that way. When a spring brakes, it essentialy means that only one side of the caliper is working. Often times, it means that the opposing side may be dragging on the rim, or that the opposing caliper has worked harder because of the spring and is worn out as well. Always better to side with caution, especially where brakes are concerned.

I have a pair of the Schwalbe Marathons, and like most people have had VERY good luck with them!! it will be interesting to hear your take on them as well.

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

Than owning and operating a car several times per month.

Well, have dropped enough coin for bike part replacements and some repairs in last 2 months. About $170.00Can over 4 different situations. Highlights:

1. Replaced bike v-brakes completely by LBS. : Spring broke. Maybe someone can tell me how dangerous it was because I've been biking on this unawares until today it felt "funny" /wrong to me. Bike mechanic told today he wouldn't ride the bike. Had my bike cables and houseing replaced too.

2. Bought 1 replacement tire --a Schwable Marathon flatless tire. (we'll see about this. But I like Schwable.) : Dearie told me my tire had alot of gashes.

3. Bought 2 bike tubes: Had a flat tire which didn't show up until AFTER a 93 km. ride --with 50 km. on the Trans-CAnada highway, a major 4 lane highway. A fine black wire from shredded, rethreaded radial tire shreds, punctured my tire and caused a slow leak. Thank God, I got home!!

4. My whole handlebar set was crooked...too loose. No charge to fix, it was a gross oversight...

With such bike repair discoveries and fixes, I always feel relieved. :)

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This goes to show how many miles you are riding. You must be super healthy. Plus, you were able to complete the 50km ride safely. Yeah! :cool:
____________________________________

2012 Specialized Amira Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm switched to 145mm 2012 Selle Italia Max SLR Gel Flow saddle

2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle

Well, I've done about 1,200 km this summer. Other summers it's been double the mileage. However, I don't care as long as I'm on the bike daily and enjoying it/do some travel out of town (which we have).

Ridebikeme, thanks for the opinion. When the bike mechanic gave his diagnosis and told me he wouldn't ride the bike, that scared me.
So I bought the box of brakes from this store but had to go to another LBS to have them installed because lst shop was booked up for the next 5 days. (OUr LBS' stores get real busy in the downtown core in the summer. meaning one usually has to book an "appointment" to insure that bike will be repaired on xxxxx day. Walk-in repair is near impossible at this time of year.)

These problems probably indicate the roughness of roads (meaning roads that need repair or debris on them), and hard winter cycling in very cold temp. too. I need Schwable for tires.

and that major highway I was riding on its shoulder, the cars were speeding at legal limit of 110 km. Yes, bikes are allowed this particular highway section. (In B.C. and Ontario, legal limit on major highways is 100km.)

My bike mechanic will work in those who arrive on a bike and need the bike to get home on the same day if humanly possible. One of the many reasons I'm fiercely loyal to his shop.

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Originally Posted by Muirenn

Snort! I just dropped $42.00 on a tank of gas today. And it's just a 2 door Honda Civic, with a small tank!!!

$170.00 on bike parts sound dreamy. ;)

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Eh. I can hardly compare gas prices vs savings by riding a bike. When I bike commute to work, I eat the equivalent of what the gas would cost because I show up starving.

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Originally Posted by jessmarimba

Eh. I can hardly compare gas prices vs savings by riding a bike. When I bike commute to work, I eat the equivalent of what the gas would cost because I show up starving.

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I know that I always wade into any thread mentionning fuel prices, but on current costs in my town my next small tank (55litres) will cost me about $130. I've just checked the conversion twice. I'm cycling/walking/taking the bus a lot more now, especially as it just cost over $800 to get the car insured, serviced and MOT'd (compulsory test of road-worthiness) for another 12 months. Compare that to the $48 I spent on Tuesday to have one bike serviced and another one repaired, both at my home. Eating a bit more after biking/walking is easily accomodated within savings on gas.

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Originally Posted by hebe

I know that I always wade into any thread mentionning fuel prices, but on current costs in my town my next small tank (55litres) will cost me about $130. I've just checked the conversion twice. I'm cycling/walking/taking the bus a lot more now, especially as it just cost over $800 to get the car insured, serviced and MOT'd (compulsory test of road-worthiness) for another 12 months. Compare that to the $48 I spent on Tuesday to have one bike serviced and another one repaired, both at my home. Eating a bit more after biking/walking is easily accomodated within savings on gas.

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Gas in Europe is alot more expensive than in North America. Thx for the reminder, hebe. We forget at times here with our huge expanses of distance, wilderness and so called abundance of "short-lived" natural resources on our own continent.

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h. I can hardly compare gas prices vs savings by riding a bike. When I bike commute to work, I eat the equivalent of what the gas would cost because I show up starving.

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Well, jess I'm sure some people may use this logic...to give up on exercise/cycling. Would you tell someone this if they were trying to lose weight? Some of us are cycling for not just transportation, but for fun and for our health --physical and mental.

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

Well, jess I'm sure some people may use this logic...to give up on exercise/cycling. Would you tell someone this if they were trying to lose weight? Some of us are cycling for not just transportation, but for fun and for our health --physical and mental.

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But that's totally unrelated to the thread. The thread is about money savings for bike commuting vs car. I save wear & tear on the car by bike commuting, but daily expenditure is about the same. My daily commute would be about 2/3 gallon of gas, or...maybe $2.40 (depending on where I buy it). I can't even ride the bus for that price (and the bus ride takes longer than biking!) But then, my car is fairly cheap to maintain and has been paid off since the second I purchased it - and Colorado has relatively cheap insurance (especially if you don't have comprehensive/collision).

I'm on the line about whether or not the bus is cheaper than driving or quicker than taking the bike, but it is sheltered and involves no parking or finding somewhere to leave the trailer. At the moment dd is free on the bus, once she turns 5 driving will definitely be cheaper. SLightly o/t, I want to raise her to be able to get herself around by bus/bike/walking, so in some ways we'll just have to swallow the extra cost.

I do find it difficult to quantify the various costs. With a car that is all paid for and ready to use there is the temptation just to use it anyway, to get the best return on investment. But short journeys damage the car and result in higher repair bills, and then there are the hidden benefits of the improvement to my health, modelling alternative transport to my daughter, and the hidden costs to the environment for journeys where I personally have access to alternative transport modes (bike, bus, feet).

Does your bike feel better for the improvements?

Heh, I just bought 2 new tires for the car. $197.

I'd have rather put it toward a new bike. But I also had to pick up 2 new bike tires. I bought Gatorskins. Even with my employee discount, the tires plus an extra tube was $88.

I wish I could commute by bike, but given the state my knee is in right now, I'm really glad I have the car!

Hope you get better, Owlie.

Whatever works for you Jesse.

If we stick to the topic of strictly cost, then there is a health care cost for others who don't do anything to get healthier later.

Of course, I just use my money for something else if it isn't for car use/maintenance, etc...which has worked for me really well. I did post this article I wrote up awhile ago.

My husband and I have this "discussion" a little more often than we should. (Since by "discussion" I mean of course "heated argument".) Actually he has a point, our car is so old and we are >25 (by more than a few years now) with good records, it is paid off, so liability insurance is pretty low. Bikes need a lot of accessories that cars don't. I'm not sure that I can argue that I eat more because of bicycling, because I still have sufficient stored to fuel quite a few miles.

I conservatively calculate ~500 miles per pound of fat. So I could bike 10,000 miles on my stored fuel.

On the other hand it is an old car and invariably both the car and at least one bike seem to need repaired at the same time. The car always costs 10X as much as the bike to repair.

But then we end up using the car for things because of the bike. Like the trip to Columbia last week so I could ride on the Katy Trail with the Long Road Home Projects (vets biking Washington State to Washington DC).

The bike needs a lot of accessories and we don't have any accessories for the car. There's always something I want for my bike, or more often (and expensively) clothes.

The health costs can't really be calculated on an individual basis. My health care costs are much higher than my husband's. He doesn't bike (or exercise). Would my health care be even higher if I didn't bike? It's hard to say. The impact of bicycling on health costs is better calculated on a population level than an individual.

If you assume a gym membership in lieu of bicycling, that does increase the cost of driving.

Like diet & exercise, money is individual & complex. Probably most people would save money by using active transportation for most of their short trips. But not everyone. If you have a long commute, a bike ride of 45 minutes or more, you could easily spend that money saved on food & gear. There are lots of reasons why bicycling might not be cheaper for someone.