TCO of Bicycles

Something to consider, and it includes a spreadsheet to make the calculations.  Not a bad deal for around $50 a month, not including extra food.

http://www.mint.com/blog/consumer-iq/the-true-cost-of-bike-ownershi...

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Permalink Reply by Joon Kim on March 6, 2013 at 2:59am

Yeah, I thought the same thing.  An angle grinder can make short work out of any lock and a crowded area is no guarantee that anyone is going to do anything about a theft in progress.  Throw on a helmet and it looks like a guy who lost his key.  

Also, the statistics for bike theft with Amsterdam at 12% and NY at 3% is highly misleading.  Those numbers were compared to the whole population.  If you did a comparison of actual cyclist miles to bikes stolen, Amsterdam wouldn't even register. 

Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on March 6, 2013 at 6:47am

The bigger problem I have is the parts estimate.   He estimates that tires will last for TWO years.  At least on our roads, my Forte K tires last about 3 -4 months, certainly not two years.  He estimates one year for Tubes.   Now I admit that I replace rather than patch, but I am about two tubes a month due to road hazards.   He has similar "rosy scenarios" for other parts.  Its a great idea, but the cost is a bit higher.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 6, 2013 at 8:53am

I think that tire and tube life vary tremendously depending on where one rides (road surface, glass, railroad tracks, etc.), total load on the bike, how much mileage per month, how diligent one is about keeping tires well inflated and, of course, what kind of tires and tubes you use.

Using Schwalbe Marathons (or Marathon Plus - depending on which bike) with average tubes, I easily get 2+ years and 2000+ miles out of that combo, riding with a total load on the bike of 200+ lbs. in areas with crappy pavement, lots of railroad crossings and glass. I check my tire pressure at least once per week and inflate as needed - more in high mileage weeks.  Your mileage may vary...

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on March 6, 2013 at 8:54am

^ you're doing something wrong...

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on March 6, 2013 at 10:58am

Tires and tubes only lasting a few months seems a bit extreme to me, even with high mileage.

Permalink Reply by spencewine on March 6, 2013 at 1:14pm

Kickstand comic pretty much sums it up for me:

http://yehudamoon.com/20080204/

Permalink Reply by Joon Kim on March 6, 2013 at 1:49pm

For what it's worth, I've had the same tires for 3 years, and I put on about 2000 miles per year. These are 700x23 continental road tires.   I've ridden them on Chicago streets and on long stretches of packed gravel.  I do get the occasional 'you should change your tires' look from others when I mention how long I've ridden them but they've been working fine.  Like most other things on a bike, you can stretch the use of tires a lot longer than manufacturer suggestions.  Some people like to change tires (and other things) on a set schedule, others wait until there's a gaping hole and the inner tube is leaking out.  Obviously, your personality in this respect will dictate your overall cost of ownership.

Permalink Reply by David P. on March 7, 2013 at 3:49am

One can come up with a reasonable monthly cost of ownership that will be pretty close for most people who commmute, but of course it can be highly variable. I don't think the numbers presented in the article are unreasonable on a first-order level.

OTOH I cannot imagine why someone would replace tires every few months. Even tires that are not designed with long tread life in mind will last far longer than that unless you ride, say, 10,000 miles or more per year. My primary bike has Grand Bois Hetres that I bought slightly used almost two years ago and I probably won't wear them out until at least midyear. I ride ca. 4000/yr, mostly on that bike.

Tubes will last almost indefinitely unless they are torn at the valve stem or receive a large cut.

Permalink Reply by Crazy David 84 Furlongs on March 7, 2013 at 10:52am

Huh.   My tires were pretty much tread free and the rough material on the road was poking holes through the tire into the inner tube at 1600 miles.    But then, I do tend to brake a bit harder than I should and I suspect I may have "washed off" on the pavement portions of the tire.  My mileage isn't that high.  The commutes a mere 10 miles in each direction.   Maybe its the tires or the road conditions..   Now that I think about it, I used to ride many more miles in the later 70's and early 80's and the tires seemed to last forever.   

Permalink Reply by Noah Weiss 1.2 km on March 9, 2013 at 3:15am

Yay, a new-to-me webcomic to read!

spencewine said:

Kickstand comic pretty much sums it up for me:

http://yehudamoon.com/20080204/

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 9, 2013 at 3:28am

I'm sure I spend way more than that per bicycle per month.  

$50  isn't even one low-end bib or a decent jersey.  A lot of races and events cost that much, and the racing license is like $60/year these days.

So if $50 is just for each bike and doesn't include kit, entry fees, tools, travel costs, and other incidentals then maybe.  Although I just got a new crankset and bottom bracket for my rando which is a quarter of a year's worth right there.   Baby is going to need a new set of tires soon and I just put a rebuild kit into the eggbeaters (that I had on stock but I'm ordering another one to put back in the spares.)

I dunno about  that $50/month figure!

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