How much per mile does your bike cost?

[KneesUp]

Whenever I click 'New Posts' there seems to be someone asking questions about upgrading something, or replacing something. It seems that modern components have sacrificed longevity in exchange for lightness.

Given all this expenditure, how much do you reckon your bike costs per mile?

 

[vickster]

I dread to think in terms of depreciation! Not a lot in maintenance as I tend to sell on before anything much is needed! I think I've only actually needed to replace inner tubes, at £1.50 a time or whatever they are from halfords

I went through a phase of changing cars every 6 months, having more than one car etc,so doing it with bikes is much cheaper!

 

[BigAl68]

I spent about 200 pounds on tyres, chain, cassette, bar tape, cables, brake pads and a chain ring over the past 12 months and do an average of 200 miles a week so about 2p a mile. If I had paid more attention to my chain wear then my chain ring would still be good and it drops to 1.3p a mile.

Sounds good value to me.

 

[Brandane]

Specialized Tricross, £700.
Specialized Secteur, £650.
Upgrades and maintenance for 6 years, £500.
Riding them for several thousands of miles; priceless.

 

[numbnuts]

This year just on parts/accessories works out at £0.35 per mile

 

[HarryTheDog]

Cycling makes me money really. If I parked near work it would cost 23 quid per day plus fuel of around 5 or 6 quid. So 28 per day, 4 days per week, 46 weeks a year saves me 5,152quid a year, been cycling for 8 years so saved 41,216 quid . My best bike was 800 quid ( BHG2) a last years model ( 2007) bought in 2008 at half price ( Astana using it in the TDf and all being banned for drugs effected it) , used about 3 or 4 sets of wheels at 200 quid or so , new cranks brakes etc say 1,000 quid or so + wheels total probably 3,000. My cross bike Cannondale CX9 bought secondhand cost 400 only a month old ( previous oner paid nearly 1,100 for it) I have changed it from Sora 9 speed to 105 and put avid ultimate brakes on it and also eaten 3 sets of wheels probably cost me 2,000 so far. My track bike also secondhand cost 400 used it twice, spent no money on it. MTB bought secondhand 900 quid , new set of wheels and cranks and gears and forks say 2,500. Dawes tourer bought for 75 secondhand upgraded gears and wheels 500 quid. So my little stable has cost me 8,400 so far plus say another 1,000 to be generous in tyres,tubes lube etc. etc. Then there my racing wheels probably 3,000 quid for the 3 sets. total of 12,400 so I am 28,816 quid up. Feck I can buy a shed load more bikes. ( oh I did my kids and wife have them all and they are all better than mine)
Edit I forgot my 3 sets of wheels for cross racing ( all tubs bought secondhand total cost 600 + tyres takes it to probably another 800) so 20,000 better off.

 

[User6179]

I worked it out before to about 15 pence per mile on the good bike ,so far about 20000 miles and about £3000 spent including bike , tyres seem to be the biggest expense after the bike at about 2-3 pence a mile and the bike so far has cost about 9 pence per mile .

 

[Deleted member 35268]

Since I bought the bike, in 2009, I have done about 23000 miles.
Bike cost £800
Upgrades / repairs, Cassettes x 10 = £150, Chains x10 £80, Groupset x2 £100, wheelsets (x2) £150, Tyres £200, Accessories £100, clothing £200, inner tubes, £50

Total, £1830, round up to £2000 Total

£0.09 pence per mile

___________________________________________________________________________

Money saved cycling to work, 10 miles round trip, 4 times a week, for 45 weeks, = 1800 miles, Petrol cost, £322.31 per year

Over the lifetime of the bike, I saved £2250, let's round that down to £2000 for arguments sake, which is the same amount I spent on the bike + stuff.

So, by commuting to work, I paid for all the bike stuff. Win Win.

 

[byegad]

My aging ICE QNT recumbent trike has cost me at least 20p/mile including spares and repairs as well as the purchase cost, and frankly it would have been worth the money at £2/mile.

 

[bpsmith]

Also factor on what you would have done, and spent, during the time you were out cycling. Albeit out at the shops, in the pub, out for a drive, reading books, gardening, etc.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

If I didn't spend so much time cycling I could spend more time on here, thereby raising my posting total from 200 or so (in eight years!).

 

[Scotchlovingcylist]

Don't give it much thought but a bus everyday would cost me approx £1200 a year plus would double my journey times.
My bike and kit etc come to about £400 and need to spend maybe £40 currently on maintenance.
The way I look at it is I don't need to spend £400 a year on a gym membership either just to ride a static bike or run on a treadmill so really cycling actually saves me money

 

[vickster]

Cycling costs me far more money in coffee and cake than if I didn't cycle

 

[derrick]

The cycling is cheap, it's the beers at the end of every ride that cost me, but it's probably still cheaper than running the car.

 

[slowmotion]

I do about 4500 miles each year. In that time I might get through a chain (£15), two sets of cheap tyres (£40), cables (£15) brake pads, (£20) half a set of wheels (£60), half a cassette (£15) and a couple of tubes (£10). That works out at about 4p per mile for bits but it's not the whole picture. Clothing seems to fall apart pretty quickly, especially shoes, and it doesn't come cheap, nor do the various tools that I've bought over the last few years. Insurance is about £25 pa.

My guess is that 7-10p per mile all up is probably not too far wrong . Capital cost of the bike is extra.