The "cost" of commuting...

trevorh

I have commuted to work on and off for about 5 years. I started travelling between Epsom and Weybridge (24 miles total) on a Boardman comp hybrid - this lasted about 2 and a half years. in that time I only needed to replace the tyres and brake pads and apart from that it never missed a beat. Last year I moved jobs and now commute from Banstead to Leatherhead (14 miles a day) on a Specialized Diverge A1, purchased last year. Since then I have had to have the frame replaced under warranty, change the tyres as they had started to fray at the bead and now it needs a new chain and cassette as the LBS say that they have worn. I can only draw comparisons against my old Boardman that did about 10000 with minimal maintenance and the Specialized that has done around 2800 miles, regularly cleaned and lubed etc and needs £70 of work doing to it already. Is this normal? Maybe my expectations of the components are too high but I would expect a "gravel" bike to be more durable given its design for purpose. I seem to have had many problems in a short space of time and would like to see other riders experience with part replacement cost and frequency.

fenix

Learn to change your chain and its what £20 ? I'm sure your block will be good for a while longer too - its only when you use an old chain and it wears the block down. What tyres were they ? I've some marathon plus tyres that must have done twice your mileage and still going strong.

And you've saved a lot more than you would if you'd been driving anyway.

trevorh

I agree with the cost relative to driving, just wasn't expecting wear that quickly. Is a chain good for a certain amount of miles? I wouldn't have thought that 3500 miles per year (average) would be considered high mileage. I am going on a mechanics course soon so a lot of the little jobs I should be able to do myself. The tyres were specialized ones that came with the bike and I now have a set of armadillo all condition tyres which seem to be much better. I was going to look at the marathons but have heard that they make the ride of the bike feel "dead".

fenix

A chain checking tool costs about a fiver. OK - maybe a bit more - https://www.amazon.co.uk/IceToolz-Iceto ... B006W91B9M

A lot depends on the riding really - if its just dry days then a chain will last a long time.
If you ride in the wet and grit - then it will wear quicker.

My marathons are heavy - no doubt about it - but they're bombproof and I figure if I'm working harder than my pal - it's doing me more favours. Train hard - race easy !

The Rookie

I have been commuting by bike since 2009.
Total distance travelled 6716 miles
Mileage saving versus using a car £2,340.23
Total cost on bikes/parts etc. £620.40

Better off to the tune of £1,719.83

trevorh

Thanks for the replies guys. Seems that this is just normal wear then. I have ridden in all conditions without mudguards so I suppose the drive train has taken a fair pounding, especially in the rain. This winter I will fit guards to try and help and maybe not ride it like I'm trying to win the Tour De France!!! (Strava etc.). I definitely need to have perspective in relation to the cost compared to public transport/car. I have spent about £900 including the bike so total for a year per week = £17.30 per week or around 30p per mile. This will drop even further as I wont have the cost of the bike next year. I must say though I am not convinced that the Diverge is suited to anything but road riding and the 35mm tyre clearance is also debatable.

arthur_scrimshaw

trevorh wrote:

Thanks for the replies guys. Seems that this is just normal wear then. I have ridden in all conditions without mudguards so I suppose the drive train has taken a fair pounding, especially in the rain. This winter I will fit guards to try and help and maybe not ride it like I'm trying to win the Tour De France!!! (Strava etc.). I definitely need to have perspective in relation to the cost compared to public transport/car. I have spent about £900 including the bike so total for a year per week = £17.30 per week or around 30p per mile. This will drop even further as I wont have the cost of the bike next year. I must say though I am not convinced that the Diverge is suited to anything but road riding and the 35mm tyre clearance is also debatable.

I think you may have been very fortunate with your first bike, 3000 is a good mileage for a chain and as suggested, checking your chain will prevent early wear on cassette and chainrings (which should last much longer)

I commute 5000 miles a year and have saved loads (sold my car) but probably spent it all on bike related stuff so break even?

thistle_

Fenix wrote:

A chain checking tool costs about a fiver. OK - maybe a bit more - https://www.amazon.co.uk/IceToolz-Iceto ... B006W91B9M

Or if you're really on a budget: 12 inch ruler

I think you did OK getting 2800 miles out of a chain commuting in all weather. Use it as an opportunity/excuse to get some nicer components.

The Rookie

I usually have to change a chain as its' too rusty for me to accept, wet salted roads in winter are carry out a nice salt spray test on your steel chain!

Last year my total spend was about £30 for a chain, a replacement grip from my shifter and some lube - that was for 1350miles, as I'm on 26" MTB slicks then 4000 miles from a tyre is normal.

Bottom Bracket has started getting noisy, that will be the first expenditure this year (other than using lube bought last year) in 500 miles.

cyberknight

My commutes is around 3500- 4000 miles a year .
I reckon on 1 cassette
2 chains
a set of tyres
couple of sets of brake pads
Replacement cables

On top of that i monitor BB, chainrings etc
I do all the maintenance myself and i have built up a tool collection so i only really have the cost of parts .
At a guesstimate thats what £600 of petrol im saving + wear and tear and only having 1car saves on road "tax " . insurance , wear and tear .

oldbazza

Main thing I've noticed is how much more food I'm buying;always bloody hungry,,,,

v2p

oldbazza wrote:

Main thing I've noticed is how much more food I'm buying;always bloody hungry,,,,

I always end up packing extra food too. "Eh... maybe I might get hungry later on, better make another sandwich".

Alex99

cyberknight wrote:

My commutes is around 3500- 4000 miles a year .
I reckon on 1 cassette
2 chains
a set of tyres
couple of sets of brake pads
Replacement cables

On top of that i monitor BB, chainrings etc
I do all the maintenance myself and i have built up a tool collection so i only really have the cost of parts .
At a guesstimate thats what £600 of petrol im saving + wear and tear and only having 1car saves on road "tax " . insurance , wear and tear .

Nice guide on motoring costs from the AA:
http://www.theaa.com/resources/Document ... ol2014.pdf

e.g. 10,000 miles in a modestly priced petrol car will cost you about £4,000 all told. Cost per mile goes up rapidly as distances get shorter by car.

WinNT

I think nowadays bike producers care about lightness of the bike and clear shifting, but durability is not in priority. The drivetrain is considered as consumable. It was not like this before.
I bought old Peugeot bike for 90 euros and have been riding it for a year already having lubricated the chain once...
I am afraid that if i have to change something, i will never have such durability.

MattPillinger

I keep records of bike costs and over the 12,000 odd mile life of my bike (specialized tricross sport) the maintenance cost (tyres, chains, cassette's, brake blocks, broken spokes etc) is about 10 pence per mile. Including purchase cost (£700 or something), therefore around 16 pence per mile. Nothing major in terms of repairs coming up, hopefully, but bike is gradually coming to end of its life IMO, so I reckon total cost of ownership will be around 15 pence per mile over it's life

ugo.santalucia

You went from Hybrid to road components. Shimano make a lot of stuff and the hybrid range is heavy and solid, meant to deal with poor maintenance. As you move into the road range, everything becomes lighter (typically you lose a couple of Kg like for like) and fiddlier and needs to be regularly cleaned and lubed.
If you want low maintenance and a sleek light bike that doesn't need much attention, you have to look at a single speed

awavey

well Im not too hot on the whole constant must clean your bike after every ride maintenance side of things and it maybe an unfair comparison as my Boardman hybrid has suffered more of the grotty winter road conditions on the commutes,whilst the Spez is the weekend bike and Ive only really cyclocrossed once on it, though it has been out in the rain as well,but overall theyve both done roughly equivalent mileages over the past year

yet Id have said the Boardman has fared the worse on wear, it just generally feels alot looser & worn in now than it did, the chain wheels arent really running straight anymore,the gears need proper reindexing, the brakes need sorting, the chain is a mess it really could do with a proper LBS service

the Spez on the other hand,well Ive adjusted the brakes a fraction, and the gears probably just need a tiny adjustment to account for cable stretch, and thats pretty much all, it still feels and runs as well as it did last year.

now that maybe partly more to do with the quality of assembly rather than components, and the conditions its ridden in.

Big_Paul

Disc Trucker has just needed a pair of front chainrings, cassette and chain after 2200 miles, bit disappointed as only one speed on the cassette was worn beyond redemption. It's went through 2 sets of rear pads apart from that. Think some of the cassette wear is because I normally ride an SS and don't use enough gears on the DT and it's a heavy bike.

Revolution Cross I had before it only needed a chain and the brake pads replaced at a similar mileage.

I'm inclined to think the cheaper heavier stuff is better for mucky city commutes.

roger_merriman

My commute is short distance (3ish miles) and a mix of quiet back roads and gravel/muddy tracks.

used to have a SS road bike, the chains would last 600/800 ish miles cheap and cheerful stuff got chewed up in half that.

have switched to a old MTB with 3x9, it on the whole requires much less maintence than the SS the chain lasts a touch longer, around 900-1000 miles cassettes 1700-2000 miles.

But fundamentally I don't need to touch it until it's worn. The SS would need the rear wheel moved back to take up the slack in the chain, the freewheel would freeze on cold wet winter days etc. The SS wasn't high maintenance by any means but it did need more than the old MTB which frankly just works.

The Rookie

Yo must have legs of steel, I get about 2000miles out of a chain on my geared commuter, and about 4000 out of a cassette.

roger_merriman

The Rookie wrote:

Yo must have legs of steel, I get about 2000miles out of a chain on my geared commuter, and about 4000 out of a cassette.

Bushy Parks gravel tracks I've assumed TBH

The Rookie

Argh yes, gravel isn't good, even worse than my 3 months a year salt spray!