New year, train fare hikes, let's get the bike out

endurame
endurame Posts: 6
edited January 2018 in Commuting chat
Hey all

New to commuting. Had enough of the annual fare hikes on the train so hit Gumtree and found a bargain. Now own an Ambrosio Guido that came with 10-speed campagnolo centaur century groupset and complete with a light and motion seca light system. £100 was exchanged. Three weeks commuting and the bike has been paid for.

Comments

  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,218
    Endurame wrote:
    Three weeks commuting and the bike has been paid for.
    Is that based on the whole train fare, or just the increase? :mrgreen:
  • endurame
    endurame Posts: 6
    Lol - with the increases it could be the increase itself
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Crikey that is a bargain.....hope its a cold one and not a hot one!

    Welcome to the nutty world of cycle commuting, into my 9th year now.

    As for train fairs, my car would cost me close to £6 a day (7.5 mile each way drive, 6.9 by cycling route), so train fares don't seem that bad by comparison.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • asprilla
    asprilla Posts: 8,440
    The Rookie wrote:
    Crikey that is a bargain.....hope its a cold one and not a hot one!

    Welcome to the nutty world of cycle commuting, into my 9th year now.

    As for train fairs, my car would cost me close to £6 a day (7.5 mile each way drive, 6.9 by cycling route), so train fares don't seem that bad by comparison.

    My train fair is over £20 a day. It makes it easy to justify expensive bike stuff though.
    Mud - Genesis Vapour CCX
    Race - Fuji Norcom Straight
    Sun - Cervelo R3
    Winter / Commute - Dolan ADX
  • mrfpb
    mrfpb Posts: 4,569
    There was a BBC article last year about the 5k commuter club - people who spend £5,000+ on commuting to London for work - I would be in that club if I worked in London. If I do go to London for any reason, I save £12 by riding from Fleet to Woking and catching the train from there. A journey of 14 miles each way, so that's about 40 per mile "earned" towards the bike fund!

    Very different when I lived in Durham and Gateshead and commuted to Newcastle, when the return fare was less than £3. My first bike cost 100 days bus fare. Imagine if I applied that budget to a London commute.
  • fat daddy
    fat daddy Posts: 2,605
    mrfpb wrote:
    There was a BBC article last year about the 5k commuter club - people who spend £5,000+ on commuting to London for work .


    and yet people think they will save money by getting a bike .... Yuh right

    £400 for a CAAD10
    £2.5k on the Bianchi for when its sunny
    £1.5 on indoor trining to make yourself faster on the commute
    £1.5k on the CS bike so you can offroad it to work
    £500 on clothing that looks cool
    £300 on awesom lights
    £1k on carbon wheels

    Errr ..... this isnt me by the way ... well, not all of it
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Colnago C59 Di2 Zipp 303s did the commute yesterday...at RRP I think that would be in the £5K commuter club!
  • mrfpb
    mrfpb Posts: 4,569
    I bought a bike in 2005 for £230 and a second bike in 2015 for £650. I think I'm doing well!
    As I'm doing a big ride this year, I may argue the case for a new bike with hydraulic discs (for the descents on the Dragon Ride). Just for my own safety, you understand.
  • kingdav
    kingdav Posts: 417
    I used to be a Southern Rail customer, bought a season ticket at about 3 or 4 thousand pounds each year for 10 years. The service witht he strikes got so bad in the end I bought a £56 kona hybrid on gumtree that I could leave locked up in Croydon so I could get the train half way opening up my options and making it more likely I'd get to work or home in reasonable time. After a few months of that, I worked out it was cheaper to use my car and drive just a little further out of town where I can park for free and so now I'm not dependent on the train at all and I don't need to ride a junk bike. I drive 14 miles, then cycle 14 miles and reverse in the evening every day, rain or shine.

    Over a year in now, I completely love it. OK, I've spent achunk on bikes, kit and petrol, but still less than a season ticket costs and I used to spend money on bikes anyway.

    Your bike sounds fantastic, perfect purchase for commuting. I love an ebay/gumtree/classifieds bike hunt, I've not bought a new one in many years. Plan between now and next winter is to somehow build up a minimal spend light-ish, disc (probably hyrd or juin) braked road bike with plenty of clearance for mudguards and 28 or bigger tyres.
  • kingdav
    kingdav Posts: 417
    Shirley Basso wrote:
    Colnago C59 Di2 Zipp 303s did the commute yesterday...at RRP I think that would be in the £5K commuter club!
    If you love the frame, do be careful!
    I got knocked off on a commute resulting in this
    GJAlLQYV.jpg

    On the plus side, after having it repaired I feel no guilt commuting on it on luggage free days any more.
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    So far not been knocked off in about 5 years commuting. I have hit the odd parked car though!
  • squired
    squired Posts: 1,153
    The biggest bonus with commuting by bike is that any money you spend isn't just lost. At the end of a year having paid £2k on the train you have nothing to show for it. If you cycle, but still spend £2k you reach the end of that year with a lot of things that can last you for years to come.

    My brother isn't up for cycling daily yet, but is easing himself in. He's worked out how many days a month he needs to cycle to be in "profit" vs a monthly or annual train ticket. In a way I think it is great and I enjoy him cycling with me, but at the same time I wish people were taking to cycling because they like the idea of cycling (or even because of the new infrastructure aimed at cyclists) rather than being essentially forced into it due to expensive and unreliable train services.
  • mattsaw
    mattsaw Posts: 907
    Plus, when you weigh up the other non-financial benefits,

    - Less time in the gym
    - Better aerobic fitness
    - Generally healthier and more attractive to Mrs Matt :)
    - Longer life expectancy
    - Quicker (By around 1.5-2 hours each day door to door) so more time to spend with the kids
    - Exercise in the morning wakes me up, on the way home it helps me wind-down
    - Definitely less stressful than the train and underground
    Bianchi C2C - Ritte Bosberg - Cervelo R3
    Strava
  • anonymousblackfg
    anonymousblackfg Posts: 2,029
    Mattsaw wrote:
    Plus, when you weigh up the other non-financial benefits,

    - Less time in the gym
    - Better aerobic fitness
    - Generally healthier and more attractive to Mrs Matt :)
    - Longer life expectancy
    - Quicker (By around 1.5-2 hours each day door to door) so more time to spend with the kids
    - Exercise in the morning wakes me up, on the way home it helps me wind-down
    - Definitely less stressful than the train and underground

    It still makes my mind boggle why bike shops don't advertise on the Tube.
    If I know you, and I like you, you can borrow my bike box for £30 a week. PM for details.
  • smokey_bacon
    smokey_bacon Posts: 1,639
    anonymousblackfg wrote:
    Mattsaw wrote:
    Plus, when you weigh up the other non-financial benefits,

    - Less time in the gym
    - Better aerobic fitness
    - Generally healthier and more attractive to Mrs Matt :)
    - Longer life expectancy
    - Quicker (By around 1.5-2 hours each day door to door) so more time to spend with the kids
    - Exercise in the morning wakes me up, on the way home it helps me wind-down
    - Definitely less stressful than the train and underground

    It still makes my mind boggle why bike shops don't advertise on the Tube.

    Probably not allowed. Would you let your main competition advertise to take away your customers?

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