# cost per mile for your commute bike, and is it "paid for"?



## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

Probably have about 5,000 miles on mine since put it together in August 2006 for around $700. So that's .14 cents per mile, not including the new light I bought a few months back. 

I would have spent about $1,200 on monthly bus passes during this same period so it's definitely paid for. In fact, I figure that's $500 in the bank for the "fun" fair weather commuter I'm planning--single speed and no fenders. :thumbsup: 

How about you guys?


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

I'd be "paying for it" everyday I didn't ride, only in the non-monetary sense.


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## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

I have about $500 in my commuter, and $300 in the trailer. I have commuted about 4700 miles with that setup. I would consider it paid for as well, with the added bonus of having the trailer go down very little in value, and my commuter worth almost what I have in it.


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## MB1 (Jan 27, 2004)

I don't really have (nor does Miss M) a commuting bike as such, at one time or another we have commuted on all of our bikes except the tandem.

They have paid for themselves (and none of them were cheap bikes, I guess the least expensive would retail for at least $3K) many times over in enjoyment and of course cost savings over owning and driving a second car or taking the metro in.

Now, walking would be cheaper yet........


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

I paid $350 for my commuter bike and all the stuff I have on it. Some of it I already had, so I don't count those costs. I also used to commute on another bike, so this is just for this bike.

At my corporate reimbursement rate of $.505/mi, and approx 600 miles on it, I'm at $300 since November. So I'm about 100 miles short of breaking even. That's 5 days of commuting. But I need to check how many miles, because I'm just guessing.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*hard to say*

Really hard to say. My problem is that I generally subscribe to the "if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing" philosophy. So, for example, I have $1300 of lighting on the commuter right now. While it's a $250 Soma frame, I have Campy Record drive train on it. Has a Chris King headset. Anything dealing with reliability or safety, I'll do whatever it takes. Then, clothing. I probably have well over $1000 worth of clothing I have bought specifically for commuting, like the $250 Lake winter boots, about 10 different pairs of gloves (hard to get it just right), rain gear, many shorts and jerseys. 

So, I may never be able to justify the expense purely be what I save in gas and car mileage, but then commuting creates time for riding, which is priceless. I'm happy, and that's worth a lot. Commuting by bike has become a change in my life, not to be overly dramatic or cliche, so I don't even try to justify it financially. I now despise driving to work, but I have to sometimes, which makes me appreciate the bike commute even more.


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## naawillis (Oct 6, 2004)

Pablo said:


> I'd be "paying for it" everyday I didn't ride, only in the non-monetary sense.


+1

a 4130 singlespeed doesnt cost much, but ill be damned if its ever let me down


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## Zero Signal (Feb 8, 2008)

I think I have $700 or so into everything on the bike since I got it in 1996, it's a Trek 930 mountain bike. I believe is has around 2,000 miles on it and going on 400 miles a month now that I'm commuting on it. I'm guessing it won't be crapping out any time soon. Once I get a road bike, it will probably be put on reserve as a backup and touring bike.

At riding 102 miles a week, at $3.10/ga in gas it pays for itself pretty quick since my truck gets about 13mpg.


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## threesportsinone (Mar 27, 2007)

Bus pass: Free (colege studant)
Commuter Bike: $76 (could use some upgrades though)
Gas price: $3.05(?)
Riding my bike ~10 miles extra per day instead of siting on the bus next to "interesting" people (we got quite a few in mad-town WI): worth it


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 20, 2007)

JohnnyTooBad said:


> At my corporate reimbursement rate of $.505/mi, and approx 600 miles on it, I'm at $300 since November. So I'm about 100 miles short of breaking even. That's 5 days of commuting. But I need to check how many miles, because I'm just guessing.


Does your employer actually pay you that rate, or are you just using it as a basis to figure what you save? Please tell us that you get paid for your pedalling mileage! It would really make my day!


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

Commuting - I have down to $0.83/mile. that's over 3000 miles in 2 years. that includes everything I have purchased for this bike. I do a fair amount of other riding, but those miles aren't included (costs are). 

By fuel saved, I am at 15%. By the IRS deductable, I am closing in on 50%.

Friday will be another commute day, hopefully.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*rethinking it*

If it could be calculated by what I would save if I had no car at all, no car cost, insurance, maintenance, tires, gas, etc., it would pay for itself in about one month. Just don't think my kids would tolerate riding in the trailer behind my bike for a 20 hour trip to Disneyland, though. ;-)


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## knucklesandwich (Feb 23, 2007)

I've commuted about 4,500 miles in the last 2 years on my $800 bike, saving about $600 in gas.
At IRS allowances, I've saved $2,200. My car was paid for, so call it half that ($1,100), which is probably about what I have into the bike including fenders, new tires, lights, etc.
Plus, it allowed me to get rid of our 2nd car last Fall, so all in all I consider myself in the bonus at the moment.


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

Sledgehammer03 said:


> Commuting - I have down to $0.83/mile. that's over 3000 miles in 2 years. that includes everything I have purchased for this bike. I do a fair amount of other riding, but those miles aren't included (costs are).
> 
> By fuel saved, I am at 15%. By the IRS deductable, I am closing in on 50%.
> 
> Friday will be another commute day, hopefully.


Man, that would be DA BOMB, wouldn't it?

No. They don't pay me to commute. That's the rate they pay for mileage reimbursement for local travel. I just filled out an expense report today for a 300 mile day last week to travel to another office. That was the rate they are using right now.

But don't forget, you're saving a lot more than fuel costs. There's the cost of oil changes, tire wear, brake wear, and the fact that higher mileage lowers the resale value or life expectancy of your car. The rate we use (I think) is the Gov't rate.


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

*IRS Deductible*

The deductible for non-reimbursed mileage for busines purposes in $0.505/mile for 2008. For 2007 it was $0.485.

Probably pretty close to what owning and driving a car actually costs. The latest Consumer Reports has a work up on the actual costs of buying, financing, and operating a vehicle for 5 years, then subtracting what the car will be worth. Pretty scary what some people are paying for al those cup holders and Blue Tooth, etc.


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## superjohnny (May 16, 2006)

Yea at $0.505/mile * 30 miles per day it takes me about 100 days for me to pay off a new $1500 bike.

So then I should be able to buy a new bike 2.5x per year... right?


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## oarsman (Nov 6, 2005)

MB1 said:


> Now, walking would be cheaper yet........


Yes, but that would take so loooong. Besides, new shoes are just not as good toys as new bikes. And we all need our toys...


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## DrRoebuck (May 10, 2004)

All my miles go on the same computer, so it's hard to say.

I do know that between the bike and driving a hybrid, I fill up no more than once a month. And I'm a consultant with clients all over the L.A. area. May not make sense, but I usually only drive to work when it's close enough that the benefits of taking a bike don't outweigh the hassle. Anything over a few miles and I ride.


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## hankbrandenburg (Aug 3, 2007)

Bicycle commuting can have some hidden costs.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

If I calculate my commute mileage at the IRS rate, it has easily paid for itself. My commuter bike cost about $1,000 to build, and I've put about 3,000 miles on it since I started bike commuting last spring. I actually reduced my driving by 50% last year, down from 10,000 miles/year typically to just 5,000 miles in 2007. That was partly due to car-pooling, but mostly from bike commuting. I find that when I drive to work I actually do more driving than just getting to work and back -- by doing stuff like going to lunch, running errands, stopping at the mall, etc. I've also spent less money on maintenance as I've gone from having to change the oil in my truck every 5-6 months to about once a year, plus less wear and tear (eg, tires).

On the flip side, I've spent a lot more money on bike gear -- mainly cycling clothes. I've had to buy more winter clothes than I had previously, better lights, bigger seatbag and rack, etc. Plus, I'm itching to buy a new commuter frame -- which I will justify to my wife by pointing to all of the money I'm saving by bike commuting.


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## Muaythaibike (Oct 26, 2007)

I spent 100 on my commuter. 80's style french made 12 speed, steel baby. Put perhaps 50 extra into in for some minor upgrades (brakes, lights, pedals). I cannot imagine a better bike for the price.  I just dropped 1000 on a new trek and yes the Trek is better but I'm not quite sure by how much at this point...

Anyways, I commute to my train station about 3 times per week. Only 3 miles round trip but I save 2 dollars a day for parking. So lets see... I been doing this for the past 5 months. 20 weeks. 3 times per week, 60 rides. 2 times 60 is 120. Almost forgot gas. 180 miles. 20 miles per gallon at 3.25, 30 bucks on gas. 120 + 30=150. hey I just broke even............. What a country....

Guess every ride from now on I'm making money. With the spring comming.. Living the dream..


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## Zero Signal (Feb 8, 2008)

You guys keep talking tax deduction for riding a bike. Is this something anyone who itemizes can do? Or is it some kind of business expense write-off?


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## JohnnyTooBad (Apr 5, 2004)

Zero Signal said:


> You guys keep talking tax deduction for riding a bike. Is this something anyone who itemizes can do? Or is it some kind of business expense write-off?


I don't think anyone said they were taking a tax deduction. Just using the rate to determine how much they would be spending to drive, since driving is more than just the cost of gas.


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

hankbrandenburg said:


> Bicycle commuting can have some hidden costs.


I've haven't really bought anything except a new chain since I built the bike. But I do eat more for lunch...


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## averen (Jan 1, 2008)

I'm with Fixed...I definitely don't bike to save money...I probably spend more on bike stuff than I do on gas. Although if I didn't have a car payment and insurance that would save me a ton of money...so much so I could "justify" buying a nice new bike every couple of months...I've considered selling my car and just keeping my wife's, or selling hers and keeping mine...we don't really need 2 cars now that I'm riding so much...and she takes the bus most days. Considering that my car payment is close to $400 a month and I can rent a car for <$40 a day...AND I don't use my car for more than 10 days in a month...I should sell it..

I don't get as much time to ride as I would like...commuting is pretty much the only way I get to put in the miles that I want. If I'm already on the bike I can easily stretch my 7 mile ride home into a 20+ mile ride. 13 miles just adds on another hour...but if I were going for 20 miles after I got home from work it would take me about an hour and a half or possibly more...added onto my drive home time, and considering traffic I can usually bike it faster than I can drive it! Plus I would MUCH rather be on the bike than in the car. 

So emotionally and physically the bike has been paid for many times over...probably not financially!

Jared


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## Sledgehammer03 (Mar 7, 2006)

Henry Chinaski said:


> I've haven't really bought anything except a new chain since I built the bike. But I do eat more for lunch...


Hey, bikes have maintenance too!

And, as for the tax deduction, I wish. I just use that number as a cost per mile of owning and operating a vehicle. The IRS does all the work into figuring out what a vehicle costs, I figured I would just borrow some of their _hard_ work 

Oh, and money not spent does NOT equal money saved, atmo.


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## roger9 (Aug 4, 2006)

I'm saving about $70 a month on gym membership, feeling fit, enjoy the ride and what a great way to unwind at the end of a day - PRICELESS


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## KeeponTrekkin (Aug 29, 2002)

*Street Dog retired from commuting*

but promoted to "Office Bike". Long Haul Trucker acquired as new commuter & brevet bike. Plan to use for longer commutes this year.

Over 5,000 commuting miles saved with the Street Dog in the last 2 years ~$500 in gas as well as 5,000 miles of wear and tear on the car.

I bought it used, but with accessories, changed parts to make it fit, 3 sets of tires, etc. I consider its ~$1,500 total cost well recovered and the bike's still going strong.


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## SleeveleSS (Jun 3, 2007)

threesportsinone said:


> Bus pass: Free (colege studant)


Ah, the irony.


Are you guys factoring the increased food costs into your calculations.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

I've never calculated the financial benefits, if any. I paid $40 for my bike, an 80's Panasonic. I changed it substantially since then. Most of the new pieces parts I already had, e.g. seat, bars, stem, shifters, seat post, bar tape, computer. Some parts I had to buy. Those include a freewheel, new cables, DT shifters, and a BB. When I bought the bike, it was complete, but a lot of parts were very cheap & heavy. The most expensive item was new wheels. I hated to do this, but the original wheels were truly shot. In addition, they were 27". I had hubs at home, so I bought rims & spokes & converted to 700's. Lots better choices in tires.

Somebody above said they didn't commute to save money, and neither do I. My commute is 36 miles per day, and that adds up to an average of 3000 mi/year. My car gets 32 mpg, but I get to drive it lots less. I bought it new in '02 and it just turned 50K.

I really enjoy commuting, and wouldn't go back to driving full time unless something tragic happened.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

Well, a $0.69 can of beans seems to provide 40 miles of riding power, whereas a $3.83 gallon of super unleaded seems to take my Volvo turbo wagon a maximum (when driven like a granny) 28 miles. Clearly the bike wins… in fact, everyone’s a winner, since my automobile insurance premium is less since my car goes less than 10,000 miles per year. I bought the car for $1,500.00 back in 2004, and have put almost 40,000 miles on it (the car has over 272,000 miles on it). I bought the bike new in 2005 for $2,000.00, and have put about 5,000 miles on it. So the question remains—how many buttercookies should Margie bake if the train leaves Moscow at 11:38AM?


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