Car < Bike

Moreofthatjazz

Just curious, are there those on here like myself whose expenditure on cycling means surpass their driving means?

Caroline_ie

I have 1 car and 4 bikes ... when i drive it usually to a sportive ... or to bring the bike for repair. The car is an accessorie to my bike, like a pump. So I spend more money on my bikes

petethedrummer

I haven't driven my car since January.

DJsail

My car is simply the most efficient way for my GF to pick me up after a spill/blow out! Think of it as your team car rather than ur primary way to get around

BeerNut

1 bike; no car.

Lumen

I haven't bought a car since I started buying bikes.

I even let my Evo subscription lapse last Christmas. I think this means I'm cured of my car fetish. Hurrah!

DirkVoodoo

3 bikes, only use car when (a) I have to drive to an event or (b) I am (regularly) forced into providing taxi services for members of my family.

The only good thing about (b) is it doesn't cost me anything.

All of my money that previously went into petrol now goes into cycling. I enjoy driving, don't get me wrong, I love to drive. But commuting by car is making less and less sense to me. If you are able and willing to cycle to work, do it!

Caroline_ie

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

commuting by car is making less and less sense to me. If you are able and willing to cycle to work, do it!

I almost cried of frustration the other day when I had to 'drive' up to ballimount to get roof rack for my car ( for the bikes ) ... I almost feel sorry for all those frustrated drivers out there who makes our life dificult on the road.

tomasrojo

I've never owned a car. I've driven maybe six hours in the last ten years. So my 200E a year I usually spend on bike maintenance dwarfs my driving-related expenditure.

This has been my most expensive year ever for travel expenses; I bought a tourer and am about to buy a Brompton. That should do me for the next five years, I hope.

witty username

two bikes, nae car. I couldn't. That's what....... THEY drive. With their combustion engines.

blorg

Certainly, 7 bikes and no car. Having a car would interfere with the bike expenditure!

CheGuedara

I think I'm surpassing the car alright - definitely € spent on bikes is > than € on the car and despite driving home to train or to a sportive, monthly bike bits etc has to be about that of monthly petrol. Like Caroline for me the car's just a big bike accessory

Idleater

1 (and a project) motorcycle
1 team car (yaris)
3 bicycles.

couldn't do without any of them.

Jawgap

Definitely when you add up all the bits and pieces!

Also, the car gets washed about twice a year - the bike gets cleaned, degreased and re-lubed every week - sometimes twice per week if it's wet!

I was thinking of changing the car and top of my list for any future vehicle is

1) Roof rails so I can transfer my roof bars and single cycle rack
2) Tow bar to take the towbar mounted cycle-carrier
3) Must be an estate to carry all the other bicycle related paraphenalia!

peterako

2 'road/trail worthy' bikes (1 road, 1 mountain)
1 car

But as a family....

7 bikes
2 cars

Even the 4 year old has his stabilizer free bike now

Love all equally...

even the wife and kids

Peter

Ant

I don't own a car but after having had to cycle to Naas for the start of the sportive last Sunday, I'm strongly considering getting one. I also got into surfing this summer but I couldn't see myself keeping it up if I'm always going to be dependent on others for lifts to the west coast.

Captain Havoc

1 cycling license, 0 driving license. 3 bikes.

Vélo

I still spend more on cars. I've to pay tax and insurance for 2 cars, along with all the other extras like servicing, petrol/diesel, never mind the depreciation.

I'm looking forward to spending more on bikes though, that'll mean I've some serious bikes to ride.

I'd say I'll keep my own car for a long time without changing it. It's not that important to me anymore. I had thought about selling but wouldn't be worth my while and it's handy having the second car especially having a few kids.

Ryder

Drive a car once a month at the most and feel bitter when I do.....but with tax and insurance still end up paying loads for the car every year. The only reason I dont sell it is because I ocasionally need it to haul the bikes around

unionman

I bought a new car this year, so my car expenditure far exceeds that of my cycling(unfortunately).

The biggest share of that expense being rapid depreciation.ouch.

Bike is transport of choice as the car is mostly for mrs unionman and the 3 little comrades.

I do like driving though. It was great to load up the car last Sunday with two more cyclists and three bikes and head to Naas for the Tour of Kildare.

At the risk of sounding like a US republican, I like that kind of freedom.

I do think the age of the car, as we know it, is nearing an end. It will probably conclude about a week before I finish paying off the car loan.

Feckin' typical.

biomed32

i dont own a car nor know how to drive one, the bike and the train are my only means of transport and hopefully i will start making the 60k round trip to college on my bike more and less on the train hence saving me money so yes i would say my bike expenditure far exceedes my car expenditure but as yet not my train expenditure which i hope to change:D

tomasrojo

Ryder wrote: »

Drive a car once a month at the most and feel bitter when I do.....but with tax and insurance still end up paying loads for the car every year. The only reason I dont sell it is because I ocasionally need it to haul the bikes around

A few people mention using a car only once in a while.

For such people, would it be more economical to rent a car on these rare occasions rather than own it? If you lived fairly near a car rental place and had a folding bike, for example, it wouldn't be terribly inconvenient to cycle down and bring the car home. I think it's about 40E a day to rent.

Something like this would be even better, as you'd rent by the hour:
http://www.phillycarshare.org/
But I've never heard of anything like that here.

NorDub

Definitely. Haven't gotten around to buying a car again since I gave my last one away 4 years ago (didn't even drive a car since then!). The thought of buying one gets more and more remote while I - yet again - consider buying a 3rd bicycle...