This last week I hit 10,000 commuting miles since I moved, bought a new bike, and started tracking things and figured I'd do a quick breakdown of costs involved, I'll add details at the end. All costs rounded up to the nearest dollar.
- Bike: Novara Safari, purchased in January 2017 (used) for $750
- Tires: 2 Soma Cazadero + Orange Sealant and rim strips bought at about 4,000 miles, $160
- Pedals: Raceface Chester, $50
- Saddle: Brooks B17, $120
- Cables: 3 sets of housing and cables, new each year, $40
- Chains: 4 KMC X9, changed every 2,500 miles or so $48
- Lube: 2 bottles of various stuff from a local bike shop $14
- Brake pads: 3 sets, $45
- Lights and fenders: Cheap Amazon crap, $150
- Panniers: Ortlieb Back Rollers (used), $90
- Kryptonite chain lock, $100
So basic cost to get everything set up was $1,420 and maintenance was $147 for my 10,000 miles of commuting. I owned all the tools to work on my bike and have that experience, so initial cost would have been a bit higher, as would maintenance if I didn’t do it myself. I also could have cut costs drastically by buying cheaper stuff, but I simply didn’t want to. If I added the stuff I previously owned (flat kit, clothes, helmet, etc) I’d probably add on an extra $250 as well.
December 2016 I got a new job in Phoenix Az and after getting settled here I decided to sell my car (2006 Subaru Outback) and go full time bike commuting. I bought this bike in January 2017 and have used it as my daily commuter since. When I did I decided to put together a little spreadsheet to track my total costs.
Submitted March 24, 2019 at 01:35PM by kyrnur https://ift.tt/2U6f0QX
