$/kms

[sane]

Hey all, just been talking to a mate who had his bike stolen recently & been going over some specs for the replacement.

At some point, he paused & started talking about the amount of $ spent vs number of kms used. I would consider him to be a very frequent rider, several times a week. Somehow, in his calculations for the new rig he has worked out that he would get the same value from buying a BMW, given the kms usage, that he would get out of building this new ride.

Is this an equation that any other normal human being has ever looked at?

Should anyone have to justify the value of their bike, in a cost/ km sense?

Is he just driving his car too much?

 

[RichJS]

Need to compare like with like

That is why only road bikes are to be measured in $/kilometre. An average car comes out to $0.60 per Km - not hard to do better than that on a roadie!

MTBs are to be measured in $ per gram saved. IE, you can spend $1k more on a bike that is 1kg lighter than another model. If you really have to compare a MTB to a car, it should be to a 4WD while it's offroading!

 

[silentbutdeadly]

How much is he spending on the bike? Even a basic car costs something like a hundred to two hundred a week to run as I dimly recall. That's a lot of bike over a year...

If I applied that logic to bicycles then I am seriously wasting my transport dollar with so many rarely used machines in the shed...

 

[Zaf]

5703.9km over three bikes I currently own (Trail miles, commute and road miles don't count for a MTB).
Approx $25,000 spent across them over that period (This includes, tyres, chains, cassettes, upgrades, servicing, etc.).
Clocking in at about $4.38/km at the moment.

I think it's an interesting figure, but really, in the end, you'll have no trouble finding a way to justify the expenditure on something you enjoy. If you can't justify the money for it, you probably don't love it enough. I personally, compare all non bike related costs in terms of what I could have bought for my bike/s:
- Expensive lunch = New Tyre
- Dinner with drinks = Two new tyres / Cassette and Chain
- Late night out with friends = XTR 11 Speed Derailleur and Shifter / Carbon cockpit
- Plane tickets to visit girlfriend for the weekend = Better not...

Anyone else do this?

 

[Lazmo]

At some point, he paused & started talking about the amount of $ spent vs number of kms used. I would consider him to be a very frequent rider, several times a week. Somehow, in his calculations for the new rig he has worked out that he would get the same value from buying a BMW, given the kms usage, that he would get out of building this new ride.

pretty wacko analogy...

mountain bikes aren't about kilometres... they are about smiles... $ spent vs number of smiles

 

[Haakon]

pretty wacko analogy...

mountain bikes aren't about kilometres... they are about smiles... $ spent vs number of smiles

This. Is there an ISO standard for shits and giggles?

 

[will2]

I don't really think this is a thing, but regardless, My el cheapo bike built for max smiles.
1 per Km after 2 months of use. (trail kilometres only) Has done half the distance again on the street.
All mountain Hardtail for the victory, who said you can't have a cheap bike? Just because it has black anodising doesn't mean it's better!

How much is a gym membership these days?

 

[c3024446]

I chuck money into cycling since it is fitness related, and if it keeps me active, that's all the justification i need

$1km / per km on a MTB and i'm stoked, any more is a bonus and it must be a sweet bike. My roadie would be $0.40/km at the moment asnd it's still good for another 20000km (only 8000 on it so far...)

 

[Calvin27]

imo $/km works for MTB, just need to compare apples with apples. I would be comparing the $/km against something similar like a land cruiser.

Anyway, here are my numbers:

Road bike: Total: $2800 total spend so far and clocked about 10,000kms = 28c/km
Road bike: Ongoing costs only: $200 depreciation per year +$300 maintenance per year @5000kms/year = 10c/km
Car: Total: pprox $28k over 2 years about 32,000kms = 87.5c/km
Car: Ongoing costs only: $2000 depreciation per year + $3000 ongoing costs per year, 16,000kms = 31c/km

So pretty much it means ongoing cost of cars is ok if you keep them for a long time. Or it means you can afford to upgrade the bike a little more often!

 

[mtb101]

now ask mate when riding bike what gains in terms of health capital - mental, physical? and what health 'loses' or deficit when driving car, ... bet he hasn't put that into his thinking.

 

[jawry]

Seriously????

People who commute by bike (and good on 'em, by the way) can worry about costs etc etc.

MTB (to me) is not about efficiency as a transport mode - its about enjoying life/mates/the ride and as a bonus, keeping sane and fit.

 

[Knuckles]

Poorly worked out equation.

You need to factor in the costs of insurance, fuel, registration, health and servicing/repairs/consumables.

Plus chicks dig pinned, single track shredding machines, which we all are of course.

 

[Jim Junkie]

Seriously????

People who commute by bike (and good on 'em, by the way) can worry about costs etc etc.

MTB (to me) is not about efficiency as a transport mode - its about enjoying life/mates/the ride and as a bonus, keeping sane and fit.

Even with my commuter I don't bother with that justification, it's still about a more enjoyable and beneficial way to travel for me.

Mind you, I have done the sums once to see how much it cost me in a year, but that was mostly to justify spending more money on the bike to my Mrs.

If you want to compare it for commuting though, you'd have to account for the other nonsense that comes with that, like parking for 1. And the cost of fixing the other guys car because I got agro from sitting in traffic all morning and afternoon. Yep, I'll stick to riding thanks, whether it's cheaper or not.

As for the mountain bike, well that's just a hobby. Any hobby will have costs associated with it and the cost is usually pretty closely related to how deep down the rabbit hole you want to go.

 

[dunndog]

you cannot quantify the value of enjoyment.

But if you want to persist with numbers, you should also factor in the $ return as a result of the use of that vehicle. How much money does he earn as a result of driving vs riding his bike?

The way I see it , riding a bike is WAY too much fun, so you should spend accordingly.:evil:

 

[Klips]

My roadie, which is being retired this week, has done 20,200 strava verified km. It was $2000 up front and I've probably spent that much again on tyres, tubes, cables, chains, services etc. At 20c/km, that's probably cheaper than the running costs of forester not even including purchase price.

 

[Mywifesirrational]

If we are doing the sums, these sums are dodgy, but close to accurate.

My current commuter / road trainer was $1900 (have spent anything on it yet).
Currently 2400km old

.80c p/km travelled.

But talking tolls into account which I would pay if I drove, is $17 daily, so presuming 50 commutes to work (average just over one a week), $850 in tolls is saved in one year, so to recalculate,

1900 - 850 / 2400 = .43c p/km

Once we take wear and tear + petrol costs into account, it gets even cheaper, considering .60c p/km is considered pretty normal http://www.racq.com.au/cars-and-driving/cars/owning-and-maintaining-a-car/car-running-costs

2400 x .60 = $1440

1900 - 850 - 1440 = -$390

So i have actually made / saved $390

or

every km I commute to and from work I make / save .16c, that's an absolute bargain.

 

[Knuckles]

Do you get a discount on your health insurance life insurance for participating in cycling? I do, roughly $200 a year combined, as calculated by the accountant.

Spanner in the works though, as by all accounts I'm supposed to live longer because of exercise, I'll need to whack more disposable income into the super, so it evens out. Fucking increased life expectancy, what a PITA

 

[mooboyj]

Bikes are fun, $$$ figures need not apply (and I have a Bachelor of Economics).

 

[mtboer]

How far can the BMW go on Singletrack and how does it fare in a Drop Off ?
I know the BMW has Dual-Dual Suspension but not sure it would last.

 

[skipper_nz]

Road bike spend: $2400, kms: 10000km = 24c per km/$48 per magpie attack

Mtb spend: $7500, 3000km = $2.50 per km/$7500 per magpie attack

Plus tools/bike racks? I think I worked out in total I have spent $14000 on bike related parts over the last 4 years, including racks, tools, spare carbon wheel etc....
Not including race entry fees or hospital bills