Budget Bicycling - 1st Annual Summary

Executive summary

  • 5,938km
  • 136 round-trip commutes
  • 15 broken spokes (all in the rear wheel)
  • 13 punctures (all in the rear tyre)
  • 4 worn-out tyres
  • 3 one-way commutes
  • 2 worn-out chains
  • 2 sets worn-out brake pads
  • 1 worn-out freewheel
  • $497.00 saved Vs riding the bus (depending on how you measure it.)

    Before and after pictures

    Before After

    I don't like excessive stickers on my bikes, so I removed most of them. I left the stickers on the top tube and down tube to cover the red-silver paint transitions.
    Adapted for commuting duties, with a rack, seat bag, lock, handlebar extensions, bidon cage, speedometer and head/tail light brackets.

    It's a Blade!
    The front brake cable has rubbed through the head tube paint in a couple of places.

    Plastic brake levers, and flimsy-looking plastic gear shifters. You don't even get grip shifters on bikes in this price range.
    The brake levers and gear shifters have been trouble-free. I haven't even broken a cable.

    This is how many Shimano components you need to be able to advertise a bike as "Shimano Equipped".
    The rear derailleur is dirty but working just fine. The rear wheel's spokes have been the bike's only weak point. This picture just reminded me that I need to replace the valve cap. ;-)

    Fine, sturdy, 1-piece cranks, plastic pedals, and some rather ugly welds disguised with a thick coat of paint. Yummy!
    New plastic pedals suitable for toe clips (the old metal 1970s-era ones bent a spindle). I replaced the bottom bracket bearings due to noisy operation at 5,938km - a 5 minute job. The cups and cones are fine.

    Plastic V-brakes. They're still quite powerful though.
    No problems with the plastic V-brakes. The original brake pads lasted over 5,500km with occasional adjustments. The new ones are slightly larger, and won't allow me to pull stoppies the way the old ones did when they were new. ;-)

    Costs as compared to other modes of transportation

    Here's a bit of a comparison of what it would have cost me to travel the same commuting distance (136 round-trip commutes, 3 one-way commutes) via the other means of transportation I had available.

    Bicycle Bus Honda CT90 Ford Econovan
    Distance Travelled (km) 4537km 4537km 4537km 4537km
    Fuel/ticket Cost n/a $825
    (275 one-way tickets)     		$170.15
    (4537km @ 40km/l @ $1.50/l)     		$491.5
    (4537km @ 6km/l @ $0.65/l)
    Registration n/a n/a $179 $795
    Insurance n/a n/a $0
    (hope I don't hit anyone)     		$190
    Servicing/Maintenance $185 n/a $250 $1200
    TOTAL $185 $825 $599.15 $2676.50
    Cost per km $0.04 $0.18 $0.13 $0.59(!)

    If I'd added the $4.50 per day cost of parking for my Econovan (if I'm using it I usually park in a free parking area 1km from my place of business) then the cost would have gone up to $0.73 per kilometre.

    And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I should probably sell my truck.

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