I haven’t posted recently because I’ve been busy arranging a move to a new flat, and because I’ve been bicycling rather than running! Commuting by bike has been a backburner goal for a while for several reasons – it’s more environmentally friendly, I can fit in exercise into my day, save money on parking and petrol, improved mental health etc. And now I’m finally doing it (once to twice a week).
The F.I.R.E. community and cycling aficionados alike seem to toot on about how much cheaper it is to commute on two wheels, so I thought I’d tally up the costs of cycling in Auckland for me to date. I haven’t really needed to replace any parts/needed any maintenance other than getting the bike serviced for my own peace of mind last year, so I’ll write another post about bike maintenance costs another time.
My upfront costs totalled to $1261.59 NZD. Note I’m neither a frugalist nor a minimalist, so I’m sure you can get these bits and pieces for cheaper by thriftier means. The upfront costs were for:
- Bike aka Ramona my trusty urban steed (second-hand Trek FX 2 Disc bought from a lovely local bike mechanic) $600
- Kickstand (Bontrager Rear Mount Integrated Kickstand Alloy) $20.99
- Rack (Topeak super tourist tubular rack with disc mounts) $83.55
- Bike lights x2 (Blackburn USB CLICK Front/Rear combo pack) $54.99
- Bike lock (Magnum 3034 Combination Reset Lock) $20.99
- Bike pump (Topeak Joe Blow Max HP Floor Pump) $59.99
- Pannier bag (Topeak DXP MTX Trunk Bag) $153.99. Pricy but so worth it for commuting – it fits: a rain jacket; a change of clothes; body wash/towel/deodorant; the cross-body bag I use at work; and even textbooks.
- Helmet (T7 Vapour MTB Enduro helmet) $64.99
- Gloves (Giro 2018 Bravo Gel SF) $39.99
- Fluoro safety vest + shipping (Hey Reflect’o) $162.11. Equal measures of indulgent and delightful, but the eco-friendliness of the company/their bright patterns bring a smile to my face every ride. I was also gifted another Hey Reflect’o vest by my best friend as a birthday present.
According to the IRD Kilometre rates for the 2020-2021 income year, the tier 2 (running costs only) for petrol is 27 cents per kilometre. So without factoring in car-related costs (parking/registration/insurance/WOF/other servicing etc) or bike-related costs (servicing/maintenance equipment/replacing parts) and going purely by petrol costs alone, I’d have to cycle about 4673 km before Ramona/associated accessories pay for themselves. For me, that’s only about 334 days of commuting. Which I could do in about two years if I commuted by bike every day, but since I’m only riding to work 1-2 times a week at the moment realistically it will probably take somewhere between three and six and a half years before I reach this break-even date. I’ve promised myself that I won’t upgrade to a fancier bike until then, so I’m recording all my rides on Strava and looking forward to reaching that 4673rd kilometre 🙂
Running the Cloud 