Holy moly! So many wonderful responses, so little time! Apologies for the delay!
Winter cycling can be fun, but you really have to be careful. We ride road bikes (skinny tires) year round, but we will call off a ride if it's too icy outside. I personally know two guys who broke hips from falling on ice, and they've been riding for 30+ years.
Do some research on fat bikes and studded tires and you'll find plenty of winter riding tips, such as this article: https://qbp.com/call_up/rubber-side-rad
Another issue is road conditions and vehicular traffic. Around here, we tend to lose most of the shoulder to plowed snow, so you're closer to cars than usual.
Great points all around, thanks! Snow plowing tends to be a bit of an issue around here (more accurately, running out of places to put it) and I hadn't considered the loss of the shoulder - it'll definitely be an issue worth considering, and suggests that if I were to buy a bike, I wouldn't be able to sell my car outright. I'm taking the snow tires into consideration too, as I don't want to have to make a ton of small purchases (that add up to big $$$) to make this work.
I disagree with many of the posts here.
Financially: Biking to work is a complete NO BRAINER win. The payback on the biking ~9 miles to work instead of driving is huge and quick, even if you don't do it EVERY day.
The Winter: Cold is certainly irrelevant. You build up a lot of heat (like there's furnace inside your body!) while cycling. As far as snow and ice: I get it. You can skip it during "unsafe conditions", but that's not going to be every day of the winter! In my case, my policy is when it snows, I wait 3 days for plowing and melting before I bike. That still leaves many days in Chicago that are bikeable. On "unsafe days", I take transit. Of course, some years there's a lot of unsafe days, others not.
Lights: Yes, get very good lights.
It's great to see discourse, especially when it is so constructive! As a really rough estimate, I'm pretty sure that $300 of expenses would be covered by about 33 trips on a bike - a pretty fast break even point by investment standards! (Maths: 18.2 miles @ $.50 cents a mile = $9.10 in cost savings per day commuted. 300/9.1 = 32.97) I'm going to look into transit alternatives (bus routes mostly) to see if selling my car is an option. Adding lights to the list of possible expenses at the bottom.
Following this post with interest! I bought a bike earlier in the summer with the eventual goal of commuting, with the wrinkle that I learned to ride a bike three days after buying my bike earlier this summer, at the ripe old age of 29. So far I've only spent money on the bike itself (~$290 for a used bike from a reputable dealer; BF gave me lights).
I still suck SO MUCH at riding that I have no idea how long it will take me to get confident enough to bike to work, since I have to deal with some busy roads and heavy traffic in the afternoon. So I might miss the winter weather issues. But it's great to know what to be aware of.
You and me both! I'm super excited to know that I'm not the only one who is learning late in life (25 here) and it's nice to know that you are still working on gaining skill/confidence. Do you feel the investment in the bike was worth it, or that you could have gotten away with a cheaper one?
With a debt emergency I'd hesitate to spend a bundle on a bike and all the attendant bike gear. You'd be better off spending your time finding other efficiencies and then try biking in the spring. I would totally caution you against buying something fancy at this point though. It's very tempting to buy the latest and greatest (especially if you talk to gearheads), but not really wise at this stage.
If you want to try it, go to the thrift store and buy a warm winter coat (even if it is not the most fashionable) along with a pair of decent warm gloves. Pick up a couple of baselayers from Costco, etc for $10-15 each. Then borrow bike or buy an el-cheapo secondhand one and see how you do. You can upgrade when you start doing it more.
Anyway, that's what I did (although I didn't have a debt emergency and did already own an ugly $50 winter coat) when I started bike commuting. Two layers of baselayers along with a half-decent jacket kept me warm enough to ride along with a good scarf, warm hat, and thinnish thrift store gloves at around zero degrees. I did switch to walking (my commute is much shorter) when it was icy. And would give in and drive occasionally.
Regardless, I think it's crazy to drop $500 on a decent bike + gear to save a little bit in gas when you have a debt emergency. I do think the long term payoff of bike commuting is awesome though and I love it. But maybe something to explore when you have a bit more disposable income and/or can get the gear cheaper?
No costco's in a reasonable distance to justify a membership (about 30 mins away), but I'm noting base layers & a winter jacket as part of the setup cost for when I decide to pursue this. I think it's crazy to spend that much on a bike too - I'm guessing that I'll be looking to spend $100-$200 tops, but I'll start by borrowing and making sure I enjoy it (is it weird that I'm actually not too concerned about my enjoyment of it? I feel that the benefits will outweigh any of my bitching and moaning about the difficulty and that I could "fake it till I make it" with actually enjoying it.) I'm planning on really taking my time to acquire the necessary gear.
Hi,
Glad to hear that you consider bike-commuting.
I sold my car years ago and started to bike everywhere. That is by far the best decision I've ever made, not only financially but also mentally. I now feel a lot less stressed and alot more happy. Truly!
I guess you have heard most of these tips already but here it goes anyways...
Before you continue hesitating because of the winter conditions I should mention that I myself live very close to the polar cirle and winter is pretty harsh around here, to say the least. And I can therefore say with confidence that there is absolutely no problem to bike-commute during the winter. I've done so through out blizzards, heavy snowfall, rain, hail and storms...it works fine. Not always a walk in the park but it works!
It do does requires som good enough gear though and first of all I'm glad to see you bring a helmet to your list. It can be a really cheap life saver! =)
Next after helmet you should put TIME. This is often not mentioned but if you do plan a little extra time for every travel, and therefore always have a little margin, you can keep a comfortable pace no matter what. You can take any upcoming and unplanned detour with ease. It can happen due to road works, snowpacks, floodings or a hungry bear/ threatening packs of wolves in your path. A little extra time enables yo to handle all this without getting sweaty. ;-)
Jokes aside; This really do helps when needed to be fresh and well dressed arriving at work.
Shoes, gloves and hat should all be warm and rainproof. Good rainwear is essential and a back pack-rain cover is allways a good thing to bring along. I bring these things with me at all times, even during warm sunny summer days ( those are suspiciuosly rare overe here though)
Another good thing for snow and muddy winter biking is a hub mounted dynamo/generator for the lightings, batteries wears out pretty fast during the cold. (Having the dynamo/generator mounted in the hub protect the generator from getting jammed or clogged by mud or ice).
Also studded/spiked winter tires are greatly worth the cost!
And offcourse, don't buy the bike brand new! ;-)
Have fun!
So many great tips, I don't know where to start! The time commitment is a concern to me; I like working out (lifting) in the AM which currently forces a 5:30 wake-up. Tacking on an hour to commute will complicate that, but since about half of the time I spend working out is doing fasted cardio (losing weight) I think the actual loss wouldn't be too bad, maybe half an hour. Rain gear is getting added to the list of setup costs for sure.
Borrow a bike from someone and try doing the commute cycle on a Saturday morning. You'll get a decent idea of how long it takes, which parts of your body need covering, which parts are basically a giant furnace, and (crucially) whether you like it enough to do it regularly. If you arrive at the office after half an hour in shorts and a T-shirt despite the cold and a massive grin you can't seem to get rid of, then go buy yourself a decent secondhand bike and start riding.
If you get there after an hour, teeth gritted and knees skinned from a fall on black ice, with frostbite in your nose, maybe leave it off for the winter.
I'd also add my voice to the chorus advising you to keep away from cyclists' fora. Cyclists are unbelievably dedicated as a group to sustaining ever-increasing demand for marginally lighter or more aerodynamic equipment, and every cycling forum will have at least one regular who spent an extra two thousand euro on his (and it will be a man) last bike so that the click from the shifters would be the kind he likes.
I'm glad to know that I chose a good forum to discuss this on, if not surprised! I like the idea of doing a saturday morning commute - I might try that this weekend, before the weather worsens. I'm going to reiterate a question from my response to another poster and ask, is it weird that I'm not worried about liking it? I'm so excited by the host of benefits that it offers that I feel like I'm going to make myself like it if I have to.
In your situation, I would recommend optimizing other areas to deal with your debt emergency first. If you haven’t done so already start tracking your spending – notebook, Excel spreadsheet, Mint, Personal Capital, whatever works best for you. I definitely recommend reading Your Money or Your Life or The Simple Path to Wealth. Also, 9.1 miles one way is quite far for a novice biker, especially in the winter. Have you considered finding an apartment closer to your job (maybe even a cheaper one), if possible? In my opinion, optimize spending over the winter while driving to work, then consider buying a used bike and some gear in the Spring and bike to work a couple days a week to start. I’ve put my work clothes/shoes in a backpack and change once I get to work to avoid getting sweaty or dirty in my nice clothes!
Since your SO isn’t keen on saving, perhaps talking about goals for the future and seeing if the FIRE lifestyle is appealing to her would help? She needs to not be living paycheck to paycheck if you are going to reach that.
How about all of the above for financial tracking? I mostly stick to Personal capital and Penny now.
Your money or your life is on my reading list - right after I finish
A Guide to the Good Life. I'm very much hoping to move closer to work and somewhere cheaper. My current rent, though lower than when I lived alone, still represents just under 25% of my income, which is just way too high (And with that comment, I'm sure the reasons for my debt emergency are much more apparent). Unfortunately we just moved in at the end of June for a 12 month lease, so I'm not sure if I have much in the way of options there. I agree about my SO - we've been talking more about it and she's becoming more open to the idea, but she pays the same amount of rent and makes less than I do (we were morons for picking the apartment we did - chose with our emotions, not logic, ugh) so her opportunities for saving will be limited - she's still not really on board with the whole FIRE thing. I'm hoping that'll change, as we've discussed life goals and I think it's dawning on her that she hasn't made a step towards any of them by living paycheck to paycheck. As for the long commute, I am definitely concerned about it, but I'm willing to do the work and get good at biking to make it happen! As for buying a bike, I'm thinking the winter will give me a huge window of time to wait and snipe a good deal in.
Thanks for the wonderful input, everyone! I've compiled a list of the gear suggested, and will be doing research as to how I can acquire it most cheaply and what the total cost would be. I figure that I will end up needing: A bike, helmet, lights. I figure that the following would allow me to cycle more often and in more conditions but won't be immediately necessary: a rain cover for a backpack, rain gear, base layers, some winter gear, and snow tires. I've been trawling Craigslist to get a feel for average prices and potential deals as well. I think my plan will be to borrow a bike to try a test-commute this weekend, and then take the winter to find a good deal on a half decent used road bike to at least use for in town errands and to ultimately commute with come spring.
I will update as time goes on to let you all know how things go!