Poll

How far do you commute by bicycle (daily total)?

1-7 miles
98 (46.2%)
8-15 miles
75 (35.4%)
16-25 miles
25 (11.8%)
26-40 miles
12 (5.7%)
>41 miles
2 (0.9%)

Total Members Voted: 205

Author Topic: How far do you commute by bicycle?  (Read 19281 times)

robartsd

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #100 on: March 20, 2018, 03:46:54 PM »
I've had various encounters with bad drivers while commuting. Cars turning or making lane changes without looking for bikes by far seems to be the biggest threat. Only a few times have the drivers actually been hostile towards me on a bike. Cyclists improving their own visibility can help with the former, but is unlikely to help with the latter - normalizing cycling as a mode of transportation can help with both.

Le Poisson

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #101 on: March 20, 2018, 04:22:02 PM »
60 - 70 miles RT, 2-3x/wk in good weather.

Make sure your life and disability insurance policies are up to date.  Biking can mean an early exit from the rat race - permanently.  But please, do not let the voice of reason make you reconsider your biking obsession.

I am very interested in good statistics if you have them. I wonder what the death rate looks like if you exclude obvious no-nos like not using a helmet, riding too close to doors, running red lights, not wearing reflective clothing, etc.

On top of this I imagine if you look at obesity rates for cyclists vs. average Americans you come out ahead from a health standpoint.

Judicator, I like you. We're gonna get along just fine, you and me.

GuitarStv

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #102 on: March 21, 2018, 07:26:27 AM »
Make sure your life and disability insurance policies are up to date.  Biking can mean an early exit from the rat race - permanently.  But please, do not let the voice of reason make you reconsider your biking obsession.

I am very interested in good statistics if you have them. I wonder what the death rate looks like if you exclude obvious no-nos like not using a helmet, riding too close to doors, running red lights, not wearing reflective clothing, etc.

On top of this I imagine if you look at obesity rates for cyclists vs. average Americans you come out ahead from a health standpoint.

The subject of health benefits vs risk from pollution/traffic accidents has been well studied:

"On average, the estimated health benefits of cycling were substantially larger than the risks relative to car driving for individuals shifting their mode of transport." - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/

"Benefits of physical activity outweighed air pollution and traffic incident risks." - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743517304978

"Our overall result, that the positive health effects of increased cycling outweigh the negative effects, agrees with the findings of other studies that have estimated the effects of cycling." - http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/4/e001135

"London’s bicycle sharing system has positive health impacts overall" - http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g425


Given that none of the above studies required helmets, lights, reflective/fluorescent clothing, following the rules of the road, etc. the benefits are likely even greater if you choose to be a safe cyclist.

Hirondelle

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #103 on: March 21, 2018, 08:14:25 AM »
Make sure your life and disability insurance policies are up to date.  Biking can mean an early exit from the rat race - permanently.  But please, do not let the voice of reason make you reconsider your biking obsession.

I am very interested in good statistics if you have them. I wonder what the death rate looks like if you exclude obvious no-nos like not using a helmet, riding too close to doors, running red lights, not wearing reflective clothing, etc.

On top of this I imagine if you look at obesity rates for cyclists vs. average Americans you come out ahead from a health standpoint.

The subject of health benefits vs risk from pollution/traffic accidents has been well studied:

"On average, the estimated health benefits of cycling were substantially larger than the risks relative to car driving for individuals shifting their mode of transport." - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920084/

"Benefits of physical activity outweighed air pollution and traffic incident risks." - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743517304978

"Our overall result, that the positive health effects of increased cycling outweigh the negative effects, agrees with the findings of other studies that have estimated the effects of cycling." - http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/4/e001135

"London’s bicycle sharing system has positive health impacts overall" - http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g425


Given that none of the above studies required helmets, lights, reflective/fluorescent clothing, following the rules of the road, etc. the benefits are likely even greater if you choose to be a safe cyclist.

Considering the amount of air pollution and accidents involving cars, it would get even better if more people start cycling and less people start driving!

martyconlonontherun

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #104 on: March 21, 2018, 03:46:06 PM »
What do people think of the economic benefit if you keep your car? I would imagine that most of the benefit is not having a monthly payment/insurance.

Yeah I might save a generous 50 cents a mile (That's a total of $5k IF i ride my bike every day for the whole year, more likely $2,500). Add in wear/tear on a nice bike and a couple hundred on tune-ups over the year. I don't think the ~$1,500 benefit is worth the time loss-Hundreds of hours. You basically have to sell your car to get economic benefit from it.

That said, I do love the exercise from it.



GuitarStv

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #105 on: March 22, 2018, 08:19:04 AM »
What do people think of the economic benefit if you keep your car? I would imagine that most of the benefit is not having a monthly payment/insurance.

Yeah I might save a generous 50 cents a mile (That's a total of $5k IF i ride my bike every day for the whole year, more likely $2,500). Add in wear/tear on a nice bike and a couple hundred on tune-ups over the year. I don't think the ~$1,500 benefit is worth the time loss-Hundreds of hours. You basically have to sell your car to get economic benefit from it.

That said, I do love the exercise from it.

You certainly save the most money if you can cut a car out of your life.  I was able to put off buying a car for quite a while by riding to work, and the savings were pretty awesome.

I cycle to work two or three times a week at the moment and drive the remaining time.  That means that I use about 50% less gas (my car is pretty much only used for commuting), and there's 50% less wear and tear on my car.

Fixing bike problems is pretty easy/cheap and oddly kinda fun, so I do it myself.  The gas money alone more than pays for money spent fixing my bike, (and that includes replacing components on my winter bike on an accelerated schedule because of salt damage).  If I paid a shop to do repairs, I'd end up spending more money on the bike that it would cost to drive.

My cardio now mostly comes from commuting which ends up saving me time.  It takes 40 - 50 minutes to bike to work, 30 - 45 minutes to drive so biking is slightly slower . . . but I get about 3 - 4 hrs of decent cardio intervals each week by biking that I'd otherwise need to make time for.  Couple that with a few basement free-weight training sessions a week (and maybe a long ride on weekends) and there's no need to have a gym membership at all so that could save you money.

robartsd

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #106 on: March 22, 2018, 08:49:28 AM »
If I paid a shop to do repairs, I'd end up spending more money on the bike that it would cost to drive.
This pretty much applies only if you ride where roads have been salted. Normal wear from salt-free roads would easily be less than the incremental cost of driving in most areas even with 100% shop maintenance.

GuitarStv is right, DIY bike maintenance is generally not difficult to do. I love cycling in part because of the sense of independence it gives me and DIY maintenance contributes to that.

Just Joe

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #107 on: March 22, 2018, 12:24:38 PM »
Anything you don't understand about bicycle maintenance can be learned fast via YouTube (even relying on DIY grade tools sometimes) or the bike forums.

Le Poisson

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #108 on: March 22, 2018, 12:36:55 PM »
Anything you don't understand about bicycle maintenance can be learned fast via YouTube (even relying on DIY grade tools sometimes) or the bike forums.

Another quick thing you can learn is how to over tension a shift cable, ripping apart the innards of your XT Hydraulic shift/brake levers. This will turn what would have been included in a $60 basic tune up into a $200 replacement job.

Which is why You-tube is not always the best answer. Although often it is...

robartsd

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #109 on: March 23, 2018, 08:36:13 AM »
Anything you don't understand about bicycle maintenance can be learned fast via YouTube (even relying on DIY grade tools sometimes) or the bike forums.

Another quick thing you can learn is how to over tension a shift cable, ripping apart the innards of your XT Hydraulic shift/brake levers. This will turn what would have been included in a $60 basic tune up into a $200 replacement job.

Which is why You-tube is not always the best answer. Although often it is...
Getting shift cable tension just right is an art that I find difficult to master; but I've never heard of tearing apart a shift lever due to excessive tension before. I prefer shift levers and break levers as separate components.

Just Joe

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Re: How far do you commute by bicycle?
« Reply #110 on: March 23, 2018, 09:17:27 AM »
I helped our teen adjust cable disc brakes last night for the first time via YouTube. Done in about 10 minutes.

With anything mechanical I think it is worthwhile know it when its new so you know something about it when its old or out of adjustment.

If you can't know it when its new, then get the shop to do all the maintenance and then get to know it.

Some folks forever have wonky bikes or vehicles and assume that is just the way it is. I know my first good bike or my first good car was eye opening.