Excellent thread. £4,400 saved on tube fares !

@ned can I ask any traffic incidents / knocked off – I’m not so good with traffic so that’s the worry for me

I cant wait to get back on my bike for the commute next week, makes such a difference to overall quality of life to me, and having 2 young kids, it`s a “Free” 50 miles a week that I don’t have to try and fit in somewhere else ? 😀

cheers billyt: the shifter’s great. 9 speed dura ace (cheap on CRC), rear only. 48T up front and 11-32 on the back gives a nice spread. Nice positive click fron the shifter, really quick, you can smash down 4 at once if you need. And if you’re at the lights, wondering if you changed down before you stopped, you can fell the position of the lever rather than peering through your crotch.

brakes are Tektro RL520 levers and mtb BB7s

jambalaya: None! 2 or 3 easily avoided near misses that raised the heart rate a bit. And two near identical offs which were both pedestrians stepping out, with my reactions and brake modulation skillz dulled by 2 or 3 pints. First was in the dry – an over the bars and a gouged shin. Second was in the snow, lost the back and came down hard on my knee.

nedrapier – Member
jack, it’s one of the things that makes me realise how much I love cycling.

One of the others is the last half minute of the 1945 Raleigh “How a bicycle is made” film

Ned, that’s a super little film, thanks for sharing. I wish all bicycles were still made in one big factory like that. 🙂
I want one now.

Good thread. I’ll have to do some calculations see how much I’ve spent on bike and parts and saved on train fares. I’ve got pretty good rail link to work so not really any time saved. Pretty hard to put a price on all that “free” training tho and being on the bike is way more fun than on the train – mostly, some mornings when it’s throwing it down and blowing a gale….

Unfortunately I seem to have more car related incidents than the OP, “I’d not been overtaken by single motorised vehicle for the whole 6 miles in” may have something to do with it but there’s too many variables. Even with the occasional problems bike is my favourite way to get to work, the switch to a 80-90% traffic free route helps 🙂

D0NK, absolutely. It feels safer than a more sub0urban commute with faster traffic (including bike speed), more space, more bends, possibly less attention from drivers.

I’ve been doing Edgware to Kentish Town for the last 7 years, usually 3-4 times a week. Based on 3 times a week I’ve just worked out I’ve saved £4700 🙂 I probably haven’t spent too much on commuting bike gear; been riding this for the last 4 years (probably the longest I’ve kept a bike). Thou I’ve swapped the Alfine for 1×9 using Dura-Ace bar end shifters recently.

Right, i’m off to buy some bike shit!

£4,700? You could get a car for that! 🙂

My rural commute varies from 10ish fast, furious miles along an A-road to however-many-I-feel-like miles along back roads. I usually do a 14 mile back road route which at this time of year starts and ends in darkness. Can be tough, cold and miserable at times but it’s also amazing watching the sun come up over the hills.

here’s my gate:

more reliable than a wood burning stove, comfier than your favourite armchair.

he’s called Ron.

Hmm … been think about starting to bike into work for a while now.

I like the thought of once you are on your bike it’s “your” time(rather than having to wait until you get to your front door)

But it’s 22 odd mile from the City through deepest darkest east London out to sunny Brentwood.

So time wise the bike will be a little slower, not worried about that,…. The questions is, quite literally ….. will I die ?

Now I’m no wimp…. but I’ve got little kids and I want to be there when they get big.

Talk me into it.

don’t ride up the left-hand side of any big trucks, accept that there’ll be routes/junctions that you’re happier to walk around, and you’ll still be kicking arse when you’re kid’s kids have grown up.

(if we could bottle the health benefits of regular exercise, someone would win a Nobel prize)

top thread – I also do the North London commute.
Always interesting seeing the different bikes flying up the East Finchley High Road.
I’ll keep a look out… 🙂

The questions is, quite literally ….. will I die ?

Now I’m no wimp…. but I’ve got little kids and I want to be there when they get big.

Statistically speaking: regular cycling much more likely to prolong your life, make it healthier, and ensure you are around for your kids (and can keep up with them!)

Look for off-road or traffic free routes. Ride safe (and that doesn’t mean you should cower in the gutter). If you don’t feel comfortable riding in traffic then consider a Bikability or similar course, they can often be had for free (if you are London based then check TfL for free courses).

Oh and yeah, here’s my commuter:

She’s called “The Black Rose”.

And she is also my road bike, my tourer bike, and my pootle bike. 😀

@Ahwiles – I like your chameleon bike 🙂

Would love to commute by bike but 35 miles each way is too much for me – certainly wouldn’t want to get up any earlier for early shifts.

I’m Striving to ride to work more now, 2-3 times a week family/work commitments allowing…

I switched jobs last year and it’s now a shorter, flatter route, however an office moves 3 miles further away in a couple of months will have an impact, it is a good thing and a bad thing…

Good in that each ride is that wee bit longer (it’ll go up to ~16 miles each way), Bad in the fact that justifying the cycling gets tougher as the longer journey becomes comparatively quicker by car, and the less inclined ‘er indoors is to tolerate my lateness in getting home…

weapon of choice:

Although now with guards, a frame pump, more lights, bigger tires and a bar bag, it looks like a proper commuter (which is good as the thieves just won’t want it…

I’m now wondering from looking at some of these bikes if I could justify a change of fork & front wheel so I could run a BB7 on the front, the rim caliper is still just about doing the job, but a disc might be a bit more “all weather”…

I’d cry if I couldnt commute on my bike.

its already been said but its a free 75 miles a week so when I do get out on a weekend I’m not fighting to stay on as I’ve done nowt for a week.

I reckon I probably get in about 4000 miles a year if I include the few sneaky long way home routes I do.

Would love to commute by bike but 35 miles each way is too much for me

that is a long way, you thought about doing it once a week? or if even one 70 mile day doesn’t sound good maybe drive in with bike, leave car (if possible) ride home, ride in next day drive home?

But it’s 22 odd mile from the City through deepest darkest east London out to sunny Brentwood.

So time wise the bike will be a little slower, not worried about that,…. The questions is, quite literally ….. will I die ?

Now I’m no wimp…. but I’ve got little kids and I want to be there when they get big.

My friend got a road bike at christmas and started riding it in London as training for a big charity ride we did in Summer. Since then he has started commuting on it, from St Albans to Oxford Street (20mile) both ways at least 3 days a week. He told me its much easier and a great de-stress for when he gets home to his little 6month old lad.

As others have said, if you dont think its safe then get on a course. It is safe, you just need to be aware of whats around you and understand how you fit in to it all. Try it, you’ll be amazed how many others probably do a very similar route to you.

Kings cross to the Albert Hall 4 days a week.

Its a bit of a scrap sometimes but I like it.

Have just started spinning round Hyde Park and Regents park enroute to bump the 4 miles each way up a bit.

(Some pro types around Regents park too …!)

I’ve recently started a new job and I’m almost too close now to commute by bike. I used to work about 6 miles from where I live and that was perfect, now I’m 1.5 miles away and miss the commute.

Will have to start doing some laps of Arthur’s Seat to make up for it but it’s not the same. Next step is to move further away from work.

Fond, and not so fond memories of my old N.London commute, Palmers Green to Ealing for years.. not sure how much time and money that saved me, but there wasn’t much better than a congratulatory Friday pint after surviving another week of close calls and crappy weather!

I’ve been commuting by bike for the past few years and I think I would probably go nuts if I had to get the bus/metro/car to work. I’m lucky that about 90% of my commute is off-road (bridleways/cycle paths/through the woods). Using the bike has saved me about £800 a year in Metro fares (although I probably spend a big chunk of this on bike-related purchases) and we’ve been able to go back to being a 1 car family.

My do everything road bike,

Ice isn’t fun but almost everything else you encounter is better than driving, being trapped in a tin box, stuck in a traffic jam, Yes you are warm but you miss so much. On the bike you see the year change, you feel the seasons.

Graham, looks lovely, but why no front mudguard?

Have just started spinning round Hyde Park and Regents park enroute to bump the 4 miles each way up a bit.

(Some pro types around Regents park too …!)

I like and dislike the Regent’s Park loop in equal measure.
Sometimes use it for winter training, sometimes swing that way on the commute to work and mix it up with the roadies doing intervals up the “hill”.
I find the five sets of traffic lights on a 3 mile loop a major annoyance though.

I started bike commuting in 2006, with the promise it would be cost neutral due to the monthly cost of the bike versus a bus pass. Then I re-discovered biking, so costs spiralled.

15 miles round trip, and I really miss it on the days I don’t ride. Time spent on a bus watching the cyclists zip past is depressing…

Graham, looks lovely, but why no front mudguard?

Potential answer: means I can take the front wheel off and sling the whole bike in my car.

Actual answer: After I spent a couple of hours of swearing to get the back one on nicely I just couldn’t be arsed tackling the front one. And I’ve never got round to it since. 😀

If I get the tube home, I don’t really feel like I’m home, on my own time, until I’m walking up the stairs to the flat, jangling my keys in my pocket. But on the bike, it’s as soon as I’m turning the pedals.

So True !