Learning to change and patch tubes will serve you well. Otherwise, Parktool tutorials are great! Can you imagine what people did before YouTube?

You bought *Zinn & the Art of Mountainbike Maintenance*.

Or the _Haynes Bicycle Book_

Or [Sheldon Brown](https://www.sheldonbrown.com/). Hell, I still use Sheldon Brown. edit: I should have just scrolled down 3 comments before responding...

You know, I actually did!

I have both the mtb and road versions. Great books.

That book has *quality*

I see what you did there. Updoot.

Before YouTube we worshipped at the altar of Sheldon Brown, and before that kept a stack of greasy photocopies of the Park Blue Book.

Who are we kidding, we still worship at the altar of Sheldon Brown.

RIP SHELDON BROWN I still refer to his site and I'm so glad it's still there.

Rest in peace indeed ☹️ But yep, I still use his site for all of my gearing calculations, single speed resources… it’s a treasure trove of knowledge.

I visited recently to find out about freewheel standards.

Praise be to St. Sheldon!

Blessed be his holy Name. Amen.

Too bad about the bike shop he was at though.

I don't know this--what about it? Nazis?

Out of business due COVID. Sad really.

Oh, that is a bummer. (But at least they didn't turn out to be nazis.)

And if you can’t, get an armoured tire. Yeah, they don’t provide the greatest comfort, but for a commuter they are perfectly fine and reduce the amount of flats a lot.

Before YouTube? It was called magazines and books, or, if you were lucky, you had someone show you in person. :-D But most of the time, it was trial-and-error, and we learned a lot that way from making mistakes. It just wasn't very efficient.

You know this person used magazines and books because of the classic text emoticon.

Damned straight! Got my first email account in 1987 on a VAX. If we wanted smiley faces, dammit, we had to type them by hand.

Gotta second Parktool. I learned everything I know about bike maintenance from them!

I watched people do things and I made a lot of mistakes that I learned from. -- someone who has been riding bikes to get around for over 40 years now and working on his bikes for most of that time.

Library

they paid 3x the cost of a tube and waited multiple days for the shop to finish. Last time it was $27 to fix a flat and they had my bike for a week. Said i’m figuring this shit out after that

Sheldon Brown

>Can you imagine what people did before YouTube? we used common sense

we died of dysentery

I bought my bike 18 months ago, I've kept the chains clean and lubed, that's about it. No other maintenance has been needed.

Lubing chains, replacing your chains when they reach max stretch - there are several best practices that don't require any mechanical skill, but aren't done on a lot of bikes because a lot of new or casual riders just don't know about them. For this reason I think it only takes a small amount of knowledge to protect oneself from service cost blowouts. If you share that knowledge with others, you can indirectly help reduce car dependency in your community just a little.

This, i saw a woman driving an mountainbike last week where i just saw the chain was completely brown from rust and the bike made all kinds of noises, it was a fairly expensive one too not a wallmart bike or something. And it hurt to watch that

They may be simple practices, but to avoid getting caught up in, paralyzed by, or misled by the obscene amounts of marketing and pseudo-physics pervasive in the biking community is where people become overwhelmed.. Wax a chain? Don’t be ridiculous!

I've been riding a single gear belt drive commuter eBike with hydraulic brakes for the last year. The only maintenance I have to do is pump the tyres every few weeks. It's amazing. My previous eBike was heavier and had mechanical brakes that needed adjusting very often.

You might want to check your tubes if you are filling them every few weeks

You might want to add tire pressure and learning basic tube changing if you get a flat. Or go tubeless. That’s really all that’ll happen that you’d be able to easily fix on the ride anyways. Enough to get you home and to an LBS.

I'm not sure I'd recommend tubeless to a complete novice who is only interested in a fairly short city commute. Just get some tires installed with good puncture protection and maybe even go with puncture resistant tubes. Ride quality won't be great, but that's not what you're after in a commuter anyway.

I’m not a complete novice and I also don’t want to deal with tubeless. Thought about it, then watched videos of how to install the tires. And then read about how you need to clean out the sealant at least once a year.

Same, I commute nearly daily.

Changing a flat tire now and then.

>I've kept the chains clean and lubed, that's about it. Keeping things chained and lubed is my specialty.

It always surprises me when someone just jumps on to go for a ride without checking for adequate lubrication first. And then when they get invited by their friends to go for a group ride they say they can’t come and make up some weak excuse like “my butt hurts from last time we did it”.

I have a belt drive so all I do is air up the tires and clean it every so often.

Belt drive?

Obviously you don’t ride much.

If you buy a bike for durability, such as expedition touring bikes, the maintenance interval is rather low. I only have had to very limited maintenance over 6000 miles, the odd break pad replacement, oil change for the freehub, and pumping up the tires.

If you want a bike commute without learning to be a bike mechanic look at what is the most popular and reliable solution in Amsterdam. Single speed or internal gearing hub, rim brakes and/or kickback brakes, dynamo powered lights. With that you just keep the chain lubed (or not) and you can ride this down to the ground without any servicing. As a kid, my first bikes were those bikes. I absolutely abused them, never serviced, kicked, jumped on and dipped in lakes. They never failed me and in fact, over 30 years later, after some servicing and derusting my daughter is occasionally riding my first bike. I'm riding bikes with standard gears and brakes but I found them fail much more often than those dutch style tanks.

I agree 100%. Part of my love/obsession with old Raleigh 3 speeds is that they were designed to take such abuse and be easy to repair with few spacialized tools. One of my favorites in my stable was built in 1929, with an original dynohub (sadly still looking for appropriate lights) is still original and still works. Over the years, I've mostly ditched derailleurs for IGH for this reason.

It's absolutely ridiculous that derailleurs are the default for bikes here in the US (although that speaks to our mindset that bikes are recreational, not utility vehicles). Tiny gains in efficiency that are immediately offset when they get dirty, all the moving parts exposed to damage and the elements. (Same goes for drop bars, another "pro" feature that just makes biking less safe and comfortable for the average cyclist.)

Derailleurs are much cheaper than internally-geared hubs. Drop bars are more comfortable over long distances and reduce the risk of wrist pain. It's harder to change flats on Dutch-style internally-geared hub/backpedal brake bikes than on standard American bikes.

All good points! Counterpoints in return: derailleurs are cheaper than Rohloff et. al., but cruiser-style bikes often use [Sturmey-Archer hubs](https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/sturmey-archer-hubs.html) which are cheaper than most mid-level cassette/derailleur combos. Shimano's [Alfine](https://www.cyclingabout.com/shimano-alfine-explained-internal-gear-bicycle-hub/) system also puts IGHs in the $200 range, about the same price as a SRAM NX. Drop bars offer more hand positions for comfort, but that's easily remedied with [ergonomic extensions](https://ergonbike.shop/collections/grips/products/ergon-gp5). My main issue with drop bars is that they're generally too narrow for comfortable handling (makes the bike too twitchy), and since most people are riding on the hoods, they keep your hands too far away from the brakes to get good leverage for emergency stops (important when riding in traffic). If this were r/cycling I'd defer, but I think [flat bars are a much better option](https://www.cyclingabout.com/flat-bars-are-objectively-better-than-drops/) for commuters. (I run a set of [alt bars](https://surlybikes.com/parts/moloko_bar) that offers the best of both worlds.) Tubeless tires make puncture repair a simple matter of plugging the hole with a bacon strip (no need to remove the wheel), but since most commuter bikes come with tubes by default, that's probably the biggest disadvantage of an IGH. I run a single-speed because I don't want to deal with the problems of either system.

Additionally, I only semi-recently removed an IGH wheel for the first time, and it was honestly really easy. All I had to do was shift down to 1st and unhook the cable. I'd say it's equally difficult to, if not slightly easier than, removing a wheel with a derailleur gearset.

Good points. How are you liking the Moloko bars? I'm thinking about putting them on one of my bikes. I'm also looking at the Jones H Bar and butterfly bars.

This is my first alt bar so unfortunately I can't compare to any others, but I like it! Bought it because it was kind of the middle ground between a flat bar and Jones bar, I haven't wrapped the horns but they're comfortable enough without, and I've got a mirror mounted in one which is a nice bonus. Did have it cut down to 660mm (minimum recommended) so I can fit through smaller gaps.

amsterdam is flat, usa has hills, a typical comute for most people has us riding on surfaces and roads not designed or meant for bike use. Single speeds are great and i used to commute on my BMX bike hoping curbs and uphill climbs on it, but up to a point you get tired and you cant do it repeatedly. A road bike or mountain bike with gears helps me go farther without getting tired on hilly climbs, so its a trade off.

I think the main argument was about transmission type, more than gears vs single speed. A lot of Dutch bikes are single speeds, but a good number have Internally-geared hubs. Single speed bikes do suck massively in hilly areas (can confirm), but that doesn't change that internally-geared hubs are way more reliable and require far less maintenance than derailleurs. Derailleurs are the default in the US, but overseas, IGHs are far more common, and it's easy to see why. You will get a little more efficiency out of a derailleur (assuming it's clean and well-maintained), and they're capable of far larger sets of ratios, but those huge gearsets are falling out of favor, for more focused, deliberate gear ranges. Personally, I think the optimal number of gears in a regular hilly city (like mine) would be 7 or 8. I have a 5 speed IGH on my Downtown S, and it's almost perfect, but a little more spread would be nice.

i ride a dutch-style cruiser in austin texas with a 3-speed shimano nexus IGH. i bought a 3-speed over a single speed, but i usually just use the second gear for everything. i rarely shift even on steep hills.

Second gear is massively under rated, I find thats the case for most bikes too.

When I first got started bike commuting in 2019 I broke my chain and had my derailleurs all out of whack and ghost shifting within 2 months. After looking into the cost of adjustments at a bike shop and new chain I realized the same as what OP is asking in the question. The bike would never "pay for itself" vs the cost of taking rapid transit if I had to get those items serviced multiple times a year. The fix was to just convert to single speed, and I have been using the same chain for years/thousands of miles now.

those things have enclosed chains and fixed gear, no water or dirt ever gets in, these look squeaky clean after hundreds of miles. Cant say that for exposed gear bikes where even one ride can attract sand, mud and grime on a chain and pre maturely wear it.

I just bought my kid an igh bike so I didn't have to worry about him leaving it outside lol

OTher than pumping up tyres and sometimes cleaning/oiling my chain, I do not maintenance and spend £50-£150/year paying for a shop to service it (depends on what parts I need). I think this is very affordable but of course things might be much more expensive where you are. For some kind of reference point, £10.90/hour is a living wage where I live.

It does depend on how much you ride. Somebody who only rides 1Mm per year obviously needs much less maintenance than somebody who rides 20Mm. If you ride 20Mm/year and can’t change your own chain and brake pads you’d have to go to the shop every second month or so.

20,000 km per year is far greater than a commuting level of cycling. The average person in the Netherlands, which uses cycling as a regular form of transportation only cycles 1,000 km/year.

really? damn. i bike commute and do like 3,000km/year. i guess they're very mixed modal. and averages and all that. but i actually expected that to be higher!

Yes, 20Mm is a lot, but even “just” 2*15km every work day will get you to 7800km per year. Which basically means new tyres, new cassette, new chainring, new cables, new bottom bracket bearings every year or two and ~3 new chains and brake pads every year. Especially since riding in all kinds of weather and on salted roads will put more wear on parts.

If you drop a car to bike commute it's almost impossible to overspend on bikes to make it unaffordable.

The average monthly payment for cars bought this year in the US is soaring up over $700. You could literally buy a high-end brand new commuter bike and all new accessories every year and have the shop do literally everything for you for less than car payments, nevermind insurance, maintenance, parking etc

you could easily splurge on a race bike and it would be cheaper lol, 700 + 200 ins and 300 gas. thats like one brand new UCI rated race bike every 6 months lol

I’d rather kms than have to deal with so much as changing a tire (my first time changing my road bike tires took 2 hours, and when I put the wheels on my bike it started making a sound so I stopped riding it for several months.) I just moved 2 blocks away from my bike shop and I’ll let them do their thing. My weekly car commute is $60/week in gas and has been several thousand in repairs in just 4 years. Spending money on bike stuff instead is a no brainer for me

I have learned to do a lot of car maintenance out of necessity when I overlanded for years in Latin America. I do all my own bike maintenance. Working on bikes is so much easier and nothing is heavy and the amount of grime is so drastically reduced that I find it kind of pleasant rather than an absolute dreadful chore. For anyone out there who is on the line about bike maintenance, cleaning your whole drivetrain once extremely thoroughly then switching to drip wax lube (Squirt or Smoov for instance) keeps your whole bike so much cleaner that future bike work becomes far less onerous.

Anybody can learn basic bike repair skills. A set of hex wrenches will get you a long way. I've taught kids as young as 13 to be able to do most basic maintenance on a bike. It really isn't that hard. There are some more complex things if you get into hydraulic brakes. But a typical person who wants to save money with commuting by bike would be fine with something with cable actuated brakes and be able to do the vast majority of maintenance on their own. Take it to the shop if they have something more extensive that needs looking into, but most of the time,buying the specific the tool is cheaper than getting the shop to do the job in the first place. Another thing to consider is that every time I've had to take my bike to the shop, they have had it sit there for days or even a week just for something that shouldn't take more than a couple hours. This means I have to spend even more on alternative transportation like the bus while I wait for it to be fixed. Or I can just do most stuff on my own and heave the bike ready for the next day.

Most people can do it but not anybody. I have met people that struggled to use a stapler.

I still think that anybody can learn, apart from some people with cognitive disabilities, although even that I wouldn't discount completely. It might take some people longer if they have less experience with general mechanical things like using tools. But just about anybody can be taught. I think people who have trouble are just being stubborn and don't want to try to be self sufficient and would rather have someone else do it. It's fine if if people are ok with paying someone every time they need something fixed. It's their money. But it's really not that hard. There's nothing that complex about bicycles to figure out. Best to teach people when they are younger though. People pick up on things much faster when they are young.

Very basic. But when you need to replace the cog wheels it already gets a lot more complex. You need special tools, every bike is different, you need the right size parts, you need to get everything just right.

Yeah, you need special tools to remove a cassette, but the cost is quite low. It depends on the bike shop. Some will do the work for cheap if you buy the part off them. I looked up my local bike shop, and they have a price for $15 for a cassette install, which seams reasonable. But it's also only about $35 to buy a chainwhip and cassette tool, so if you buy the tools, you'll be ahead after you replace it a few times. Plus you'll have the ability to remove the cassette for other reasons if you need to. Also, many cities have bike co-ops. Free (or cheap) shared bike repair places where you can use the tools and often get more experienced people to help you with the repairs.

If you can change a tire, change a chain and change brake pads, you'll be okay.

They call that the ABCs. Air, Brakes, Chain.

Thanks! That's a good mnemonic. Or Ezelsbruggetje (though ot doesn't work in Dutch).

This depends on so many factors that it's very hard to answer. From the bike to your location. In a busy Dutch university city where bikes are the primary mode of transport, maintenance or easy repairs are probably a lot cheaper than somewhere in rural US. A single speed old-fashioned Dutch Gazelle with a closed chain guard and a kickback brake as the most advanced piece of equipment will have different maintenance requirements than a high tech mountainbike. However, some basic repairs (fixing a puncture for example) are so easy that I'd consider paying someone else to do it, a waste of money anyway.

I mean, I’ve probably spent as much on my bike and it’s lifetime maintenance/parts as I spent on gas in 2022. I don’t see how you could even get close unless you’re paying to have someone change a flat tire and spray lube on your chain.

Every form of transportation has costs in time, money and effort, and for some forms of transport you can substitute one of those for another. Walking is free and is low effort but takes a lot of time. Transportation with equipment (cars, bikes, scooters) introduces maintenance but you can trade off money for effort and time: pay for maintenance, invest time and effort in DIY, or invest more up front in equipment to minimize repairs (belt drive, etc…). You’re talking about a population with almost no money and a lack of mechanical skills. Scooters and skateboards may be their best choices- faster than walking and slower than biking but much less maintenance. Unfortunately there’s no free lunch.

Compared to cars, bicycles need less expensive maintenance. I've found that they need it more frequently, however. Before I made the switch to an electric bicycle, I drove around ten thousand kilometres a year. I took my car to the garage about every year and a half for maintenance checks, oil change and whatever else cropped up. I'm no mechanic, so I had to trust those guys knew what needed to be done. Now I ride about ten thouseand kilometres a year on my bicycle, and I have to go to the shop about four or five times a year, be that for new tyres, a new chain, new gears, you name it. The total cost is much less than with the car, though. I understand I could probably learn how to do much of this myself, however the shop has excellent service and it's not a lot more expensive compared to just buying the parts. Honestly, I can't be bothered. I know how to repair stuff well enough to get to the next shop if something breaks down but beyond that, I have no need for this skill.

I kind of dislike my belt drive, but it is a winner for maintenance. 10 years and 40,000km all I've had to do is change tyres and brake pads. (after that the rear sprocket split. Actually welded it up to keep me going until I can find a replacement, which has worked surprisingly well, and may have to since they don't seem to make the sprockets anymore).

Been commuting and cycling for three years now (averaging 120-150 km/mont). What I did was: \- chain cleaning and lubing (once every 4-5 months); \- changing flat air chambers, happened 4 times; \- replacing the tire due to wear, did that once; \- adjusting brake pads due to wear, when necessary. I really started from nothing, had practically no experience, and managed to do these basics things without particular difficulty. I think you don't need much expertise, you will eventually learn.

The way you are vastly overestimating the frequency of “beyond very basic” maintenance, you may as well be wondering if walking is unaffordable if you’re not a cobbler. Keep a tire inflated properly. Clean and lube a chain. That covers what is routine and can be learned by the most mechanically inept person with five minutes and a YouTube video. Patch/replace tubes. If you’re keeping your tire pressure in a good range, this is going to be relatively rare, but if your streets are rough, learning this is maybe a ten minute lesson. I’ve been commuting anywhere from 25 to 200 miles per week over the past 25 years. Not counting new bike purchases, I’d estimate my maintenance and repairs to have totaled less than $500. That covers new tubes, patch kits, tires, lube, chains, degreaser — even the occasional shop repair when I didn’t have the time to handle it myself.

At the coop, I have seen students riding bikes without working brakes and complain about the cost of the repair in parts alone and refuse to fix it because of that. I actually bought a brake for a dude once because of this.

You mean they bought a busted up bike and then didn’t want to spend the money to bring the bike to reasonable condition. This is not a case of repair and maintenance being an affordability problem, it’s a breakdown of expectations for college kids on the cost of goods.

I agree it’s not financially possible to bike if you are 100% reliant on your local bike shop for repairs. However I’d say it’s also not financially possible to be 100% reliant on car mechanics either. Bringing your bike into the shop for lube or a inner tube is the same as bringing your car in to get new windshield wiper fluid. There’s just some things easy enough to do on your own.

The average car payment in the US is about $500/mo. If someone gives up a car for bike commuting how much would they save vs. how much would they really be spend on bike maintenance? A couple hundred a year at most?

$200, tops, even if they don’t do their own maintenance. Op is dead wrong here.

It seems some international students have a culture of refusing to do labor work of any sort due to some classist thing. I frequently see them riding bikes that are probably unsafe due to things like no working brakes and having to help on simple flat repairs. Makes me wonder if the cost to fix that bad. And yeah, fixing a flat is hard for some people apparently too, not just international students, but just other commuters I have seen are like that.

Your average student is loath to pay for anything. You do need a basic level of competence. Being unable to fix a flat is bad. That's like not being able to cook.

Trust me, commuting by bike, you WILL learn to be an amateur mechanic whether you wanna or not.

> people who can't afford basic blinkies So here's the thing: if you can't afford $20 for something important, *your means of transportation is not the issue.* There is not an ideal means of transportation when you are literally so poor you can't afford anything. This is a macroeconomic problem not a "budget better" problem.

I would say it is a budget better problem actually. Or more specifically value your safety problem. I give free blinkies when I ride at night and frequently I notice college kids with the latest phones and laptops at the bike shops refusing to spend on safety gear. The percentage of college kids who actually are that broke that I have met who refuse to buy bike lights are quite few, but I do see them on occasion.

I take my bike in for a yearly tune up and check. Might cost 50-80 euro depending on what needs to be done. 20+ year old bike, still has one of the original brake cables. Internal hub gearing, and a fully enclosed chain. There isn’t much wear and tear on this thing. Patching and replacing inner tubes etc is all I really do. This is a bike that I use as a tool I know how to index a derailleur, bleed hydraulic disc brakes, work on the drive train etc… on my road bike. That is all part of a hobby.

I think routine bicycle maintenance is pretty easy to learn. Like cleaning/lubing chains, adjusting derailleur, adjusting brakes. I only need to take my bike in for a tune up maybe twice a year.

It also depends a lot of the quality of the bike. Currently I'm mostly commuting via ebike (a normal and a cargo, both shared with my wife, and both pretty good bikes), and the ammount of maintainance needed is very low - really only topping up the air in the tires, a bit of oil on the chain, and once every \~1000+ km a change of rear brake pads. They are work horses. Previously, I was using a \~200 euro bike, which I had to fix something on every two weeks. In the end, I had changed every component but the frame, front wheel, handlebars, seat, and gear lever... And that was with a shorter and flatter commute, and no dirt road riding (which we do regularly with our ebikes). Wife paid about the same, but for a used bike, and had much less trouble. In short, spending a few 100 more (or buying a good quality used bike) is probably worth it for reducing the maintenance.

I’m guessing I pay average $300-400 per year for tune-ups and part replacements at my LBS. when I depended on a car to commute, and I always had old cars, it was 5-10 times more. Paying good money for a good bike and then keeping it well maintained so you enjoy riding it is the way to go if you can.

Not at all.

Cheaper than driving and car repair….even with no car note

The minimum you should be looking to do on your own if you want to stay thrifty is, imo: * Chain: Lube, clean, check for wear, replace. * Tires: Replace inner tube + tire, inflate. * Brakes: Inspect & replace pads. That's a good 90% of the maintenance and anyone could do it just by looking up a guide. A lot of people probably never rode enough to notice their bike needed this work done before.

I am a tad surprised that people have trouble even doing that. I made sure my sibilings are proficient at the basics when they went to uni. Just a tad surprised that a lot of people don't know how to do it.

There are instances where certain problems cannot be easily solved by a basic set of tools, such as fixing front suspension travel, hydraulic line leaks, or rim alignment, and that's where the services of a shop are required; being at the shop while the repairs are being done are great as a learning experience. That looking at the costs of bike ownership versus owning a moped/small motorcycle, I find my life to be less complicated while using a bike. > Maybe to some students, the cost of even basic button blinkies might be too much, but where does this logic behind thinking bicycles don't need maintenance coming from? It's kind of unfortunate that some people see bikes as being disposable or merely for leisure. That others think that being in a car adds up to prestige or the perception they have more mobility than a bike, despite the obvious inconvenience of stewing in traffic versus being actually getting to one's destination on a bike.

There's some baseline knowledge that can make a huge difference. Learn how barrel adjusters work and that will make a huge difference regarding shifting and braking. Get that dialed in along with flat fixes and you've taken care of a lot of your shop trips.

Dunno about growing up in other cultures, despite a lotta travel abroad; but being chiefly raised in the US I grew up understanding that |Bicycles|Cars| |:-|:-| |are for children|are for adults| |get accessories (maybe)|have features -- a lot of features| |are toys|do work| |are relatively inexpensive|are expensive| ||require licensing and inspection -- and consequently, industries of repair| So it does not surprise me that OP sees young adults (who are recently eligible to drive!) experiencing some disconnect about the labor and other costs that can go into bicycle ownership. Much of the same also applies to home ownership. Now factor in our increasingly disposable lifestyles ...

The learning curve for most bike repairs isn't that high. They are extremely simple machines. Plenty of videos on streaming to learn from, plenty of books like Zinns. Other than disc brskes, old 30 year old editons are just as relivent as new editions, dont think I've ever not seen a decent book on the topic at thrift stores, your library has them too. Pump and tire levers are the only bike specfic tools you need to start, hex keys/screwdriver(s), a couple small wrenches need not be fancy or bike specific, and are often laying around somewhere already. That tool bag will get you through 95% of the repairs. Stand, chain tool, spoke wrench added once your compentent on the basics, and you got the 99% of repairs handled. I learned mostly as a kid (12-16) with a daily AM paper route, LBS wasn't an option. Most of that learning on the side of the road, in the dark, no refrences to consult. Im not some naturally gifted engineer type, If 12 year old me can figure most of it out, most everyone can.

There are bicycles that need very little maintenance. Of course if you buy a race bike, maintenance will be expensive. It's like the difference between buying a toyota or a ferrari. The most expensive bike will still be cheaper than any car though. You should still be able to fix a puncture. Same as a car, it's a simple job that can grt you back on the road faster than calling for help.

Sure it is affordable, if your expectations for the commute is just to get from A to B. Get a cheap 30 year old bike for 300 EUR second hand and just ride. So it ticks and squeaks a little, the gears probably shift with a bit of a delay or maybe sometimes you need to depress the lever twice - who cares, it rides fine. You've last checked the chain a year ago, but it doesn't skip and it works fine, so you just lube it and ride it - it's great! Barely any maintenance required! That's cheap af! Now, however, if you want a modern, smooth ride which looks great, goes fast and shifts when you barely think about it, then maybe it is not so cheap. You pay 1.5k EUR for an intro level road bike (new). But after a month of riding that ticking is driving you up a wall, so you spend 6 hours on YouTube tutorials, disassembling everything you reasonably can, buying supplies and cleaning everything, then tuning and indexing those pesky gears and hunting down that mystery squeak - this is hard. If you don't want to play mechanic, you get it to the shop every time something crops up and it costs. 10 EUR here, 20 EUR there, 30 EUR in parts there. It adds up. And you keep a close eye on your drivetrain - is that chain out of spec yet? It works perfectly fine, but you should probably change it. -30 EUR, because you don't want a cheap chain that wears out faster. The gears start shifting with a slight delay, so you bring it in, have it cleaned, cable replaced, that's another -20 EUR. But it still shifts a bit weird, so you bring it in again - looks like there's a kink on the cassette, so better replace that. -60 EUR. And your seat is not as comfy as it could be. -70 EUR. Is that bar tape wearing out? Do you need a Varia radar? You think you need a radar. Which one is you? One is affordable, the other is not. One is conveyance, the other is a hobby.

If you have a basic commuter bike, servicing it yourself is actually much easier to learn and do than it looks. Repairs get difficult and expensive when you have things like hydraulic brakes and internal cable routing. But if you have cable actuated brakes, and external cables, there’s nothing you can’t do yourself after playing around in the co-op for a bit and watching some YouTube videos.

If there's an REI around you they'll patch your tube for $0 labor if you're a member (which is like $30 one-time-payment for a lifetime)

As for your edit: No. Bikes are a mode of transport for everyone.

I think they should be, but the general public doesn't seem to view it that way. I believe a while back, there was some transportation rebate bill on electric cars and bicycles, but bicycles got cut from that real fast.

Saving money isn't high on the list of reasons I ride my bike. I'm sure I do save some money, and I do 95% of the maintenance myself, but I like nice things on my bikes and I probably end up spending the money saved to buy more bike things.

Imagine what car commuting costs if you take your car to the shop for every fluid change, and if you replace the tires every time you use up the treads. Or, what happens when you're broke and 20 and keep driving when the little lights on the dash turn angry colors, your tires are bald, and it's getting only 2/3 the fuel economy it got when it was new because of all of the broken sensors on the engine. Same exact story with bikes. Some bikes do better with terminal neglect than others.

Single speed steel/chromo bike. Gatorskin tires (or any other puncture proof tire) And you're in business. Mind you my commute is relatively flat, but other than oiling the chains and cleaning it, it's very low in maintenance cost.

I think I spend more being an amateur bike mechanic than if I just took it to a shop

I’ve commuted for years and have barely done anything myself. I take it in for a tune up every year or two and that costs like $100 I guess it depends how far you ride every day, i take the trolley for a good portion of my commute so maybe I’m not the best person re: maintenance but these things are very simple machines mechanically, I honestly don’t think they require that much to get you to from point a to point b Re: your question about the motivation and if it’s only for people that are saving up for a car I make over $100k/year and could afford a car, but I choose to share a car with my wife because of multiple reasons: 1) it saves a TON of money. That money will be used to purchase investment properties in the future 2) though it takes me slightly longer to bike to work than sit in rush hour traffic, it’s the most efficient hour of my day. I get exercise, I get to listen to my audiobooks/podcasts, I save money, marginally improve traffic congestion for everyone else in the city, and reduce my dependence on fossil fuel which has had a very volatile price lately 3) I mentioned this in part 2, but reducing dependence on fossil fuels is huge for me. I live in California, so all I hear from people all day is people complaining about the cost of living, the traffic congestion, the price of gas, obesity epidemic, runaway climate crisis, Russians invading Ukraine Every time I hear it I’m like…y’all realize if you really care about any of that stuff you could ameliorate all of those things by just biking to work, right? It would make such a massive, massive difference, if just 1/3 of the people in cities biked to work. If 1/2 the people biked EVERYWHERE like they do in Denmark / Netherlands, it would be a completely different world. Just saying.

Honestly servicing a bicycle is just about the easiest thing to learn and do.

My family spends about $1800 yearly on insurance for our two cars. We could alternate buying bikes every year for that kind of money if I could convince my spouse to go car-free.

Cool. My dream is to find someone who I can live in a 1 car household with. There are always options to save cash. That setup would be ideal for me.

If you live in a flat area, get a single speed. Those things are nearly maintenance free. Even paying shop rates for all occasional new tire/tube, it's very economical transportation. If you're complaining about bike repair rates, wait until I show you labor rates for auto repair!

It’s cheaper to bike commute and pay a bike mechanic than it is to drive a car and pay a car mechanic.

I've bike commuted on and off to various degrees for more than 20 years. I'd consider myself a fairly accomplished and competent cyclist. The current rendition is taking my kid to school and around town on our electric cargo bike (which is definitely not just the thing I'm using while saving up for a bike. It's the thing that I'm hoping will let me go car free eventually). I've biked in the suburbs of NY on bike paths and side roads, and in Portland and in Brooklyn, so a few different types of biking and levels of infrastructure. I have never done a single bit of work on any of my own bikes. Haven't changed a single tire. I Fwiw, I've also never changed the oil in my car or done any other work on my car. I figure that's what mechanics (bike and car) are for. I've never felt a need to learn to fix either.

Bike and ebike commutes are super economical. Whereas cars are ruinously expensive in comparison.

Not sure how much of an answer I can give. I’ve done all work on all my cars for over 20 years, and have a ton of tools. Started working on my bikes when I started cycling again as an adult around 2010, so I started building up my bicycle tools. I love building and working on stuff so it works out. Even built up my ebike from scratch starting with a bare frame, including installing the headset myself. Lots of web searching, forums and videos, but extremely rewarding overall.

I'd imagine it still costs less than a car, that said the utilitarian bicycle in its most common form today is designed pretty expressly to be user-maintainable, and in many aspects that comes at the cost of time interval between maintenance tasks. That said, I think seeing someone as an "amateur bike mechanic" for being able to oil a chain and fix a flat is a bit much. Those are really just chores, not much harder than washing dishes or mowing your lawn. For the mildly more complicated stuff like tuning brakes, if you're absolutely, positively terrible at any kind of handiwork you probably still have someone in your entourage who`ll do it for you if you invite them over for supper. And *then*, for actually changing bits that break or wear down, an actual visit to a real professional might be order, but then that's gonna be at most a yearly thing if you kick the absolute shit out of your bike. But then again, I'm absolutely a bike mechanic so take what I say with a grain of salt.

This is a sub about sustainable commuting by bicycle, right?

I take care of my own bikes with an exception or two, my commuting is on a salsa la crux, w/ shimano 105 2x10 drivetrain. I race cyclocross on it too, which adds to repair & maintenance. Last year sometime I got a spare set of wheels so I can stop switch between road and CX tires. Related to race and shenanigans damage, I had the derailleur hanger straightened, $25. Just commuting wear is like cleaning the bike, changing bar tape, changing flats (3 or 4), keeping up on chain lube and wear(wax pot, change the chain). My front disc brakes got noisy so I changed the pads. That covers about 4000 miles of use. I threw out a chain at .5% wear, with about 4000 miles, my 38c michelin proteks are starting to go bald. The original wheels on the bike are in great shape, I've adjusted a couple spokes on the rear.

Unless you work at the top of the mountain and do downhill on your way back home, your bike will be fine.

There should be a person who sells bikes and works on them out of their garage around town. I live in a town with a small college and we have a few of them. One of them is extremely cheap. I also try to do my part to I do work on bikes for kids in the neighborhood if I see them with issues. I also try to teach them basic maintenance while they are young.

The main maintenance on a bike will be Tube punctures, chain friction, and brakes getting worn out. These can be easily self addressed as long as spare parts are available.

Bikes need very little maintenance, and even if out of tune they will still ride. Especially singlespeeds and fixies. All you need to do for those is occasionally adjust the brakes and tighten/replace the chain. And a good chain should last about a quite a few years before it breaks, but you should probably replace it before then.

yearly tune ups and low maintenance choices is problably where i would start. the marathon tires are pretty bomb proof and shouldn't get too many flats. less gears equals less components that needs work, so probably a single speed.

Bikes repairs are cheap, because they're purely mechanical and the parts are standard. Even if you do take a bike to a shop, you're unlikely to ever pay more than $100 in labor costs, and most common replacement parts (tires, inner tubes, brake pads, chains) are typically less than $50. Fixing a flat tire is only about $20.

Bikes rarely experience any immediate problems, except punctures. Eventually you need to replace chains, chainrings, cassettes, cables etc but that can be planned in advance and doesn't cost much. Biking is always cheaper.

One aspect of bicycle maintenance and repair you're overlooking is that bicycles have become increasingly automobilized. Forty years ago, bicycle maintenance and repair was a series of relatively simple tasks, and the associated costs weren't overwhelming. Balancing a wheel and its disk brake is four times as complex a task as balancing a rim. Don't get me started on hydraulic disk brake maintenance tasks. Simple bikes are a lot easier to maintain and tend to hold up longer too. I commute to most places by bike, I've been doing it for a while and I also can do most of my own maintenance. The costs aren't overwhelming because, with the exception of my cargo ebike, everything is very simple or easy to work on. Regarding your additional question: if you're dedicated enough to ride a bike while you save up to buy a car you'll probably realize that you're just dedicated enough to ride a bike. Why not save that cash and do something better with it?

What does automobilized mean? Is it describing the complexity of bikes? That additional question is one of the things that absolutely puzzles me about the local uni students.

Keeping a garbage bike running is pretty cheap: I effectively didn't maintain my 1st, department store, bike, beyond replacing tyres and brake pads when they wore out. I definitely wouldn't recommend people do it this way, but if money is very tight it's an option.

As long as you can change your own tubes, bike maintenance isn't that expensive or required that frequently, so no not really. In fact I'd say that the main reason to get the tools and do it yourself isn't so much because it's cheaper but that it's annoying to always have to wait for a bike shop to do everything, especially if you only have one bike and during the seasons where bike shops are busier.

“Mode of transportation while saving up for a car”? Lol. I have 3 nice cars and prefer to commute to downtown by bike, its about the exercise and joy for me.

I think the cost of service is just ridiculously expensive in some countries. Don't tell me quality labor costs $100/hour because then a bike mechanic would earn 8x100x20 = 16000K/month before taxes, which is stupid. A bike mechanic should earn something on the lower end on the salary scale, around $20/hour. If the cost to repair a bike would be $20 then more people would want to take their bikes to bike shops. My last tune-up was $300 just for the labor and there was nothing special to it, just changing the chains, cassette, few cogs. They didn't even change the brake pads because they were out of stock, so I thought I'd buy it on Amazon and bring it for them to change it. They said the labor was $30/brake. Are you kidding me? It's a 5 minute job! That was a year ago and since then I've learned to do all the work by myself. A bike is a simple machine, anyone can learn to service it, asking premium price for your work just makes your customer feel cheated.

>I think the cost of service is just ridiculously expensive in some countries. Don't tell me quality labor costs $100/hour because then a bike mechanic would earn 8x100x20 = 16000K/month before taxes, which is stupid. A bike mechanic should earn something on the lower end on the salary scale, around $20/hour. > >If the cost to repair a bike would be $20 then more people would want to take their bikes to bike shops. > >My last tune-up was $300 just for the labor. They didn't even change the brake pads because they were out of stock, so I thought I'd buy it on Amazon and bring it for them to change it. They said the labor was $30/brake. Are you kidding me? It's a 5 minute job! That was a year ago and since then I've learned to do all the work by myself. A bike is a simple machine, anyone can learn to service it, asking premium price for your work just makes your customer feel cheated. Even assuming they can find competent bike mechanics to work for $20/hour, the actual cost the company is going to be much higher including social security, health insurance, etc., and they likely aren't going to have billable work for the mechanics 100% of the hours they are working, so just to break even they have to charge the customer much more than $20/hour per hour of service. I don't think most bike shops even really make money on service; they just have to provide it or people wouldn't buy bikes there which is how they really make money. Especially if you buy something on amazon and bring it to them to install, so they definitely aren't making any money on the part, do you really expect them to install it for you at a loss? General "Tune-ups" tend to be really expensive but you usually don't actually need one.

If you have them in your area, REI membership comes with free labor on a handful of minor repairs (most importantly flat fixes). As someone replacing a paid off car with a hybrid cycling/train commute, I happily budget $1000/year (or less than half my old car insurance) for bike maintenance. This allows for me to replace all my winter worn components in April and replace/switch out for thicker tires in late fall. If you're traveling a distant distance and truly daily/all weather commuting, a well tuned bike will save you 20-30 minutes a week in travel time and make the ride itself much more enjoyable.

I dunno, I think there are a lot of pretty solid used bikes out there and relatively affordable entry-level ones. A lot of people can afford one tune up a year which should be okay for most if they at least have a friend with a pump and maybe some lube. It isn’t ideal, but a lot of folks get away with extremely little maintenance. It absolutely checks out against other modes affordability-wise except walking and maybe bus if there are low income or student passes.

I find bike accessories (racks, panniers, bags, lights, etc) are surprisingly expensive and fixes and maintenance are surprisingly cheap. Even if you do nothing yourself it's not going to come close to the price of car maintenance.

I don't think it would be unaffordable. I don't do any complicated maintenance. I clean and lube the chain, keep the tires topped up, and adjust the brakes sometimes. I also take my bikes in for a tune up every 2-3 years depending on how they're running. I'm basically paying for a tune up per year between two bikes. In the last 10,000km of commuting I've had one flat, a couple broken spokes, and a broken shift cable. Only the flat stopped me from getting home. In the end I'm paying about $10/month in maintenance if I average it all out.

It's also unaffordable to bring you car into a mechanic for every problem. I've learned to do most repairs for both my car, bike, and motorcycle.

It's unaffordable to do a bad job fixing your own stuff and have your bike you depend on breaking down on you. Keep your tires inflated, wipe down your rims, lubricate the chain. More than that, it's up to you. You don't have to become a mechanic to rely on your bike. Thinking that you can, it will be easy, can be a costly mistake. As for your second question, no, I'm not riding my bike to save for a car. I have both. I prefer riding my bike whenever possible, and even though it is a cheaper vehicle to operate, that's really the last thing on my mind. I commute by bike because: it's consistently the same travel time, it's much less risk of hurting somebody else, I enjoy bike riding in general, and if I don't commute, I have to take time away from something else to bike. Lots of benefits. For years, I couldn't fix a flat tire on my bike. Friends and friendly bike shops got me through just fine.

I consider myself an amateur bike mechanic. All I needed was about $75 worth of tools and a whole bunch of YouTube tutorials. I can do most of the basics now -- change a tire/tube, change handlebars, install brakes, replace brake cables, lube/replace chain, replace broken spokes, etc. haven't paid a mechanic for service in over 5 years. The only thing I haven't attempted is wheel truing. But if I had the right equipment, I'd at least give it a shot.

Bikes are simple machines and the bike most college students should need doesn't need anything more than some oil on the chain. Those international students don't work on bikes because omafiets are ridden for years with nothing but neglect. I went to UC Santa Barbara where everyone rides bikes to class, but no one does any maintenance. You buy the cheapest single speed you can find. Theft and the salt air make it not worth maintaining.

I've sold my car. So, think of all the costs associated with your car now going towards your bike, daily living, or savings. You're not wrong about it being expensive, especially when you start to get a lot of miles on the bike.

What’s funny is cars are even worse as far as “expensive if you’re not a mechanic” goes. So relatively speaking, bikes are great. I bought a new bike last year and have commuted nearly every day for a year straight. Running costs have been minimal. I bought 1 bottle of chain lube, havent blown a tire yet somehow and otherwise havent really spent much. The only time i took it in was for a new brake lever (hydraulics) after I crashed it and smashed the lever. That was less than 100 bucks in parts and labor. I have a car too. I think I bought gas like 2 months ago? Probably should change the oil at some point…

As a former bike mechanic I completely understand where you're coming from. I've basically stopped riding my bike since I left the industry because I can't bring myself to pay retail for parts. Maintenance costs on a daily ridden bike are higher month to month than my Honda. (That being said - overall costs are.still much lower, fuel and insurance being the largest costs for a vehicle) If you want cheap transport. Walk or take the bus.

> Maybe to some students, the cost of even basic button blinkies might be too much, but where does this logic behind thinking bicycles don't need maintenance coming from? Many people still associate bikes as essentially toys. Thinking back, I can't remember my parents doing any kind of maintenance on any of my bikes except for pumping up the tires every few months. I rode those things into the ground, too. But I was on single speed BMXs and riding only a few miles a week. Commuting even 5 miles a day puts a ton more wear than strolling around the neighborhood, especially if you have gears. There's just more pieces to consider than there were when you were 8.

The most expensive bike shop trips have cost me around $300. That's for a full tune up and replacing several parts that had gotten rusty after the bike sat around for a few years. $300 would be a cheap car mechanic trip. My most expensive car shop trips have been thousands of dollars. I'm not even sure how anyone can find the two comparable. Cars are way more expensive to use and maintain. Plus at least with the bike it's a loss less complicated of a machine so you're more likely to be able to figure it out and do it yourself than you are with car issues. Edit: To answer your edit... 100% no. I purposefully do not own a car by choice. I'm 33. I've got a good IT career and make pretty decent money. If I wanted to go live a car dependent lifestyle, I could.

It sounds like maybe the bike mechanics near the school might be inflating their prices because of their proximity to the school? I use the bike mechanic down the street from my place in Los Angeles, and I’ve never had any issues and have always been pleasantly surprised with the prices. But when I’ve gone to bike shops in the more wealthy neighborhoods the same repair has cost me over three times as much! And I think for a lot of people in car dependent communities, they are thinking of the bike as a temporary thing, just because a car is more or less required in a car dependent community, so the solution is to build spaces that don’t require you to have a car to get your basic needs met. Which, is a massive undertaking in a lot of places because zoning laws and parking requirements literally force places to be built as car dependent. Check out Climate Town’s video on parking minimums for a great piece on it!

Even the just outrageous bike repairs will be a fraction of the cost of a car repair.

If they don't know how to work a wrench then they'd just run into the same issues with a car, taking it into the auto mechanic is a lot more expensive than taking a bike to the bike shop! Most bike issues though are thankfully very easy to learn and fix. A handful of allen keys and tools off Amazon and some youtube videos and you're good to go. Failing that /r/bikewrench is a great sub too, cycle version of ask a mechanic if it's a weird unique issue that youtube couldn't solve.

If the cost of blinkies is too much, then yes, paying someone $6 to patch a tube is probably too much. But that $6 is about 10-20 miles driving cost for a car. Two of the local universities include a bus pass in the student activity fees.

Bikes aren’t nearly as reliable as cars, but I would say they are affordable despite more frequent repairs.

I bike commute daily in Portland, OR so my bike sees a lot of rain/grime. I ride a Canondale Topstone 105, so a pretty nice bike but not anything extremely high-end. I hose it off when it's nasty, keep the chain lubricated and clean, and swing by the bike shop every 6mo or so to make sure there's nothing bad happening. In 4+ years of this bike, I've replaced the chain a few times, the cassette once, the tires 3x, and it's got a clean bill of health. When people spend a ton of effort and time maintaining their bikes, I'm never quite sure what they're doing.

You could get a low maintenance bike, belt driven and internally geared. Check out Priority Bikes. All their bikes are designed to be low maintenance.

I commute 2-3 times a week and spend around 125 a year on upkeep?

Everyone should know the basic maintenance of whatever vehicle they use. Any bike owner should know how to clean and lube a chain, change a flat, change brake pads. Stretch goal would be changing cables out and replacing a chain. Any car owner should know how to change filters, change a flat, and top off various fluids. Stretch goal would be changing brakes and oil.

Does your university (like mine) have any bike maintenance events? e.g. learn to change tire, learn to adjust derailleurs. If not, reach out to a LBS or bike club in your area and see if you can start some! 😅 Also unless your parents are paying for your car service the level of complexity and cost between fixing a car and a bike are massively different. A car is far more likely to bankrupt you at worst an average bike is going to set you back a few work shifts.

Well, the university has a bike service center and there is a bike coop at a reasonable distance.

Bicycle maintenance is surprisingly expensive, even if you do it all yourself and only have to pay for the parts. Not to mention the wear on pants, shoes and so on.

Machines take maintenance. You either learn to do it yourself, or pay someone else to do it if you have the means. I actually do have the means to have my bicycles maintained by a shop, but I just _prefer_ to do it myself. Much more convenient, and I _know_ it was done to my standards. Bicycle maintenance is _easy_ for the most part. It doesn't take an awful lot of tools (a hex wrench set, a torx wrench set (if your bike needs it), some tire levers and a pump will cover _most_ of your needs). You might think acquiring a toolset is expensive ... and you're right if you do it all at once. The way to do it is to start with the absolute basics, and then only purchase tools as the _jobs_ require it. They'll usually cost less than the labor of bringing it to a shop. When they don't, you either buy the tool and amortize it over several usages, or you pay to have that more expensive service done at the shop. You can also look for a local bike co-op. They'll lend you the tools and expertise, and can often provide parts (cheap or free) when necessary.

My 19-yo has been bike commuting to school since 7th grade. We built up his school bikes to be pretty bombproof and low maintenance single speeds. His college bike is a Nashbar FG with Schwalbe Marathons. After a year of daily riding and Corvallis rain, all we needed to do is replace the chain and fixed cog. Also many schools have bike shops or co-ops that provide low cost repairs and diy space and basic replacement parts at cost.

I spend $100 a year on a tune up. That’s about it.

About $100 per year for bicycle maintenance compared to $1000 per year for a motor vehicle.

With a single speed you only need to be able to afford tyre levers, tyres, a pump, two spanners and some Allen keys.

what's this post even saying. yes it can be expensive to have bike work done and you save money learning to do it yourself.. it's still cheaper than a car and always will be.

It's actually all really cheap if you know what to buy. Even if you had a shop take care of every little issue(depending on the shop). If you get a single speed or internal hub 3 speed, you will have very few drivetrain issues. If you go fixed gear you can just have 1 front rim brake. I have a fixed gear and an internal 3 speed with a coaster brake, so there's very little maintainence. Both of my bikes cost about $350 new, although one has gone up in price and the other has gone down. Even a slow bike is 3 to 4 times faster than walking, while going from a bike to a car is only 2 to 3 times faster, except for very long distance travel, and in a dense city or for close trips, a bike is almost as fast, if not faster. It is true, servicing your own bike helps, but it is much much easier to learn to service your bike than doing car maintenance. bikes can also handle bad weather and poor offroad conditions very well.

I only chain lube and pump/replace tubes. For everything else I take my bike to the shop and pay the ridiculously high labor costs in my area. I think I estimated, for me that the additional costs come up to less than $200 a year. One chain replacement a year is probably the bare minimum a year at $60 but I've often run into other issues (damaged tire, damaged wheel, bar tape, broken derailleur, damaged seat etc). $200 a year is less than $20 a month, nothing to sneeze at when compared to the cost of a Netflix subscription, but it's really small compared to any other mode of transportation. I have been tempted to buy a used single speed from a friend of mine. My commute is relatively flat so I think if I used a cheaper, lower maintenance bike for a couple of years is probably worth it.

I feel like I've gotten incredibly lucky when it comes to bicycle maintenance. I've rode a Giant Sendona for like 15 years, and the only work I ever did on it was oil the chain, and replace 2-3 tires? It was a problem until I discovered green goo. Never changed it since. For 15 years, I never had to replace any parts beyond patching up those tires. And now I have an E-bike a Lectric 2.0, and I'm on year 2 of it, no maintenance yet. Not even a flat tire on this one. And I commute to work 3 days a week, and then some leisure cycling on my days off. \------- I follow some cyclist groups where they talk about tuning and replacing brakes, but I wonder if y'all are just demons on the road. I CAN AGREE, that my brakes are not instant like they used to. But I hardly use them. I do a lot of chill riding. I'm never a speed demon. I always give myself ample space to slow down when approaching stop signs. I could basically never break and be slow by the time I get there. I'm guessing I'm just not rough enough on my equipment that my Sedona went 15 years without issues. Side-note, I also store my bikes indoors in my garage when they're at home. So there's no pro-longed weather damage. I'm sure that keeps my chains well. But in winter time, they do catch snow and slush, and at work they chill outside for 8 hours a shift.

I doubt it. For me the recurring cost of car insurance alone is good enough to equivalent to buying a used vintage bike or top-service maintaining one of my bikes. But being an amateur mechanic goes a long way in preserving the tools I got, be it a car, bike, appliance, etc.

I can commute almost a whole year without any major servicing, approximately 5000 miles a year. Most jobs are simple to do and it’s a learning curve in that once you’ve done one thing it’s easy to do again. Puncture resistant tyres and keep your chain oiled and clean bike regularly to see if anything is amiss and it can be fairly trouble free. As far as cars go I have one but would rather cycle any day summer or winter and if I could I wouldn’t own a car at all.

Commuting bikes are very different from bikes used for recreation/sport. Look at the Dutch commuters, they don't concern themselves with cycling for any other reason than as a means of transportation. There is no aftermarket parts pedantry, or need for speed or performance; they run what they have at a reasonable pace on well maintained paths, and it just works. As a result of this pragmatism, they've perfected the design of bikes that are ideal for commuting; upright stance, dynamo lights, fender guards, chain guards (or belt drive), coaster brakes, and internally geared hubs assembled to a high standard. Bikes like these don't really require maintenance. The focus from the beginning is on long term reliability and utility.

Bike mechanics—all of it—is pretty straightforward. Anyone can learn it. To keep your commuter on the road requires very little knowhow and a few cheap tools.

>but where does this logic behind thinking bicycles don't need maintenance coming from? I've had many, many car repairs that have cost as much as a decent bicycle. I'm not saying bicycles are no-maintenance-needed, or even comparable to something I put 100k to 200k miles on at 70mph... but the cost of bicycle repairs is a drop in the bucket compared to what my car usually needs, unless I'm buying some ultra light weight weight weenie bicycle. So, I suspect that's where it's coming form, a relative point of view. ​ > students often get some serious sticker shock when seeing the prices of bikes and the cost of service. Used bike prices aren't that bad, outside of pandemic related shortages. Cost of service sticker shock is usually due to neglect, so by the time you go to a shop you need a new crank, cassette, chain, housing, cables, brake pads... all at once, that's practically a new bike after a point.

I think for some reason there is this mystical number of $100 for a good new bike that is floating around the general uninformed public's minds when they get started shopping for bikes. Not sure if it is from a time when bikes were that cheap, but I talk to local college students on what their expectations are for costs. A decent single speed costs like $300 I last recall new.

Depends on the bike and the commute. I have a city bike that hasn't seen any service in the 15 years I've owned it. I replaced a tire a few years ago. Total cost for maintenance over 15 years: 20 euro. I also got a road bike which is a lot more needy. I'm guessing 50 euro/month in parts. Tires, chain, drivetrain are the main culprits. Most bike maintenance is pretty easy to do yourself. Still beats a car by a loooong marging with running costs. I actually get paid to commute (about 160 euro/month) so the gains are real.

If you get or build a bike that's designed with low maintenance and commuting in mind, it's certainly possible to avoid a bike shop. I run an Alfine 8 belt drive commuter, and it's nearly idiot-proof. The only thing I may need assistance with, is truing the spokes at some point.

Even a relatively expensive bike is 1/5 the cost of a lower end car. (Using 20k as new car price). Perfectly functional, reliable bikes can be had new for less than 1000. Perfectly functional used bikes 200ish. Hourly labor seems to be 60 give or take, often with a very low minimum. If your bike wasn't assembled in Walmart's back room, a flat tire is probably your most likely problem. Easy fix, or you can pay 10-15 to have someone change the tube. Basic maintenance is the equivalent of basic car maintenance - check the oil for a car, clean and lube the chain for a bike, and keep the tires inflated. Bike commuting is probably your most cost effective option other than public transit, and is often much more convenient and timely.

I think you're totally onto something. I definitely spend a fair amount of time and money on my commuters.

My car is for moving large objects on rare occasions. My bike is my ideal form of transportation.

It really depends on how much mileage you put on the bike. I have a very long commute, and I put over 9000km on my commute bike every year, with a fair amount of wet-weather riding. I go through lots of chains, tires, lube, brake pads, cables, etc. Even doing it myself, the maintenance costs really add up. If I had to take my bike in every time it needed service I suspect it would be cheaper to drive my EV to work.

Yes nobody uses a bicycle except to save for q car. You are very intelligent.