How Expensive is a Bike?

With recent claims that almost half of British people can’t afford to buy a bike perhaps it’s helpful to look at just how expensive bikes are. We assume that this is simply because virtually everybody in the UK considers a owning and running a car to be essential, and a bike to be optional and only for recreational use. You could buy a second hand bike for the price of two tanks of fuel, and there are places locally like Ree Cycle that can provide you with a choice of bikes for that price. So the real question is how expensive is it to run a car in the UK these days?

The average annual cost of running a car in the UK is approximately £3,580, though individual expenses can vary based on factors like car type, usage, and personal circumstances. That’s the typical cost of an average car, like a Vauxhaul Astra, and a smaller car might cost less overall. Lots of households have two, or more, cars though. The thought of giving up your only car in driving dominated Lancaster would be a rather daunting prospect for most people, but swapping a second (or third) car for an electric bike to use for short local joiurneys is much more practical.

For not much more than the annual cost of running an average car in the UK for a year you could buy a Trek Fetch+2, although it would probably need soem additional accessories for carrying shopping or kids to make the most use out of it. Cargo bikes like the Fetch can carry a passenger or a big load of shopping with ease meaning that they can be a really practical alternative to a small car. Alternatively, a more ordinary looking machine with more limited load carry capabilities like the Riese and Muller Nevo is similarly priced, and can eaily transport a single person around town, which is all a lot of the cars are doing in Lancaster.

Whilst these might seem like quite expensive bikes, and there could be some additional costs, compared to the cost of even running a small second car they could be paid for in under two years.

Tern bikes are available from The Edge Cycleworks on Chapel Street, and Riese and Muller bikes are available from E-Radicals on King Street.