Eight Ways To Save Money By Cycling To Work Each Day

Cycling has always been popular among people. It is an excellent form of exercise that can help keep you healthy, and most of the time can save a lot of money. In the last 18-month bikes have substantially increased in price. It’s not that the demand for bikes was any less than before. It’s due to Covid-19 causing a spike in bike sales. 

Bicycle users are reluctant to use public transports because of the ongoing pandemic. As a result, more people are using bikes to move around. Cycling is an affordable mode of transportation, to begin with, but that doesn’t mean you can’t save some more on it.  

Eight Ways to Save Money on Your Bike

Look for a ‘Cycle to Work’ Schemes from Your Employer – Apart from being a cost-efficient and healthy transportation mode, cycling has environmental benefits. Cycling helps reduce pollution and to keep the environment clean. With this in mind, many companies have started a scheme called ‘Cycle to Work‘. 

In this scheme, the employer buys the bike and rents it back to you. They would receive repayment each month from you. But the amount they deduct for the bike is from your pre-tax paycheck. After you have paid off the loan, the bike is yours to own.  

You Can Go for a Second-hand Cycle – Buying a second-hand bike is yet another way for you to reduce costs. Many sites such as gumtree, eBay, and Etsy help you find second-hand bikes at a cheap rate. While buying a second-hand bike, you should do a detailed inspection. Check out the frame up close, and if you find any paint ripples or cracks, don’t buy the bike.     

Another thing you should keep in mind is the purchase receipt. Buying a second-hand bike without the original purchase receipt is risky, because the bike might be stolen. Looking into the Bike Register to inspect the number of the frame helps you find out if the bike is stolen or not. 

Season-end Sales Offer – If you want to get a brand-new bike at a good price, wait till it’s on sale. You might get a big discount on new bike models in around September. Dealers prepare their warehouses for the next year’s bike models at this time. So, the bikes they have in store are put on sale to make space for the new ones. 

The problem is, you might not get the model or the size you are looking for at the end of the season. Thus, you should look around in few places to see if you can manage the bike of your choice. The same goes for bike accessories too. When the winter season is about to end, shop around for bike accessories. And if you are lucky, it’s possible to get up to a 60% discount. 

You Should Learn to Do Maintenance – Learning essential repair work can save you from a lot of trouble. Firstly you won’t have to pay others to do maintenance and repair work on your bike, but secondly, you could buy a slightly older second-hand bike and improve its condition with newer parts that you fit yourself.

Check the Condition – It’s good to check the condition of your bike from time to time. But that needs money, right? Well, not all the time because Halfords is doing that for free. The offer is available in every Halfords UK store. The best part is, you don’t have to register for that. Just show up at their store with the bike and ask for a checkup. They check your bike’s tires, handlebars, chain, brakes, gears, saddle, and frame. Within 15 minutes, they will do a thorough inspection of your bike. 

These free bike checks are no surprise, given the price of spare parts. Halfords makes money on their free bike checks by selling bike parts and other related things. Generally, staff will try to convince you into buying things from their shop but don’t feel pressured to do so. Just take advantage of the free service if you don’t want to buy anything.  

Cheap Cycle Insurance Scheme – Getting bike insurance increases your expenses. So why would you do that when it’s not mandatory. The reason is that bicycle theft is much easier than other vehicles, and according to reports, nearly 100,000 bicycles get stolen each year. Bikes don’t come cheap, and to reduce the risk, you should consider insurance. 

Free Bike Options for Refugees – Asylum seekers and refugees get free bikes thanks to the Bike Project. Unfortunately, only people living in London or Birmingham who match a set criteria can benefit from this project.

The idea behind the Bike Project is to repair used bikes and give them to those who need them most. 

Renting Vs. Buying – Buying kid’s bikes isn’t a smart idea. Because kids would continue to grow and after few years, they will need a new one. To avoid this problem, consider renting bikes. The Bike Club can help you with it since they offer bikes for rent. Spend £5 a month for a bike and change it for a bigger one when needed. 

Final Thoughts

With the above idea’s it’s possible to save money while buying a bike to ride to work. Not only are you saving money on the bike, but you’re also saving money by not spending it taking the train to work.

Remember, cycle bikes are very easy to steal; thus it’s a good idea to get a good bike lock that cannot be broken, cracked or picked to stop this from happening to you.

TheRetirementBlog.co.uk

TheRetirementBlog.co.uk is written by David Jacobs who is on a quest to retire early and get out of the rat race. David is a financial expert who lives for early retirement. Follow his journey making money, saving and investing to retire early and get the best out of his retirement.

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