“A second-hand bike costs the same as two tanks of fuel”: Cyclists react to “joke” survey which found that almost half of Brits believe they can’t afford to buy a bike

“How much is motoring insurance, tax, MOT, servicing, repairs, and fuel when you add it all up?” That’s the question currently being posed by baffled cyclists across the UK, after a new survey examining attitudes towards cycling found that almost half of Brits believe they cannot afford a bike, with yesterday’s story on the somewhat contentious study attracting hundreds of confused comments on road.cc and across social media.

The survey was carried out by BHN Extras, the parent company of Cyclescheme, the UK’s largest provider of access to the Cycle to Work initiative, as part of its annual research into perceptions of, and barriers to, cycling in the UK ahead of Cycle to Work Day on 1 August.

Gathering responses from 2,000 people employed across a range of sectors in the UK, the study found that 49 per cent of those surveyed believe that they are not currently in a position to buy a bike outright.

A quarter of those consumers also stated that it would take at least six months to save to purchase a bike, with 50 per cent noting that they would be most likely to buy a bike by splitting the cost and 22 per cent stating that the cost of accessories acts as a deterrent to encouraging them to cycle to work.

Meanwhile, concerns about the stereotypical image of a cyclist also featured prominently in the survey, with 58 per cent of respondents believing that they “don’t fit the bill” of what a cyclist apparently represents.

> Almost half of British people can’t afford to buy a bike – and a quarter say it would take at least six months to save for one, new research for Cycle to Work Day finds

However, it’s the survey’s headline finding – that almost half of Brits think they can’t afford to buy a bike (though, it must be noted, the survey doesn’t attempt to ascertain why that’s the case) – that has fuelled quite the conversation online.

“That’s ridiculous,” X/Twitter user Chrissetti said in response to yesterday’s story. “It might be too expensive to buy a brand-new bike, but you can get second-hand ones dirt-cheap. You’re not going to win the Tour de France on it, but it’ll be good enough as a commuter bike.”

A road.cc reader concurred: “What a joke. I spent £50 on a second-hand mountain bike in 2011 which I use to commute. I still use it now, and would reckon I’ve done 10,000 miles on it in total. No expensive gear, just helmet, gloves, lights, and waterproofs (which I’ve hardly ever used as it rarely rains enough to warrant it).

“Anyone new to cycling doesn’t need to spend thousands of pounds initially until they know they will continue and want to upgrade.”

Meanwhile, another road.cc reader offered up this handy piece of buying advice: “Buy an early 90s Kona MTB, put some slicks on it. Best commuting bike you’ll ever own. Job jobbed.”

I paid £110 for this bicycle in 2011. It is now 50 years old. I use it for commuting - about 18 miles a day. It works perfectly and has required almost no maintenance. pic.twitter.com/DKKd2mYxTh

— Robert Rhodes (@ra_rhodes) August 2, 2024

Over on Facebook, Chris Alston added: “There are many bike recycling projects across the UK. We don’t all need to buy new. There are some great second hand or pre-loved refurbished bikes available for a good price. The second-hand market has been flooded with bikes that were snapped up during the early stages of the pandemic.

“The Cycle to Work scheme is always an option for those whose employers are signed up. Cycling UK has a Cycle Friendly Employer Scheme to encourage businesses to make the necessary changes to support those who wish to cycle to work. They also have various programmes to help new or returning cyclists build up confidence, fitness, and learn new skills such as cycle maintenance. There’s help available. Some local authorities have certain schemes too.”

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While the relatively low cost of buying a bike (unless you’re in the market for the latest S-Works, of course) was a common feature of many of the replies to the story, some readers couldn’t help but point out that, of the 49 per cent who claimed they don’t have the funds for a bike, a decent proportion would be more than happy to spend their hard-earned wages on buying, maintaining, fuelling up, taxing, and insuring a car.

One road.cc reader said: “Given that there were 41.2 million registered vehicles in the UK at the end of 2023, and that according to the 2021 census, there were 37.5 million people of working age, it would be interesting to know how many of those surveyed don’t think they can afford a bike because they already spend a good proportion of their income on owning a car.”

“Can’t afford to buy a bike? You can get one for about £100, and it costs nothing to run. Yet they can afford to run a car, which costs thousands to keep on the road?” asked Lee Jones on Twitter.

“Going with total bullshit for that,” added SCo. “You can pick up a working bike off Facebook marketplace for £50 every day. Even if you budget another £50 for service, that’s about two tanks of fuel, ride to work for a few weeks and the bike has paid for itself.”

“How much is motoring insurance, tax, MOT, servicing, repairs, and fuel when you add it all up?” asked Pooka, a question answered by the Twitter account ‘Yeah But Cyclists’: “Can’t afford a bike which could cost as little as £300 (or even less second-hand) and virtually nothing to maintain or run, but they can afford £1,000+ per year to maintain and run a car?”

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However, not everyone was up in arms about the survey’s main finding, with some criticising the rising prices associated with the bike industry in recent years.

“The industry has been pushing prices up and up for years,” said Tom Stringer on Twitter.

Facebook user Paulo also added: “Cycling has become a stupidly expensive sport, it was never very cheap, but nowadays it is too much.

“Some years ago, a reasonable/good bike would have components of some quality and would cost a maximum of £500. Nowadays with £500 you can barely buy anything with two wheels. Something will have to be done to counter this situation and make cycling accessible to the masses again.”

Some, meanwhile, noted that there are other reasons – beyond costs – that prevent them from commuting by bike.

“I would love to cycle to work but the idea of 20km down the A57 in rush hour terrifies me... It’s definitely the idea of sharing space with white vans and w***panzers that puts me off,” said one road.cc reader.

> "Cycle to work schemes are sucking the lifeblood out of cycle shops": Bike shops tell Parliamentary Committee of "need for urgent systemic change" to Cycle to Work scheme

However, others were quick to note that the survey’s findings, detailing the arguably prohibitive costs of cycling, were published by a company whose aim is to encourage people to buy new bikes at a discounted rate.

“Putting aside all the comments regarding how many and who can or can’t afford a bike (in reality anyone who wants a bike can have one, whether it’s bought new, used, or received from charitable source), the upshot is that this so-called ‘research’ was commissioned by a company that has a financial interest in getting as many people as possible to repeatedly buy new bikes via a salary sacrifice scheme, within which they charge one of the highest commission fees in the industry,” said one road.cc reader.

“As with most ‘surveys’ the organisation paying the bill gets the outcome they ask for.”

This led on to a broader discussion surrounding the Cycle to Work scheme in general, which has faced a turbulent period in recent months, as local bike shop owners and traders united earlier this year to criticise a system that they believe is “too complicated”, damaging to retailers, no longer fit for purpose to get more people cycling to work, and in “need of urgent systematic change”.

> Cycling retailers demand changes to “flawed” Cycle to Work scheme that puts “business profits well ahead of cycling development”

“The trouble with the Cycle to Work scheme is that most low earners are not allowed to use salary sacrifice because it would take them below the National Minimum Wage,” noted a road.cc reader. “Low earners cannot buy a bike tax-free through Cyclescheme. The government must fix this.”

And Colin McCullough on Facebook said: “The Cycle to Work scheme is bad for local bike shops due to the fees, and privileges higher earners, in company employment linked to the scheme. It discriminates against low paid, unemployed, retired, self-employed... Why not simply cut the VAT rate on bikes? And/or have a rental/leasing scheme, with insurance and maintenance included? Creativity needed from government?”

“The cycle schemes can’t take you below minimum wage, and given how much the minimum wage has gone up in relation to wages in general I wouldn’t be surprised if people can’t afford to take advantage of it,” said Sean.

“However, nearly every major bike retailer has sales on right now, you can pick up a decent bike for not much in the grand scheme of things. Even if you had to pay interest, the money saved on fuel would likely be enough to cancel it out.”

What do you think? Is cycling becoming unaffordable, hindered by a Cycle to Work scheme which does little for lower earners? Or are there more than enough cheap and second-hand bikes floating around to get the UK cycling to work? Let us know in the comments…