Cycling saved me $500

I took my car in for service the other day, the standard 25k checkup, and the dealer suggested I replace two air filters and a brake pad. For an additional $500. I suggested they pound sand and did it myself. Bicycling has given me the confidence to do so.

Cars can be intimidating to work on. Ten-thousand parts, computers, and potentially lots of money if you mess something up. To the mechanically unfamiliar, even menial tasks can seem daunting due to the overall complexity of a car. Bicycles, on the other hand, are relatively simple machines. You can see nearly all the parts, you understand how the major components work and their purpose, and its comparatively easy to adjust with $10 worth of tools that fit neatly under your saddle.

For cyclist, learning the basics isn’t something that requires a trade school or apprenticeship, but is a necessity. Cyclist, for the most part, are willing to get their hands a little dirty, which in my opinion is the first hurdle to overcome when doing anything mechanical. Few would refrain from adjusting a seat post simply because there was the risk of a bit of grease.

Sometimes fate intervenes and a cyclist is left with no other choice but to flip the bike on to its saddle and change a flat tire. And while I hear walking 20 miles back to your car, bike in tow, burns a lot of calories, many folks have taken a class, learned from a friend, or out of plain old resilience stumbled through changing an innertube. But that in itself is an incredibly large hurdle to overcome - the confidence to repair something. People do amazing things when the need is there. Flat repair is fairly minor on that scale, but anytime someone is required to do something out of their comfort zone, its an accomplishment.

I’ve been working on bikes a long time. And I’ve change a whole lot of flat tires in that time. I’ve also worked on a lot of more complex items over that time too, but bicycles were my introduction to mechanics. Bikes made me comfortable with a wrench and a screwdriver because they’re a simple machine and allowed me a easy progression to more difficult projects. Better yet, the associated costs to learn was relatively small.

If you ride, learn how to work on your own bike, at the very least the basic stuff that can prevent you from being stranded. Read a book, check out a youtube video, or go to a clinic like we occasionally host (our next one is Saturday at the Fairfax Life Time Fitness http://clubs.lifetimefitness.com/Fairfax/11287/, so if you’re a member, come on out). You’ll not only be able to get yourself out of trouble but it may save you a few bucks in other areas too.

My car problem? $30 in parts and 10 minutes to install everything. One of the parts didn’t even need tools to swap out. $500 saved. Money for a new toy :)