Guide

What it actually
costs to run.

The bike is the one-off. What follows is chains, tyres, oil and the odd lever, and none of it is a surprise if you know it is coming.

Servicing

A bike that gets ridden wants a service. Ours are priced with the parts included so there is no bill at the end you did not expect, and anything we find beyond the service is quoted before we touch it. The prices are on the servicing page.

What wears out first

Chain and sprockets, every time. Then tyres, then brake pads, then the levers that snap the first time the bike goes over. Buy a spare lever before you need one; they are a few pounds and they save a day.

Chains and sprockets

Replaced as a pair where they need to be, because a new chain on worn sprockets chews itself. Keeping the chain clean and adjusted is the single cheapest thing you can do to make everything else last.

Tyres

How fast they go depends entirely on where you ride. Hard packed ground and tarmac eat knobblies; soft ground barely touches them. Check the tread and the pressures before a day out rather than after.

Electric: the battery

The expensive part, and the one people neglect. Do not store it flat, do not leave it on charge for days, and do not leave it in a freezing shed all winter. Looked after, it lasts years. Ignored, it is the biggest bill on the bike.

Petrol: oil and filters

Oil changes and a clean air filter are most of the job. A dirty filter is the cheapest way to wreck an engine, and it is the thing most likely to be forgotten.

What we would budget

Consumables across a season cost less than people fear, and a service costs less than the repair it prevents. The expensive years are the ones where the chain was never adjusted and the filter was never cleaned.

Common questions