Winter Walking and Cycling

[cherrypark]

So, you mean like tens of thousands cheaper than a car to buy, and thousands less per year to maintain, making a it a financially very viable alternative to a second car? ;-) :-D

Indeed! Without in any way suggesting that bicycles are for lower-income people, consider that somebody with a very limited budget for vehicle purchases could, for the same money, buy either a real pile of junk car, or a top-notch bicycle. It makes more sense to see a poor person with a fancy carbon fibre bicycle than a poor person driving a car.

The London Bicycle Cafe has an interesting blog unpacking cost comparison for a car or fairly high end cargo bike.

There is also a general assumption that bikes are cannot be financed, but more often now dealers are partnering with groups who will to reduce that upfront cash. Whether people buy within their means when financing for cars or bikes is another story, but I do think that its possible to make even a relatively expensive pedelec comparable to the annual cost of even a lower value, used car (with much less repair cost risk to boot).