Commuting v cars - is it really worth it?
Discussion
hora said:
We all thing cycling equals fitness and health benefits but with more and more diesel cars on our roads (and people blanking off EGR's or just plain old faulty and probably will fail its next mot on emissions)....is it worth cycling on the road in peak commuting hour(s)?
The fumes sit at the right height to be breathed in and lets face it- you are breathing in slightly more than usual when your pedalling along as opposed to walking.
I avoid cycle-commute now as you can smell the bloody stuff. Cycling past stationery/crawling jams/slow moving cars or free flowing traffic is great but is it royally f
king up your health.
Diesel fumes etc = carcinogenic right? Plus other health/lung issues?
Whats my point? Is it really worth it- commuting by bike? You get st from drivers, run over by drivers and ingest crap. Safer to ride off-peak or off-road IMO. A fair thought?
I expect the potential negatives you list above are far outweighed by the positive health benefits riding gives.The fumes sit at the right height to be breathed in and lets face it- you are breathing in slightly more than usual when your pedalling along as opposed to walking.
I avoid cycle-commute now as you can smell the bloody stuff. Cycling past stationery/crawling jams/slow moving cars or free flowing traffic is great but is it royally f
king up your health. Diesel fumes etc = carcinogenic right? Plus other health/lung issues?
Whats my point? Is it really worth it- commuting by bike? You get s
t from drivers, run over by drivers and ingest crap. Safer to ride off-peak or off-road IMO. A fair thought?Edited by hora on Wednesday 23 July 09:29
The thing about using a bike to commute is that you get the exercise "free" in time when you would otherwise be sat on your arse. If you do a lot of cycling anyway, the health benefit is probably negligible and maybe the exposure to fumes is proportionally a significant risk. If you don't, and you don't otherwise have time to exercise, I think you must be doing more good than harm.
Batfink said:
I once saw a programme on TV that said fumes inside a car in traffic was a lot worse than outside so I think its still beneficial.
Given that cars suck in air from outside and they are an enclosed space with restricted air circulation then I'd imagine this is the case. I wonder how good pollen/cabin filters are are removing diesel particulates?I remember reading something a few years back that pollution masks were unnecessary for cyclists as the impact of riding in fumes was negligible. Hard to accept when you're faced with Black Bogie Syndrome but although I can't remember the source I do remember thinking it was a legitimate one.
OP - not all of us commuters live in cities & towns, 40% of my commute is on paths/roads where there are no cars, or maybe one every few minutes
There is one hill on mine , that goes from a 30-national limit and you do notice the fumes, diesels being the worst and I do sometimes think, this can't be great, especially as my lungs are going flat out up the climb. Winter is worse, when engines are running rich. I good avoid this hill, but it would add 5 minutes onto the commute and, but I'm normally running late!
Theres a variety of reasons I commute in, as others have said, bar the enjoyment and fitness I like saving the cost, its cost me about £7 to drive in, which is dead money 7 x 3 = 21 x 45 weeks a year = £945 a year I save on driving in. My drive in is actually quite a nice & easy drive, but its still "dead" money.
There is one hill on mine , that goes from a 30-national limit and you do notice the fumes, diesels being the worst and I do sometimes think, this can't be great, especially as my lungs are going flat out up the climb. Winter is worse, when engines are running rich. I good avoid this hill, but it would add 5 minutes onto the commute and, but I'm normally running late!
Theres a variety of reasons I commute in, as others have said, bar the enjoyment and fitness I like saving the cost, its cost me about £7 to drive in, which is dead money 7 x 3 = 21 x 45 weeks a year = £945 a year I save on driving in. My drive in is actually quite a nice & easy drive, but its still "dead" money.
I'd be more worried about the the impact to your health of being knocked off in heavy traffic. Along with the taste of pollution, it's the main reason I have always avoided riding on the roads, but I am lucky enough to live on the edge of the Pennines. Not that I've ridden my bike at all for over 3 years as I'm way too busy! Lol
S10GTA said:
otolith said:
Your respiration rate is going to be a lot lower sat in a car, though.
Depends how fit you are 
You might have a very efficient set of heart and lungs on you, giving a relatively low rate of breathing and pulse for the level of energy you are expending, but you're still getting that oxygen into you and presumably whatever other crap it comes in with.
The odd day a week here and there on the tube is enough to convince me that riding in is the better choice. And that’s all year round, the tube is never nice but especially bad in this sort of weather. The £25 a week saving is a nice bonus as well.
Saying that apart from a few early mornings and late evenings my commute is a chore rather than a pleasant experience. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’d rather spend the money on a better normal bike I’d get an electrically assisted one to help smooth it out. The exercise when I started was welcome but just going there and back now doesn’t do that much, I wonder if it would be better to save my legs for the weekends?
Ideally I’d have between 10 and 15 miles to do on rural roads. Doing less than 10 miles within zone three is boring and tiresome.
Back to the original point. I get in as early as possible to avoid the traffic so don’t notice the fumes much. On the way home I end up holding my breath sometimes when going through a cloud of soot from a clapped out cab or van with a knackered DPF.
Poorly mapped motorbikes and scooters seem to give out the most noxious stuff when stood in a queue, it could just be that it’s easier to smell though.
Saying that apart from a few early mornings and late evenings my commute is a chore rather than a pleasant experience. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’d rather spend the money on a better normal bike I’d get an electrically assisted one to help smooth it out. The exercise when I started was welcome but just going there and back now doesn’t do that much, I wonder if it would be better to save my legs for the weekends?
Ideally I’d have between 10 and 15 miles to do on rural roads. Doing less than 10 miles within zone three is boring and tiresome.
Back to the original point. I get in as early as possible to avoid the traffic so don’t notice the fumes much. On the way home I end up holding my breath sometimes when going through a cloud of soot from a clapped out cab or van with a knackered DPF.
Poorly mapped motorbikes and scooters seem to give out the most noxious stuff when stood in a queue, it could just be that it’s easier to smell though.
TwistingMyMelon said:
Theres a variety of reasons I commute in, as others have said, bar the enjoyment and fitness I like saving the cost, its cost me about £7 to drive in, which is dead money 7 x 3 = 21 x 45 weeks a year = £945 a year I save on driving in. My drive in is actually quite a nice & easy drive, but its still "dead" money.
Agreed. My saving is £5.24 per day, so if I ride in everyday in a year I will save £1257.60.....But I spend it all on bikes...
many many years ago, Bicycle magazine did a test of people walking, cycling, in buses and in cars for a journey - it wasn't far, maybe a couple of miles at most. They found that cyclists had the least amount of "stuff" (can't recall whatever they were testing!) after the route. So even if you do inhale more stuff, the fact that you are active on the roads means that you will expel it almost immediately?
Of course, this was years ago and may have been testing for fairy dust or lead particles, so may or may not be useful!
Of course, this was years ago and may have been testing for fairy dust or lead particles, so may or may not be useful!
aclivity said:
So even if you do inhale more stuff, the fact that you are active on the roads means that you will expel it almost immediately?
You are in the 'bad' atmosphere for a shorter duration though (if an urban commute). Like others my commute is 25mins of leafy open roads and 5mins of traffic, so I'm not going to worry.
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