Sussex to London commute - good idea/bad idea?

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I'm sure this has been asked before, i've tried a search but no real luck so hope someone can offer some sensible advice!

I have taken a job in the city (Liverpool Street) and live in Horsham, West Sussex, about 40 miles away. My options are to commute by train, with a connection en route and a 20 minute walk the other end; the cost for this is approx £315 per month and 1.5 hours each way, or go by bike which I estimate would take an hour each way.

One slight issue is that I don't currently have a bike licence! I have ridden a few small bikes and did my CBT a few years ago which has now expired. This is something I can fix and hopefully achieve fairly quickly. I have a feeling I would really enjoy commuting this way rather than by train, although appreciate it is dangerous and no doubt unpleasant in winter.

If this isn't a stupid idea, what might I budget for a suitable used bike (I'm assuming it would need to be at least 250cc), and gear, fuel, maintenance, servicing etc? How much does it cost to park a bike in London how easy is it to find a space?

Thanks!

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Thanks for your advice Rev which I take on board. I used to cycle to work in central London and so can understand what you mean, the roads are unforgiving and there's not a lot of space. This is something that worried me, needing a large enough bike to handle the distance but then having to navigate it through difficult and tight traffic. I assume that riding defensively is the only way and even then you still have a high chance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

When you commuted from East Grinstead, how did you cope with punctures and breakdowns, were they really that frequent?

Thanks again

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Thank you for everyone's advice and thoughts, very interesting and much appreciated! I think the consensus is that it's do-able but with a fair few downsides (and some upsides)! I have some time off before I start work so might look into getting my licence anyway, as one poster suggested it then at least gives me the option if I want to start trying bike ownership, getting some miles under my belt and then perhaps trying the commute. I drive up to London a lot and half the time it's painless which is why I have been considering getting a bike, I will drive up early one day to see how long it takes. I'm sure there are people out there that ride into London from much further (I know of someone that rides in from Brighton every day) so it is of course possible but perhaps not the best thing for a brand new rider. I also hadn't considered factors like servicing every 4,000 miles... that would come up every 2.5 months doing 80 miles a day!

Thanks again and any more thoughts are welcome!

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SteelerSE said:

I'm going to go back to it soon because national rail has completely screwed my journey by closing bits of London Bridge for 18 months so it's now a 2 hour journey door to door, a sardine job on the train and a walk from Waterloo to the city (40 mins). The bike is an hour if I leave early enough and 75 mins if I don't.
.......
London sucks. The job is good but there is no good way of getting here.

Well my train journey would be Horsham to London Bridge with a change at Three Bridges or East Croydon (haven't fully researched it yet). London Bridge seems to be working okay while they do the improvement work or have I missed something critical? Wondering how it has affected your journey so badly? And why walk from Waterloo when you could take the Waterloo & City line (unless you like walking)!

Good to hear there are some bikes out there that offer much longer service intervals etc. and tank range would be pretty important!

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Thanks for all the advice chaps, really do appreciate it. Some very useful pointers. I'll be training it to start and may consider biking up instead if i get totally hacked off with it. Pros and cons for both options as mentioned. Thanks again.