car replacement dilemma

[whannah]

Hey! Not sure if this is the right place for this question, but I'd like some input on my situation from current e-bike commuters.

I'm 33 and in pretty good shape, currently living in a suburban area (Livermore CA). My commute is 6.5 miles (1-way) and flat. I have lightweight steel frame road bike that I built. Its a great bike and I love riding it. Here's a picture from when I first built it.



As of last week we had 2 cars and I would bike at least once a week, but more when the weather is better. It was a great setup that I planned to continue for a long time, but then I found out my car's engine was toast! I had only put 5k miles on the car, but the factory warranty didn't transfer (thanks hyundai...) and so after a lot of research I decided to unload the car at a loss.

So now I have this transportation dilemma. My wife works from home so I can use the other car when I need to, but we are expecting our first kid in October and I don't really want to strand her without a car (she's not a big biker anyway). I hate the idea of buying another car, but I've tried commuting 100% by bike and that 13 miles/day becomes a burden after a few weeks. Also, I'm really forgetful! I can't even begin to count the number of times I've gotten to work and had to run back home for something I absolutely needed.

This all led me to think that an e-bike would solve my problems, since I could commute by bike more often without being so tired at the end of the day. BUT, my wife dislikes this idea because our life is so uncertain right now. The housing cost in the bay area is probably going to drive us out in a couple years. And even though I love living within biking distance, we both hate this redneck town and have thought about moving somewhere that would require a car commute. The one thing thats keeping us here now is my career as a climate scientist, which I don't want to give up.

So, in short, the uncertainty of my situation is keeping me from commiting to an e-bike.

Has anyone here found themselves in a similar situation?
If so, what did you do?
Any and all anecdotes are amiably appreciated. (<= check out that amusing accidental alliteration!)

 

[Nova Haibike]

Some here may disapprove, but there is another option as well: a scooter. Then you could use your regular bike when you feel good, and the scooter when you just want to be there.

 

[tjhno]

I just hauled off and bought an e-bike. It worked pretty good for two years (with warranty repairs needed), soon after the warranty expired, so did the motor. Prodecotech will not support it now, they don't use the same motor. I would recommend getting a Trek e-bike, they have dealers and are well-supported. I would get the Cross Rip+. I know, its 4k price is steep, but that is the cutoff, unless you want a significantly heavier bike.

 

[whannah]

I know, its 4k price is steep, but that is the cutoff, unless you want a significantly heavier bike.

The price and weight issues don't really bother me. Even a $4k bike is cheaper than what I would spend on a car. The real issue is whether I'll find myself needing a car in another year after we have a kid, which would make me regret buying an e-bike that I likely won't be able to sell. That's why I'm hoping to hear from people who struggled with a similar decision.

A lot of stories I read about people replacing their car with an e-bikes are in urban areas and without kids, so I just can't relate.

 

[Solom01]

Well here's another opinion (and that's just an opinion, may not make sense for you). My thoughts on ebikes is that whatever you buy it will be out of date soon so get the simplest, cheapest one that does what you need realizing that it's a consumable. Your commute is not very long and it is on flat terrain. I have an SS-Glide that I've put about 800 miles on with no problems at all. It is a single speed which is not an issue if you're on flat terrain and it's simplicity means you don't have a bunch of derailleurs and other stuff to break down and have to maintain. It has about a 20 mile range on the higher assist settings and the battery is only about $299, so if it wears out it's not the end of the world to replace it. I love this bike, since it's so simple it makes you feel like a kid again - most of the folks you see on this forum with expensive, fancy bikes are spending all their time fixing them, this thing just goes and goes. Dave who runs SS-Glide is really nice to deal with, and at a cost of about $1,200 for the plus version it's really inexpensive. The only downsides are if you want to go above 20mph you may want a faster bike (although for 6.5 miles it's not going to make much of a difference) and although real responsive it doesn't have a suspension, but I simply added a seat post suspension to take care of that issue.

 

[whannah]

Solom01, those glide bikes look nice, thanks for the recommendation! I do love the simplicity of SS bikes, and I prefer to not have the suspension anyway. A 20 mi range and 20 mph would be great for my situation.

 

[tjhno]

Ideally both you and your wife should have a bicycle you look forward to riding. How you live from now on will influence the new member of the family. Better to be born into a bicycle-riding family than not.

P.S. The only thing I don't like about the SS-Glide is that it has throttle (Class II) which will tempt you to just sit there without pedaling. All of the danger of bicycle riding minus the health benefits if you don't pedal.

 

[christob]

Don't forget, with the ebike, you could easily attach a toddler tow cart

 

[Bicyclista]

@whannah, I would suggest a cargo ebike as a car replacement. It allows you to carry a lot of stuff. You may take your wife along for the ride as a passenger, and in the future, your wife and your new baby, depending on the cargo bike you choose. There are many options: Tern GSD, Yuba Spicy Curry, Xtracycle, Felt Brühaul, RadWagon, etc.

 

[whannah]

@Bicyclista, Thanks for the recommendations.
I hadn't looked at the cargo bikes seriously yet, but I never considered the possibility of putting people on the back. That's a game changer!

 

[Bicyclista]

@whannah, you're welcome! Whatever you do, don't ever get rid of your Soma steel bike. That's a quality ride!

 

[whannah]

@Bicyclista, definitely! If someone wants it, they'll have to pry it from my cold, dead hands!

 

[lilrich]

The cargo bikes Bicyclista mentioned are all good suggestions for car replacement I would add Urban Arrow both long and short model to the list. I always thought the idea of having those young ones in front where you can keep an eye on them was nice. Amazing how well some of the cargo bikes perform and handle the addition of assist for that application is a perfect combination IMHO.

 

[MisterM]

Hilarious you call Livermore a redneck town. You should have seen it 30 years ago before the yuppies moved in. Only place where we needed police presence for HS soccer matches...

If you buy a desirable ebike brand (Trek, Specialized etc), you'll be able to resell if you don't like it/need to get rid of it. Alternatively, can buy a lower cost internet ebike for a significantly lower upfront cost but likely have more difficult time reselling. Cargo bike seems an unwieldy solution if you plan to regularly commute. Sounds like you live downtown and commute to the Nat Lab?

 

[Solom01]

I wouldn't worry about reselling a bike - don't take my word for it, take a look at Craig's list or any other listing of used eBikes - they sell for a fraction of their purchase cost because of the fear that the battery pack will die. So yes, if you spend 5k for a Euro bike you might get 2k for it, but if you purchased a cheaper bike you could just give it away and still be better off moneywise. The cargo bike seems like an interesting possibility, but I guess if I were looking for a commuter bike I would want something that needed as little maintenance as possible. Unless you enjoy replacing chains, adjusting derailleurs and so forth a single speed is hard to beat - there's not much of anything that can go wrong or to fiddle with. Of course, that only works if you're in an area that's fairly flat.

 

[Dewey]

@whannah, I would suggest a cargo ebike as a car replacement.

Great suggestions, and Rad Power just updated their RadWagon for 2018 with a new mid step frame and nice accessories.

 

[whannah]

Hilarious you call Livermore a redneck town.

Yea, it's not all bad. It might just be the neighborhood we live in that makes it seem redneck. There's a guy with a big lifted truck next door, and once a week he just sits in it with the engine running for over an hour. I have no idea what he's doing in there, but it's really weird. Also, I feel like all I see in Livermore is old, fat, white people, and while there's nothing wrong with that, we have a hard time making friends our age and we feel really alienated and lonely.

Sounds like you live downtown and commute to the Nat Lab?

Yes, but we actually live on the western edge of Livemore, so I wouldn't call it downtown. I work at LLNL, which is a great place to work. I've met other lab people that don't like Livermore. Many of them have accepted long car commutes to avoid living here.

 

[michael mitchell]

I would vote RadWagon. It's cheap enough that it would pay for itself in about 1 year (compared to car + insurance). You can fit another person or child on the back. It has a throttle and decent sized battery. Commuting everyday, you may feel beat or sick, so you can just ride it like a scooter on those rough days. After a year, you could decide it wasn't for you, throw it in the dumpster, and break even. Only downside would be getting a flat on that rear wheel. I'd suggest carrying a can of bike fix-a-flat in additional to normal repair stuff.

 

[bob armani]

Hilarious you call Livermore a redneck town. You should have seen it 30 years ago before the yuppies moved in. Only place where we needed police presence for HS soccer matches...

If you buy a desirable ebike brand (Trek, Specialized etc), you'll be able to resell if you don't like it/need to get rid of it. Alternatively, can buy a lower cost internet ebike for a significantly lower upfront cost but likely have more difficult time reselling. Cargo bike seems an unwieldy solution if you plan to regularly commute. Sounds like you live downtown and commute to the Nat Lab?

Livermore, CA-My working colleague relocated to that small town up near San Fran just a couple of years ago. He loves it there considering he had lived in the Midwest most of his life. The only complaint I get is dealing with some of those annoying small roadside fires that can back up traffic and cause a little upset until the local FD arrives. He never mentioned anything about it being a redneck town. Never know until you live there...

 

[whannah]

Livermore, CA-My working colleague relocated to that small town up near San Fran just a couple of years ago. He loves it there considering he had lived in the Midwest most of his life. The only complaint I get is dealing with some of those annoying small roadside fires that can back up traffic and cause a little upset until the local FD arrives. He never mentioned anything about it being a redneck town. Never know until you live there...

Roadside fires? I don't think there have been many of those here.

I imagine this place would seem nicer if you are coming from the midwest. Before we moved here we lived in Colorado, Miami FL, and Raleigh NC. Miami wasn't great, but Raleigh was a bike commuters paradise.