Cost Per Mile / Total Miles

[TOOSLOW]

So this ebike thing, seems rather costly after I calculated my total cost, bike and add ons, improvements etc, divided by my total kilometers to date. Sitting right now at $3.23 per kilometer. Ouch!
Now it has been fun, frustrating, and painful at times, but it is rather pricey for a sport/hobby/fitness activity.
Hopefully I can bring the cost per kilometer down, obviously with many more rides!

 

[Code54]

Cant say I even pay attention. Compared to other things they are really cheap. I know people complain about buying tires or a new chain but when I look at other hobbies it is really not bad at all. We ride SxS (UTV's, AKA Side by Side) and if you need tires it can easily be $700-800. I ride with guys that can easily tear up $500 in parts in an afternoon with a very minor mishap. I figured I have aa lot of fun on my bike and never even look at the cost per mile. - Whatever it is I find it worth it.

 

[rich c]

Buy an RV and see what that costs per km. How about a bass boat?

 

[Allan47.7339]

I don't think hobbies have a cost per mile by definition. I originally got an ebike for a 18-20 mile one way commute I had. The car commute was 24 miles each way and took about 30 minutes door to desk and 40-45 minutes home. The ebike commute took an hour with a shower at the destination. If I was late leaving in the car, the parking situation could add another 30 minutes where I always had bicycle parking spot. It was inside a guarded facility and I did not have to worry about theft in the office areas. I am not sure if I really recovered the cost but I was much happier and fitter.

 

[Dale C]

well, the 900$ in rain gear didn't help. Neither did the 5 sets of wheels with cassettes and brake rotors. Or the 500$ lights and 700$ in tools and a stand. All on all probably 80cents a km.

On the plus side we went from two vehicles to one.

 

[Dallant]

So this ebike thing, seems rather costly after I calculated my total cost, bike and add ons, improvements etc, divided by my total kilometers to date. Sitting right now at $3.23 per kilometer. Ouch!
Now it has been fun, frustrating, and painful at times, but it is rather pricey for a sport/hobby/fitness activity.
Hopefully I can bring the cost per kilometer down, obviously with many more rides!

If you are really worrying about this, maybe you should take up knitting.
Guess I just don’t think that way. All I know is there’s no other way I could get a consistent exercise regimen that I love like I do my ebike. That’s worth a huge and incalculable amount to me!
Without knowing exactly what (and on what and why) you’ve spent down to the dollar, it’s impossible to give you specifically good ideas. For instance, do you have insurance to protect your investment? Maybe you can find a cheaper policy. How do you figure your kilowatts per charge and could you do that cheaper? Maybe you only air your tires at the gas station or a friends house vs buying a compressor or pump.

 

[Gordon71]

So this ebike thing, seems rather costly after I calculated my total cost, bike and add ons, improvements etc, divided by my total kilometers to date. Sitting right now at $3.23 per kilometer. Ouch!
Now it has been fun, frustrating, and painful at times, but it is rather pricey for a sport/hobby/fitness activity.
Hopefully I can bring the cost per kilometer down, obviously with many more rides!

Your last sentence answered your question. The more miles you ride then the cost per mile goes way down. Same with a car. I drive mine until they just won't pass state inspection anymore due to rust damage. It would cost a lot more if I traded in every few years.

 

[Art Deco]

Buy an RV and see what that costs per km. How about a bass boat?

Or an Airplane ? I think a top quality set of golf clubs costs more than most ebikes.

 

[fooferdoggie]

right now my bike has cost about .55 per mile but that will go down each year. I got 9000 miles in a year on it.

 

[6zfshdb]

What is your health worth? Then there is the enjoyment factor to consider as well.

 

[Gordon71]

I guess bike plus accessories would be about $2000 and close to one year old with 1500miles so I think that's about $1.33 per mile not counting electricity which I don't know how to calculate. Factoring in the pleasure factor makes that a great deal and one that's going to get better.

 

[indianajo]

At ~8000 miles & 4 years, the first 2000 unpowered, I'm at $.363 per kilometer. Should go down as the second motor amortizes, but at 5 years I'll need a new battery probably.
Benefits of a heart that "has nothing wrong with it", surviving 163 days of covid19 with no hospitalization, the knees that don't need replacement because of endomorphine, at age 70, are immeasurable.
The unpowered MTB's & cruisers I rode 2008-2017 were much cheaper per kilometer, but they dumped me on my chin 5 times, finally breaking it. The most expensive of those bikes was $75. The cargo bike hasn't done that yet. Same mileage per year. same grocery runs.

 

[TOOSLOW]

At ~8000 miles & 4 years, the first 2000 unpowered, I'm at $.363 per kilometer. Should go down as the second motor amortizes, but at 5 years I'll need a new battery probably.
Benefits of a heart that "has nothing wrong with it", surviving 163 days of covid19 with no hospitalization, the knees that don't need replacement because of endomorphine, at age 70, are immeasurable.
The unpowered MTB's & cruisers I rode 2008-2017 were much cheaper per kilometer, but they dumped me on my chin 5 times, finally breaking it. The most expensive of those bikes was $75. The cargo bike hasn't done that yet. Same mileage per year. same grocery runs.

Awesome cost per mile.
Obviously low initial purchase price helps greatly.

 

[Luto]

How about cost per foot on skiing down hill? Should you just point your skis downhill? Boats are the worst starting out! I have had some 300.00 per pound Dungeness crabs! Now the cost is about 50 cents. Shrimp are down to pennies lol.

But to your point, I have about 3150 km on a 5500 USD bike. So 1.78. But I could sell the bike for 4500.00 USD right now, so cost is 0.31 per km. But I will ride about 4150km more before it goes up for sale in 2 months, so it will be 0.24 per km after I sell.

But my health is Plus 20% better, so really the cost is not really measurable. I mean how much would one pay for another 10 years of life?

 

[K PierreR]

I have about $6770 over 4 years and 11,280 miles. About 60 cents per mile so far or 36 cents per kilometer. I should put about 5-6k miles on it this year including a 2,700 mile trip this spring. Prolly spend another grand of stuff before the trip.

 

[Ebiker01]

6.7k/14k miles =0.47/mile in my case . Add about 15-20hours of ebike related work(shopping for parts, unboxing, install/repairs) . Add another 2-300 hours of reading EBR , No price on that

DEDUCT happiness @0.25$/mile, DEDUCT age longevity @0.15$/mile, DEDUCT happier pets @0.10$/mile b/c they now have a happier owner and the

RESULT= THE ebike is PAYING me 0.03$/mile !! 0.47$ Cost vs 0.50$ Itemized Deductions.

How can that be ? Think about it deeply and you’ll agree. Maybe not the same numbers but the end result is the same : After certain mileage our ebikes are actually paying us by saving us money from headaches, health/family issues, moral/social improvement , COVID escape ??

 

[K PierreR]

6.7k/14k miles =0.47/mile in my case . Add about 15-20hours of ebike related work(shopping for parts, unboxing, install/repairs) . Add another 2-300 hours of reading EBR , No price on that

DEDUCT happiness @0.25$/mile, DEDUCT age longevity @0.15$/mile, DEDUCT happier pets @0.10$/mile b/c they now have a happier owner and the

RESULT= THE ebike is PAYING me 0.03$/mile !! 0.47$ Cost vs 0.50$ Itemized Deductions.

How can that be ? Think about it deeply and you’ll agree. Maybe not the same numbers but the end result is the same : After certain mileage our ebikes are actually paying us by saving us money from headaches, health/family issues, moral/social improvement , COVID escape ??

I agree with you math philosophy, but I want to know your secret on hours. At 14k miles I would have 15-20 hours just screwing around with tires let alone chains, chain rings and cassettes. That does not include shopping paying and unboxing parts over those 14k miles like tires, chains, cassettes etc.

 

[Dale C]

How about cost per foot on skiing down hill? Should you just point your skis downhill? Boats are the worst starting out! I have had some 300.00 per pound Dungeness crabs! Now the cost is about 50 cents. Shrimp are down to pennies lol.

But to your point, I have about 3150 km on a 5500 USD bike. So 1.78. But I could sell the bike for 4500.00 USD right now, so cost is 0.31 per km. But I will ride about 4150km more before it goes up for sale in 2 months, so it will be 0.24 per km after I sell.

But my health is Plus 20% better, so really the cost is not really measurable. I mean how much would one pay for another 10 years of life?

300$a pound Dungeness sounds good, I once spent 430$ Cdn in fuel just to get the wife some 8.5 inch Red Rock Crabs. I could have bought another wheel instead. I really hope she appreciates the sacrifice.

 

[Ebiker01]

15-20 hours

It felt like that amount but must have been 60-70hours ? Mine is also a class 3 so it covers the distance a lot faster than a class one, as I often go for road rides @25-27mph.

 

[K PierreR]

It felt like that amount but must have been 60-70hours ? Mine is also a class 3 so it covers the distance a lot faster than a class one, as I often go for road rides @25-27mph.

All things considered, I probably work on the bike 10 minutes for every hour that I ride it. So perhaps 160 hours in 11,280 miles I generally ride 18-20 mph but that is not what the average comes out to.
At 25 to 27mph my bike would likely use 25-30 watt hours per mile. Too much wind and noise.