Electric bike cost

[teskow]

Has anyone calculated the per-mile cost of owning an electric bike verses an automobile or a small motorcycle? I know the cost of recharging the battery is minimal but when factoring in the purchase cost of an e-bike, the bikes lifespan, maintenance and the cost of a battery replacement it may not be all that economical in the long run.
If anyone has any opinions they are welcome to chime in.

 

[JRA]

The most economical way to get around is via walking and taking public transportation. Trying to compare personal mechanized transport methods involves way too many variables to calculate on a broad scope basis.

Ebikes do offer a quality of life function via the amount of exercise one gets, or can, from using them which aids in mental and physical health that auto's and moto's don't and that factors highly into my personal reasons for choosing them more than economics.

 

[retiredNH]

Depreciation is no doubt the biggest expense, so the more miles per year, the lower the cost. DIY maintenance would keep the bike cost down too. Then there's insurance, which you don't need with as bike. Given public transit prices in many places in the US, I'd be surprised if public transit were easier. Then there are the places poorly served by public transit.

You won't find a broad single answer, but it would make sense to look at specific use cases, for example, comparing the options for an urban resident/commuter with a 6 mile commute to work with/without public transit available.

 

[Pulsar]

Assuming my batteries last 3+ years and I do my own maintenance when needed, with the exercise benefit I get, I consider the cost pretty reasonable when spread out. In my case about $80 per month for 3 years pays for the bike itself. After 3 years if batteries are still fine cost drops a lot for bike has been paid for with charging cost still being recurring and minimal. New tire cost and chain cost are also minimal. At some point $600-$700 for a new battery. I’ve never tried to justify cost when there is a fun factor involved. When I rode Harleys, no way to justify a Harley touring bike cost, but all the national parks, states and rallies I’ve been to over the years I consider priceless.

 

[rich c]

I look at eBikes as pure luxury items in my life. I can get to the places I want to go by walking if I really was looking for the ultimate low cost option. No way do I want to calculate the cost of my recreation/mental health machines since I have 4 eBikes and 1 eTrike. But I consider some of my time on them priceless when my Mother was in the last few months of living with severe Alzheimers. It was either my exercise on my eBikes or antidepressant drugs for me to survive.

 

[mschwett]

consider a mid-range commuter bike for 2 years of 10 miles per day riding. most bikes have a 2 or 3 year warranty on the battery and electronics, so lets look at 2 years.

1500 - depreciation of 2000 bike down to 500
60 - two new set of brake pads
100 - one new set of tires
50 - misc expenses like chain lube, a pump etc
10 - electricity for 10wH/mile x 7000 miles = 70kwH x 15 cents a kwH

so around 1700 for 7,000 miles, around 25 cents a mile, with the vast majority being depreciation. ride it more, or for longer, it gets much cheaper. ride it less, much more expensive. worth noting that the above is less than 150 cycles on a typical sized battery.

unlimited muni pass in San Francisco is $81/mo, oddly almost the same cost over two years as the example above!

 

[scottsdalecommuter]

Has anyone calculated the per-mile cost of owning an electric bike verses an automobile or a small motorcycle? I know the cost of recharging the battery is minimal but when factoring in the purchase cost of an e-bike, the bikes lifespan, maintenance and the cost of a battery replacement it may not be all that economical in the long run.
If anyone has any opinions they are welcome to chime in.

I’m an “enginerd” and have a cost per mile spreadsheet that I track my rides and cost on mainly for fun. I’m at about $1.5 per mile and goes down every mile I ride. Out the door for $1700 for aventon pace 500 from local shop with expensive tire liners for cactus needles and an extra charger for my desk. Tires are holding up better than I expected. The major savings for me is I share a car with my wife (mainly her car) because I hate driving a car. I will take it once or twice a week to work if I need to for various reasons but prefer biking! Don’t know cost per mile of car but we don’t drive much so fixed costs would be insurance, registration, and operating costs would be fuel and wear parts like brakes and tires and belts and then larger repairs if you keep the car a long time. Wouldn’t be too hard to calculate/estimate. Car has 120k miles and paid off for years so minimal costs at this point, repairs as needed and expect it to go to 200k plus easy and we barely do 8-10k miles per year, a few beach and mountain trips. Wife and kids also like to bike to school which helps too!

 

[AHicks]

This has been debated before.
Ebikes are cheaper than cars, BY FAR.

Timpo, not picking on you personally, I just can't deal with this logic. It's not the first time I've heard it. I chose your comment to reply to just 'cuz.

For that logic to work, everything you do would have to be within an easy, safe, practical commute BY E-BIKE! Some place that will work out, but there are many more where it simply will not.

If you have to call Uber for grocery runs for instance, to refill you pharma prescription, or even to take your wife out to dinner, the cost of those calls/rides must be added to the expense of an e-bike when comparing them to other modes of transportation.

Now let's add cold weather, with blowing snow and ice! Let's figure out how to make travel in inclement weather part of the e-bike cost....

The point is, MANY parts of the country are inhabited by people with VERY little e-bike infrastructure available. Further, many, if not most communities are so spread out commuting can be very difficult, or even dangerous.

Last, let's make TIME an expense, no? That 20 minute cross town trek (each way) to the grocery store where you are picking up a hundred pounds of groceries made by car (it's the holidays, right?), is going to compare to an e-bike ride in the ice and snow in how many ways? Figure those factors should be included in the price of an e-bike?

Don't get me wrong, I REALLY enjoy my e-bike. But using it as a primary mode of transportation? Not even a little chance....

 

[theemartymac]

It's been discussed for sure.

The True Costs of Owning and Using an Electric Bike

Hi guys! I'm moving some content off of the main site and into the most relevant categories of the forum. This post was originally made on October 21st 2016: This guide is meant to provide a comprehensive overview of the short and long term costs associated with electric bike purchase, use...

electricbikereview.com

and somebody over on endless-sphere made a neat spreadsheet calculator for anyone to use.

Ebike Spread sheet

docs.google.com

 

[harryS]

No commute. No work. Just spend the kids' inheritance. We just ride for fun. Must have seen more than 100 people on the bike path this Xmas day, calling more Xmas greetings than an converted Scrooge.

Heard sandhill cranes in the sky. Watched them whirl as they debated which way to go. Half went east. Half went west. Priceless.

 

[PedalUma]

At the end of next month I will have gone car-free because of ebikes for four years! I make my own bikes and repair them. I also make, repair and build bikes for other people. I know that I have saved a ton. It takes 30-minutes to drive across my town. Then you need to find parking, another 5 minutes. Then walk 500 yards to your destination, another few minutes. On an electric bike the trip takes less then ten-minutes with no parking, no walking, and I arrive with a smile, not white knuckles. One of my partially used batteries will get tossed into a deal as a spare when they are about one-year-old.
What is the cost/benefit of a $2,000 Peloton?
What is the cost/benefit of Art? Playing a Video Game? A musical Instrument? Anti-depression Drugs?
Electric bikes are these things to me and so much more. I would rather spend one day with an ebike than Disneyland.

 

[fooferdoggie]

between out tandem and my commuter just in chains and brake pads its about 256.00 every 2000 or so miles. then at least one set fo tires a year or more on the tandem. so maybe 700 or so a year jsut for the basics

 

[PDoz]

Bikes cost more than cars - pictured below are 5x bikes with combined cost being more than the $46 k ( aus) car. ONLY 2 of them are ebikes, and the bikes are not a tax deduction! . Add in a $1 k rack, plus a handful of valium for a priceless week of hurtling down mountains with kids - BARGAIN!

 

[PedalUma]

Bikes cost more than cars - pictured below are 5x bikes with combined cost being more than the $46 k ( aus) car. ONLY 2 of them are ebikes, and the bikes are not a tax deduction! . Add in a $1 k rack, plus a handful of valium for a priceless week of hurtling down mountains with kids - BARGAIN!
View attachment 110145

Ahh, but that is purely like a recreational, family a ski trip. But if you ride every day and ditch the car for transportation, that is different.
How much would it cost per person to ski every day?
Lift tickets for one year of skiing every day, $27,000.
Clothing, $400.
Skis, Boots, Poles, $650
X5

 

[PedalUma]

How Much Does It Cost To Ski? (COMPLETE Breakdown) | New To Ski

Skiing has traditionally been an expensive sport, it’s still pricey but there are plenty of ways to save money skiing (article on that coming soon)....

newtoski.com

Does driving a car put a smile on your face? Every time?

 

[AHicks]

I was simply comparing mile / cost factor.
For example, driving a car for 10,000 miles / year is more expensive than riding an ebike 10,000 miles / year.

You're absolutely right, it does depend on your lifestyle.
For example, if you have to move a large furniture (couch) or fridge, and if you have to rent a truck once a month, then that cost could add up quickly.

In addition, if you want to consider time, and walking is the most expensive mode of transportation depending on your occupation.
Somebody who make high salary / hour would consider walking a most expensive mode of transportation because it's not really worth their time walking for a long time.

Clearly it doesn't cost near as much to ride a bike as it does to drive a car. Same could be said about walking vs. riding a bike.

I fear any fair comparison can't be that simple, not if/when you are considering life with JUST a car, or just a bike.

Our 4 bikes together are still WAY cheaper than the car we use to commute from Michigan to Florida and back for instance....
If our car or the bikes had to go for some reason, as much as I enjoy the bikes, thinking it would still be an easy decision. -Al

 

[BlackHand]

IRS reimbursement rate for cars is $.56 / mile which at least gives an easy general benchmark to compare to. Obviously, a car still depreciates some just sitting in the driveway, but it gives an easy way to calculate a rough comparison for car trips replaced with bike trips/commutes.

Replacing even a couple car commutes per week can easily pay itself back even if you assume full depreciation of the ebike when the battery dies.

But really that's not the important comparison for most of us. I'm counting on health paybacks for decades. Kind of of like putting a little into your 401k, every ride can have significant payback in reduced risk of chronic conditions later in life:

How Much Would a Heart Attack Cost You?

The average total cost of a severe heart attack -- including direct and indirect costs -- is about $1 million. The average cost of a less severe heart attack is about $760,000. Amortized over 20 years, that's $50,000 per year for a severe heart attack and $38,000 per year for a less severe heart...

www.cbsnews.com

 

[JRA]

And don't forget depression, who doesn't feel better after a bike ride? It's the things we do day to day that matter.

 

[AHicks]

And don't forget depression, who doesn't feel better after a bike ride? It's the things we do day to day that matter.

Yes, exactly. How do you put a price on the grin factor....

 

[PDoz]

Yes, exactly. How do you put a price on the grin factor....

My 13 yo sons grin factor car cost less than his bike helmet!

The bikes are still a bargain.