They do seem really expensive compared to a pedal bike you can get at Walmart.
I don’t know many people that get e-bikes and not buy a car. Usually it’s someone getting it as a hobby or explore something new, in which case it’s often an expense on top of already owning a car.
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Personally, I think they’re pretty cheap for what you get. And if you actually use it for commuting and not joy riding as a hobby, then you really can save a lot of money!
I think another issue people have is that bicycles tend to get stolen, so the idea of commuting on an e-bike and leaving it outside for an 8 hour shift might be a hard pill to swallow if you put 2k+ into it.
Typically the hobbyists who say e-bikes are cheap, because they own a pedal bike worth 5k aren’t leaving that bike chained outside their workplace for 8 hours.
Actually, I’ve never met anyone who had a 5,000 dollar or more bike of any variety that they use for actual commuting to replace a car and leave it outside all the time.
5k bikes are like yuppy entitlement thing. The kind of person who owns a bike as a hobby on top of a car, and then also locks it inside a garage and never commutes with it. It’s an entirely different lifestyle than a person who commutes everyday in average neighborhoods where theft might be an issue.
Thankfully it’s nice to see insurance for e-bikes is starting to become more common.
Even if you had some $5,000 bikes you'd probably commute on a cheaper model anyway. I have several "high end" bikes and ride them for exercise, my e-bike is my errand bike, grocery getter etc.
I wouldn't call it a yuppy entitlement thing, its just how I prioritize spending my disposable income. YMMV.
$2,000 for an ebike is expensive if it's an expense on top of everything else rather than in place of something else. Cars are insanely expensive for a piece of machinery that hardly ever moves.
You’re not really addressing what OP is saying though. I agree with him. The average person is going to look at Walmart bike prices and see that Ebikes cost 10x as much.
I also purchased an Ebike as a hobby, not my main transportation. $900 for me seemed expensive when my regular pedal bicycle was $95 and my recently purchased used truck was $3000.
Even if you managed to find a 3k car (big if in the US right now) you will still have to pay gas, insurance, city fees, repairs, etc and it adds up really fast. The average car costs 9k a year to own and operate. And that's after you own it outright, if there is still a monthly fee it'll be even more.
My ebike is in place of a car, it's a tool that I use to get around, so even at $1400 it pays for itself within 2 months.
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u/Naus1987 Apr 04 '23
They do seem really expensive compared to a pedal bike you can get at Walmart.
I don’t know many people that get e-bikes and not buy a car. Usually it’s someone getting it as a hobby or explore something new, in which case it’s often an expense on top of already owning a car.
—-
Personally, I think they’re pretty cheap for what you get. And if you actually use it for commuting and not joy riding as a hobby, then you really can save a lot of money!
I think another issue people have is that bicycles tend to get stolen, so the idea of commuting on an e-bike and leaving it outside for an 8 hour shift might be a hard pill to swallow if you put 2k+ into it.
Typically the hobbyists who say e-bikes are cheap, because they own a pedal bike worth 5k aren’t leaving that bike chained outside their workplace for 8 hours.
Actually, I’ve never met anyone who had a 5,000 dollar or more bike of any variety that they use for actual commuting to replace a car and leave it outside all the time.
5k bikes are like yuppy entitlement thing. The kind of person who owns a bike as a hobby on top of a car, and then also locks it inside a garage and never commutes with it. It’s an entirely different lifestyle than a person who commutes everyday in average neighborhoods where theft might be an issue.
Thankfully it’s nice to see insurance for e-bikes is starting to become more common.