Allow me to make something perfectly clear. I compared the CAPITAL cost (not running cost) of a second hand Ford Focus not to argue that a polluting, road clogging, non-contributor to fitness is superior in concept. I merely pointed out that even despite economies of scale in the motor industry, it is becoming more and more absurd that the sum of parts (frame, running gear, two wheels, saddle and a little hub motor plus battery) somehow manages to be the same price as a somewhat more involved contraption with about 200 more parts, all rather well put together.
The comparison was just that and no more.
Someone, somewhere is taking the mick when a simple e-bike (and compared to a car it IS simple) is approaching not only the price of a used car but is now getting near the price of whole NEW car.
I well understand that those who have refined requirements due to their enthusiasm for the best materials, lowest weight, best running gear etc etc, are prepared to pay a premium. But for several years now I have watched the e-bike market divide itself into two polarised extremes, with a lot of support for extremely expensive bikes, and another faction, said to be inverted on the snobbery scale, which reacts with a mixture of wonderment and some lampooning at such outrageous prices.
The argument that my point might be ridiculous on account of bicycles being so much better for health and environment doesn't really cut it for me (but nice try!). A similar argument could be applied for example to running shoes. Running shoes might encourage a better lifestyle and tend to encourage a healthier way of transporting oneself, but a pair of shoes which cost £2000 just because they are "healthier" still doesn't quite justify the ludicrous price!
What potential e-bikers are looking for is VALUE, which ever end of the premium or budget scale they are opting for. I'm sorry that I simply do not see much value in forking out £2500, or indeed £4,500 for an e-bike. I'm not discouraging anyone from spending such a huge amount if that's what they want, but I do think such willingness is encouraging a polarised market to further exaggerate price difference which seem to be based more on perceived quality than actual quality.
Before everyone piles in let me explain. I'm not technical about bikes but I'm not an idiot either. Several years ago I bought a chinese-supplied folder with a 200w motor on the hub. I was at the time delightfully surprised how well made it was, and indeed several bicycling friends who know much more than me were also surprised at how solidly it is built. I've just ordered a new battery for less than £200 which will give me another three years use. The cost of the bike was less than £600. So for a total of around £800 I will have a bike that will last at least a total of seven years. I consider that to be good VALUE. I didn't buy it to be a cheapskate and nor did I need anything better. If I did, I might go up to £1000 but that would be my limit, in the same way that if I wanted a new watch I would never buy a rolex, because I can buy a perfectly good, handsome, well made, stylish watch for a 50th of the price and it serves its function. In the case of a rolex, I also find them brash and rather ugly.
I'm not sure I agree that retailers are not being squeezed. In my search for a battery (and it is not ONLY cheap e-bikes which are victims of lack of replacement parts), I contacted several retailers many of whom told me they had entered the e-bike market with good intentions but gave up after it became impossible to make any tangible mark up at all. I concede these were probably never going to be specialists and they probably were out of their depth in a still niche market. One retailer told me a customer ordered a Claud Butler e-bike at the knock down price advertised by Butler's, but they told the retailer HE would have to buy it in at their regular price, resulting in a loss for the retailer. I do not know whether this is common, and I recognise that many more successfully e-bike "makers" supply direct.
I do think there is an element of defensiveness about the purchase of expensive kit, and we all tend to need to justify an expensive purchase, often by exaggerating the value of something merely because we paid over the odds for it. As I said, if someone really wants to spend a wad of cash on a bike they perceive to be a "Mercedes" compared to a "Micra" that's up to them. What is worrying however is that, after combing through ads for the kind of bike that suits me (modest, reliable folder) I see such absurd differences in price for machinery that is clearly almost the same (chinese frame, Shimano gears, virtually identical running gear and tyres etc etc) despite the marketing men trying their best to tell me they are not the same, that the only real difference might be after-sales service. Luckily, I haven't needed any after sales service, since my modest folder rides today as well as it did the moment I unpacked it and went for my first ride, and any servicing I need can be done by a local chap who turns up in a van and charges me a small amount to give it a professional look over.
Concluding then, by all means please do market and then purchase your "rolex" e-bikes. I know there are many here who are looking for value too. Not value in the form of cheapo, flimsy, fall-to-bits stuff but genuinely good value machines that serve their purpose. I'm sure there are complicated reasons why e-bikes have not caught on in the UK, but one of them might be that potential customers are looking at a market where there are such extreme price differences for what even an expert would consider virtually the same specs, and this is bound to arouse suspicion in the minds of the people the e-bike industry wishes to win over.
Allow me to part with one more observation: With some noble exceptions, why are a good many e-bikes so ugly? Of course this is subjective, but to me some of them (see the right hand side of this page!) look like clod-hopping bits of (always black) scaffolding tube cobbled together in random shapes without any sense of design, elegance or aesthetic? ("Ah" you say..."not only a cheapskate but NOW you want a sense of design flare AS WELL for your few hundred quid!!"). I wouldn't mind actually, but gold and silver bling doesn't represent elegant design for me.
Anyway, I'm off for a ride on my battle ship grey e-folder which is comfortable, goes the same speed as almost all the other battle ship grey e-folders costing three times as much, and gives me great pleasure. My best wishes and hope you enjoy this sunny Monday!
