Running costs

[timidtom]

Good morning;
Wondering which of the many available ebikes (good thing) has the 1) the highest running cost) (bad thing) and 2) the lowest running cost (good thing). I'm thinking mainly about the expense of battery replacement. The old lead acid battery would soldier on for years, slowly deteriorating. The more modern power houses seem likely to expire on a whim, suddenly feeling frail and failing to wake up one morning. A peaceful but costly end?
I'm wondering if the benefits of running a modern 50cc moped - range, reliability & sell-on price - outweigh, practically, our beloved ebikes? Is a cheaper, long long life battery just aroung the corner (tegether with a 'fit-any-bike' adaptor?)
Sleepless night worrying about money!
Tom

 

[RoadieRoger]

For a regular commute Tom there would be no contest , the 50 cc Moped would win . For pleasure and stop/start riding I take my Ebike . The 50cc Mopeds are in 3 price bands , the Chinese up to £1000 , the Taiwanese to £1500 and the Japanese and Continental over £1400 . To my mind the best buy at the moment is the recently introduced Kymco DJ 50S at £1199 . You have the quality of the Japanese makes with the price at not much more than the Chinese . If you must have a Honda , then the Vision will cost you £1650 . It`s the price of the Ebike batteries that scare me .

 

[flecc]

Definitely the 50 cc moped wins, not only on long term costs but on general reliability and convenience. For example, punctures on bikes are commonplace but very rare on mopeds, moped weather protection is much better and moped all-in equipment is more comprehensive.

 

[KirstinS]

Moped for cost and reliability, ebike for pleasure. Having said that I still chose an ebike for my commute as other factors may come into your decsion.

My commute is way shorter with an ebike as I can go across parks and other legal (for a bicycle)shortcuts - not stuck to just being on the road.

Also my ebike fits in my bike shed, a moped would be left on the road (open to theft and vandalism)

In my town there are tons of places to lock up a bike if you go shopping (for free). Not so for mopeds

My town is very set up many cycle paths/routes - cant go on these on a moped. Flying past the rush hour traffic is always a pleasure !

There is balance to be struck between cost, reliability, convienience and purpose

good luck !

 

[Woosh]

E-bikes win of course.

Assumptions:
Depreciation: 2-3% / month
Battery: average life 20 months
Average daily commute: 15 miles

Average monthly running cost	e-bike minimum	e-bike maximum	50cc moped min	50cc moped max
deperciation & renewal	£15	20	30	50
battery	7	10
motor	5	8
mechanical maintenance	3	5	10	20
Insurance			10	12
Energy (300 miles)	0.2	0.2	18	20
Total	£30	£43	£68	£102

 

[Eagle]

Off at a slight tangent, does anybody have any experience of Zippe or other electric scooters?

Home - Zippe Electric Scooters - Fast electric mopeds

I wonder how much replacement batteries cost?

 

[tillson]

E-bikes win of course.

Assumptions:
Depreciation: 2-3% / month
Battery: average life 20 months
Average daily commute: 15 miles

Average monthly running cost	e-bike minimum	e-bike maximum	50cc moped min	50cc moped max
deperciation & renewal	£15	20	30	50
battery	7	10
motor	5	8
mechanical maintenance	3	5	10	20
Insurance			10	12
Energy (300 miles)	0.2	0.2	18	20
Total	£30	£43	£68	£102

I think that your figures are a bit optimistic Hatti and may be biased in favour of the ebike.

Firstly the depreciation. For the daily slog of a 15 mile commute, I think that you need to be looking at a purchase price of around £1500, minimum, in order to achieve the quality of components needed for this type of use. An offering from a container load of generic Chinese junk isn't going to get the job done. The 3% per month depreciation figure should therefore be £45 / month.

Batteries are only guaranteed for 2 years maximum. I have not seen a guarantee longer than that. Again, the quality of bike referred to above has a battery costing in the region of £400. Assuming that it is knackerd after 2 years, that is a cost of approximately £16.50 per month?

The remainder of your figures are probably not far off, but using the modified battery and bike depreciation figures, the monthly cost of running an ebike works out at about £70 per month.

This probably compares about equal to running a moped. I think the point is that an ebike isn't a way of saving money when compared to moped transport. In fact, a moped is a more sensible choice in many ways. For a few, me included, there are reasons why an ebike makes more sense and is preferable, but I don't think this applies to the general public at large. I don't think that it is right to promote ebikes as a money saver, they aren't and won't be until battery technology gives us cheap and long life energy source.

 

[Old_Dave]

until battery technology gives us cheap and long life energy source

deep cycle SLA is already here , the weight penalty may out weigh (pun intended) the costs of later technologies ?

 

[iwchris]

For me it's no contest! Living on the Isle of Wight We have a lot of off road cycle tracks, these are completely out of bounds for mopeds, and I mostly ride just for pleasure with just a few trips to the local shops and supermarkets.
I guess that I am fairly lucky living in a lovely place like this, and with some of the best weather in the UK.

 

[oigoi]

My electric bike is recharged by my off grid solar power. No carbon emissions when I ride my bike

If you build your own ebike you can avoid the expense and subsequent depreciation, and achieve a lower battery cost.

 

[amigafan2003]

My 63v12ah battery (666wh) cost £235.

It is self built though

 

[yselmike]

My No1 reason for getting an E-bike was exercise, a 40km round trip on an high speed bike has saved my knees and got me mobile again also has got me lifting light weights and stretching every day....and you cant put a price on your health and wellbeing,
The downside is the cost of the bike having to keep the chain and cassete clean [dualdrive] thats a pain and messy and I have to replace them now after 4000km,
A choice between a bike that cuts out at 25kph or a moped/scooter the latter would win every time, I would try a fast non e bike first but i fear my choice would cost far more than a moped.you can use an E-bike in the wind I would not be able to handle a normal bike with the way it can blow here in north holland,get an high speed e-bike you dont have to drive flat out all the time everywhere.

 

[mike killay]

Being a pensioner, I don't commute, so my bike is all about pleasure not speed.
I can ride my ebike anywhere, cycle tracks, footpaths, off road. None of these can be done on a moped.
When I say off road, I live by a common and can ride all over it.
It is illegal to ride or drive a motor vehicle on common land for more than 15 yards from a road.

 

[billadie]

My Smarta Lx8 is 2 1/2 years and 6500 miles old. It cost £1300 including kevlar tyres and an uprated controller. Since then it has had 3 services, a new chain and only 1 puncture. That equates to roughly 21p per mile total cost.

The battery is original. The range has dropped to about 17 miles with throttle and pedals or 23 on economy pedal only.

I will need to replace the battery in the next six months - £350. If the bike does another 6500 mile and allowing £200 for maintenance -the cost per mile reduce to 15p. Any residual value in the bike is a bonus.

Against this cost is some saving from not using the car, although the fixed costs of the car still seem ridiculous as it now runs about 3500 miles a year.

Bill

 

[superDove]

Against this cost is some saving from not using the car, although the fixed costs of the car still seem ridiculous as it now runs about 3500 miles a year.

Bill

I sold my car and had to put significantly more money in the pot to buy my ebrompton.

One of the reasons that attracted me to the Brompton was it's resale value if I wanted to change to something else in the future. With my limited experience with bikes I haven't seen that many with such a forgiving depreciation.

An ebike is so attractive for my commute because it means I can cycle either along the towpath in the Lea Valley Park or through Epping Forest on the way to work. That way I'm a bit different to most because as I prefer a slower paced commute to appreciate the views and take pictures of wildlife given the opportunity. If that wasn't the case then a moped would make more financial sense.

I haven't quite figured out what I'm doing yet as I'm still driving most days (the wife and I now share one car) because I've got the treatment couch with me. If I commit to working from one or two facilities within a 10 mile radius then I won't need the couch and I'll be happy to cycle, reducing my transport costs but committing to a monthly rent. The last couple of years have been a challenge but I do need to grow a pair and make a decision either way.

James