Talk to me about running costs

[freddy]

I have had my cheapo tesco hopper for 5 months. It has done the job I bought it for and was a trial to see if I actually used an electric bike before going ahead and splashing out on a more expensive bike. My plan had been to use it to break even with costs vs using my car then selling it for whatever I could get for it and upgrading. This would have been about 2000 miles.

However.
I have now done approx 1250 miles on it and the battery is almost dead. I limp home from my 8 mile commute each day the last light coming on earlier and earlier.
Now a new battery for this bike will buy me approx 1250 miles at a cost of £249 this works out at 20p a mile. This just happens to be how much the fuel for my car costs per mile.
Is this usual? Or is this just because I have a cheap bike not designed for that many miles?
If the running costs of all electric bikes are similar I might as well use the car.

 

[RobF]

Battery life is a piece of string question, but even a cheap battery on a bike like your Hopper should last longer than 1,250 miles.

A decent battery will take hundreds of charges before showing any significant decline.

Overall running costs for commuting is an interesting one.

A moped will probably be cheaper if you factor in a replacement battery every three or four years.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Freddy

Complain under the warranty they should change the battery

Frank

 

[jackhandy]

Surely, your battery is still under warranty?

If it has dropped below the capacity guarateed for 12 months (normally 70 or 80%, I believe) get in touch with Tesco.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Your battery only costs £137 including shipping from here You'll probably have to pay £15 to £20 duty on top of that, or you can get the 15aH one for £164, which should last longer and go further, or you can get the LiFePO4 one for £163, which should last more than twice as long as your original one for £163.

little frog
little frog
24V10Ah LiFePO4 EBike Battery

 

[Electrifying Cycles]

In fact the non-Tesco versions came with an 18month guarantee so at 5 months it should definately be under warranty.

 

[Cabo]

Hi Freddy
I got a cheepo hopper 14 months ago for the same reasons as yourself. Except i use it only for pleasure.
The orginal 8.5 amp battery after 1400 miles is down to about 65%-70%. Last week my new 24v 15amp Li-Ion battery from BMS arrived. So i keep the big battery for long rides and the old one for shopping and short runs (still does 12-16 miles on mixed terrain with battery on Eco/Med 65% of the time).
I was lucky with the duty costs!
So i am thinking in round figures £200 battery cost for 1.5 years works out at £3 per week.
I would think Avocet Sports who do the spares and warrentry on this bike would replace it.
I found them very good over a small problem i had.

Did a 38 mile cycle with new battery yesterday over mixed terrain. The last 10 miles with full power to run battery down - still one bar left.

 

[fatts]

As Frank and others say, it is under Tesco's 1 yr no quibble ( usualy ) gaurantee ,take back said item and change. I find them the least problematic store for this. Proof of purchase may be needed.

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Ebay new battery
Viking e-Go Hopper Eco-Stepper E-co Electric Bike Replacement Battery | eBay

Frank

 

[tillson]

Returning to your question of ebike v car etc. Battery life is a big factor to consider. I think the phrase, "buy cheap, buy twice" is highly relevant here. Hub motored bikes probably give the battery a harder time than the Panasonic or Bosch crank driven machines give their batteries, so the hub motor bike batteries probably have a shorter life. And, if they are cheap nondescript Chinese units, a shorter life still.

I purchased a Kalkhoff Pro Connect in 2008. The ticket price was £1499.00 with cycle schem it probably cost me about £1100.00. I've probably spent £400 on clothing and consumable service items, so the bike owes me roughly the original £1500.00. I'm still using the original battery which is very adequate for a 20 mile round trip. I estimate the residual value of the bike at about £200 (it still looks new).

I have done 15000 miles on the bike, so if I sold it today, I would have spent £1300 to cover 15000 miles. Factor in health benefits and I think it's worthwhile. However, if you are going to commit to ebiking and make it financially viable, you have to buy a quality machine. You can't do it on the cheap with Chinease junk off eBay, that's a false economy.

The trouble is, the average UK punter finds cheap junk irresistible and they end up disappointed, disillusioned and hence negative about eBikes as a result if their own stupidity.

 

[Martin@e-bikeshop]

My Electric Bike Running Costs Guide might be worth a read here.

Regards
Martin

 

[trex]

just like all other forms of personal transport, the running cost is only acceptably low if you make good use of your e-bike.

Some people don't want to ride any more after less than a year: cost per mile > 50p - £1
Use the bike less than 10 miles per week (eg go shopping locally): cost per mile > 50p
Use the bike only for leisure rides (30 miles/week): cost per mile: >20p
Use the bike for commuting: cost per mile < 7p
The last two uses also help prolonging battery life.

If you are going to buy an expensive bike (>£1500), be sure that:
a) you want to keep it more than 2 years
b) you want to ride at least 30 miles / week

 

[los monty]

Returning to your question of ebike v car etc. Battery life is a big factor to consider. I think the phrase, "buy cheap, buy twice" is highly relevant here. . And, if they are cheap nondescript Chinese units, a shorter life still.


However, if you are going to commit to ebiking and make it financially viable, you have to buy a quality machine. You can't do it on the cheap with Chinease junk off eBay, that's a false economy.

The trouble is, the average UK punter finds cheap junk irresistible and they end up disappointed, disillusioned and hence negative about eBikes as a result if their own stupidity.

Each to their own. Owner of sub £500 Chinese bike based on 8fun conversion which has covered 2000 trouble free miles and no appreciable loss of performance from battery. Have disposed of the cheap locks, dynamo and rubbish tyres but the rest seems reasonable quality.
Pretty it is not, being a garishly coloured Dutch style bike. When parked I remove the battery and lock it up. Frankly I suspect if I put a sign on it saying "please take" that it would still be there when I got back .

All this Chinese nocking is worrying. Don't come crying to me if they take the huff and switch the lights off.

PS did non of you guys own a British Leyland car?

 

[flecc]

All this Chinese nocking is worrying. Don't come crying to me if they take the huff and switch the lights off.

PS did non of you guys own a British Leyland car?

Quite true, we've produce some awful stuff in the past and the Chinese make many top grade products for the West, albeit usually only when adequately supervised.

But they also still produce some junk, and I think it's that Tillson was referring to.

 

[Kudoscycles]

One of my chinese suppliers makes all the top end for Honda motorbikes,the tolerances are so tight that its like a hospital inside to avoid any dust. But the workers are closely supervised by Honda quality control engineers and that is the way to maintain quality.
I spent some time in a hotel in Suzhou,the factories in that area make virtually all the high volume medical parts(syringes etc),used worldwide by hospitals,again closely monitored by USA engineers. Its also the home of much of Philips medical equipment and we all know its the home of Apple and Dell computer equipment.
They can still produce junk if left to do so but it is important to maintain quality by often visiting the factories,the e-bay seller who buys 20 bikes,factory unseen,no ongoing warranty or moral liability is what is giving the e-bike world a bad name,but they appear as quick as they dissappear.
KudosDave

 

[Kudoscycles]

Freddy....as you have realised the largest cost of running an e-bike is replacement batteries. Our classic range of e-bikes all used the LifePo4 battery,which has a very long life,maybe 5-10 years,we have many customers on this forum who have had bikes with LifePo4 that are now over 3 years old and batteries still going strong,to my knowledge we have not yet supplied a replacement LifePo4 because it has worn out and failures have been minimal.
Unfortunately LifePo4 is heavy and bulky,so on our Performance range of bikes we have had to use LiMno4 (similar Li-Ion,Li-Polymer),these will start to wear out after 2 to 3 years,but they are lighter and less bulky.
However,all our batteries are replacement cost about £200-£250,which I think is fair.
I did look at a bike at Eurobike with Li-Polymer battery,replacement battery euros 1100.00,ouch!!!!
KudosDave

 

[flecc]

I did look at a bike at Eurobike with Li-Polymer battery,replacement battery euros 1100.00,ouch!!!!
KudosDave

£931.50 today, BionX even worse, their 36 volt 9.5Ah battery was £1050 last time I looked, and that was some while ago.

 

[trex]

I suspect that there is an awful lot of e-bikes being bought then left gathering dust after being ridden a few times. Those tend to be 100% low cost Chinese bikes.
After 3 months in the shed, the battery is allowed to run totally flat, then recharging starts to fail etc. - that does not do much to help their reputation.
kudosdave, the chemistry does not matter much, because you get pretty good use even if you only recharge 300 - 400 times - roughly translated to 4,000-10,000 miles.

 

[freddy]

Thankyou for all the helpful and some not so helpful replies.

My bike is used daily and put on charge overnight.
Who in their right minds would expect a £400 bike to perform like a £1500 bike?

Most of the running cost links seem to think replacing a battery every 2yrs plus is "usual" so after 5 months is exceptionally poor. I would have been happy with 12 months.

Avocet are being spectacularly unhelpful.


I have ordered a new battery from the link given. Thanks for the link.
It will be interesting to see how it performs and more importantly for me for how long.