Musing Journal #6

Price of Electric Bike

So, I noticed that Walmart is selling a cheap electric bike. It's about $600. Amazon also sells some, and it's slightly cheaper, but about the same price. However, I also notice that the electric bike conversion kit is priced about $400 something. The question is, if you take an electric bike, and subtract the cost of the conversion, will you arrive at the price of the bike?

I think not. Assembling the bikes does cost money, but adding a few more parts at the factory isn't going to cost the same as aftermarket additions. So, you probably are going to get a better bike for the price.

And yet, I wonder if that's a wise decision. First of all, in a cheap bike, heaviness isn't a problem. Whatever energy drain that the bike has, is counteracted by the electric power. Even the smallest pedal assist level will be enough to counter the drag. So, about the only concern is to have a bike that is strong enough to last a long time.

As I wandered around REI store, however, I found a sample electric bike. I picked it up and noticed that the whole bike with battery weights less than my current bike with no cargo! Huh, I didn't think that was possible. I also noticed that the price tag on the bike is $1700! At that price level, I'm probably getting $1000 bike, which would be really sweet indeed. But I don't need $1000 bike. I'm perfectly happy with my current heavy mountain bike. With electric motor? Who cares about the weight.

So, figure $400 bike plus $400 conversion kit. That's about $800, and that's my current limit for an electric bike. Anything above $1000, and I'd rather get a scooter.

Musing Journal #5

Electric Bike Cost

If you have been following my posts, you know that I have been smitten by electric bikes. No wonder. They are clean, light, simple, and really a good transportation mode all around. The fact that I have bike path from the house really does seal the deal. There is only one problem: The cost.

Now, I can go buy myself a cute little red scooter for about $2000. A used one can be had for $1000. So, I really don't want to spend more money than $1000 for an electric bike. A scooter can get you places bikes can, faster and safer. Of course, there is the cost of ownership. Scooters costs more to insure and maintain. But let's face it, with 100 mpg effective expense, it just doesn't cost all that much.

But how about electric bikes? You can always pedal. Yes, that's true. But with regular bike, that's free. How about the cost of an electric bike? There have been a lot of calculations thrown about that says an electric bike gets an equivalent of 1000 mpg! Some people, in fact, attached the battery charging unit to solar cells. That's probably about 1 million mpg. How can a scooter beat that?

I'm not interested in calculating pedal power into the equation. So, first, I'm taking the range of motor only. Then I take the cost of purchasing replacement battery. Finally, I take the amount of recharging the batteries can take before losing capacity. So, the true mpg cost of an electric bike is Price of batteries / (mile per charge * number of charge). That gives you dollar per mile. A simple price check will give you dollars per gallon. That will give you mile per gallon figure.

In my calculation, I get about 80 mpg for electric bikes. So, that's slightly less than that of a scooter. I consider, cost wise, scooters and electric bikes are the same. Perhaps I will change my mind later, once the battery technology has improved much and gasoline cost more that it is now. However, that's some time in the future and for now, I will not buy an electric bike that costs more than $1000. I'd rather have a scooter!