Total cost of an ebike, around 45p a mile?

[chdddd]

I am thinking of buying an ebike but the cost per mile looks quite pricey to me, so I'm not 100% sure yet.

I know it is possible to use a bike more often and for longer, but these are some overly cautious realistic projections for the bike's use:

Cost of bike 1500
4 days a week x, 45 weeks, for 2 years = 360 trips
miles per trip 10
cost per trip 4.17
cost per mile 0.42

This is about the same cost per mile, as my all in car cost, including maintenance and insurance.

I've varied the stats, and even if I were to extend usage to 3 years and bump up the milage, it is still about 25p. (though I'm in scotland so trying to be realistic here about usage. If you knock out a month or two for winter, the cost looks higher).

 

[tommie]

So you`re saying your car also cost £1500 inc. insurance, taxes etc??

If so i`d say over the two years you talk about your car insurance, tax, repair bill alone would exceed 1500.

Also factor in the health benefits of cycling compared to a car.

 

[chdddd]

Haha yeah i do drive a cheap car!

But forgetting the car thing for a minute, i was just surprised how expensive cycling can be in miles terms, if you spend 1500 on (any) bike.

At my current cycling milage, i would be spending well over a quid a mile if I spent 1.5k on a bike. But the idea is to cycle more, so perhaps an unfair comparison.

 

[kangooroo]

I did the same calculation for my bikes based on 130 miles per week year round which gave costs of £0.02 or £0.05 per mile depending on which bike I used, over 3 years (but the frame will have a much longer life than this). I didn't allow for the cost of the leccy to charge for the battery.

In comparison, my van costs 13p per mile in diesel alone without even considering the costs of servicing (£470 so far this year plus two new tyres next month @ £112), tax (£225), insurance (£195) or the purchase price and depreciation.

No comparison really and using my bike has kept my van mileage to a minimum.

 

[kangooroo]

But forgetting the car thing for a minute, i was just surprised how expensive cycling can be in miles terms, if you spend 1500 on (any) bike.

If you spend £1500 on a bike then after 2-3 years, the bike will still have a value. Really you should be calculating the depreciation cost per mile plus the cost of charging it along with any 'wear and tear' such as tyres and brake pads which are not going to be too astronomical for a bike.

 

[fredtop]

I have fancied an e bike for a while but couldn't justify the price, but my commute to work will take a big change this Autumn when the bridge I ride over to work closes and a new toll bridge opens at a cost of £4 a day for cars, but bikes are free. So I have taken the plunge and got the bike early - great excuse for a new toy and should pay for itself in about a year in toll fees alone.

 

[Malcolm Stephenson]

But realistically what life will chain sprockets plus motors and batteries have

A year 1 calculation is ok but years 2-౩is where additional costs could come into play

 

[Woosh]

I am thinking of buying an ebike but the cost per mile looks quite pricey to me, so I'm not 100% sure yet.

I know it is possible to use a bike more often and for longer, but these are some overly cautious realistic projections for the bike's use:

Cost of bike 1500
4 days a week x, 45 weeks, for 2 years = 360 trips
miles per trip 10
cost per trip 4.17
cost per mile 0.42

This is about the same cost per mile, as my all in car cost, including maintenance and insurance.

I've varied the stats, and even if I were to extend usage to 3 years and bump up the milage, it is still about 25p. (though I'm in scotland so trying to be realistic here about usage. If you knock out a month or two for winter, the cost looks higher).

Let's make another estimate

Year 1:

Cost of bike 1500
Trips: 180
Total miles: 1,800
Resale value: £700
cost per mile: 44.4p

Year 2:

Cost of bike 700
Trips: 180
Total miles: 1,800
Resale value: £500
cost per mile: 11.1p

The cost varies depending on how quickly you want another bike.

If you want one of my bikes for 10 miles a day, that would be something like the Woosh Karoo that someone posted about a few weeks ago. He did 2,200 kms in the first year, sold it for £400.

Year 1:
Cost of bike: £849
Trips: 180
Total miles: 1,800
Resale value: £400 (roybut posted about this, the bike went to another commuter)
cost per mile: 24.9p

Year 2:

Cost of bike: £400
Trips: 180
Total miles: 1,800
Resale value: £300
cost per mile: 5.5p

Woosh Karoo:
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?karoo

 

[Peter Thornton]

I've just ordered an electric bike. I don't expect to save any money by using it rather than a car, but I do expect to be happier and fitter!
The key thing would be if you were able to do without a car by purchasing a bike. Then you would see some real savings. The problem is that by keeping your car, and buying a bike, you are having to compare the running cost of the bike (including all its depreciation) with the cost of the last 2,000 miles of car usage which excludes tax, insurance, depreciation etc.
Incidentally, I've frequently tried to justify the cost of an electric car but every time I've done the figures it works out as more expensive than a conventional model.

 

[ttxela]

Hmmm I'm not sure about these calculations.

My bike cost £1500, I do around 300 miles a month, lets assume it will last 3 years before any major repairs or replacement so bike cost per mile = 300mls x 36 - 10,800. £1500/10,800 = £0.14.

The Battery has a 2 year warranty, lets assume I need a whole new battery after that expires, they seem to run at about £470 as far as I can tell so; 2 years miles = 7200, battery cost = £0.07/mile.

Battery charge - a thread on here indicates around 9p, my 24 mile commute roughly half flattens the battery so say 4.5p/24miles = £0.002/mile

Tyres, brake pads etc. who knows, say I spend around £10/month on 'stuff' £10/300 = £0.03/mile

Insurance is covered by my house insurance so no extra cost.

So I reckon my costs/mile are something like £0.24 based on quite a pessimistic view of maintenance and depreciation.

So assuming the £0.45/mile cost of running a car then I'm saving £63/month cycling to work.

I'm willing to bet this is a very conservative estimate.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

OP, you left out the residual value of the bike. At the end of the year, you could sell it on ebay and get maybe 50% back, so the cost per mile would be 50% of what you calculated.

Also, you don't need to spend £1500 on the bike. You can get a perfectly adequate one for less than half that. This one is guaranteed for two years and would only deoreciate by about £300 in that time. that's a cost of £150 per year, which is onlu £0.04 per mile, though you need to factor in some running costs for new tyres on both.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/E-TROPOLIS-TREK-MAN-EVO-LINE-E-BIKE-ELECTRIC-BICYCLE-28-WHITE-250w-NEW-/201864062562?hash=item2f00092662:g:OP0AAOSw-0xYdPBK

As I keep saying, you can't justify a more expensive bike by economics. You buy it because you want it.

Most important of all, you missed out the health benefit of riding a bike to work and that feeling of satisfaction that you'll never get in a car.

You could look at it another way. By using that ebay bike, you'd be saving £4.20 a day. After 150 days (approx) you got it for nothing. After that, every journey completed is a saving of 42p per mile.

 

[gray198]

This in all news outlets today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39641122

 

[fatwomble]

This in all news outlets today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39641122

I thought this comment in the report was somewhat confusing.

'Cycling is thought to be better than walking as the exercise is both longer and more intense.'

Surely it's only longer, if you cycle longer than you walk. If you cycle 3 miles and walk 3 miles, the walking exercise will be longer.

Also it's only more intense if you cycle intensely, but walking intensely would be more intense than cycling gently.


Sloppy journalism from the BBC in my opinion.

Sorry for the thread drift, as you were

 

[Mac_user82]

A friend of mine has just paid for his insurance £850 this is for one year and this without putting any fuel into the tank

This is before Servicing and MOT the car and for any breakages that
need maintaining

My bike cost me 3p to charge the battery up from flat which is nothing
compared to filling a fuel tank up.

Have you also added the expensive of parking your vehicle which is not cheap in this day and age a bike is a lot more cheaper to park


i can normally get about 1000 miles out of chain before it is stretched completely going by my kmc digital chain checker

A Cassette is good for 2000 miles without any problems the cassette would cost about £50 which is not bad for 2000 miles of usage

So to keep my bike in fine order for 2000 miles it would cost about

* Cassette £50 11-42
* Chain £20 "10 Speed"
* Front sprocket £8 "16 teeth
* Lock Ring £4 Bosch
* Rubber Ring £4 Bosch

£86 pounds is not bad for 2000 miles
£43 pounds is not bad for 1000 miles

A taxi would cost me £1.30 per mile i think i am on a cheap scheme using my bike then using a taxi everywhere.

i would much prefer to pay £86 or £43 pounds then a taxi fare all the time

 

[electric_avenue]

As I keep saying, you can't justify a more expensive bike by economics. You buy it because you want it.

Not just true of ebikes, but cars, TVs and all sorts of things. People buy stuff because they want it, then try to justify it. It's ok to just say I bought it because I wanted it.

 

[Mac_user82]

Not just true of ebikes, but cars, TVs and all sorts of things. People buy stuff because they want it, then try to justify it. It's ok to just say I bought it because I wanted it.

My bike gets me a wage it would be lot more expensive in a taxi

 

[IR772]

Bicycles are inexpensive, eBikes are not.

It's a choice.

But they are Bloody Fantastic, no matter what the cost.

 

[greyfox69]

I don't try to justify my bike to myself or work out a costing, I wanted it, I could afford it, and I was having it there was no question in my mind, the only doubt I had was which one I would choose.

 

[Mac_user82]

To be perfectly honest and truthful which ever method of transport you are using it going to cost something to get to the destination

 

[Danidl]

I am thinking of buying an ebike but the cost per mile looks quite pricey to me, so I'm not 100% sure yet.

I know it is possible to use a bike more often and for longer, but these are some overly cautious realistic projections for the bike's use:

Cost of bike 1500
4 days a week x, 45 weeks, for 2 years = 360 trips
miles per trip 10
cost per trip 4.17
cost per mile 0.42

This is about the same cost per mile, as my all in car cost, including maintenance and insurance.

I've varied the stats, and even if I were to extend usage to 3 years and bump up the milage, it is still about 25p. (though I'm in scotland so trying to be realistic here about usage. If you knock out a month or two for winter, the cost looks higher).

... Look to your assumptions. A bike getting 3600 miles per year should last indefinitely. Would need tyres every year, a chain every two or three years , that milage should allow maybe 4 years for battery as it only 100 fills. Motor probably 8 years . ... I know because as the song goes I was that soldier...

Bought one in 2007 for 1100euro and it now needs its third battery, . Used for daily commute for 4 to 5 years . Batteries were not so good back then. Repair shop Rebuilt backwheel due to spokes failing ,needed new chain and rear gears, replaced brake pads . But this is trivial costs for maintenance... Except for the battery.


Put in context a single car service probably covered the general maintenance over the total time and the replaced diesel injector the replacement of a battery pack.