What is the maximum price you would spend on an electric bike?

[timidtom]

We paid about £1600 for two JuicyBikes. They are reliable (much more reliable than the family Ford Focus!)
They are comfortable and they do perfectly what we wanted them to do - local shopping trips, visits to pubs and cafes. They're good for 20+ miles ... they won't break any speed limits, I've no idea how they would cope with rough off-road stuff and they don't fold up an fit in my coat pocket. We have excellent after-sales service.
We could, perhaps, have paid more and fared worse. We could possibly have paid less and done as well. Who knows? It's a mystery ...
Bappy Hiking.
Tom
NB - they don't have heated seating and it was cold out today. Look into it, Bob, will you? There's a good chap (grabs coat and runs ...)

 

[bode]

I know that there are decent bike shops out there. It's just that I've never been in one for over 20 years.

I do so agree. If I may just repeat what I said in a post last June:

LBS strikes again
Having just passed the 2000-mile mark, I booked my bike into the nearest bike shop to have the brakes serviced. OK, I could have (and subsequently did) sort them out myself, but I thought I'd pay someone else to make all the fiddly little adjustments. I had some misgivings when the guy in the shop said, "Where d'you get that, then? Ain't English is it?", and sucked his teeth when I said no, because virtually all electric bikes are made in China. (Not to mention, which I didn't, a large proportion of non-electric models including most of what he was selling in his shop.)

When I went to collect the bike, I was told that "there's a problem, mate" and he pointed out that one of my rear spokes was adrift, since the bit of the hub motor flange to which it connects had actually broken away. I had not noticed this and have no idea how it happened; going over a particularly large bump? I asked if the wheel was out of true and was told no, but "it could go at any time". I asked if they had at least done the front brake, to which the answer was "I ain't going on that; could be dangerous". So, I asked, can you do nothing to help? "No, mate."

Great service of the kind that many of us have come to expect from our LBS. (This was in Hertfordshire; I must say that I have had better luck on two previous occasions in bike shops in Bath).

 

[Kudoscycles]

Flecc>'I think a shift in the overall market may be happening now, but not one that suits LBS stocks, support and sales'. Please enlarge on this statement I value your opinions on which direction is this shift?
....it is just about possible to supply a quality bike through the lbs,giving them a fair margin and enough left for the importer,but it is tight. I am holding over $25,000 spares to support the Kudos range and still get caught out occasionally-some customers manage to break the strangest of parts!
Andrew,Oxygen....some of these internet traders must have very broad shoulders I just could not run my business with the amount of grief they must get from unhappy customers! But maybe there is an attitude that they paid so little for the bike that customer expectations are very low.
Dave
KudosCycles

 

[Morgann]

I paid £1895 for my ProConnect and, if I had known it was in the pipeline
(are you listening 50Cycles?!)
I would have dug deep for the new Sahel which is about 3.5k.

I would still do that now if there was some way to trade the ProCo in because the Sahel makes me drool.
So for me it's about the product quality not, within reason, the price.

Buy cheap, buy twice is, I think, the overused cliche that fits here

 

[Oxygen Bicycles]

But maybe there is an attitude that they paid so little for the bike that customer expectations are very low.
Dave
KudosCycles

Dave, no matter how much you pay for the bike. Even with cheap £500 you would probably get really pissed off if the bike failed within few days/weeks and turns out to be un-repairable just because the trader has gone bust or tells you ''Ain't got spares mate''

I also suppose one of the reasons why cheap online traders pack their bags is that once they realize what kind of bog they have stepped in it's better for them to get out before they really get bogged down for good. Usually ends up with ebay clearance for £400 and they are out

Andrew

 

[flecc]

Flecc>'I think a shift in the overall market may be happening now, but not one that suits LBS stocks, support and sales'. Please enlarge on this statement I value your opinions on which direction is this shift?

I see the tighter economy since early 2008 and it's effect on people's purchasing having a physical effect on e-bike pricing now. There's been a number of past attempts at marketing quite good e-bikes at very low prices which have failed, Synergie and Sustain for example, the former disappearing into Alien with twice Synergie pricing. Powacycle with the £499 Salisbury Windsor models had to increase them by steps to £780 now, and also introduce some dearer models.

At the same time that we've seen the drift upwards of the premium end into the near £2000 and more area, it's now countered by the appearance of a range of bikes in the sub £1000 zone from those mentioned, like Juicy, Kudos, eZee etc. Even the crank drive Tonaros have threatened that pricing zone, unusual for a crank drive. Since these are colliding with the now higher prices for Powacycle, Alien etc, the market seems to be condensing into two zones, the circa £1000 viable and survivable one which will take most of the business to be had, and a premium one for the high end crank drives and hub motored bikes. Those upper end products will have to offer something special and/or have expert marketing with top grade support and maybe good dealer backup to continue to succeed.

 

[neptune]

I would say that there are two factors that determine what one would pay for an electric bike . The first one is what exactly you want it for , and the second is how much money you have . I wanted a bike purely as a toy . Others may buy it to save the cost of running a car . There is a big difference . If you are getting rid of the car , and have plenty of money , the two or three thousand pounds may in the long term represent the best value for money . But best value deals are not available to those with limited funds . Not so long ago , when I ran a business , I could , and did sometimes spend a couple of grand on a motorcycle as a toy . Those days are gone as ill health mea#nt the end of my business and my driving . I had to think long and hard before spending less than £100 on a second hand electric bike , but I reckon I will still get my fun out of it . Its all about horses for courses .

 

[JuicyBike]

We' ve moved towards providing a range of upgrade options, to provide a bike tailored to the individual across the price point of £1,000. Our standard bikes are well below and fully loaded are £1,400 plus. That's our response to getting the customer best value.

 

[mike killay]

Although fairly able at bike repairs, I was uncertain when it came to electricity. Even a friend who is an elecrician balked at the electronics and pointed out that ideally, an e-bike mechanic needs mechanics, electrics and electronics in his training.
I was impressed by certain web site for a bike shop far away, they had the bike I wanted and so I paid about £1100 plus carriage.
I had one minor problem with the chain guard and a better quality replacement was sent without delay. The charger stopped operating and a new charger was sent.
Service like this gives confidence and I would happily pay more for my next bike, which I am going to get from the same shop.
The bike itself is solid and well built. The only weak points were the saddle, a real crotch cruncher and the brakes which although adequate, can be improved upon.
Not mentioned so far is the after market of add ons, replacements, new handlebars etc. to make the bike what you really want. I know most people buy a bike and use it as it is, but just as with cars, some of us like to customuse the things!

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I can remember in the '70s/'80s: When you bought a new car, it had all sorts of defects, so you made a big list, and handed it to the garage when you took it in for it's 500 mile service. If they fixed all the things on the list you'd call it good service. Now, when you buy a new car, you don't take it back until 10,000 miles later. That's what I call good service. The most important part of good service is making sure that the customer won't have any problems, but that takes a lot of effort right through the supply chain. Some suppliers of ebikes already have this idea - and it's not necessarily the expensive ones.

For me, about £1000 is as much as I'd want to pay for an electric bike. After that, it's cheaper to get a moped. I'm lucky because I can do it myself to get a well-specified bike quite cheaply. However, I've ridden loads of electric bikes at all prices and I've never noticed that much difference between them. The only one I couldn't get on with was the old Panasonic drive. The only one which was noticeably better was the Haibike XD, but it was only about 30% better than those costing less than £1000. For some people, it's important that the thing they buy is expensive, for others, like me, it's important to spend as little as possible.
When I went on the 50mile Presteigne ride, which had a lot of steep hills, my £600 Chinese bike managed the hills just the same as the rest: i was still comfortable when I finished. Some of the quite expensive bikes fell by the wayside along the way. I think the Daum was the most expensive bike there, but the guy wouldn't have enjoyed the ride any more (if as much) as me (AFAIK).

 

[mike killay]

Electric motors have been around for a century or more and are well understood. So, unlike the early days of motor cycles, our engines are highly developed and should be much of a sameness regardless of manufacture.
Likewise, cycle manufacture is well understood, and although the move to alloy frames did not come without its troubles, all the working parts are of a reasonable quality, even the cheap ones.
It is the electronics and batteries that are new and here is where the variations are to be found.
To me, it seems that you either have mechanical control (throttle, pedelec) and vary the amount of power yourself or you have automatic matching of power input varying on how hard you pedal which some people like but others detest (and in fact seems to be pointless on a machine designed to help the flagging cyclist!)

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Electric motors have been around for a century or more and are well understood. So, unlike the early days of motor cycles, our engines are highly developed and should be much of a sameness regardless of manufacture.

Should be, but have a look at this video of the 9 continent factory (approx 6 mins onwards). In China, it's like going back to the '70s, where they rely on the individual skills of the workers to make the parts right when they're all going flat out on piece-work rates. If I remember, there's also a shot of the rework room, where all the motors that didn't work right are repaired. There's piles of them! I can remember working in factories like that.
E-Bike Family (Part I) Sec 2: The Ninth Continent - YouTube

 

[flecc]

To me, it seems that you either have mechanical control (throttle, pedelec) and vary the amount of power yourself or you have automatic matching of power input varying on how hard you pedal which some people like but others detest (and in fact seems to be pointless on a machine designed to help the flagging cyclist!)

Depends on the philosophy. If it's wanted to retain the e-assist bike as a bicycle, then the applied torque system is right, since it merely supplements the muscle power with an added percentage but keeps performance relative to personal ability. If it's purely to give proportional help on selective occasions like hills and headwinds, then rider control is best.

 

[danfoto]

Depends on the philosophy. If it's wanted to retain the e-assist bike as a bicycle, then the applied torque system is right, since it merely supplements the muscle power with an added percentage but keeps performance relative to personal ability. If it's purely to give proportional help on selective occasions like hills and headwinds, then rider control is best.

Or to put it how we decided the choice amounted to - if you don't need the exercise, rider control. If you do, applied torque. I don't mind being an old git, but I really don't want to be a fat old git

 

[Eaglerider]

I have an E-Bike for non essential use, its just for fun. Its always difficult to put a realistic value on such toys because its hard to put a price on 'fun'. These days, I spend very little on my car, because it's a utilitarian requirement, necessary and boring, but I'm happy to spend a whole lot more on decent toys that I can have serious fun with.

I guess I would set a reasonable ceiling of £1,500 for an E-Bike. It would have to be something very special to spend £2000 plus.

From a marketing perspective, perhaps more providers should look at the BMW sales model. Offer the basic bike with basic stuff at under £1000. the remainder could be made up from higher margin additions like, big batteries, higher quality chainset/brakes, snappy paintjobs. The problem is that until the ab-initio e biker has realised how much fun they are, he may not perceive value in the prices. It's bums on seats again.

Perhaps there could be a bike that you buy cheap to get going. If the bug bites, then, as with motorcyclists and the like, they will be hanging around the bike shop, investing in accessories and upgrades for years to come.

I think the support from a shop or supplier is very important, and I would certainly value that highly. Personally, I did consider the Cyclamatic, but with my luck I would have had problems and probably packed it all in by now.

 

[Cyclezee]

Hi Eaglerider,

You could almost be talking about our eZee Sprint Primo, it is quality bike with basic but adequte equipment for most people and a £750 price tag.
For someone that wants more, there is the option of upgrading the battery to 10, 14, 21 or even a massive 35Ah if a dual battery setup is required. Other componets can also be upgraded.

 

[david1949]

If i was to do it over again i could say hand on heart that if i got good local dealer support a light weight bike + good hill climbing ability i would be willing to spend up to £2.500. The one thing i do not like about E bikes is the weight try lifting a 26Kg on and off a train .

 

[Cyclezee]

In that case David a lightweight non powered bike and a conversion kit might have been a good option for you.
With a budget of £2,500, you could have had something really special.

 

[eddieo]

If i was to do it over again i could say hand on heart that if i got good local dealer support a light weight bike + good hill climbing ability i would be willing to spend up to £2.500. The one thing i do not like about E bikes is the weight try lifting a 26Kg on and off a train .

Yep you dont get much even for around the £1500 mark these days, unless its an end of year discount.

a £500 banger of a car will get you from A to B but a BMW will be a nicer drive. IMO a decent push bike starts over £1000. We had a few £1500 e bikes and the differnce between these and spending £2000 is a vast improvement.

I must say the inverted snobbery you came across on here is laughable...with heavy old low tech chinese junk being held up as remarkable bikes! lol

 

[david1949]

In that case David a lightweight non powered bike and a conversion kit might have been a good option for you.
With a budget of £2,500, you could have had something really special.

Yes i found out about that after i bought my E Bike.