EV cost to run vs e-bike
Discussion
I would imagine the difference in electric running costs to be quite large between these 2 methods of transport, but is there an easy way to get a rough figure for both?
I use my ebike to do my 40 mile round trip commute when the weather is good, and have a Seat Mii electric which is used when the weather is bad.
As I prefer cycling to driving to work, I might just get some waterproofs!
With energy prices going mental soon, would be good to quantify the difference :-)
I use my ebike to do my 40 mile round trip commute when the weather is good, and have a Seat Mii electric which is used when the weather is bad.
As I prefer cycling to driving to work, I might just get some waterproofs!
With energy prices going mental soon, would be good to quantify the difference :-)
Do you know a) the battery capacity of you e-bike, and b) how many miles you get out of a full charge?
With that, you can work out a rough miles/kWh, and compare that to an EV.
The price of the kWh is the same, it's just how many you get on the bike vs the EV which changes.
FWIW, 4miles /kWh is a rough "norm" for EVs.
With that, you can work out a rough miles/kWh, and compare that to an EV.
The price of the kWh is the same, it's just how many you get on the bike vs the EV which changes.
FWIW, 4miles /kWh is a rough "norm" for EVs.
I used one of these:
Went around the house and checked everything. Yes, I'm fun at parties.
I found some rogue appliances / computer gear which I changed for better performing alternatives.
With any of this stuff you also have to figure out if rectifying an energy usage problem is going to cost you more than paying for the energy usage. So where I've changed things I've made sure any outlay would be no more than 2 or 3 months of keeping the old appliance.
For your electric car and your electric bike both of these would've cost a fortune to purchase so you're not really saving anything over rail travel or conventional fuels because of what you've had to shell out for the electric propulsion.
I also have an eBike but I built it from parts I ordered from Cyclotricity which cost me around £600. I used it to travel into London for about 3 years so that was a cost saving compared with using the train.
Went around the house and checked everything. Yes, I'm fun at parties.
I found some rogue appliances / computer gear which I changed for better performing alternatives.
With any of this stuff you also have to figure out if rectifying an energy usage problem is going to cost you more than paying for the energy usage. So where I've changed things I've made sure any outlay would be no more than 2 or 3 months of keeping the old appliance.
For your electric car and your electric bike both of these would've cost a fortune to purchase so you're not really saving anything over rail travel or conventional fuels because of what you've had to shell out for the electric propulsion.
I also have an eBike but I built it from parts I ordered from Cyclotricity which cost me around £600. I used it to travel into London for about 3 years so that was a cost saving compared with using the train.
well, my heavy mountain bike ebike might use a 400Wh battery, and it'll do about 30 miles - so thats 75 miles per KWh. so the ebike is 18 times cheaper to run, mile for mile, than a car.
i'd imagine a road ebike could easily do 60 miles on a 400Wh battery, which means its 36 times cheaper than a car...
i'd imagine a road ebike could easily do 60 miles on a 400Wh battery, which means its 36 times cheaper than a car...
I use both the eBike and EV for commuting, the eBike beats the EV in just about every way, more fun, more 'engagement', some Zone 2 cardio, never get stuck in traffic, never worry about parking.
Interms of energy usage, charging the eBike after losses works out at roughly 0.09p per mile using Octopus Go rate. The EV is roughly 1.6 per mile on current Go rates, so as someone mentioned already around 20 times cheaper on fuel.
HOWEVER amazingly the eBike is actually more expensive to maintain, I've gone through one new rear wheel, one set of tires (due to punctures) at £100, one set of brake pads in roughly 3500 miles. The chain will need changing soon, and brakes needs bleeding, where as the EV manages 25K miles on tires and 50K on brake pads.
Then there is all the cycling 'gear', in the last 12 months I've bought a rear rack, panniers, new summer gillet, had to buy some new front lights after I fell off on ice last winter and broke previous set. Also had to buy x2 new D-locks for work, water bottle, 2nd battery, and now am getting tempted by wireless shifting. It's far too easy to spend £££ on the bike
.
So if you are after the 'cheapest' total running costs for commuting am not sure the eBike is any cheaper than a cheap EV. However as you say, pedal bikes are just much better commuting tools. Even though my commuter EV has a massive panoramic windscreen, the pedal bike wins every time for the view.
Interms of energy usage, charging the eBike after losses works out at roughly 0.09p per mile using Octopus Go rate. The EV is roughly 1.6 per mile on current Go rates, so as someone mentioned already around 20 times cheaper on fuel.
HOWEVER amazingly the eBike is actually more expensive to maintain, I've gone through one new rear wheel, one set of tires (due to punctures) at £100, one set of brake pads in roughly 3500 miles. The chain will need changing soon, and brakes needs bleeding, where as the EV manages 25K miles on tires and 50K on brake pads.
Then there is all the cycling 'gear', in the last 12 months I've bought a rear rack, panniers, new summer gillet, had to buy some new front lights after I fell off on ice last winter and broke previous set. Also had to buy x2 new D-locks for work, water bottle, 2nd battery, and now am getting tempted by wireless shifting. It's far too easy to spend £££ on the bike
.So if you are after the 'cheapest' total running costs for commuting am not sure the eBike is any cheaper than a cheap EV. However as you say, pedal bikes are just much better commuting tools. Even though my commuter EV has a massive panoramic windscreen, the pedal bike wins every time for the view.
Edited by gangzoom on Wednesday 10th August 18:37
gangzoom said:
HOWEVER amazingly the eBike is actually more expensive to maintain, I've gone through one new rear wheel, one set of tires (due to punctures) at £100, one set of brake pads in roughly 3500 miles. The chain will need changing soon, and brakes needs bleeding, where as the EV manages 25K miles on tires and 50K on brake pads.
This is a big part of what my mate is finding that has done a few thousand miles on his quite quickly. Parts and general consumables quickly add up. That's on top of the wear and tear on clothing too.Edited by gangzoom on Wednesday 10th August 18:37
Initially after building my bike I found the standard tyres and innertubes couldn't cope with the extra weight and I had a few punctures. But worked out solutions to all of that after not too long. One part of it was taping the inside of the wheel where the spokes join inside the rim. It was supplied without tape which is uncommon for wheels on normal bikes but I guess if you're building an eBike you're supposed to know a wheel without tape is going to burst the innertube. Used to use brake pads quite frequently and also wore out the rear cassette. Overall though I was still saving money compared with rail tickets and that was the plan.
BMW I3S 20 mile commute each way typical summer 7 kWh typical winter 10 kWh
Giant Stance E+2 same journey but off road and I'm lazy so full assist 850 Wh.
If I peddle hard and use assist for hills only then 550Wh. I only ride in good weather.
And I agree with Gangzoom, the ebike is much more expensive to maintain.
Giant Stance E+2 same journey but off road and I'm lazy so full assist 850 Wh.
If I peddle hard and use assist for hills only then 550Wh. I only ride in good weather.
And I agree with Gangzoom, the ebike is much more expensive to maintain.
Edited by GT6k on Wednesday 10th August 20:51
Ofcourse the other very unpredictable 'cost' of commuting on any pedal bike is far higher than anything to do energy bills.
Various cycling groups post up regular news such as below, you cannot live life under a rock and we all die one day of something, but any sane person would recognise the advantages of been in any car vs pedal bike if involved in a RTA.
These kind of posts do usually mean I go back to the EV for commuting till I put my head in the sand again........Based on pure logic and costs, forget the eBike for commuting, using the EV is by far the most sensible thing do.
https://www.largsandmillportnews.com/news/20615098...
Various cycling groups post up regular news such as below, you cannot live life under a rock and we all die one day of something, but any sane person would recognise the advantages of been in any car vs pedal bike if involved in a RTA.
These kind of posts do usually mean I go back to the EV for commuting till I put my head in the sand again........Based on pure logic and costs, forget the eBike for commuting, using the EV is by far the most sensible thing do.
https://www.largsandmillportnews.com/news/20615098...
I'm thinking about doing this, I don't need to ride on any major roads on my 9-mile ride to the office, it can nearly all be done across country.
How much effort do you need to put in to peddle these? I know you can't just use it like a motorbike. We don't have a shower at work and I don't want to turn up like I've just got out of the shower.
It would have to be an MTB, maybe something like a Giant Reign E+ or Trance X E+
How much effort do you need to put in to peddle these? I know you can't just use it like a motorbike. We don't have a shower at work and I don't want to turn up like I've just got out of the shower.
It would have to be an MTB, maybe something like a Giant Reign E+ or Trance X E+
On a full fat MTB (as opposed to less powerful “lightweight” models) you could leave it on max power for 9 miles and do pretty much no work yourself. Or set it up so it feels like a normal bike on low power if you want the exercise on the way home.
Edited by benny.c on Thursday 11th August 08:56
TheRainMaker said:
I'm thinking about doing this, I don't need to ride on any major roads on my 9-mile ride to the office, it can nearly all be done across country.
How much effort do you need to put in to peddle these? I know you can't just use it like a motorbike. We don't have a shower at work and I don't want to turn up like I've just got out of the shower.
It would have to be an MTB, maybe something like a Giant Reign E+ or Trance X E+
I've got a Giant E+1 Pro road bike - I can ride it gently and get to work sweat-free, or go nuts and be a sweaty mess when I arrive. The difference between the 2 efforts on my route would only be 8 minutes or so. My route is 40 miles round trip, fairly hilly at times - the real benefit I find with these is the slight inclines that you feel on a normal bike just dont exist on these e-bikes - steep hills are still an effort but much better than under your own steam.How much effort do you need to put in to peddle these? I know you can't just use it like a motorbike. We don't have a shower at work and I don't want to turn up like I've just got out of the shower.
It would have to be an MTB, maybe something like a Giant Reign E+ or Trance X E+
Mine's quite a powerful one though, I used to ride a Canyon with a Fazua motor and that was much more of a work out generally.
TheRainMaker said:
How much effort do you need to put in to peddle these? I know you can't just use it like a motorbike.
How long is a bit of string? My eBike has a relative small 250Wh battery, with the motor providing 300watts peak. However on Max support, on the flat it really isn't far off sitting on the sofa level of effort to cruise along at the legal 15.5mph cut off. Up hill is makes a massive difference to effort. Turn the assistance level down and its a different matter, you really feel the weight of the bike.
Objective numbers is probably the best way to show it:
This is a recent ride home, where I was putting in a OK amount of effort (I don't mind getting abit sweaty) on the way home, the numbers says its all really. Nearly 20mph average speed, but Zone 2 HR, the Strava estimated power levels are way off due to eBike bit.
In contrast to that, on the stationary bike, a PZ 2-3 work out, with my HR in Zone 3-4 leavers me in a sweaty mess, and on an actual road bike trying to hit 20mph average speed my HR figures would be much higher at an average of 170bpm.
Just a reminder, this is what my commuter eBike looks like, 20kg fully loaded, about as 'aero' as a brick, has one of the smallest eBike motor+battery combinations around. Yet in town, gets me from A to B faster than the car, with far less hassle....
....but the risk to life/limb is very much higher than in any car, and though absolute chances of it happening is very low, for most of us, we only get one chance to experience cardiac arrest especially in an out of hospital setting. Given just how chaotic even predictable cardiac arrests are to manage, I personally don't fancy been on the receiving end of a 222 call just yet. So took the car in today, for the same amount of energy used by the car to cover 2 miles, the eBike would have done 40-60 miles. Might get back on the eBike next week, once the thought of been road kill fades abit in the mind
.
Edited by gangzoom on Thursday 11th August 09:43
TheRainMaker said:
I'm thinking about doing this, I don't need to ride on any major roads on my 9-mile ride to the office, it can nearly all be done across country.
How much effort do you need to put in to peddle these? I know you can't just use it like a motorbike. We don't have a shower at work and I don't want to turn up like I've just got out of the shower.
It would have to be an MTB, maybe something like a Giant Reign E+ or Trance X E+
That kind of mileage I would not think twice about using an eBike. But, I am afraid to say unless planning on MB'ing, I would not buy a MTB for the commute. How much effort do you need to put in to peddle these? I know you can't just use it like a motorbike. We don't have a shower at work and I don't want to turn up like I've just got out of the shower.
It would have to be an MTB, maybe something like a Giant Reign E+ or Trance X E+
A less cool option would be the right option - and I was saying with friends the other day
Integrated lights for safety, back pannier for the occasional bag- saves having a sweaty back from a rucsac, and importantly rolling tyres.
s above, work as hard as you like to get there (or as little)
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