Hobby or Money Saver?

Sunder

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Joined
Sep 6, 2011
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Location
Sydney, Australia
I know this topic has been discussed before, but since I just got a $25 "cash-back" voucher in the mail this morning, I thought I'd bring it up.

The cash-back voucher was for a bike store that gives you back $25 for every $500 you spend in each financial year. It kinda surprised me, because I didn't think I had spent that much on them. A quick search of my credit card account says I spent $800 there.

Add to that batteries, spare motors, electronic bits and pieces, and time poured into each one of these, and I'm wondering how much money I've actually saved. For me, the answer is reasonably clear. If I didn't have the bike, we would need a second car, so while there's no way I would have saved $1000+ in petrol(gas), I'd say saving just on insurance and registration, I'd have saved over $1000.

Really, though, I think for the majority of us, we could actually be spending money on a hobby with the mental justification that it's saving us money.
 
For those that would otherwise need another car, it could be saving them as much as $5000 per year depending on their driving record and taste in cars.
 
I have an RV that I use for the winter months in Florida, and Houseboat for the summer, so the scooter is my "vehicle" that I use for errands which always seem to be with 5-8 mile radius.

Saves me buying, insuring, fueling, and maintaining a car, etc… must be @ 4-5k a year.
 
Great question.

I drive my 2000 E-150 van like twice a month to go interstate and visit my mother. Otherwise all trips are on foot (right) or the e-bike.

So when the transmission developed a problem which was $500 to repair I caught myself thinking "is it worth it? What a waste!". The same week I dropped $500 on bike parts, and all I could think was "I need these parts! When will they arrive? I should have sprung for express shipping!"

For me it's an expensive hobby, that keeps me from having to buy a new automobile which will have a note of at least $400 a month, plus fuel and maintenance.
 
because I build and maintain my trikes, it's both a hobby and money-saving.
and fun
 
I'm at 250 miles and fully aware that I have recuperated 10% of the projects cost through fuel savings. I hope to break even and then it will be a rewarding hobby :)
 
I agree partially, however it is nice to have a hobby that actually does save money... ie on weeks I ride to work I sure notice the $80 savings in petrol for that week.. overall however after over 3000km I may / may not have recouped the cost of the bike.. For some who ride 15000km or more on their ebikes it is certainly a money saver.
 
not sure really, I have a lifted f-350 diesel I HAVE to drive, gets 16 MPG,20 on highway.

Thats with 37" tires, programmer ect.

Hard to beat a maintenance free diesel, but everytime I fill up the HUGE TANK with pricey diesel..i cry.
 
Seems like put the way I did, I'm getting out the few people who are admitting that while it does save money it's more of a hobby :)

Glad to know I'm not the only one then. I do tend to have a habit of building something, wanting to do it better, being happy with it for a while, then wanting to go better again. My 40km/h stealth Q100 satisfied me for a few months, now I'm looking at ways to get it to go 50km/h.
 
I love my ebike with all my heart but right now it's still listed as a hobby in my budget. As soon as it's fully operational it will be moved to the money saver side of the chart. Just a couple more weeks...
 
Both
 
It was a money saver at first until I started doing upgrades to go faster. Then the savings went out the window. :lol:
 
Sunder said:
Seems like put the way I did, I'm getting out the few people who are admitting that while it does save money it's more of a hobby :)
Between my two e-bikes, seems one is always down for maintenance.

But, with a pedal-only bike, an express bus and a perfectly adequate automobile as alternatives I still can count only two times I didn't ride an e-bike to work in the last year (both times I took the bus, and regretted both trips profoundly!)

Seems I'd rather ride an e-bike with broken brakes than take a bus, or drive, or pedal the whole way. Go figure.

I call e-biking a "high consequence hobby". If my hobby was flying electric RC helos, I could leave my hobby in pieces Sunday night thinking "I'll git 'er fixed up next Saturday morn'". With the bike, I'm like: "shit it's 11:00pm... OK, I can get this bit*h running by midnight so I can ride to work in the morning!" Of all the late night Sunday fixit sessions, I tunr to Google for wrench-turning advice, not the morning bus schedule. :wink:
 
I think the people replying "both" (myself included) have the best answer. After my initial costs including motor, battery and tooling (quite significant), I would be hard pressed to spend the amount of money for gas and insurance that would be required for even a modest non-sport motorcycle in a month. I plugged a kill-a-watt into my charger and found it costs 17 cents to charge my 20 amp hour battery at the highest price grade on my bill. That 17 cents will transport me over 35 miles at 800 miles per gallon equivalent. I'm in the early building stage now so the hobby aspect is strong. Once I've got things to my liking the hobby aspect will diminish and pure transportation benefits will prevail. Another advantage is knowing that I could fix anything on the bike myself for fractions of a mechanic's diagnostic fee. You can also forget the annual registration and biennial smog testing fees which are now obsolete.

I think if someone is really putting miles on their ebike, even a hard-core hobbyist is going to save money over time.
 
kifukarider said:
even a hard-core hobbyist is going to save money over time.

I guess that I'm a hard-core hobbyist! lol

I started with off the shelf parts and built a AC motor with VFD (variable frequency drive) and two AGM 12v batteries for a pusher trailer.
Then went to Two Catrikes with Bionx :) Me and wife enjoy the extended range that an ebike gives you, and makes hills flat! :)
and of course I had to do another ebike.....High Voltage with a 9C2810 = happy happy happy at 128v nominal.
But now the madness has turned into the Lawn Tractor being Electrified! Just finished it yesterday! :)

Lawn Tractor Topic:

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=50784

Will the madness end? I hope not! :twisted:
I can't wait to Electrify a Car :)

Tommy L sends....
mosh.gif
 
Lebowski said:
hobby pure and simple.

I guess if you factor in battery cost, there's no real savings w.r.t. a 125cc gas scooter.
But the hours of fun I've had, best value for money ever !

In MEXICO you can ride a 125cc without insurance/license.

Here in Canada, you have to pay insurance and license, fuel is 1.25 Cdn dollars per litre of gas.
0.03 cents per kilometer or 0.05 cents a mile, plus factor in oil change, maintenance, insurance and license.
Insurance for an older drive 50 years old is approx 300.00 per year (0.82 cents per day)

So keeping up with your batteries would be about the same. :) But you are a cool person if you ride Electric! :twisted:

Tommy L sends.....
mosh.gif
 
Riding 100 miles a week or so definitely saves on hospital bills so I guess it is actually a "medical expense" too bad IRS wouldn't see it that way.
otherDoc
 
Not only are ebikes a Hobby and a money saver, they are kinder to the planet - less mass to move means less energy used, and cleaner energy to boot.
 
Started as a money saver, and did save me about $4000. I put off replacing an old car for 5 years. But then the hobby took over. Soon to be back to money saver, since I can't work anymore. The new car better be the last car.
 
A Pure hobby for me.. The curiosity of trying many new device availlable or high power addiction make the money saved in petrol to become negligible.


I've discovered that forum when there was only about 260 members and ont it's over 18000 and over the last years i have spent more money than i never have spent on all my previous hobby ( laser show , car audio, diy hifi loudspeakers, electronic..)

But the time, money spent and great community knowledge share became a passion for me.

That's priceless!

Doc
 
For me it is a total hobby at least for now. Also think it is great way to stay active in what is happening on the controller, battery, and alternative energy /transport trends. Plus, it has been good to take up new challenging things with my advancing age, keeping the cob webs from getting hold while having fun riding and testing out ideas.
 
There's no question for me the ebike has been a big money saver since I've sold my car and no longer pay for insurance, gas, repairs, oil changes etc. At the same time it's also a hobby for me and I enjoy tinkering around and upgrading which can get expensive. So for me it's both a hobby and especially a money saver.
 
GSteg said:
It was a money saver at first until I started doing upgrades to go faster. Then the savings went out the window. :lol:

Exactly what I was going to write.

I just see it as a hobby now that pays for itself, in time. If the weather was more predictable I wouldn't hesitate in selling the car.
 
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