1st season on an ebike, 1000km summary.

[jag]

In March last spring I bought a 9C kit for my birthday. Got it built up on a Stumpjumper frame by April, see build thread http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9549

I have ridden it 800-1000km so far. I won't quit riding just because it's getting nippy, but I've been putting very few km on it lately, so I thought it might be time to summarize the first season.
Initial outlay (In Canadian $)):
$500 9C 7x9 motor, 72V30A controller, Cycle analyst, misc parts
$500 72V 8Ah NiCd batteries (2x36V) + chargers
$75 bike (+ sweat to rebuild bike and assemble eBike parts)

Maintenance and running costs:
Bike + motor neglible??
Batteries: $15-20 depreciation based on (an optimistic) 1000 cycles *6Ah cycle depth = 6000Ah, and 200Ah used so far. (I somehow accidentally reset CA, but I saw just over 200Ah before.)
Electricity cost: $1:30

Savings compared to driving our car (Pontiac Vibe 6-8l/100km)
$60 Gas
$150 Depreciation and repairs

So with my very limited usage (live centrally, walk to school, most errands on bike 5-10km) it looks like it will take some 5 years to recover my initial investment.

Notes:
Had I been an average suburbanite, who drives maybe 10,000 km in a summer season, I would of course have recovered my investment and more in just one season.

The biggest bummer is that while now only my wife is driving the car, and about 1/2 the total distance this does absolutely nothing to our auto insurance, which costs $1000/year. Had I been able to save half of the car insurance, the bike would have paid back in less than two years. What is missing is a "pay per use" insurance. I've argued with the insurance agent twice, but they don't get it. I've emailed the elected rep etc... still waiting.

Car costs are my personal estimates doing all maintenance and repairs myself on a relatively cheap used car. Using an average persons car costs of 50 cents/km I would have saved more. On the other hand, if I had been that type of person I would not have built my ebike myself either.

 

[deardancer3]

If you look at your independance and life style, you are operating mainly as a two car family with a one car family expense. So use the ebike and sell that second car and pocket the difference. Oh wait, you already have done this.

It is doubtful you spend much time at the gym on a treadmill or stationary bike. Also include your copay for blood pressure and diabetes medicine. Oh wait, you probably dont have to take that medicine 'cause your ride a bike.

(Me from a family of 7, only one without diabetes, only one riding a bike).

d

 

[spinningmagnets]

You can easily double the life of your car by moving closer to your job, and riding a serious $1500+ E-bike as often as is possible (weather permitting). Car repairs will then take twice as long to occur (so wear/repair costs are more spread out).

Anything that needs to be repaired on an E-bike can be learned, so that you can do it yourself. Worn out car automatic transmission? $1500-$2500, and likely to take two weeks.

 

[dogman dan]

Your attitude and goals are exactly like mine. I hit the break even point at about 3000 miles even after some burnt up motors and such in the beginning.

I wasn't aware you could get 1000 cycles out of nicads though, but since you don't discharge 100% you might get close to that. 72v nicad on a 9c motor sounds like a good cheap way to get pretty good performance, I might have to buy some more nicads and a bigger controller and try it.

 

[MrRoboto]

What is missing is a "pay per use" insurance. I've argued with the insurance agent twice, but they don't get it. I've emailed the elected rep etc... still waiting.

I don't know if it's available in your area, but I was talking to my insurance company, (TD) and they have just such a program available. The agent told me that for an annual cost of ~$50 I could "turn on/off" my insurance at will, as many times as desired for a period as small as one day, paying my annual rate divided by 365 for each desired day. I intend to use this program next summer. Not only will it save me money, I expect it will get me on the bike on those days when I'm leaning towards the car as I would avoid the hassle of calling in to re activate.

 

[julesa]

Your attitude and goals are exactly like mine. I hit the break even point at about 3000 miles even after some burnt up motors and such in the beginning.

I wasn't aware you could get 1000 cycles out of nicads though, but since you don't discharge 100% you might get close to that. 72v nicad on a 9c motor sounds like a good cheap way to get pretty good performance, I might have to buy some more nicads and a bigger controller and try it.

You can get 1000+ cycles out of them if you use them regularly and take care of them. They don't like sitting on a shelf.

 

[jag]

What is missing is a "pay per use" insurance. I've argued with the insurance agent twice, but they don't get it. I've emailed the elected rep etc... still waiting.

I don't know if it's available in your area, but I was talking to my insurance company, (TD) and they have just such a program available. The agent told me that for an annual cost of ~$50 I could "turn on/off" my insurance at will, as many times as desired for a period as small as one day, paying my annual rate divided by 365 for each desired day. I intend to use this program next summer. Not only will it save me money, I expect it will get me on the bike on those days when I'm leaning towards the car as I would avoid the hassle of calling in to re activate.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to call TD and ask. (I was able to get a quote on the web, but there was no mention about the pay-per-day option.)

I'm not sure if I can convince the wife to call in each day she wants to drive. Would be better if an automatic sensor was used. However
it is good news that one company in Canada starts offering actual usage based options. The others will hopefully feel the pressure to come up with competing and more convenient ways of doing it.

Looks like in the US there are already some pilot programs:
http://newcarbuyingguide.com/index.php/news/main/5800/event=view

Testing the waters. Currently there are two pilot programs underway in the United States. One program is through OnStar, who has joined with a national insurance company to offer a mileage discount program. Offered exclusively to motorists who own GM vehicles equipped with OnStar, this program will provide owners with the opportunity to earn an extra discount based on the miles they've driven. GM motorists have the potential to receive up to a 40% discount and save hundreds of dollars annually. Discounts are given to motorists who have driven less than 15,000 miles per year - the lower the vehicle mileage, the more significant the discount. Presently the program is only available in Arizona, Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

The other program, being offered in Minnesota, is designed for drivers that own a 1996 model year or older. This test study uses a matchbox-sized electronic device that is plugged into the owner's onboard diagnostics (ODBII) port. Once set up, the sensor detects how much, how fast and when the vehicle is in use. From there, the information is used to calculate the customers discount. This free, voluntary program can potentially save participants up to 25% on their car insurance�a considerable discount when you are trying to conserve funds.

http://www.sacbee.com/politics/story/2300940.html

A pay-as-you-drive study last year by the Brookings Institution, a public policy research group, concluded that driving would drop by 8 percent nationwide – and oil consumption by 4 percent – if all motorists paid for car insurance by the mile.

Two-thirds of U.S. households would save money – averaging $270 per car – under pay-as-you-drive policies, which routinely would be adjusted for rural vs. urban driving, the Brookings study concluded

 

[swbluto]

What is missing is a "pay per use" insurance. I've argued with the insurance agent twice, but they don't get it. I've emailed the elected rep etc... still waiting.

I don't know if it's available in your area, but I was talking to my insurance company, (TD) and they have just such a program available. The agent told me that for an annual cost of ~$50 I could "turn on/off" my insurance at will, as many times as desired for a period as small as one day, paying my annual rate divided by 365 for each desired day. I intend to use this program next summer. Not only will it save me money, I expect it will get me on the bike on those days when I'm leaning towards the car as I would avoid the hassle of calling in to re activate.

I wish they had this kind of program in the United States. Now, I do think that the "turning on/off" procedure needs to be a little more automatic and convenient than calling, but it'd definitely be better than the weak offerings they have in the United States (Oooooo... upto a 25% discount by reducing my driving by 98%! That sounds fairly commensurate. ). It's a shame what kind of stronghold the insurance industry has on the US's insurance laws.