Electric bikes or E-bikes are continuously rising in popularity and population ever since its invention as the world and its people tries to reduce and avoid the traffic that is caused by bulky vehicles such as cars. As of the year 2017 in Germany, it was reported that over 600,000 electric bikes were sold in that year and country alone.
As a buyer yourself, you have to be careful of what you are purchasing, especially when it cost over thousands of dollars. Get to know every little detail and identify what you want and need and be sure of it. You can maximize and get back the money you spent by buying the most suitable electric bicycle for you and in order to do so you have to know what to look for and the things you have to consider for you to find your perfect match.
ADVANTAGES OF HAVING AN E-BIKE:
- It’s environment-friendly. You’re helping the world just by using an e-bike to travel. E-bikes have no need for air conditioner and gas to be able to function, both of which are harmful to our planet’s ozone layer.
- Saves some gas expenses. Using an e-bike for your daily commute will save you a lot of gas money.
- You don’t need to sit in traffics anymore. You can either ride by the sidewalk or weave your way through the spaces between cars jammed in traffic, although I don’t recommend that, of course.
- It’s trendy and modern.
- Much faster than traditional bikes. It can get you anywhere in the city ten times quicker.
- You have a choice to either pedal or use the motor feature.
- You can still pedal whenever you want for exercise.
- No more knee pains for the elders because of the twist-n-go (full-motor mode) feature.
- Little to none paperwork. You don’t need a driver’s license to drive these things.
- E-bikes have long life spans.
- Battery-powered for more awesome, faster travelling.
- You can even carry them. They’re the lightest motor-powered vehicles, here’s your workout right there.
DISADVANTAGES OF HAVING AN E-BIKE:
- Much susceptible to theft. (Tip: You can lessen the susceptibility by using sturdy locks and chains, and parking your e-bike in a secure location.)
- Your body is completely exposed to the numerous road elements and hazards: the weather, air pollution, noise, rough road conditions.
- You can get seriously injured if you get involved in an accident.
- Not designed for long rides. Have a limited mileage range because of the battery-operated system.
- They only have specific terrains that they can cover.
- Expensive than traditional bikes.
THINGS YOU MUST CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING AN E-BIKE:
1. For what and where will you use it?
For this blog though, our electric bikes are going to be for the people living in the crowded, urban areas. There are many types of electric bikes, each engineered for specific tasks and certain terrains. There is the electric mountain bike for mountaineering, electric hybrid bike for all-around use, and there is the electric city bike which is the most popular because of its day-to-day easy commute features for people living in the city.
Think of the activities you’re mostly be doing with your e-bike, how many mileage you are going to cover whenever you ride it, and how powerful and fast you need it to be. Are you specifically going to use it for travelling from home to work? For carrying and delivering bulky items? For tough, recreational activities? I suggest you consult first with an e-bike shop about what model will best suit your demands.
2. How much is your budget?
The cost of an electric bike varies based on a lot of different things: brand name, battery, amp-hour, voltage, speed, technology, metal framework, design, driving system, and a lot more than the manufacturer had to consider when pricing an e-bike.
Some are so high priced because they deserve to be, going till a hundred thousand dollars, you can definitely expect very good performance from these expensive kinds of electric bikes. Some are priced a lot cheaper from $500 to $3,000 but still has quality goodness in them, and some are like city electric bikes that have varying price-range of $2,000 to $20,000.
One thing is for sure, you must prepare thousands of dollars for this kind of vehicle, depends on what you want and prefer if it’s going to be several thousand or a few thousand.
3. You even have to consider your weight.
There’s a limit to everything, including how much weight an e-bike can handle. Usually, the limit is around 250 to 300 pounds and that is including the weight of the whole vehicle. Don’t be discourage though if you weigh more than the limit, there are reports and testimonies from individuals with the same concerns that even though they weighed more than what’s legal, they still can ride their e-bike like normal and without ruining at it.
However, you can even lose those excess pounds by riding the e-bike, just saying. But maybe that depends on the quality of the e-bike that would be able to handle such load. You should look for an expert and have them assist you in picking the right model for you.
4. The cost of maintenance.
You don’t have to spend much for the maintenance of electric bikes, most of them you can do yourself just to maintain the good condition of your e-bike and extend its pristine state from when you bought it. Though there are some tips you would want to follow if you’re going to maintain the e-bike yourself.
Electric bikes have many different parts that require different handling. Here are some few tips a DIY maintenance.
You can surf online for more of these:
- As much as possible, clean your e-bike after each time you use it. Wipe it with a wet cloth or hose it down (gently), your choice.
- Use decent oil to lubricate your chain every once in a while.
- If you have a motor and electrical problems, it’s best to check it with an expert e-bike who knows about these things.
- Store it in dry places.
5. Life expectancy of electric bicycles.
Good news is that the lifespan of electric bikes can go as long as several years before it deteriorates because of age. Though you have to be aware of the elements that shorten the life of an e-bike: the mileage, weight of the rider and cargo, how it’s maintained, types of motors and batteries, and the terrain where the rider ride and use the e-bike mostly. Six to ten years of service is not uncommon for electric bikes as long as you know how to take care of it and you bought one that’s high-quality.
Most e-bikers choose to sell their electric bikes after three years though. It’s on you what you’re going to do after years of using it.
6. Before you buy, don’t forget to test ride first.
Take your desired electric bike for a test ride, don’t forget to do this before taking out your wallet, or if you cannot, search for reviews online that have testimonies about its driving capabilities. Do your research.
But with test driving, you can decide for yourself if the e-bike you’re testing is the one for you. This is a bit stressful but you will enjoy testing different electric-bikes, discovering each of their own unique features yourself and having the power to determine every bit of information and their functions.
CONCLUSION
Increasing traffic is one of the problems that the world is facing right now, and having a full-size vehicle in that kind of situation is a bit annoying for a driver. Luckily, there are such vehicles that can become solutions to this problem. Electric bikes are genius inventions that were created for the sole purpose of helping individuals in their travels by being faster, reliable, and compact. It does not only help the person who rides it, it also helps the nature with its eco-friendly features which is an extremely important factor nowadays because of how the planet earth is acting up with all these harmful gases being emit by cars and motorcycles.
Therefore, I am telling you that no matter what brand of e-bike you are going to buy, you are making the right decision. But of course, now that you know a lot about electric-bikes because of the information written above and the blogs posted in this website about this vehicle, you can probably go out now and search for local e-bike retailers because they can assist you in deciding, or you can surf the Internet for more information.
