For those wondering if it's possible, I purely use public transportation and ebikes as my transportation. I also do not live in a big city. Because of this I technically can live on what is considered poverty in the United States. If you game me 13k I could make it last a whole year. Of all my living expenses. I have my own apartment.
@@Me-eb3wv Personally I am a home/property owner in a city and live on that just riding an ebike the past 11 years. I am now a Senior citizen and also get a Class A property tax exemption (Washington State) so my property taxes are just under $12 USD per year. I also get free home repairs/upgrades through rebuilding together a non profit. I grow a good amount of food in my protected/monitored backyard in greenhouses,in raised beds and multiple fruit trees as well as container crops .Growing my own food has helped my food budget. Ebikes greatly help keep me healthy as nearly daily aerobic exercise is doctor recommended.
@Me-eb3wv 645 rent 110 electric Food. That's all I NEED When I made this comment my rent was likely lower. Now it's more like 15k a year. Room for small things that add up.
@@sevaforever Now I live in a hilly location after moving from Midwest. Quite inconvenient for bikers. Sometimes even dangerous to share the road with vehicles. Need to consider the geographic conditions and potential damage before becoming a pioneer. Nonetheless it's fun to ride bikes, especially for someone like me who grew up in a nation where bikes were everywhere.
I have one fuel efficient car that I need for long trips, at least. I limit my driving as much as possible. I'm wary of riding my bicycle on the roads where I live. I wish I could ride safely.
Sadly, a bike-friendly America is impossible at the current situation. Many Americans live far away from work, and they ended up commuting a significant distance to work (too long to bike, even for e-bikes). Also, Americans can’t afford to live close to work in some cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle). I would encourage more Americans to find a job closer to home, and either walk or bike to work. Small cities or towns are better to bike as well. Some bike friendly cities like Denver, Boulder, Minneapolis, Madison are great if you can afford to live there. I also recommend e-bikes so you can make your commute lighter and faster.
I live in a city that's invested in public transportation & bicycle infrastructure, and I'm proud to say I've never owned a car. With the money I saved I was able to buy a house. At this point my monthly expenses are under $2k/mo and I'm pretty much retired at 45.
I sold my truck & stopped driving 20 yrs ago & have been using public transportation since. Bought a 35 mph ebike a couple of months ago & it will pay for itself in just a few years over public transportation costs. Many other benefits as well.
I sold my car last week and just bought my first ebike. My parents think I’m crazy and told me that I should be saving for another vehicle. I work FT from home, and don’t really need a car right now. I can always rent something if I take a trip out of town. They just don’t get it.
Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles. Safe protected bike lanes and trails are needed so adults and children can ride safely. Speak up for bicycles in your community. Bicycles make life and cities better. Ask your local transportation planner and elected officials to support more protected bike lanes and trails.
I think he excluded the upfront cost because he's treating the vehicle as an asset while treating the bike as a commodity. Basically the vehicle can be sold to recover some upfront cost and the bike likely won't be sold the same way. That's why he instead includes the depreciation or the lost value of the car as it ages.
I live in a not great biking city, St. Louis. I don’t have a car. All my rides are bike (not even an e-bike) and public transport. Total cost per year is just over $1k for bus passes and bike repairs. It’s doable. Just about if you want to do it. But I regularly do more than 5 mile trips on my bike. And I think the average American could with an e-bike. My best friend in this city works the same job in a different office. She has an 8 mile commute and is not only post cancer (so her body doesn’t work like she wants all the time) but also overweight. She commutes everyday except in extreme cold on that bike. I think the average American could replace trips under 10 miles with an e-bike which could easily change these numbers as living in a small town mid sized city (and even a lot of us in larger cities) means nearly all of your trips are under 10 miles. We just bum a ride with people whole nature for the occasional hike.
Bicycles, ebikes, electric cargo bicycles, robo taxis and escooters are great options for last mile, short distance travel. Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles by providing SAFE, PROTECTED BIKE LANES and trails. Every adult and child should own a bicycle and ride it regularly. Bicycles are healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. Electric bicycles are bringing many older adults back to cycling. Ride to work, ride to school, ride for health or ride for fun. Children should be able to ride a bicycle to school without having to dodge cars and trucks. Separated and protected bike lanes are required. It will also make the roads safer for automobile drivers. Transportation planners and elected officials need to encourage people to walk, bike and take public transportation. Healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. In the future cities will be redesigned for people not cars. Crazy big parking lots will be transformed.
I feel rich since I’ve started using my e-bike I don’t even look at gas stations anymore Cars are very expensive Even the cars no one wants are very expensive especially compared to e-bikes I can buy a new e-bike every single yr where I can’t buy a new car every single yr I’ve upgraded my e-bike since I’ve had it When something breaks I just buy a better chain tires cassette whatever breaks I upgrade Cars you can’t unless you have the money do so It may void your warranty as well Groceries kids?? Get a cargo bike I see cars only as luxury items or transportation I get tons of attention on my e-bike so A cheap car won’t attract attention people think you’re poor even with a cheap car But with a 2000 dollar e-bike most people treat me better than they would if I was in a beater camry Raining? Get a rain suit Most people who drive cars are over weight lol
Nice data-driven analysis. Wish you had included a 2nd comparison to include trips up to 10 miles, which are not just easy to do by e-bike, but often as fast or faster than driving (at least in urban areas; my car averages 14mph in a big city). In less dense areas, a class 3 (28mph max) e-bike can still make short work of 10+ mile trips if the infrastructure is safe to use (a big if, of course, this is our biggest obstacle to ebike adoption).
Bicycles make life better. Every child and adult should own a bicycle and ride it regularly. There is a world wide obesity epidemic leading to higher rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer. Everyone would be a little healthier if they rode a bicycle to work, school or for fun. Speak up and make your city a bicycle city.
Love my e bike for recreational use. Only things stopping me from using an e bike for most of my transportation needs are a lack of dedicated, car free routes to bike on. Also , theft is rampant in California and police don’t even fake interest in e bike theft . This makes appointments or grocery shopping almost impossible. Drivers on cell phones are responsible for 3 ghost bikes on my work commute I take by car because safety is my priority over money and environment. Inconsiderate drivers, cold wind , additional time to work can all be overcome with the fun of riding a bike to work but not theft and distracted drivers. Imagine doing a large grocery shop and coming out to your cargo e bike only to find it’s been stolen. The ice cream is melting what do I do? At least police seem to care about car theft.
I'm in an Austin suburb about to get my ebike, after making grocery and smaller trips in a standard bike/public transit. The closer to downtown, the more supported bike infrastructure is. Honestly the only reason I feel the need for the ebike is the brutal Summer heat is enough to make me sweat, let alone the manual labor of biking. While I still need a car for some trips I take, the bike does save me some gas and miles on my fleet of 20+ year old cars that could use the resting time.
If you look at your numbers, that family can save close to $100k over 5 years by living near work or a public transportation route to work and give up their cars altogether. Invest that savings over 25 years and they'll have enough to retire. The other savings can come from buying an older vehicle that have lost most of its depreciation. I own a 20 year old Honda Element that average 100 miles per month. Short trips are taken bike and sometimes bike and bus.
So... I'm one of those people for whom this is problematic. Most "switch-to-ebike" videos feature white collar job workers in cities. These are not people in physically demanding jobs. I'm a UPS driver and I get about 26,000 steps on average on my daily delivery route. I constantly lift heavy loads all day moving cumulative tons of package volume. I have lower back problems developing that I'm taking physical therapy for. All that is to say that I don't need anymore damn exercise. I'm bone-tired at the end of the day. The prospect of a "refreshing bike ride" is not something I would look forward to. So I've looked at e-bikes as a bike option that requires the least amount of physical effort. I'm a fairly experienced bicyclist and practically lived on one back in my college days. I've done mountain biking and all the rest - so I'm very comfortable on a bike. And I hate how much stinking money my car is costing me. Finances is the main thing driving me to investigate e-bikes - not exercise or scenery or lifestyle or any of that. I work outdoors and work hard. I don't need scenery, contemplation or exercise or any of that stuff the TH-camrs filming themselves biking around Britain are talking about. Logistically - I might make some things work. I could move a lot of work supplies that I store in my car to my UPS truck and a locker at work. The load I'd transport is doable. But the commute itself... I commute from one city suburb in Colorado to a neighboring city suburb. By car - this trip is about 16 miles and can be done in 30 minutes (I don't have the nightmare traffic problems of some places). It would be about that much by bike and I've scouted out some potential bike routes by car. It's doable. My state is average bike friendly and there are wide shoulders and trails I could use. Problem is - 16 miles is - according to my research - a lot. It's on the upper end scale of what people on the bicyclist forums say is practical. So I'm looking at turning a 30 minute commute into... I'm not sure really how long an ebike would take to do it. There aren't many hills - mostly flat. But it could be well over an hour. Which means I'm losing an extra hour every day that I could be with my wife and kids. Factor in that I'm already starting work at 8:30AM and finishing my average day at 7:00PM and.... this is a hard pill to swallow. I work long hours. And since UPS driving is unpredictable, some days I can get absolutely massacred by dispatch and work a freaking 13 hour day with no warning. I'd be severely exhausted at the end of one of those surprise heavy days - and an e-bike as the only way to get home isn't appealing. But the amount of money my car is sucking out of my life sure does hurt. I'd love to replace that with something. But I don't really see the feasibility at this point.
I'm in Ireland and my work situation is quite similar. 20 km to work and mostly nights. Although it's less than 20 minutes drive each way. I already do a couple of thousand km using an ordinary bike for shopping and general commuting but only occasionally for work because I mostly work exhausting 13 hour long night shifts. An extra hour cycling each way on top of that is just too much apart from the occasional time. I have racks, bags and baskets for it and two fairly large trailers so I can carry anything from up to 70 kg of shopping to a full sized lawnmower or almost anything else you can think of. My current annual driving kilometreage is just about 10,000. Not very high although my bicycle saves over 2,500. My previous car which I had for 8½ years cost me a total of less than €27,000 to run over that period including cost of purchase, fuel, servicing and repairs, insurance and motor tax and anything else. I ran up 140,000 km or almost 87,000 miles in that time. I am currently waiting on delivery of my first e-bike. It's a Cube Kathmandu with a Bosch 750w battery and 85nm motor. But limited to 25 kmh assisted speed in Europe. It's approximately going to be €3,500. I already have all of the racks, bags and baskets for this new machine ready and waiting for it too. It's going to be a workhorse. If I do 5,000 km per year on it, because the bike will also have running and repair costs, it would realistically take me 10 years to recoup it's cost from savings from car fuel and maintenance. Currently annual fully comprehensive car insurance and tax costs as much as I spend on fuel before I even drive a mile. And believe me, fuel is substantially more expensive over here. I'm getting it, yes for the environment. But mostly because I have a lot of fun using a bike as often as possible instead of my car. I'm getting older and stiffer and I want to be able to do those 40 or 50 km each way trips by bike instead of car and not feel exhausted and aching afterwards for the next 24 hours. While certainly not mountainous, there are plenty of hills where I live so an e-bike will certainly make my rides faster and easier even using the lowest assist. I live in a rural area so I'm never going to not have a car. But it is possible to do nearly everything by bike one way or another. I also use public transport more often than I used to especially for longer direct routes. The cost of fuel and parking in cities makes taking the bus cheaper overall and I can just sit back and let the driver do all the work. Cycling enthusiasts regularly ride manual only bikes your commuting distance and more. But that's a dedication and level of fitness I haven't got. If you do get an e-bike, you will certainly find many opportunities to use it instead of your car. And you could still commute to work on those days when you can or want to. Whatever you choose to do I wish you good luck. And have fun.
I formerly did intense manual labor work and rode a bike back home ~10 miles. I could recommend maybe doing 2 or 3 days of cycling and the other days car commuting Not sure if that would be viable for you.
Thank you for this video but I never leave my eBike outside a grocery store I can’t use it to get lumber from Home Depot. E bike only offers me enjoyment
Yeah, but ebikes are limited to 20 to 25 mph . It's not practical if you live a far distance from school or work . Or if you need to transport more than 2 people at 1 time . They still have a place . E bikes are practical if you live or work within 10 miles of where you need to commute
Yup, they can’t truly replace a car. It’s best to use it as a combo. Use the bicycle as much as you can to save money on gas, and use your car when an ebike just won’t do the job
Imagine all you could do with 30K! You could buy a new car! Ok that was the obvious joke. The unfortunate part is that they will probably use that to go on vacation, and hopefully its somewhere close, cause 30K in plane tickets is quite a bit CO2, probably more than the car... definitely more than the car.
I think that USA is mental is for 5yeara your maintenance is 12k and insurance is 2.2k and taxes fir high... Like in Ireland my insurance is 680 tax 290 maintenance max 600... My running cost for car for 5 years are mąż 10-12k
I’d guess minimum I’d need 2 complete sets of tyres in a 5 year period (probably 3 really but let’s assume 2) picking the cheapest possible tyres that’s £570 before fitting them Road tax currently £260 pa… so that’s £1300 Insurance £200 pa so another £1000 (minimum) £2870 Mot £55: £275 Current total £3145 before I’ve even put any fluids in or tried to move it.. In usd >$3800 In America I’d assume people drive further but they pay far less on fuel. I’ve done 40k miles in 5 years (I already cycle everywhere less than 8 miles unless it’s raining). AndI mostly cycled to work. So with my very low fuel usage and eeeking 36mpg on petrol This is currently £7811 assuming im light footed. (But I’m not so it would be higher) This is north of £11000. Haven’t even thought about parking costs, or congestion charges… And I already own my car out right so haven’t included the price of the vehicle. I can see how factoring in the missing costs could push the tco of a car to £25k over a 5 year period. I think it’s quite realistic, but line the guy says, you would have to adapt the costs to your situation.
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as a guy they cant afford a car and owned a ebik make me happy lol.
@@terrycruise-zd5tw Great question. VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) by cars and the speeds are much greater, so those numbers would be higher, but I digress. Do you have data that shows the numbers? One important thing: Cars don't kill people, the drivers do, usually by accident.
No, it doesnt make sense to get rid of your car, completely. A lot of america is rural or lack transportation systems. Not everywhere is NYC, or LA. You can have both. An ebike for short distance and everyday travel if you live close to your job. For groceries, or according to the weather (i lived in florida where it rains 50 times a day, on and off) or if you live far from your job, or if you have a disability, Youll need a car. Bike lanes are great but we also need to enforce laws on bikers similar to cars. A lot of bicyclists are reckless and careless. Riding through lights, riding through pedestrians, riding on sidewalks even though there is a lane for them. Ive even seen bike rage lol (i live in NYC and man....bikers here are more aggressive than taxi drivers lol).
70% of people living in the US live in an urban area. The main reason why people drive is because there aren't better alternatives, not because people live in rural areas. The reason why bicycling is perceived as more reckless is because riders have to share the road with cars, and traditionally roads are not built with anything other than cars in mind. I live in a city that's invested in public transportation & bicycle infrastructure. As a result, it's very possible to not own a car. Many drivers respect bicycle riders here because drivers recognize the more people riding, the more parking there is and less traffic.
Looking online, the driving fatality rate in the US is 12.8 per 100,000 (as high as 23.9 in some states). While the bicycle fatality rate is 0.27. That would make bicycling 47x safer than driving. This comment is blatant misinformation.
For those wondering if it's possible, I purely use public transportation and ebikes as my transportation. I also do not live in a big city. Because of this I technically can live on what is considered poverty in the United States. If you game me 13k I could make it last a whole year. Of all my living expenses. I have my own apartment.
You’re an inspiration. Had no idea someone could make it with only $13k a year.
@@Me-eb3wv Personally I am a home/property owner in a city and live on that just riding an ebike the past 11 years.
I am now a Senior citizen and also get a Class A property tax exemption (Washington State) so my property taxes are just under
$12 USD per year. I also get free home repairs/upgrades through rebuilding together a non profit. I grow a good amount of food in my protected/monitored backyard in greenhouses,in raised beds and multiple fruit trees as well as container crops
.Growing my own food has helped my food budget. Ebikes greatly help keep me healthy as nearly daily aerobic exercise is doctor
recommended.
I commute by e-bike in a car dependent hellscape. Even with the hassles and the risks I’m taking, it’s well worth it regardless.
@Me-eb3wv 645 rent
110 electric
Food. That's all I NEED
When I made this comment my rent was likely lower.
Now it's more like 15k a year. Room for small things that add up.
The dilemma is the infrastructure in the US is not designed for bikes.
Correct. But it is changing. The more bicyclists on the road, the faster it will change. Be a pioneer!
@@sevaforever Now I live in a hilly location after moving from Midwest. Quite inconvenient for bikers. Sometimes even dangerous to share the road with vehicles. Need to consider the geographic conditions and potential damage before becoming a pioneer. Nonetheless it's fun to ride bikes, especially for someone like me who grew up in a nation where bikes were everywhere.
Come to Canada! It's a nightmare here😂
lol you right that why i used sidewalks as my road XD
@@chewiehunanI live in the mountains in california. Just get fitter/ ride ebike. Your mind is the only thing stopping u.
I have one fuel efficient car that I need for long trips, at least. I limit my driving as much as possible. I'm wary of riding my bicycle on the roads where I live. I wish I could ride safely.
Sadly, a bike-friendly America is impossible at the current situation. Many Americans live far away from work, and they ended up commuting a significant distance to work (too long to bike, even for e-bikes). Also, Americans can’t afford to live close to work in some cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle). I would encourage more Americans to find a job closer to home, and either walk or bike to work. Small cities or towns are better to bike as well. Some bike friendly cities like Denver, Boulder, Minneapolis, Madison are great if you can afford to live there. I also recommend e-bikes so you can make your commute lighter and faster.
I live in a city that's invested in public transportation & bicycle infrastructure, and I'm proud to say I've never owned a car.
With the money I saved I was able to buy a house. At this point my monthly expenses are under $2k/mo and I'm pretty much retired at 45.
I sold my truck & stopped driving 20 yrs ago & have been using public transportation since. Bought a 35 mph ebike a couple of months ago & it will pay for itself in just a few years over public transportation costs. Many other benefits as well.
I sold my car last week and just bought my first ebike. My parents think I’m crazy and told me that I should be saving for another vehicle. I work FT from home, and don’t really need a car right now. I can always rent something if I take a trip out of town. They just don’t get it.
Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles. Safe protected bike lanes and trails are needed so adults and children can ride safely. Speak up for bicycles in your community. Bicycles make life and cities better. Ask your local transportation planner and elected officials to support more protected bike lanes and trails.
Even typical American suburbs would benefit from enabling and getting more people to do shorter trips such as going to school, shopping by bike.
This is not what they want.
The up front cost of the car(s) should be included in the comparison if they are included with the e-bike.
I think he excluded the upfront cost because he's treating the vehicle as an asset while treating the bike as a commodity. Basically the vehicle can be sold to recover some upfront cost and the bike likely won't be sold the same way. That's why he instead includes the depreciation or the lost value of the car as it ages.
@@381delirius Great point, and you're likely correct. Thank you for the insight!
I live in a not great biking city, St. Louis. I don’t have a car. All my rides are bike (not even an e-bike) and public transport. Total cost per year is just over $1k for bus passes and bike repairs. It’s doable. Just about if you want to do it. But I regularly do more than 5 mile trips on my bike. And I think the average American could with an e-bike.
My best friend in this city works the same job in a different office. She has an 8 mile commute and is not only post cancer (so her body doesn’t work like she wants all the time) but also overweight. She commutes everyday except in extreme cold on that bike. I think the average American could replace trips under 10 miles with an e-bike which could easily change these numbers as living in a small town mid sized city (and even a lot of us in larger cities) means nearly all of your trips are under 10 miles. We just bum a ride with people whole nature for the occasional hike.
Bicycles, ebikes, electric cargo bicycles, robo taxis and escooters are great options for last mile, short distance travel.
Cities need to do more to encourage people to ride bicycles by providing SAFE, PROTECTED BIKE LANES and trails. Every adult and child should own a bicycle and ride it regularly. Bicycles are healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. Electric bicycles are bringing many older adults back to cycling. Ride to work, ride to school, ride for health or ride for fun. Children should be able to ride a bicycle to school without having to dodge cars and trucks. Separated and protected bike lanes are required. It will also make the roads safer for automobile drivers. Transportation planners and elected officials need to encourage people to walk, bike and take public transportation. Healthy exercise and fossil fuels free transportation. In the future cities will be redesigned for people not cars. Crazy big parking lots will be transformed.
I feel rich since I’ve started using my e-bike
I don’t even look at gas stations anymore
Cars are very expensive
Even the cars no one wants are very expensive especially compared to e-bikes
I can buy a new e-bike every single yr where I can’t buy a new car every single yr
I’ve upgraded my e-bike since I’ve had it
When something breaks I just buy a better chain tires cassette whatever breaks I upgrade
Cars you can’t unless you have the money do so
It may void your warranty as well
Groceries kids?? Get a cargo bike
I see cars only as luxury items or transportation
I get tons of attention on my e-bike so
A cheap car won’t attract attention people think you’re poor even with a cheap car
But with a 2000 dollar e-bike most people treat me better than they would if I was in a beater camry
Raining? Get a rain suit
Most people who drive cars are over weight lol
wow
Nice data-driven analysis.
Wish you had included a 2nd comparison to include trips up to 10 miles, which are not just easy to do by e-bike, but often as fast or faster than driving (at least in urban areas; my car averages 14mph in a big city). In less dense areas, a class 3 (28mph max) e-bike can still make short work of 10+ mile trips if the infrastructure is safe to use (a big if, of course, this is our biggest obstacle to ebike adoption).
Bicycles make life better.
Every child and adult should own a bicycle and ride it regularly.
There is a world wide obesity epidemic leading to higher rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer.
Everyone would be a little healthier if they rode a bicycle to work, school or for fun.
Speak up and make your city a bicycle city.
Love my e bike for recreational use. Only things stopping me from using an e bike for most of my transportation needs are a lack of dedicated, car free routes to bike on. Also , theft is rampant in California and police don’t even fake interest in e bike theft . This makes appointments or grocery shopping almost impossible. Drivers on cell phones are responsible for 3 ghost bikes on my work commute I take by car because safety is my priority over money and environment. Inconsiderate drivers, cold wind , additional time to work can all be overcome with the fun of riding a bike to work but not theft and distracted drivers. Imagine doing a large grocery shop and coming out to your cargo e bike only to find it’s been stolen. The ice cream is melting what do I do? At least police seem to care about car theft.
This topic Is very important! Cars have been pushed on us just like college and it's been too much!
I'm in an Austin suburb about to get my ebike, after making grocery and smaller trips in a standard bike/public transit. The closer to downtown, the more supported bike infrastructure is. Honestly the only reason I feel the need for the ebike is the brutal Summer heat is enough to make me sweat, let alone the manual labor of biking. While I still need a car for some trips I take, the bike does save me some gas and miles on my fleet of 20+ year old cars that could use the resting time.
If you look at your numbers, that family can save close to $100k over 5 years by living near work or a public transportation route to work and give up their cars altogether. Invest that savings over 25 years and they'll have enough to retire. The other savings can come from buying an older vehicle that have lost most of its depreciation. I own a 20 year old Honda Element that average 100 miles per month. Short trips are taken bike and sometimes bike and bus.
$10 grand maintenance on a two year old Camry that has a full 3 year warranty and 5 years on the drivetrain?
So... I'm one of those people for whom this is problematic. Most "switch-to-ebike" videos feature white collar job workers in cities. These are not people in physically demanding jobs. I'm a UPS driver and I get about 26,000 steps on average on my daily delivery route. I constantly lift heavy loads all day moving cumulative tons of package volume. I have lower back problems developing that I'm taking physical therapy for.
All that is to say that I don't need anymore damn exercise. I'm bone-tired at the end of the day. The prospect of a "refreshing bike ride" is not something I would look forward to.
So I've looked at e-bikes as a bike option that requires the least amount of physical effort. I'm a fairly experienced bicyclist and practically lived on one back in my college days. I've done mountain biking and all the rest - so I'm very comfortable on a bike. And I hate how much stinking money my car is costing me. Finances is the main thing driving me to investigate e-bikes - not exercise or scenery or lifestyle or any of that. I work outdoors and work hard. I don't need scenery, contemplation or exercise or any of that stuff the TH-camrs filming themselves biking around Britain are talking about.
Logistically - I might make some things work. I could move a lot of work supplies that I store in my car to my UPS truck and a locker at work. The load I'd transport is doable. But the commute itself...
I commute from one city suburb in Colorado to a neighboring city suburb. By car - this trip is about 16 miles and can be done in 30 minutes (I don't have the nightmare traffic problems of some places). It would be about that much by bike and I've scouted out some potential bike routes by car. It's doable. My state is average bike friendly and there are wide shoulders and trails I could use.
Problem is - 16 miles is - according to my research - a lot. It's on the upper end scale of what people on the bicyclist forums say is practical. So I'm looking at turning a 30 minute commute into... I'm not sure really how long an ebike would take to do it. There aren't many hills - mostly flat. But it could be well over an hour. Which means I'm losing an extra hour every day that I could be with my wife and kids. Factor in that I'm already starting work at 8:30AM and finishing my average day at 7:00PM and.... this is a hard pill to swallow. I work long hours. And since UPS driving is unpredictable, some days I can get absolutely massacred by dispatch and work a freaking 13 hour day with no warning. I'd be severely exhausted at the end of one of those surprise heavy days - and an e-bike as the only way to get home isn't appealing.
But the amount of money my car is sucking out of my life sure does hurt. I'd love to replace that with something. But I don't really see the feasibility at this point.
I'm in Ireland and my work situation is quite similar. 20 km to work and mostly nights. Although it's less than 20 minutes drive each way. I already do a couple of thousand km using an ordinary bike for shopping and general commuting but only occasionally for work because I mostly work exhausting 13 hour long night shifts. An extra hour cycling each way on top of that is just too much apart from the occasional time. I have racks, bags and baskets for it and two fairly large trailers so I can carry anything from up to 70 kg of shopping to a full sized lawnmower or almost anything else you can think of.
My current annual driving kilometreage is just about 10,000. Not very high although my bicycle saves over 2,500. My previous car which I had for 8½ years cost me a total of less than €27,000 to run over that period including cost of purchase, fuel, servicing and repairs, insurance and motor tax and anything else. I ran up 140,000 km or almost 87,000 miles in that time.
I am currently waiting on delivery of my first e-bike. It's a Cube Kathmandu with a Bosch 750w battery and 85nm motor. But limited to 25 kmh assisted speed in Europe. It's approximately going to be €3,500. I already have all of the racks, bags and baskets for this new machine ready and waiting for it too. It's going to be a workhorse.
If I do 5,000 km per year on it, because the bike will also have running and repair costs, it would realistically take me 10 years to recoup it's cost from savings from car fuel and maintenance.
Currently annual fully comprehensive car insurance and tax costs as much as I spend on fuel before I even drive a mile. And believe me, fuel is substantially more expensive over here.
I'm getting it, yes for the environment. But mostly because I have a lot of fun using a bike as often as possible instead of my car. I'm getting older and stiffer and I want to be able to do those 40 or 50 km each way trips by bike instead of car and not feel exhausted and aching afterwards for the next 24 hours. While certainly not mountainous, there are plenty of hills where I live so an e-bike will certainly make my rides faster and easier even using the lowest assist.
I live in a rural area so I'm never going to not have a car. But it is possible to do nearly everything by bike one way or another. I also use public transport more often than I used to especially for longer direct routes. The cost of fuel and parking in cities makes taking the bus cheaper overall and I can just sit back and let the driver do all the work.
Cycling enthusiasts regularly ride manual only bikes your commuting distance and more. But that's a dedication and level of fitness I haven't got.
If you do get an e-bike, you will certainly find many opportunities to use it instead of your car. And you could still commute to work on those days when you can or want to.
Whatever you choose to do I wish you good luck. And have fun.
@@tconnolly9820 Thanks for that reply. It's valuable to get perspective from others trying to deal with some similar situations.
I formerly did intense manual labor work and rode a bike back home ~10 miles. I could recommend maybe doing 2 or 3 days of cycling and the other days car commuting Not sure if that would be viable for you.
Thank you for this video but I never leave my eBike outside a grocery store I can’t use it to get lumber from Home Depot. E bike only offers me enjoyment
Yeah, but ebikes are limited to 20 to 25 mph . It's not practical if you live a far distance from school or work . Or if you need to transport more than 2 people at 1 time . They still have a place . E bikes are practical if you live or work within 10 miles of where you need to commute
Yup, they can’t truly replace a car. It’s best to use it as a combo. Use the bicycle as much as you can to save money on gas, and use your car when an ebike just won’t do the job
you can remove the limiter
@@Me-eb3wv public transportation still exists
@@ProAvgeek6328 I always wondered how New Yorkers carried groceries back home without a car
@ProAvgeek6328 yes you can , there are youtube video tutorials that show you how
Imagine all you could do with 30K!
You could buy a new car!
Ok that was the obvious joke.
The unfortunate part is that they will probably use that to go on vacation, and hopefully its somewhere close, cause 30K in plane tickets is quite a bit CO2, probably more than the car... definitely more than the car.
The 🇺🇸 doesn't have bike lanes is mind-blowing a country like the US no bike lanes 😊
AN SUV IS A TRUCK. AN SUV DOES NOT MEET PASSENGER CAR SAFETY STANDARDS.
I think that USA is mental is for 5yeara your maintenance is 12k and insurance is 2.2k and taxes fir high... Like in Ireland my insurance is 680 tax 290 maintenance max 600... My running cost for car for 5 years are mąż 10-12k
I’d guess minimum I’d need 2 complete sets of tyres in a 5 year period (probably 3 really but let’s assume 2) picking the cheapest possible tyres that’s £570 before fitting them
Road tax currently £260 pa… so that’s £1300
Insurance £200 pa so another £1000 (minimum)
£2870
Mot £55: £275
Current total £3145 before I’ve even put any fluids in or tried to move it..
In usd >$3800
In America I’d assume people drive further but they pay far less on fuel.
I’ve done 40k miles in 5 years (I already cycle everywhere less than 8 miles unless it’s raining). AndI mostly cycled to work. So with my very low fuel usage and eeeking 36mpg on petrol This is currently £7811 assuming im light footed. (But I’m not so it would be higher)
This is north of £11000. Haven’t even thought about parking costs, or congestion charges…
And I already own my car out right so haven’t included the price of the vehicle.
I can see how factoring in the missing costs could push the tco of a car to £25k over a 5 year period. I think it’s quite realistic, but line the guy says, you would have to adapt the costs to your situation.
as a guy they cant afford a car and owned a ebik make me happy lol.
nice info!
Glad it was helpful!
New England…Winter ❄️ 🥶
6 isn't enough fam
how many carbon emissions are expelled when they catch on fire? I think it makes cars look pretty good.
how many people do cars kill compared to ebikes and bicycles combined?
Silly comment. Just avoid cheap batteries from China. Stick to the good ones from good ebike companies.
@@terrycruise-zd5tw Great question. VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) by cars and the speeds are much greater, so those numbers would be higher, but I digress. Do you have data that shows the numbers? One important thing: Cars don't kill people, the drivers do, usually by accident.
No, it doesnt make sense to get rid of your car, completely. A lot of america is rural or lack transportation systems. Not everywhere is NYC, or LA. You can have both. An ebike for short distance and everyday travel if you live close to your job. For groceries, or according to the weather (i lived in florida where it rains 50 times a day, on and off) or if you live far from your job, or if you have a disability, Youll need a car. Bike lanes are great but we also need to enforce laws on bikers similar to cars. A lot of bicyclists are reckless and careless. Riding through lights, riding through pedestrians, riding on sidewalks even though there is a lane for them. Ive even seen bike rage lol (i live in NYC and man....bikers here are more aggressive than taxi drivers lol).
No one has replied to this comment because it makes sence
70% of people living in the US live in an urban area. The main reason why people drive is because there aren't better alternatives, not because people live in rural areas.
The reason why bicycling is perceived as more reckless is because riders have to share the road with cars, and traditionally roads are not built with anything other than cars in mind.
I live in a city that's invested in public transportation & bicycle infrastructure. As a result, it's very possible to not own a car.
Many drivers respect bicycle riders here because drivers recognize the more people riding, the more parking there is and less traffic.
68x more likely to die on a bike than in a car.
Looking online, the driving fatality rate in the US is 12.8 per 100,000 (as high as 23.9 in some states). While the bicycle fatality rate is 0.27. That would make bicycling 47x safer than driving.
This comment is blatant misinformation.