A few months ago I posted a bunch of blogs covering ebikes, even equipped with calculators to help people to figure out their fuel and carbon savings.
Sadly, that bike is now defunct. The bike made it over 2000 kilometres but small maintenance problems became increasingly regular until the bike finally gave up the ghost and a routine service led to discovery of a more serious problem that meant the bike could not be fixed.
Although I saved several hundred dollars in fuel, most if not all of that saving went into maintenance expenses for the bike. In addition to that, I spent wasted hours ferrying the bike to and from the specialist repair person.
The fundamental mistake I made was to sacrifice quality and to buy a low cost ebike. An obvious mistake, and one I should have realised straight off the cuff, but the expense was slightly out of my usual expense range, so I felt that the lower cost justified the risk.
I was wrong.
I have since gone back, obtained a better quality of advice, and re-invested in a sounder quality of ebike that has already taken me several thousand kilometres at a higher average speed, with the only problem being that I occasionally need to change the tire tube (which is easy to do since the wheels are quick release). Nevertheless, below are the painful mistakes I made that led me to a better decision this time around.
Buying from a small vendor
This might equally be titled ‘not getting proper advice before investing’ and is pretty self-evident. I went for the cheapest option on the market, supplied by a small one person shop. The bikes were off brand and were imported from China. Although low cost, they caused many problems.
Not getting a bike with quick release tyres
This was a less obvious frustration. The tyres on the bike I bought were not quick release, so each time I needed to do a replacement I could not fix it easily myself.
Although the bikeshops were usually very obliging, this one problem cost me a lot of time.
Underestimating the wear and tear on componentry
The final blow for the bike was the realisation that some of the core componentry had wasted away. Other parts had also been affected by rust from riding in the rain. This will happen with lower quality ebikes. Some brands such as Shimano offer componentry that will not wear out before the battery. My new bike has so far had no such problems.
Underestimating the battery problems
Although the bike rode smoothly when I took it out of the shop, the battery problems became evident a few months down the line. Random battery dropouts, resulting in a very unsatisfactory riding experience. These problems arise from a loosely attached external battery, a model I will most likely avoid in the future.
Effect on speed
Soon afterwards the average speed went from over 30 kph to just over 22. The bike became a mission to ride.
Effect on time to work
The resulting lower speed added sometimes 20 to 30 minutes to the ride in each direction. This negated virtually all the intended be edits of the bike (apart from the exercise benefit).
Effect on inclination to ride the bike
But the exercise benefit was in turn dampened by my reduced inclination to ride the bike. Getting on the bike meant getting up an extra half an hour early and getting home half an hour later. While I still found the ride enjoyable, it was not something I could do every day.
All of these problems stemmed from the same set of issues, which came to a head when I brought the bike in for a service.
The second time around I got a better quality of bike, one that I have greater confidence will go the distance, with fewer maintenance problems and greater ease of servicing. Rather than looking for a quick financial pay-off, I’m investing in machinery from a quality brand that will help me get where I want to go.
