The only thing cheaper than an e-bike...
Maybe you drive a car, or maybe you want to drive a car.
Ever thought about the costs?
Lets consider an entry level class "A" sedan like the Kia Picanto which costs, in today's terms a "modest" R125,000.
According to the AA, the running costs for this car, which include fuel, tyres, servicing and the like for this car are a whopping R1.13 per kilometer. Bear in mind that this car has a tiny 998cc engine.
Stepping up a bit to something like a 1.4L Golf costing R266,000 we find that the running cost per Km jumps to R1.32 / Km.
Ever thought about the costs?
Lets consider an entry level class "A" sedan like the Kia Picanto which costs, in today's terms a "modest" R125,000.
According to the AA, the running costs for this car, which include fuel, tyres, servicing and the like for this car are a whopping R1.13 per kilometer. Bear in mind that this car has a tiny 998cc engine.
Stepping up a bit to something like a 1.4L Golf costing R266,000 we find that the running cost per Km jumps to R1.32 / Km.
Now let's look at the cost of running an e-bike.
Charging the Lithium battery from empty should set you back around 55c and this should be good for around 55 Km. Of course this distance can be improved by assisting the motor by doing just a modest amount of pedaling - just a little bit of pedal assistance, for instance, can extend the battery's range up to 70 Km.
But what's the cost per Km you might ask? Let's be honest - Lithium batteries don't come cheap, so we need to factor the cost of the battery into the running costs of the bike. Depending on the quality of the battery cells, the battery should be good for anything from 500 to 1,200 recharges. For the purposes of the this calculation we have taken a figure of 750 recharges.
And the price per Km comes out at 12.2c per Km.
Of course you have to keep your bike clean and look after it and occasionally you might have a puncture and have to service the bike, but the running costs are clearly significantly lower than any other form of transport other than cycling without a motor or perhaps walking.
Charging the Lithium battery from empty should set you back around 55c and this should be good for around 55 Km. Of course this distance can be improved by assisting the motor by doing just a modest amount of pedaling - just a little bit of pedal assistance, for instance, can extend the battery's range up to 70 Km.
But what's the cost per Km you might ask? Let's be honest - Lithium batteries don't come cheap, so we need to factor the cost of the battery into the running costs of the bike. Depending on the quality of the battery cells, the battery should be good for anything from 500 to 1,200 recharges. For the purposes of the this calculation we have taken a figure of 750 recharges.
And the price per Km comes out at 12.2c per Km.
Of course you have to keep your bike clean and look after it and occasionally you might have a puncture and have to service the bike, but the running costs are clearly significantly lower than any other form of transport other than cycling without a motor or perhaps walking.
Electric vehicles emit less CO2 - myth or fact
Many sellers of e-bikes will tell you that e-bikes emit less CO2 that do conventional petrol driven motors.
This is not strictly true. It all depends on the source of the electricity. If the source of the electricity comprises wind, solar and nuclear generated electricity, this may well be true, but of the source is fossil fuel based, then electric vehicles may emit more CO2 and SO2 pollution than petrol driven engines.
However, when it comes to e-bikes, the truth is that they are typically hybrid power models where power is derived both from the motor and from your pedaling. This is why they typically emit lower less CO2 and SO2 into the air - because you are producing some of the power. In fact in most instances, except where you are riding uphill, you are typically providing more power than is provided by the motor.
This is not strictly true. It all depends on the source of the electricity. If the source of the electricity comprises wind, solar and nuclear generated electricity, this may well be true, but of the source is fossil fuel based, then electric vehicles may emit more CO2 and SO2 pollution than petrol driven engines.
However, when it comes to e-bikes, the truth is that they are typically hybrid power models where power is derived both from the motor and from your pedaling. This is why they typically emit lower less CO2 and SO2 into the air - because you are producing some of the power. In fact in most instances, except where you are riding uphill, you are typically providing more power than is provided by the motor.