Like most, I think the pure electric bikes are way to expensive to justify as anything other than toys (mind you my ICE motorcycles are pure toys too...).
The pedelec though does have some merit. I too thought they were expensive for what they were, but when I tried cycling to work on a MTB, I found I was averaging around 11mph due to hills. Bought a similar Pedelec from Germany for 1600GP shipped and with similar effort (I always try to go at a reasonable pace) I find I can average around 16mph, slicing around 20mins off the pure pedalled journey.
Fuel costs? I recon 280p/day in the ICE (based on Diesel usage 10p/mile) vs 4p/day on the Pedelec (based on the capacity of battery used and an 80% charging efficiency). Travel time (E/W): ICE 25min / Pedelec 45-50min / MTB 65-70min. But for me it was a choice based on exercise rather than pure cost: I don't plan to cycle more than one or two days a week. I know I'd get more exercise on the MTB but there's also travel time to consider. It's nice to be able to engage 275% boost on the worst hill and go up at 13+mph instead of 4mph...
The pedelec though does have some merit. I too thought they were expensive for what they were, but when I tried cycling to work on a MTB, I found I was averaging around 11mph due to hills. Bought a similar Pedelec from Germany for 1600GP shipped and with similar effort (I always try to go at a reasonable pace) I find I can average around 16mph, slicing around 20mins off the pure pedalled journey.
Fuel costs? I recon 280p/day in the ICE (based on Diesel usage 10p/mile) vs 4p/day on the Pedelec (based on the capacity of battery used and an 80% charging efficiency). Travel time (E/W): ICE 25min / Pedelec 45-50min / MTB 65-70min. But for me it was a choice based on exercise rather than pure cost: I don't plan to cycle more than one or two days a week. I know I'd get more exercise on the MTB but there's also travel time to consider. It's nice to be able to engage 275% boost on the worst hill and go up at 13+mph instead of 4mph...
