5 ms·

They also don’t last as long (miles-wise, possibly time-wise as well?), so you may have the same person buying multiple bikes over time when the first one wears

They also don’t last as long (miles-wise, possibly time-wise as well?), so you may have the same person buying multiple bikes over time when the first one wears out or breaks or is stolen. Usually for electric cars, the vehicle enters the used market and doesn’t leave (for the junkyard) until 15-20 years and 200,000 miles later.

missedthecue 5y ago
Are there any 20 year old electric cars?
- truffdog 5y ago
  Probably some EV1s kicking around still- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1
- Robotbeat 5y ago
  There are 20 year old used hybrid-electric cars, which work exactly the same way. Older Priuses are still around. I found several used 2002 Priuses (have to go to Japan to find earlier, I think). (Although Prius didn’t really start selling a lot until the 2004 refresh.) https://www.edmunds.com/inventory/srp.html?make=toyota&model=prius&year=2001-2001&inventorytype=used%2Ccpo&initialUrlPattern=make%2Fmodel%2Fyear&radius=6000 https://www.edmunds.com/inventory/srp.html?make=toyota&model... People regular go hundreds of thousands of miles on their used Priuses. I own a 2012 Leaf and a 2013 Tesla that I intend to drive for another 6-10 years. Both work great. (Also selling a 2012 Volt which is fantastic but doesn’t have enough seats so I’m selling.)
jzymbaluk 5y ago
With regular maintenance and replacable batteries, I don't really see any reason an average eBike wouldn't last for many years
- analog31 5y ago
  Most of my friends with e-bikes are already on their second e-bike. One issue is obsolescence. The newer bikes have bigger tires, better frame designs to accommodate the motor, better controls, more battery capacity, and so forth. They are purpose built as e-bikes, rather than conventional bikes with a motor and battery strapped on. Another is repair. Finding spare parts for the electronics is a headache. The hall sensor went out on one friend's bike motor, resulting in a new bike. Voltages and connector pinouts have to be matched unless you're a whiz with a soldering iron and can find documentation -- good luck. Conventional bikes had similar issues with both things, but there's a brisk global market for keeping older bikes working, and a sufficient supply of aftermarket parts for obsolete bikes are available in the US. And there's a lot of shared folklore on how to keep old bikes working, along with people who cobble bikes together from old parts and sell them. I can still maintain a 1963 Schwinn. All but one of my bikes are assembled from spare parts. That kind of secondary economy hasn't emerged for e-bikes yet.
  - deanclatworthy 5y ago
    This isn’t such a problem with high end brands. I have a specialized ebike and am fairly sure I’ll get 5-10 years out of it. Only concern is the motor.
    - analog31 5y ago
      That should be do-able. And of course it's hard to say how long a bike "should" last. It's not unrealistic to get 40 years out of a conventional bike, though some parts are consumable. Since my bikes are thrown together from parts, there's a bit of survivor bias going on when I say that they're 30 to 40 years old, and there are some older technologies not worth saving such as steel rims. What I do hope is that otherwise good bikes and their parts don't become un-salvagable because someone can't find a wiring diagram or something like that. I hope that like with conventional bikes, a cottage industry arises that shares information and recycles out-of-fashion bikes into usable vehicles for the rest of us. What do they do with old bikes in India or Africa? That's what I want to see. I don't feel bad if that 5-10 years is followed by a decent life in someone else's hands.

missedthecue 5y ago

Are there any 20 year old electric cars?

truffdog 5y ago
Probably some EV1s kicking around still- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_EV1
Robotbeat 5y ago
There are 20 year old used hybrid-electric cars, which work exactly the same way. Older Priuses are still around. I found several used 2002 Priuses (have to go to Japan to find earlier, I think). (Although Prius didn’t really start selling a lot until the 2004 refresh.) https://www.edmunds.com/inventory/srp.html?make=toyota&model=prius&year=2001-2001&inventorytype=used%2Ccpo&initialUrlPattern=make%2Fmodel%2Fyear&radius=6000 https://www.edmunds.com/inventory/srp.html?make=toyota&model... People regular go hundreds of thousands of miles on their used Priuses. I own a 2012 Leaf and a 2013 Tesla that I intend to drive for another 6-10 years. Both work great. (Also selling a 2012 Volt which is fantastic but doesn’t have enough seats so I’m selling.)

jzymbaluk 5y ago

With regular maintenance and replacable batteries, I don't really see any reason an average eBike wouldn't last for many years

analog31 5y ago
Most of my friends with e-bikes are already on their second e-bike. One issue is obsolescence. The newer bikes have bigger tires, better frame designs to accommodate the motor, better controls, more battery capacity, and so forth. They are purpose built as e-bikes, rather than conventional bikes with a motor and battery strapped on. Another is repair. Finding spare parts for the electronics is a headache. The hall sensor went out on one friend's bike motor, resulting in a new bike. Voltages and connector pinouts have to be matched unless you're a whiz with a soldering iron and can find documentation -- good luck. Conventional bikes had similar issues with both things, but there's a brisk global market for keeping older bikes working, and a sufficient supply of aftermarket parts for obsolete bikes are available in the US. And there's a lot of shared folklore on how to keep old bikes working, along with people who cobble bikes together from old parts and sell them. I can still maintain a 1963 Schwinn. All but one of my bikes are assembled from spare parts. That kind of secondary economy hasn't emerged for e-bikes yet.
- deanclatworthy 5y ago
  This isn’t such a problem with high end brands. I have a specialized ebike and am fairly sure I’ll get 5-10 years out of it. Only concern is the motor.
  - analog31 5y ago
    That should be do-able. And of course it's hard to say how long a bike "should" last. It's not unrealistic to get 40 years out of a conventional bike, though some parts are consumable. Since my bikes are thrown together from parts, there's a bit of survivor bias going on when I say that they're 30 to 40 years old, and there are some older technologies not worth saving such as steel rims. What I do hope is that otherwise good bikes and their parts don't become un-salvagable because someone can't find a wiring diagram or something like that. I hope that like with conventional bikes, a cottage industry arises that shares information and recycles out-of-fashion bikes into usable vehicles for the rest of us. What do they do with old bikes in India or Africa? That's what I want to see. I don't feel bad if that 5-10 years is followed by a decent life in someone else's hands.