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> This is not expensive at all. I mean, you can get a regular bike for €300, €700 if you want to splurge. But of course, the downside of that would be that you
by estomagordo 3y ago
> This is not expensive at all.
I mean, you can get a regular bike for €300, €700 if you want to splurge. But of course, the downside of that would be that you'd get more exercise.
- moooo99 3y agoI mean, you can also easily spend >2k on a bike. In terms of e-bikes the prices for Vanmoof and their competitor Cowboy aren’t particularly cheap, but they aren’t incredibly out of line either.
- haspok 3y agoYeah, but for the price bump you get features which affect the ride of the bike directly (lower weight, better braking, easier shifting etc.). Of course there are diminishing returns, but a 2k bike is significantly better than a 1k bike in almost all aspects, and a 4k bike is also noticeably better than the 2k one. (Whether the price is worth it for you is another question). For me, theft-protecting a 4k bike which otherwise would be a 2.5k bike is nonsensical, because I don't need theft protection - basically you would be trying to sell me a 2.5k bike for 4k. No, thank you.
- scotty79 3y agoI'm using a bike that I bought new for less than 100 euro from a big box shop. I've been using it for more than a decade with zero maintenance (apart from fixing occasional flat). It still works. It's just little stiff which is a feature because I can prop the handlebars against the wall and it stays like that because the weight of the bicycle is not enough to turn the handlebars. It's also heavy because it has suspension. I could buy lighter bicycle that runs smoother but riding a bicycle is an exercise for me. Why would I pay to make it easier?
- haspok 3y agoI mean, why buy a bike at all? You could just run instead of riding, it is even more exercise for you, and doesn't cost a penny.
- scotty79 3y agoMaybe you can. I can't run. Even a minute or two. Never could. My lungs fill with a up with fluid and joints get easily injured when I run. I can walk though. And I'm walking a lot too. Biking engages different muscles, I move differently and it puts less stress on the joints.
- oblio 3y agoThis is a commuter bike. That's hardly related to "exercise", it's about getting from A to B efficiently, cheaply and comfortably.
- estomagordo 3y agoPretty ridiculous claim to say that biking to and from work every day isn't providing you with exercise.
- timothyduong 3y agoIt’s a scale, the majority of colleagues that have an e-bike state they don’t want to rock up to work in sweat. If exercise was the primary focus alongside a commuter, then getting a non-electric bike would be likely the focus. Source: I just bought a bicycle and went through months of asking colleagues and friends their opinions on e-bikes. I ended up with a bike cause I’m not planning to commute
- michaelt 3y ago> I mean, you can also easily spend >2k on a bike. And what you would have is an expensive bike. $2k is an expensive bike. The fact the market offers a $3,000,000 car doesn't mean a $100,000 car isn't an expensive car.
- ctvo 3y agoThe fact the market offers a $5,000 car doesn't mean a $25,000 car is an expensive car. We can stop going in circles. You think it's expensive, but it's not an order of magnitude more expensive, like your example cites. Others don't think it's that expensive, and I agree with them. Researching e-bikes 1-2k seems like market price, and they were within that range.
- ornornor 3y agoYou can also exercise with an ebike. I push just as hard as on my acoustic bike when I feel like it instead of all the time. It’s 30C outside? I don’t have to arrive all sweaty with an ebike. I have a meeting or go into work? Same. But when I choose too I can lower the assist level, pedal hard, and/or go faster and longer. Best of both worlds. But I have a European ebike with torque sensing, not the glorified escooters with pedals where the motor is either full torque or no torque: I still have to pedal to make the bike move.
- foepys 3y agoHave the prices come down lately? When COVID hit, it was nearly impossible to find cheap new bikes.
- estomagordo 3y agoI bought a new bike for €300 something in 2021, in NL. But it does seem like some stores hardly carry anything that costs below €1000.
- mvanbaak 3y agoe-bike with alarm and all other features like apple find my? This is about the VanMoof price, so you have to compare with bikes that bring in the same set of features.
- estomagordo 3y agoIf the features are nearly useless, like for instance an electric motor, then we can simply assign a very low weight to them when comparing.
- oblio 3y agoAre you saying that the specific electric motor used by VanMoof is useless? If so, under what circumstances? Always, or just on steep slopes or at high speed?
- dpatterbee 3y agoI would say a motor is remarkably useful feature on a transportation device.
- rerx 3y agoMarket changed. Bike vendors have a harder time unloading their inventory these days.
- oezi 3y agoYou can get a cheap bike for 300 where every part except the frame fails within a year. Otherwise 500-700 is the low end for quality bikes.
- mjhagen 3y ago300 buys you a fantastic second hand bike with all standard parts that any shop can repair or replace.
- verbify 3y agoPeople have different requirements. I had a commute that on an ebike took 50 minutes, and on a regular bike took me about 1:15 minutes each way. I couldn't do 2:30hrs of cycling every day, 5 days a week - it wasn't an option both in terms of time and effort. Maybe with a serious training program (and if I was older it would be even more difficult). 45 minutes of cycling on an electric bike was still plenty of exercise, and if I hadn't done that, I would've probably taken a train.