Electric bikes have become so good that they are effective replacements for our gas-powered vehicles. You can now use an electric bike for your daily commute, for school, and for trips to the store, but “How much does an electric bike cost?”
The vast majority (about 75%) of new ebikes sold today are between $1200 and $4000. However, ebikes can range in price from $349 to $80,000.
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Here’s one of the least expensive and one of the most expensive
Disclosure – The link above is an Amazon affiliate link. If you click on it and choose to buy, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I have not tried this bike and can not give a recommendation for it.
Now, you can go to the extremes, but most of us will be somewhere in the $1500 to $4000 price range. Though there are many options online, I don’t recommend buying an ebike under $1000, unless it is a good deal on a used one. Most electric bikes that you will find at an actual bike shop will start around $2500.
(I will try to write a “Best ebike under $1000” post in the future, but the mechanic in me thinks I won’t find one worth recommending)
Ebikes, like regular bicycles, have become much more affordable to get a good quality bike. However, just like regular bicycles, ebikes can be found all over the world and the price range and quality will vary considerably.
In considering the cost for an electric bike there are 4 main factors to consider
- Quality – Is it going to work well and last?
- Features – Does the ebike come with lights, fenders, racks, color displays, etc?
- Brand – Does the ebike have a good warranty, have you heard of the brand before?
- Upkeep – How much does it cost to keep it riding smoothly?
Let’s dive into each of these topics a little more
Quality
Is my ebike going to work and last?
This is the most important factor in buying just about anything, isn’t it?
This is also where you will get the most unreliable information.
The internet is a great tool for researching a product and getting as much information as you can. Just keep in mind, most reviewers online make money from you purchasing a product through their website and it can be really hard to get unbiased opinions.
Customer reviews can also be a great way of finding out if people actually liked the product after they bought it. Though many reviews are genuine, companies also pay for good reviews of their stuff all the time, so take them with a grain of salt.
So what to do?
Well, the best answer is to first try one out or rent an ebike at your local bike shop. Here you can get hands-on with the bike and actually try it before you buy it. Bike shops also carry accessories for the ebikes they carry and will service the products they sell.
Always support locally if you can!
Features
This category is often overlooked when it comes to picking out an ebike. At my shop, we carry ebikes that are just the bike by itself, no bells and whistles, and we also carry ebikes that come with racks, fenders, and lights built-in (for the “Show me what you got” crowd)
Keep in mind that even if the ebike you want does not come with these features, you can often add them later.
Most ebikes that come “fully loaded” will be a bit more expensive than their stripped-down counterparts, but compare prices, because sometimes it is cheaper to get a bike with all those things included than to add them later.
(Above is my own ebike – Full suspension, rear rack, fenders, lights, stem bag, leather saddle, water bottle. It did not come stock with all that stuff. Make your bike your own! It’s your bike.)
There is also the motor, battery, and display to consider.
These are the “electric” parts of an electric bike.
Ebike motors will vary in power and placement.
- Mid-drive motors offer a smoother ride and are more efficient (less wattage for the power), but are typically more expensive and most do not have throttle options.
- Hub–drive motors have a slightly jerky ride and require more wattage for similar power output, but tend to cost less and most have throttles.
Ebike batteries can vary in type and storage size.
Most batteries used in modern ebikes are lithium-ion batteries. Some cheaper ebikes may still use a sealed lead acid battery, if it does, don’t buy it, it’s junk.
Ebike batteries do vary in “size” and by this, I mean how much power they carry. This is measured in watt-hours or Wh, the higher the watt-hours, the longer the charge.
This means that on the same ebike, a battery with more watt-hours will give you more range.
(Some ebikes may come with higher Wh batteries but get less range because different ebikes run at different voltages and motors can vary in wattage output).
That last important ebike feature is the components
The components are the mechanical parts of an ebike –
Frame
Frames come in two main styles –
- Hardtail – No rear suspension, just a solid frame
(less expensive)
- Full suspension – has a shock in the rear, allowing for a smoother ride
(more expensive)
Fork
Forks also come in two main styles
- Rigid – no suspension usually made from –
Steel (most common, least expensive)
Aluminum (not used much, but cheap)
Carbon Fiber (on more and more bikes, but costs a lot)
- Suspension – helps smooth out the bumps
(may cost an extra $100 to $1000 on an ebike, compared to a rigid fork)
Wheels
Most people will just ride with the wheels that come stock on their bike, but heavier riders may wish to upgrade their wheels. Typically, the stronger the wheels, the more they cost.
Drive Train
This includes the chain, cassette, derailleur(s), and I also include the shifter(s) here.
Most ebikes these days have just 1 gear in the front, but can have different set-ups in the rear. These can be anything from 1 speed up to 12 speeds.
Usually the more speeds, the more it costs.
Knowing how you plan to ride your ebike, and if the ebike you’re getting is capable of it, are essential.
Brand
If you are already familiar with some bicycle brands (i.e. Trek, Specialized, Giant) just know that most major bike brands have entered the ebike market and are expanding their ebike models every year.
While these top name brands do have some amazing electric bikes to offer, they will often cost a premium just because of their branding. That’s not to say they aren’t worth it, but you can find just as good of a bike for less with a slightly less recognizable brand.
Most ebikes are made in Asia, (Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Thailand) this includes most U.S. branded companies. The same manufacturers are used for brands you’re familiar with as well as brands you are not. Though there are some ebikes made in the USA.
I have an article called “Electric Bikes: Made in the USA (the true story)” you can check out here.
I recommend going to a few local bike shops (if you have a few nearby, hopefully) to see what they carry and ask a mechanic which one they would buy for themselves. Great way to start.
Upkeep
This is what I call the “4th-dimensional” category. Will your ebike last into the future?
It is easy to compare ebike prices and pick the one that’s in your budget at that moment, but how is your ebike going to hold up down the road? (pun intended:)
Ebikes will need maintenance.
An electric bike is a sophisticated machine with lots of moving parts and at some point, you may get a flat tire or need new brake pads. You may just need some help getting the proper fit or installing some cool new accessories. That is why I recommend starting with a local bike shop and seeing if they offer an ebike that will work for you.
If you want to buy an ebike online and don’t want to have to do all the repairs yourself, you should check with your local bike shop before buying one and see if they are willing to work on it.
Tip – Not all bike shops will work on ebikes that were bought online.
There is also the cost to charge an ebike, but you will be amazed at how cheap it is. For most people in the US, it costs about 5 cents to charge your ebike battery from empty to full.
Fun Fact –
Power in the US is charged by the kilowatt-hour (Kh), which is 1000 watt-hours so if you know the watt-hours of your ebike battery just take that number divide by 1000, and multiply by how much your state charges for kilowatt-hour using the link below.
https://www.energybot.com/electricity-rates-by-state.html
For example,
I live in Oregon, my state charges 9.09 cents per Kh
My ebike battery is 500 Wh
Using our formula above we get –
500/1000*9.09= 4.55 cents per full charge of the battery. Yep, about a nickel to charge my bike up full
I get on average 30 miles per charge.
Lots of cars these days get around 30 miles per gallon.
The average price in Oregon for a gallon of gas is $3.79
So,
- 30 miles on an ebike = about $0.05
- 30 miles in a car = about $3.80
- 500 miles on an ebike = about $0.83
- 500 miles in a car = about $63.34
We can keep going but you get the idea.
Bonus!
Electric bike insurance
- With the higher price of an electric bike, many companies are offering electric bike insurance as a stand-alone policy.
- Not everybody is going to need this. If you have homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, I would check with your carrier to see what is covered. You may be surprised (in a good way or a bad way)
- With a quick search online you can find policies as low as $100 a year to start. For example – https://www.markelinsurance.com/bicycle
- If having insurance helps you ride more, then I’m all for it.
at the end of the day
As you can see, getting an ebike can be a bit of an investment, but if you learn to love riding one as I have, then eventually it can pay for itself and more.
An ebike is an investment in your personal health and the health of the planet. I now use my ebike as my primary form of transportation – commuting to work, shopping for groceries, and just going out for an amazing ride.
There are so many more hidden savings to owning and riding an electric bike than there are costs that now is just the time for you to get one yourself. Soon there could even be a 30% tax credit for buying an ebike. (READ MORE ON THE “EBIKE ACT” HERE)
Before you buy – check with your local bike shop and see what they have – talk to a salesperson and ask if they ride an ebike – If not, ask if anyone there does, and talk with them.
It’s always best to get your information from somebody with hands-on experience.