Made the switch from petrol to electric for your commute yet

[airsafari87]

I will be moving house early in the new year and my commute will go up to approx. 50 miles per day / 250 miles per week.
WFH is not an option.

Commute can either be a mix of A and B roads plus some motorway. Or just a different mix of A and B roads. Both distances work out the same.

Its also a journey I would much prefer to do on a bike rather than in the car. Riding in winter doesn't bother me either as I've done that before on a previous 150 mile round trip daily commute.

Being a commuter bike I just want something as hassle free as possible and an electric bike could work out to a good choice. Yes the initial cost of the bike would be higher, but it would/ should be significantly cheaper to run.

Based on a SV650 punishment bike vs something like a Zero S or SR/F, some very rough maths has brought me to this.

SV650
Approx. 100 miles to a tank.
Approx. £18 to fill.
250 miles per week.
= £45 per week or £180 per month.

Zero S
Approx 100 miles per charge.
2p per mile running cost.
250 miles per week.
= £5 per week or £20 per month.

So in theory a saving of £160 per month over a the SV650.
A quick look online and :-
Zero S could be had for £156 per month.
Zero SR/F could be had for £186 per month.
I'm not dead set on having a Zero, I just used them to run some quick numbers.

So while I would be paying roughly the same each month for an electric bike, I'd have something that was pretty much ride and forget and be unloved (perfect for me for a commuter bike) whereas the SV would require additional servicing, chain maintenance etc ... that the electric bike wouldn't.

So my question is....

Anyone else been down this road yet?
Did you make the switch?
Did it work out for you in the way you hoped it would?
Good points and bad points?

[lukeyman]

I'd do it. I just don't have a commute at the moment!

I did it with my car previously. Financed a 2nd hand Leaf instead of commuting 40 miles a day in my 197. Wife financed a Zoe based on the 80 miles a day she was doing in a DS3.

We've become very used to having a fully fueled vehicle every morning. So much so that it irks me slightly having to take my current bike for petrol!

For 50 miles you could get away with the cheaper FX/S couldn't you? Which I've toyed with for my short solo blats but they don't quite look 'full sized bike' enough. I know you said you didn't necessarily want a Zero but there isn't a lot of choice!

[Dave.]

Not a biker, but filling up everyday would get old real quick.

Not an EV guy either, but the convenience of "filling up" at home while you sleep is much more appealing.

[jjones]

Dave. said:

Not a biker, but filling up everyday would get old real quick.

Not an EV guy either, but the convenience of "filling up" at home while you sleep is much more appealing.

are you forgetting that you have to faff about with a cable each night and morning when "filling up with electricity at home"

[_Neal_]

jjones said:

are you forgetting that you have to faff about with a cable each night and morning when "filling up with electricity at home"

Plugging in and unplugging one cable is a heck of a lot less faff than going to a petrol station to fill up!

[bogie]

I would do it if I had a regular commute that was coming out of my own pocket. Ive not done that for 25 years though.

Electric bike seems like a no brainer from a fuel cost...for now.

[P675]

Anyone who wants to save money isn't going to put down £20k on a bike vs. £4k and wait 10 years for it to pay for itself.

[bogie]

P675 said:

Anyone who wants to save money isn't going to put down £20k on a bike vs. £4k and wait 10 years for it to pay for itself.

ah...yes....I had assumed the bikes were similar price, just looked at the price of a Zero

[the cueball]

I have a similar ride into work each day... approx 50 miles and 50/50 mix of motorway/back roads.

My answer is a Fazer FZS600

3ppm running costs, 160 miles to a tank.

I service it myself, which takes about a half hour.

I don't clean it save for "safety" cleaning of the lights and brakes... chain get a lube once a month - so very little faff.

I actually don't consider any of it "faff" as bikes are my hobby, so it's always time well spent..

[Jag_NE]

Buying brand new fancy st is rarely the cheap option, their marketing people make sure of that. Something Jap and 600 must be ideal.

[Donbot]

airsafari87 said:

SV650
Approx. 100 miles to a tank.
Approx. £18 to fill.
250 miles per week.
= £45 per week or £180 per month.

At £1.45 per litre that is 36.6mpg.

If you plan on getting that sort of mpg out of an SV650 then I don't think an electric bike will have the performance and range to be viable!

[jjones]

_Neal_ said:

Plugging in and unplugging one cable is a heck of a lot less faff than going to a petrol station to fill up!

Not so sure, I have over 300 miles tank range on my bike which would be once per week for the OPs commute, electric bike will need cable faffing 10 times in that same period.

[sjg]

I wouldn't do that commute but if I had to then some sort of comfy electric maxi scooter would be ace. Just plugging it in inside the garage each night beats faffing at the petrol station.

It's a shame the BMW C Evolution is a bit short on range, likewise the Vectrix (unless you find one that's had the batteries replaced with Nissan Leaf modules) and while there's plenty for other markets, not many on sale here yet.

[airsafari87]

P675 said:

Anyone who wants to save money isn't going to put down £20k on a bike vs. £4k and wait 10 years for it to pay for itself.

I'm not looking to save money though.

But it's a good excuse to buy another bike for roughly the same amount each week that it would cost me to run my current POS.

Man maths.

[MrGman]

Why aren’t you looking at a scooter? I had a xmax300, it was plenty good enough for motorway commuting, done 80mpg, servicing was cheap as chips good weather protection, ample of storage under the seat. If you feel you need a bit more power, they do a 400, or maybe a tmax but they aren’t quite as frugal.

[NMNeil]

airsafari87 said:

I will be moving house early in the new year and my commute will go up to approx. 50 miles per day / 250 miles per week.
WFH is not an option.

Commute can either be a mix of A and B roads plus some motorway. Or just a different mix of A and B roads. Both distances work out the same.

Its also a journey I would much prefer to do on a bike rather than in the car. Riding in winter doesn't bother me either as I've done that before on a previous 150 mile round trip daily commute.

Being a commuter bike I just want something as hassle free as possible and an electric bike could work out to a good choice. Yes the initial cost of the bike would be higher, but it would/ should be significantly cheaper to run.

Based on a SV650 punishment bike vs something like a Zero S or SR/F, some very rough maths has brought me to this.

SV650
Approx. 100 miles to a tank.
Approx. £18 to fill.
250 miles per week.
= £45 per week or £180 per month.

Zero S
Approx 100 miles per charge.
2p per mile running cost.
250 miles per week.
= £5 per week or £20 per month.

So in theory a saving of £160 per month over a the SV650.
A quick look online and :-
Zero S could be had for £156 per month.
Zero SR/F could be had for £186 per month.
I'm not dead set on having a Zero, I just used them to run some quick numbers.

So while I would be paying roughly the same each month for an electric bike, I'd have something that was pretty much ride and forget and be unloved (perfect for me for a commuter bike) whereas the SV would require additional servicing, chain maintenance etc ... that the electric bike wouldn't.

So my question is....

Anyone else been down this road yet?
Did you make the switch?
Did it work out for you in the way you hoped it would?
Good points and bad points?

Honest question. Will your insurance be cheaper as well?

[Donbot]

MrGman said:

Why aren’t you looking at a scooter? I had a xmax300, it was plenty good enough for motorway commuting, done 80mpg, servicing was cheap as chips good weather protection, ample of storage under the seat. If you feel you need a bit more power, they do a 400, or maybe a tmax but they aren’t quite as frugal.

The man maths doesn't work that way.

If you are going to buy a Tesla, or some other electric vehicle you need to compare the fuel economy with a Challenger 2 main battle tank to make the numbers look better.

[poo at Paul's]

the cueball said:

I have a similar ride into work each day... approx 50 miles and 50/50 mix of motorway/back roads.

My answer is a Fazer FZS600

3ppm running costs, 160 miles to a tank.

I service it myself, which takes about a half hour.

I don't clean it save for "safety" cleaning of the lights and brakes... chain get a lube once a month - so very little faff.

I actually don't consider any of it "faff" as bikes are my hobby, so it's always time well spent..

You sure about 3p per mile?
That’s about 160mpg

[Pazuzu]

Wot he said, £4.80 to fill the tank?

[Rob_F]

Donbot said:

airsafari87 said:

SV650
Approx. 100 miles to a tank.
Approx. £18 to fill.
250 miles per week.
= £45 per week or £180 per month.

At £1.45 per litre that is 36.6mpg.

If you plan on getting that sort of mpg out of an SV650 then I don't think an electric bike will have the performance and range to be viable!

This seems the fundemental error here. I'm pretty sure any twin in a 'commute' style ride will do 55mpg up. I get 55mpg if i'm just 'going somewhere' on my Ducati Supersport.

Cheers,
Rob