20 Gas Tank Refills, or an Electric Bike?

March 23rd, 2012 by Zachary Shahan

Personally, while I think electric bikes are pretty cool, I would just go with a normal bike in most situations. But, in really hilly areas or if you’re going a long way, an electric bike might be a good option. Either way, whether electric or non-electric, bikes cost a ton less than cars and are practical for most trips taken within the U.S. (or probably any other country for that matter).

One electric bike company, Kalkhoff, recently put the huge difference in costs in interesting terms though, so I thought it deserved a little attention here on CleanTechnica.

Of course, this all depends on your location, the car you drive, and the bike you buy, but roughly speaking, Kalkhoff noted that you could buy one of its electric bikes with the same amount of money you would spend on 20 refills of your gas (or petrol) tank. Sounds enticing, eh?

Of course, beyond saving money, bikes (and even electric bikes) help people to improve their health and enjoy the fresh air a bit more. ‘The most rewarding part of our business is that our products are literally life changing for many of our customers and on a national level they help reduce congestion on the roads and motivate people to get active whilst travelling instead of sitting in traffic burning fuel and putting on the pounds,” Scott Snaith, director of 50cycles.com, notes.

Here are a few more pics of Kalkhoff’s e-bikes (which seem to be on sale at the moment):

Have an electric bike? Want one? Drop us a comment! I’ve only ridden one once, and it was just an an athletics track, so I’d be up for hearing about more people’s experiences with them.

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Tags: E-bikes, ebikes, electric bicycles, kalkhoff

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

sealcl

I am personally eyeing these e-bikes (http://ohmcycles.com/electric-bikes/) from OHM Cycles. I like the fact that the amount of assistance you get depends on the amount of work you put in, and the fact that they’re a Canadian company.
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  look nice
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Pangolin

Nowhere do I see this claim validated or expressed numerically. If Kalkhoff has such a page I can’t find it after about five minutes trying. The claim is interesting but would be much stronger with something to back it up.
- http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan
  
  Yeah, i tried to make the point in the piece that there’s a ton of maneuvering room there. Some e-bikes cost several times more than others. Some cars take a ton more money to fill up the gas tank. No idea what they’re assumptions were, but one can think about how much they pay to fill up their tank and what they could buy with 20 refills. I haven’t had a car for about 7-8 years, so didn’t do the math for myself
  - Jonathan
    
    My car costs 125 Euros per tank and my Kalkhoff bike cost 1,700 Euros. So thats 13.6 tanks of fuel. Petrol is expensive in Ireland at 1.60 per litre but it is about average for Europe.
    And yes I would heartily recommend the bike.
    - http://cleantechnica.com/ Zachary Shahan