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More Twin Cities families using ‘cargo bikes’ to haul groceries and children (www.twincities.com)
submitted 4 months ago by to c/utilitycycling@slrpnk.net
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[–] 10 points 4 months ago (7 children)

A second car has an annual upkeep cost of $8,000, while a cargo bike can be purchased for $3,000

Kinda sad they didn't say the annual upkeep costs of a cargo e-bike

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  • [–] 8 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    It's like maybe $200 if you ride a lot and less if you do any of your own work... Which you can because it's a bike.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (4 children)

    Huh, I would expect a yearly tune up to cost $100-200 in labor only.

    If you don't do your own work, I'd estimate $1,000 per year in average maintenance for a good cargo e-bike that's used daily.

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  • [–] 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

    The first one is usually like 6 weeks to 3 months and it's free. The next one is usually half price. Here's my receipt for our 3 year after a lot of hard riding:

    a receipt listing several bike parts. It's all Dutch. The total is €311

    This is the most expensive bill we've had. This year we had to replace the drive train. It was €90.

    That bike is only 6k. Why would it cost 1k/yr? It's not a car.

    Edit: I lied. I found a bill for like €407. During that service we added a €200 bike alarm. The other year was €161.

    And technically, the total cost of ownership is a bit higher. Total replacement insurance for us is like €60/mo or something. But again, you could do absolutely no work on your bike, throw it in the canal, and buy a new one every year, and you'd still be able to buy an extra bike on top of replacing your old one every year with the money you save not having a car.

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  • [–] 1 point 4 months ago (2 children)

    That insurance cost is CRAZY. That's 1% of the cost of your bike every month. I.e. you'll have paid your bike in insurance premium in 8 years. This policy is only valuable if you expect your bike to need "total replacement" which I assume means it's stolen, more than every 8 years?!

    Just put that money in an account and you can buy a new bike every 8 years for "free" as your insurance policy.

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  • [–] 4 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 child)

    Yeah, we live in a high theft area of Amsterdam. They also pay total replacement with no deductible. We've actually already come out ahead when my other bike was stolen.

    The rate is actually variable based on theft data in the area. It's gone up a lot recently, it might go back down. It was ranging between 68 and 71 for an the bakfiets and a regular omafiets.

    Their service is also great. It was like less than a week turn around when my other bike was stolen. It's worth it.

    We haven't owned a car in years, so bikes are our primary transport. We can't really afford to be without them, so it's kind of worth it given the situation.

    Edit: it also covers bike rental, and it covers damage as well as theft.

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