I Got an E-bike!

Three years ago, I cancelled my car insurance, and spent the next few years relying on public transit, car sharing, and taxi services to get around the city. You can read all the details here about how this move has helped me save $15k.

When the pandemic hit, I wasn’t taking the bus to work anymore as we switched to work from home. So, after working from home and many lockdowns over the last two years, I was feeling pretty cooped up at home. Yes, the daily pandemic walks got me out of the house, but I avoided public transit for a long time for safety.

During that time, I was feeling isolated, and I found that I didn’t go out as impulsively as I used to without a vehicle. Even though I was saving a ton not having the car, it became a financial decision if I wanted to catch a ride somewhere.

Do I want to spend $15 to take an Uber down to the beach for a walk? I can just walk in my neighbourhood again…Is it worth it to spend $50 to use an Evo to go hiking for the day? Even though the overall cost per month was way less, that cost analysis came into a lot of decisions as the car was not longer a sunk cost.

So, I bought an e-bike!

I found one on Facebook marketplace, lightly used (score!) and I haven’t looked back since. I had a regular bike before, but I injured my hips playing sports when I was younger and traveling across town up and down the large hills in Vancouver was painful for me, so I didn’t ride far distances.

I am totally in love with the e-bike. I can use the assist as much as I like. If I want to get a bit of a workout in, I can turn the assist down to a very low setting. If I want to go to the office in my dress shirt or out to dinner, I can also do that without breaking a sweat by using more of the assist on the bike. I have fallen back in love with biking again, and it is such a beautiful way to get around the city. Instead of sitting in traffic on the main roads, I am now biking through the gorgeous site streets full of trees and avoiding cars. 

I am now back at the office a couple days a week, and I am loving morning and afternoon movement and fresh air before and after work. (Did I mention it takes less time to bike than it does to take transit?). Because of the assist and the basket on the bike, I can easily get across town on weekends to get my groceries at the farmers market, my favourite Italian deli, and zero-waste refill stores across town on my bike!

My dad calls and asks if I want to come over for dinner. Before it was 45 mins and 2 buses to get there, or a $20 Uber each way. Now it’s a free 30 mins bike ride along the sea wall!

I paid $1900 for the used bike (regular about $2500 for my model). I also sold my regular bike that I had for $300, exactly what I originally paid for it 10 years ago. So, I am into the e-bike for $1600. With Ubers, care share, and taking the bus I was spending about $100/month. I will totally still take the odd Uber and bus, but it is way less now. Therefore, the bike will pay for itself within a year and a half.

This year I have already put 500 km on it. Which is 500 km of not driving or taking transit, and a lot of fuel saved! More than anything, I am getting out way more often which has been a huge benefit to my mental health.

We will see how this winter goes in #raincouver, I will likely be investing in some good rain gear this fall to extend the biking season as much as possible. But so far I couldn’t be happier with this decision.