Will E-Bikes Become Cheaper

If there was one aspect that immediately turned a lot of people away from buying e-bikes, a lot of people would definitely say it was their exorbitant price tag. If the price of an electric bike is already as high as a used car, would you buy it?

There is no shortage of such e-bike models, but people still buy them. In fact, these bikes have unique advantages that end up giving them an equally unbeatable value.

If you’re one of the thousands of people who fall in love with these bikes, this sounds all the more true. That said, you, too, might be one of many people hoping that their prices will drop somehow. For any electric bike enthusiast, this could be a dream come true.

Indeed, will e-bikes become cheaper? If they do, when? It is safe to say that e-bikes are unlikely to become cheaper in the near future, as the price of their basic materials is still rising and the technology is not yet mature.

From batteries to motors, current trends in e-bike manufacturing focus on improved performance. This means that manufacturers are still spending money to upgrade their models to provide a better experience and user convenience.

Easy E-Biking – Year-round Electric Bike Deals and Discounts – Real World, Real Electric Bikes That Help Make Electric Bikes Practical and Fun

Add a motorcycle special offer
In short, the technology remains unsolved. Second, you can’t ignore economic factors either. Import prices fluctuate wildly, and for the most part, they almost always point upwards.

Also, newer, more advanced features are always being introduced into future models, which also greatly affects the price of any e-bike. Even so, that doesn’t necessarily mean this will always be the future. Once the technology reaches a level of maturity, the immediate result is almost always a drop in the price of e-bikes.

You also shouldn’t overlook the availability of used e-bikes, which are sold at a steep slash. In this regard, it’s arguable that you can still maintain a lot of control over whatever budget is allocated when it comes to purchasing an e-bike that suits your needs and preferences.

Easy E-Biking – For mountain electric bikers, making electric bikes practical and fun
Why e-bikes are unlikely to be cheaper anytime soon
The current trend of electric bicycle prices is likely to continue to rise and will not change direction in the short term. As mentioned above, this is caused by a variety of factors. In this section, we explain in more detail how each factor affects the described trajectory. This way, you will be able to get comprehensive answers to your main questions.

Materials used to make electric bicycles
If we’re going to talk about the materials used in e-bikes in terms of ballooning prices, a lot of that depends on the battery. In the past, e-bikes have preferred lead-acid batteries due to their relatively low cost. Some e-bikes actually still use this type of battery in their models.

However, the trend of companies opting for lithium-ion batteries has clearly increased. This is because of their overall higher capacity, smaller size and weight. Even though the price of these batteries has dropped significantly over the past decade, it’s still fair to say that their prices remain sensitive to increases in the prices of the materials used to make them.

Metals such as cobalt, lithium and nickel are the main components of lithium-ion batteries and their demand is expected to continue to grow. And these batteries have proven to be particularly sensitive to even slight increases in the prices of these commodities. That’s why many e-cyclists are uncomfortable with the fact that one battery replacement is already costing you a fortune.

The same goes for motors, especially those made by well-known brands like Panasonic, Bosch or Samsung. Prices always go up in wattage in small increments. In the process, it can significantly raise costs.

Also, most of these brands almost always use premium materials in their motors to ensure longevity and performance. Whether or not an e-bike uses dual motors (it goes without saying that it is usually always more expensive) must also be taken into account.

Economic factors
This factor largely depends on a country. However, it is undeniable that almost most countries are affected by import price volatility and inflation. Of course, if the materials used for batteries are imported, their prices will also be greatly affected. This is just a very basic picture of how the economy affects the price of electric bikes.

The Brexit situation and inflation are just a few good examples of how current economic conditions are affecting e-bike prices. Even though battery prices may drop in the US, they are still rising in the UK due to the devaluation of the pound and other economic and political factors.

At best, this explains how your current country of residence affects the price or budget-friendliness of an e-bike. Obviously, these aspects are also still very unpredictable.

Easy E-Biking – e-bike controls for kids that help make e-bikes practical and fun
Electric Bike Technology Has Its Costs
As mentioned above, e-bike technology in general is still in a state of transition. There’s a consistent drive to test the limits of what it can offer a normal electric bike. In this case, the market and technology are not yet mature, and the price will remain high. This is true of any new technology.

You can easily see this price difference when you compare the price of a low-end or “outdated” e-bike with the price of a high-end e-bike. More advanced e-bikes have state-of-the-art features that push the boundaries of e-bike technology.

From GPS trackers and app syncing to smart routing, these innovative models manage to command a hefty price tag with a high level of convenience features never seen before. But given the speed at which manufacturers are scrambling to outpace each other, even they are destined to be eclipsed quickly.

Having said that, competition also plays a crucial role in influencing the price of electric bikes. Due to the relatively cheap price, the Chinese model is usually required. However, they’re also notorious for being of poor quality, and most don’t last long and can have a lot of flaws. That’s not to say they don’t have a huge customer base, though. And their participation will only make the competition more intense.

In fact, they even managed to force Western companies to lower their prices. Still, there are some e-bike folks who shy away from Chinese brands like the plague simply because of their less-than-impressive reputations. That’s why you can’t really expect high-end e-bike makers to lose customers anytime soon.

The future of electric bikes and their prices
Now that you understand some of the aspects that influence the high cost trend of electric bikes, it’s time to take a look at where e-bikes are headed in the future. This way, you’ll get a more complete picture of its trajectory. For the same reason, we may be able to provide a plausible answer to the second main question of this paper.

The power of the upgrade makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly where e-bikes currently stand. What is certain, however, is that the integrated battery and motor have improved a lot since these types of bikes were introduced.

Gone are the days of heavy duty e-bikes due to bulky batteries hanging out of the frame. Additionally, a number of features are now added to alleviate past issues and introduce enhancements into the process.

Electric mountain bikes, in particular, are growing especially fast as they have more and more customers. In fact, it is one of the subcategories of e-bikes, and many experts are more than willing to share their thoughts, especially about its future.

Quick tip: The overall gist of their predictions is that future e-bikes will be significantly lighter, including more technology (and connectivity), better rider-based geometry and overall user experience.

Easy E-Biking – Electric bike rental that makes electric bikes practical and fun
The key is technology maturity
While the technology may improve dramatically in a short period of time, unfortunately, the price is almost always proportional to its rise. As for when e-bikes will fully mature, only time will tell.

Quick tip: You can only finally expect electric bike prices to drop—or even plummet—once the e-bike technology matures.

That’s why you can expect more outdated models to cost relatively less than newly released models. And their prices will drop further in a few years.

Lithium and cobalt may still be valuable and expensive, but you can expect lithium-ion battery prices to drop overall. This trend has been going on since 2010, and it doesn’t seem to be showing signs of changing direction anytime soon.

With lithium-ion batteries widely considered to be among the best ever made, it’s hard to say that e-bike makers will be looking for a replacement for the time being.

In the end, it all depends on your preferences and purpose
What do you want from an electric bike? Are you a tech purist who can’t get enough “innovative” models? Or do you just want to choose practicality, even if you’re only content with mid-range or even low-end models? Never underestimate these models as they still offer all the essential benefits of an electric bike.

A great example of a solid low-end e-bike is the super e-bike we’ve featured in this article. It costs less than $600, but can hit an average top speed of 20 mph on a mid-to-high-end e-bike. Although a bit heavy, it still contains a lithium-ion battery.

However, it definitely forgoes all the tech features you can get from a more expensive e-bike. Many users who praise the bike tend to use it for short, less than an hour-a-day commutes. If that’s what you’re after, you certainly don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a highly advanced electric bike for that.

The Turbo Vado in the same article is nearly ten times more expensive at $5,150. Still, its lifetime warranty and added premium features like app support, a route tracker, GPS functionality, and a riding range indicator more than make up for the cost.

Obviously, users of such complex bikes tend to choose them because they spend a lot of time riding e-bikes and need these extra features. Or maybe it’s because they prefer to be as modern as possible.

Easy E-Biking – Blix Aveny electric bikes that make electric bikes practical and fun
Photo courtesy of Blix
The main appeal of e-bikes stems from their unprecedented convenience. It transforms the fully human-driven traditional cycling experience into pure electric operation.

That’s why it wouldn’t be surprising if a lot of people jumped at the chance to try out the latest feature. Again, for these reasons, they are also very willing to shell out money.

Is there a chance for e-bikes to become cheaper in the future?
Considering the above facts, it is futile to hope that electric bikes will drop significantly in price for the foreseeable future. That would be a different story if major components like batteries continued to rely on demand materials like cobalt and lithium.

In addition to the effects of conflict between large (and not-so-large) e-bike manufacturing companies, highly variable economic dynamics will always play a role.

Electric bikes are sure to eventually get cheaper like any other gadget or technology. Just don’t expect its price to stabilize for months or even years. Don’t overlook that it’s still technically still in its growth phase – if not in its infancy – this is what excites e-bike riders the most.

The veil of e-bike technology is slowly being lifted before our eyes, and the future for its users is sure to be very bright. Of course, from a financial standpoint, this also applies to them.

 

If you are looking for a new way of commuting or want a healthier lifestyle, we are here to help you. Visit our website to learn more about electric bikes and electric scooter or please leave information to us.