SThe electric bicycle market has been booming since the corona pandemic at the latest. The demand is so great that in many places the dealers’ warehouses are empty and potential customers have to wait months for months.
Is a used e-bike an alternative? “There is nothing wrong with buying a used pedelec. You can save a lot of money on the acquisition costs and give the bike a second life, ”says René Filippek from the General German Bicycle Club (ADFC).
As with buying a normal bicycle, it is helpful to have a little knowledge of bicycle technology in order to be able to assess the condition of the mechanical parts.
“The necessary replacement of wearing parts or even a repair can cost money and reduce the price advantage significantly,” says the expert.
Benjamin Topf is also fundamentally positive about buying used goods. “There are more and more leasing returns, for example from Jobrad. When the lessee then gets his new e-bike, the old one just sits around in the garage, ”says the editor-in-chief of the e-bike magazine“ Downtown ”.
But because standing around is far too expensive, it is then sold. But bargains are not to be expected. “The market has been swept empty and is currently a pure seller’s market,” says Topf and therefore advises against spontaneous purchases.
The battery and motor are the heart of the e-bike
The big unknown with the e-bike compared to a classic bike is the drive system consisting of the motor and battery. “Even a competent person can hardly judge the condition of the motor and battery,” says Filippek.
His tip: “If you want to minimize the risk, buy a used pedelec from a local specialist retailer or from an online provider such as Bikeexchange”. The price advantage is then no longer that great, but you get tested quality and one year warranty.
The condition of the battery is also a key issue for Topf. He also warns of the risk of getting into a tuned bike when buying privately. Function and safety should have priority, but this is not guaranteed with a tuned bike.
“Quite apart from the fact that this tuning is illegal, you are liable to prosecution and private liability insurance does not pay in the event of an accident.”
Check the battery and listen carefully on the test drive
Basically, Benjamin Topf recommends that you not only pay attention to whether the bike is right in terms of the seating position when you take a test ride, but also to listen carefully: “There must be no noises such as clacking or grinding”.
Filippek adds: “The noise development, which is mainly caused by mid-mounted engines, should be even.” Unfortunately, there is not much more to check the engine.
You should definitely have the battery checked. “Even if the bike purrs wonderfully, the battery can be worn out and have lost a lot of capacity,” says the ADFC expert.
The only thing that helps is to have the battery read out in a specialist shop. “The purchase of a new battery can cost up to 1000 euros and then even mean an economic total loss,” adds Topf.
“The battery concept is more important than the battery,” says Topf. What distances do I actually cover? What is the topography of my usual routes? What charging options do I have?
These are the questions that should be asked before buying. A large, particularly powerful battery, the capacity of which is not used to the full, means above all an additional price and an additional weight.
Without an e-bike motor, you can’t go on forever
Incidentally, anyone who thinks that an e-bike that requires replacing the battery is no longer worth cycling as a classic bike is not completely wrong. “You can also ride electric bikes without motor assistance. With hub motors, it is even conceivable to replace the impeller and remove all cables, ”explains Filippek.
With the much more common bikes with a mid-engine, you won’t get rid of the built-in engine, this weight is always with you.
Put through its paces: it depends on the battery and motor used e-bikes
Source: dpa-tmn / Zacharie Scheurer
“And with models in which the gearbox is not decoupled, you also face resistance,” the ADFC spokesman points out. “This may be feasible for short distances, but in the long run it is rather uncomfortable.”
My colleague Topf also rejects e-bike riding with pure physical strength: “The pedaling resistance and the high weight mean that it makes no sense to use it as a bio-bike without a battery.”
How much can I save anyway?
So that it doesn’t even get that far, the more expensive purchase is usually the better one. As with the new e-bike, the same applies to the used one: “If you buy cheap, you buy twice,” says Topf. But what do cheap and expensive actually mean here? What do you have to put on in order to enjoy a used e-bike for a long time?
Filippek mentions a rule of thumb: “As with conventional bicycles, an e-bike is expected to lose around 25 percent in value in the first two years, then around 15 percent per year.” In euros, this means “a high-quality branded model with a tried and tested mid-engine under 1500 euros is by no means available, ”says Benjamin Topf.
Finally, ADFC man Filippek gives something very fundamental to consider: The technical development in the battery sector is advancing so quickly that hardly any manufacturer is in a position to keep all battery generations available for many years.
“Anyone who buys a five-year-old electric bike and wants to replace the battery three years later may be stupid,” says the expert. There is then still the option of having the battery cells refreshed.
“Replacing the original batteries carries a higher risk that the batteries will overheat. And in the worst case scenario, this can lead to a fire, ”says Filippek.
Batteries biggest weakness in e-bikes
Electric bicycles are becoming increasingly popular. In 2020, almost two million e-bikes were sold in Germany and there could be even more in the future. But what about the longevity? Problems often arise with the batteries in particular.
Source: WELT / Peter Haentjes
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