Your E-Bike, what’s it’s lifespan?

[wepn]

I have a 2018 Kenevo and I’m not persuaded that any other bike on the market would be an improvement for my riding (new Kenevo, too DH orientated, new Levo, too cross country, SL, not enough powe) BUT, I would like a bigger battery as mine is too often virtually out at end of ride. More importantly, I worry that when the battery is worn out, which could be several years, will I still be able to get another one and will I want to shell out a lot of money for a 500 battery when the standard has grown to 1000? I’m already in my second motor and again will I want to shell out for another motor by which time there might be motors that are half the weight of my own? As for selling second hand, will anyone be interested in buying an ebike with 4, 5 or 6 year old technology?

That’s what I think too. The MY18-19 Kenevo X-wing is not a disposable item.

With rapidly changing battery tech, not to mention modern built-in obsolescence technology, it’s difficult to see it as anything else but disposable unfortunately - unless there is backward compatibility - and there’s no sign of that up to this point.

There is one solution though. Once the battery and other proprietary systems are legacy & no longer supported, Open Source them! All our base are belong to you. An open ecosystem for hardware, firmware & software has many advantages, especially for legacy though otherwise still viable technologies. Third parties can then step in if there’s the demand.

 

[BBear]

I had a 2018 Focus Jam2 and my plan was to ride it into the ground before replacing it. Just sold it though as even though it was a lovely bike to ride the small battery/range just wasn’t cutting it and though I had a Tec pack I didn’t like the way it compromised the bike’s handling. Anyway have a Trek Rail on order and the plan is to run that into the ground.....

 

[nickfrog]

I am hoping for £50/month depreciation. But that means selling for £2,250 after 3 years. Which is going to be tricky as by then new prices of an equivalent bike will probably be under £3k...

 

[steve_sordy]

It's tough being on the bleeding edge of technology!

 

[OldGoatMTB]

Good question. My Levo SL was introduced as new technology to the world in 2020. I'm thinking 5 years max before it is obsolete. Ebike motors and battery technology is evolving, and will continue to evolve at a fast pace.

I can't see my bike every becoming "obsolete" as long as parts are still available for it.

 

[Andy__C]

becoming

 

[nasamorpheus]

I have a 2018 Kenevo and I’m not persuaded that any other bike on the market would be an improvement for my riding (new Kenevo, too DH orientated, new Levo, too cross country, SL, not enough powe) BUT, I would like a bigger battery as mine is too often virtually out at end of ride. More importantly, I worry that when the battery is worn out, which could be several years, will I still be able to get another one and will I want to shell out a lot of money for a 500 battery when the standard has grown to 1000? I’m already in my second motor and again will I want to shell out for another motor by which time there might be motors that are half the weight of my own? As for selling second hand, will anyone be interested in buying an ebike with 4, 5 or 6 year old technology?

How many miles did you do? Any motor replacement?

 

[Pdoz]

It's tough being on the bleeding edge of technology!

Nah.....I'm coming up to 2 years and 4 months ownership, so If it gets stolen tonight my bike has cost me $6( oz) per day. About the same as one large take away coffee - and the local barista is crap.

 

[Pivot]

Good point, alt calc, would be cost per use.

I think in terms of how many times per week/month/year did I use the bike? In summer I do every 3rd day, in winter TBC.
Theoretically, the battery is good for a 1000 charging cycles. That is just over 5-years, if riding and recharging every second day of the entire year

 

[Pdoz]

Good point, alt calc, would be cost per use.

I think in terms of how many times per week/month/year did I use the bike? In summer I do every 3rd day, in winter TBC.
Theoretically, the battery is good for a 1000 charging cycles. That is just over 5-years, if riding and recharging every second day of the entire year

It's at least $120 a day to hire an emtb, so based on my average 3 rides a week that'd be about $40,000 by now - bargain, my emtb has earned $35,000 so far?

 

[steve_sordy]

If you really want an emtb, you will find all sorts of evidence and financial justification to allow you to buy it.

 

[High Rock Ruti]

High Rock Ruti

I don't know how you all do it, I've got three; Rail 9.8 Orbea Team and an old Pivot shuttle, I've had more than one occasion where two bikes are broken at the same time, I'm not bragging I can't keep one bike dependabley running all the time. I let my friends use them with me, (that's only fair) but I'm thinking of another Specialized if the motors are indeed fixed. Four bikes, should be able to have two working at all times.

 

[davarello]

My Levo is coming up to two years and the plan at the moment is to wait for the '22 models in about a year to see what improvements are made in the motor, battery and components. If there's enough reason to upgrade I can then sell the bike with a 12 month warranty on the motor.

 

[MarkH]

Never kept any analogue main mtb over 2 years and merely sold them on the fund the replacement - my thought process has always been to sell them once they approach major (expensive) component replacement, wheels, suspension etc .
Kept a cheap(ish) 2015 downhill bike for occasional uplift use and an even cheaper fat bike for snow use. Both of these have moved to the alps now.
When the Decoy came out I was thinking of replacing my year old 2018 Comp Carbon Levo which was by then on its second motor (I don't think Levos and UK weather play well together) and could probably have got 3k for it, but decided to keep it for the wife (she's never ridden it yet!!) and instead bought the Decoy as my main bike and sent the Levo to the Alps where I only use it in the dry, and as a backup, and hopefully it will last a few years longer.
Not inclined to replace the Decoy until something signficantly better and also lighter is available - maybe in a couple of years more. At that point I may again just keep the Decoy as a spare, if its still reliable, and move on the old Levo. I guess I will have to make a decision if the Decoy gets to the stage where it would benefit from suspension upgrades yet the engine/battery are still going strong.

 

[Swissrider]

No battery that I know of is 1000, but I’ll bet you there will be one soon. But, if the basic technology is more or less the same (and the “experts” in the industry agree), there is not going to be a real game changer in the near future. Thus more powerful batteries can only get larger, heavier and more expensive and as such affect the performance of the bike. There is a lot to be said for duel systems, to give you a lighter and more agile bike for shorter rides, but having the capacity to increase battery life. I noticed the entry requirements for the Tour de Mont Blanc EMTB race include having four batteries! two to carry and two to be handed over at the lunch stop. At present, that means spending about £3000 on batteries or having a lot of mates with the same make and model of bike.