Get the USV Commuter and Never Buy Gas Again

Electric bikes are nothing new but this one is interesting because the manufacturer claims it has a 20 mile range and double that with their extra battery.  They are marketing it as a replacement to commuting with your car.. “comfortable and safe, front and rear fox suspension, disk brakes, powerful 500w motor, Kevlar reinforced tires.

It looks like a nice bike and don’t get me wrong I am all for environmentally friendly vehicles, but is getting work in a bike versus a car every really even comparable?  I mean a bike just introduces so many other hazards and experiences into your daily commute even if it is only 20 miles.  For starters most 4 wheel vehicles don’t pay too much respect to bikers as far as road rules go.  Secondly, the vast majority of America’s roadway system is not designed from the ground up to support bicycles. Now Europe is a different story, I have been to europe many times and I can tell you that their roads design makes it VERY easy for bikers to get around and electric bikers too.

Plus, in Europe they have very frequent bike crossing areas and pedestrian crossing areas that most drivers obey, so there should not be too much fear of getting run over.  But in America, try crossing the middle of the road with a bike, but be careful!

Like everything else in life there is a cost and benefit analysis that can be done before undertaking something new.  Add up the costs and then look at the benefits and weigh each one hand in hand.  If one weighs a lot more than the other then you should be ok.. but if they are of equal weight then maybe it is not the best idea.

I am bit surprised at the cost of this bike too. It is close to $6000.  That is a really high price for 2 sets of wheels.  But I suppose if you were to buy a used toyota for that price you would end up paying maybe $2000 a year in gas assuming you use 10 gallons of gas a week.  So then this bike after 3 years would start to initiate cost savings whereas the toyota will still cost a lot in terms of maintenance and gas.

My verdict? Stick with 4 wheels for now…

Source: Optibike