“I’m not saying this as a seller, but as a user, The experience of riding electric bicycles, beyond its comfort, is fun and relaxing,” says Alberto Brisson, owner of the traditional San Juan bicycle shop that bears the family name as its name. At the same time, he assures that, “We have noticed that the sale of these bicycles has been growing. On the one hand, we have the sporty mountain electric ones and, on the other, the urban electric ones. And yes, there is an increase. In any case, it is an incipient market, we believe that it will continue to rise over time.”
Regarding prices, In San Juan stores, the urban electric bikes most chosen for their quality range from $900,000 to $1,000,000. “When referring to these costs we are talking about bicycles of first brand, with after-sales service and warranty. This is a very important factor when choosing a bike of this type, Because since they are new products, it is necessary to have somewhere to go when something fails,” says the seller.
At the same time, he highlights: “There are cheaper ones on the market. However, Sometimes it is best to spend a little more, but it will really serve you longer and not cause problems. For this, after-sales service is essential. Although it is not common for there to be problems, such as Every vehicle can have faults, speed sensors and engines can fail. For now, with the brands we work with, the guarantees have always responded well.”
Another factor to take into account when calculating costs is the electricity consumption for charging. In this regard, Brisson assures that everything depends on the engine. And generally this type of vehicle has five levels of assistance. That is, they have an auxiliary electric motor of up to 250 W, whose speed is interrupted before reaching 25 km/h or if you stop pedaling. “The real electric ones are with assistance. It is not advisable to buy those that do not have assistance, because they lose the true concept,” recommends the cyclist. And, taking this criterion into account, he assures that, “depending on these factors, the charging range ranges from 50 to 100 kilometers. With which, you can easily use it for a week with one charge, Depending of course on the routes. AND The charges are between four and eight hours.”
Added to that expense is also the useful life of the battery that, According to the seller, they work like cell phone batteries. To make them last longer you have to take care of the charging processes, performing charging cycles without making cuts and after the battery is almost completely depleted. Taking the necessary precautions, as indicated by the highest quality brands, Batteries can have between three and four years of useful life.
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This type of battery has a cost that reaches, more or less, between 30 and 40 percent of the value of the bicycle. “The biggest problem we had is that the first bikes that were sold They were already starting to have battery problems, but there were none in the local market. Now, as a greater amount of imported products are entering, they are beginning to arrive,” Brisson says. At the same time, it highlights that, “Batteries are expensive, obviously. But due to the duration they have and the savings obtained by using a means of transportation of this type, the value is amortized.”
Finally, the trader states that the trend In San Juan it is noted that, at the moment, more men than women are encouraged to use them. and that, one of the most common problems is infrastructure. “What we noticed is that There is a lack of infrastructure, a suitable place to circulate. We see that men are more encouraged, but suddenly, women have more reservations, especially about traffic, because “We cyclists must share the space with cars as there is no specific place for circulation,” he says.
And he adds: “In any case, what always happens with a new product is happening, little by little it is becoming known, reliable, everything is adapting and use is increasing. We believe that today, these types of bicycles are an excellent option and that the market will continue to grow.”
