Honest question for e-bike buyers: What's your long term ownership strategy when you buy an e-bike?

Not sure if it matters, but my bike is listed as a 2024. I'll check the motor tomorrow and see if it's designated a 23 or 24.

there is no acid in ebike batteries, old man. also, they are recyclable 

We live in a mad world. Cops used to show up at our house & break us down if a neighbor 3 miles away "described" a moto as we crossed a road to get to a trail/property we were allowed to go on.  

Now, you get to film every illegal activity on earth, post it online, name yourself something nerdy & the internet cuts you checks for being the world's biggest douche bags.  We went to jail for turning a Hardees sign at 2am from the breakfast menu to the lunch menu with a line of cars behind us.

My permanent record has one thing: "Injury to Real Property" 
Meanwhile, this dude is the world's justification for abstinence.

I got arrested and charged a felony for drunkenly swinging around a public park hours sign that broke the rusty bolt heads off the base. They claimed $1000 to repair, I fought it and turns out it took $35 to fix. Still got 40 hours of public service and 1 year of probation 😑...

Ignorance is bliss.  I have a full suspension e-mtb with 19,636 kms. (almost 5 years ago). In the Spring of 2023 I purchased a hardtail e-mtb.  I avidly ride both.  Fun, fun, fun.

I bought mine about two years ago, and my current strategy is somewhere between “ride it into the ground” and “hope it holds resale value.” I love the bike, but I’m fully aware that motor or battery issues could make it practically worthless in a few years if parts aren’t available.

I did a ton of research before buying, and one of the biggest things I looked into was support and repair access. Some brands have amazing hardware but almost no after-sales support. Others at least try to make the ownership experience sustainable. For example, I’ve heard good things about Whizz customer service. They seem to be building a rep for actually helping riders out with battery replacements and service questions, even post-warranty. That kind of backup honestly means more to me than slightly better specs on paper.

If you’re considering an e-bike, my advice would be: don’t just compare motors and range—look into how long the company has been around, what their customer support is like, and whether replacement parts are standardized or proprietary. Because yeah, the idea of eating a $1,200 repair sucks, and unfortunately, it’s a real possibility with some of these bikes.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s dealt with a motor or battery replacement firsthand. Was it worth it, or did it push you into just buying a new bike?

I was thinking the other day that it would be cool if someone offered up "analog" conversions for ebikes where the motor company goes out of business, stops supporting a motor, or charges too much for a replacement unit after it fails.  Case in point:  all the EP8s out there that will eventually die, and Shimano will demand $1,200 for a new motor.  What if someone made a machined aluminum "box" that matched certain motor bolt patterns, with a tube for a crank axle and tapped for BSA 73 bottom brackets?  If the motor and/or battery dies, drop those and remove the remote, bolt in the analog box.  Add on a BB and set of cranks, and you've got a normal bike.  I have a Heckler SL that is essentially an e-Bronson, and I'd happily convert it to a Bronson if and when Fazua goes belly up, because there's nothing wrong with the rest of the frame or components.

@tybez 

Bought a 2018 commencal meta power new full price for €4300.

Had to replace the Shimano motor in 2022 for €1000, sold the bike a year later for €2000. So I probably could have gotten a bit more by selling the bike as parts when the motor failed, but I'm not that annoyed about it, the bike lived an incredibly hard life and was great to ride.

In 2023 I bought a giant reign ebike for 5k and shifted it 2 years later for 3k, which is pretty normal mtb depreciation. Currently on a 4.3k Bosch based ebike so I'm pretty confident I won't lose more than 2k at resale. Got both these bikes at 20% off by buying at the right place right time.

Currently seeing a ton of SL bikes going for 40% off, but usually not the size I want, I definitely wouldn't pay more than 4k for an SL as they will be worth nothing at resale.

If a really interesting bike appeared on the market next year, I might be willing to spend over 5k (never have before) knowing full well I'll lose way more money on resale, but it would have to be a bike I would aim to keep 3-4years.

I bought a used beat to shit Tazer for $2k.  New bearings, swapped the DVO fork for a Z1 Coil.  I think it had like 3K on the odometer.  Still running somehow.  If it dies, I doubt I will replace it unless something comes along for around the same price point.  

I buy used older stuff, so resale never crosses my mind.  

"You will ride this very expensive e-bike until you turn it into garbage. You're fully expecting to be the last owner and to eat the entire $6-15k purchase price when the motor or battery eventually becomes unrepairable, when parts are no longer available"

That's me. I'm a future e-biker. Don't need one now, but in 5-10 years, I'll be looking at one. I'll be in my 60s by then, and ready for a respite from the climbing. I still want to charge down the downhills, but I doubt I'll have the strength to do the climbing very well. Can't always rely on the ol' legs to get me up the hill a third time as it is right now! 

I'm hoping that the improvements we'll undoubtedly see in a the next few years of development, coupled with my probable decrease in riding frequency and my inevitable demise, will make that e-bike last the rest of my life. (Or at least as long as I want to keep riding.) 

I mean, ebike drivetrains aren't that different then actual drivetrains.  Granted, It adds 2 fully expendable ~800-1k wear items to the whole vehicle.  However from my experience, it is reasonable to expect your emtb drive system to last a minimum of 3x your mechanical drivetrains and a max of 5ish.  That should pan out to 3-5k miles as a base assumption.  If you start to think of it like you do chains/cassettes/chainring replacement costs per mile, the risk and expense doesn't seem outlandish.  FWIW, I've ridden ~10k miles on emtb drivetrains and I would have done all of that on two motor systems if it weren't for a brief stint with a fazua (1k miles) where I went through 2 motors and dumped that bike.  I ride about 3k miles a year on an emtb (along side 4k miles a year on a pedal bike, which isn't relevant, but my fragile ego and justification of my actions complex is forcing me to type it) and I expect to go through a motor every other year, and I'm pleasantly surprised that it doesn't go down like that.  

As I mentioned before, the trick is to buy low, transfer parts, sell low and move onto the next bike in a 3-5 year cadence.  Ideally, you'd get out of the bike before the drivetrain shits the bed... but in case you don't, then the answer is to buy from your LBS, they'll likely push the mfg for a free or heavily discounted replacement unit if/when the time comes.  

Have as much fun and lose a sh*t ton of money. 

It's smarter to buy lightly used but I always think the next bike is the end all be all.

lol i love how impossible it was gonna be for this thread to stay on topic.

my GF bought an e-bike, which I've been mildly concerned about cuz I'm not a huge fan of the Shimano motor, or e-bikes in general until they have any kind of universal mounting or at least guarantee future engines will have the same mount design (ie TQ)

That said, I've been pleasantly surprised at it's performance (after the first chain swap) and it's opened my mind towards ebikes a bit more seeing her enjoy keeping up with me and not being punished for not being a lifelong cyclist and / or generally very fit (and i dont have to slow down!... uphill...)

I've tried to ponder long term ownership on the bike, and so far my take has been obnoxiously simple... The parts on the bike are good. When the motor fails to a point of no warranty replacement, or I can't get that exact battery from YT (BIG problem now), or if she somehow cracked the frame itself crawlin on green trails... We will just strip the parts, sell em, and attempt to recycle the horribly toxic assembly of carbon frame and electric motor.

I do not LIKE that approach... But it seems to be all we got until some better industry standards come about for ebikes. (NOT holding my breath...) Obviously she bought it dirt cheap, so ~3500 is a lot easier to just eat sh!t on and recoup a fraction of the loss on the suspension and other bits n bobs.

I'm not sure exactly how I'd feel about the same scenario forrr... A ~4500$ Polygon Bosch? A ~5000$ Orbea? etc etc. I'd love to hear of more recycling initiatives from these motor brands (assuming that the carbon frame bits can always go into any normal carbon bike recycling) so I can eventually buy one of these things "GUILT-FREE". I'm glad ebikes are getting better. But they're not quiite there yet for me, as a consumer.

(I want TQ's universal mount, with Fazua's weight to power ratio, with Bosch's reliability/service, at Shimano motor prices!) If DJI can morph into that exact motor in a few years, they may have my vote...