My experience riding an e-bike in Wellington

This was originally posted April 4th, 2024 on my previous blog. It has been re-posted here with some changes.

The cycleways that have gone in in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington–and the promise of more in the future–gave me the push I needed to invest in a good e-bike, and it has changed my life for the better.

Cost

My costs as of the original publication of this article had been:

• ~$5800 initial purchase. This includes:
  • the bike itself
    • 70kg total cargo capacity (50kg on the rear, 20kg with a front rack)
    • 45km/h top pedal assist
  • rear rack + panniers
  • helmet
  • bike pump
  • bike lock + frame lock
  • 3 pre-paid services
  • I calculated that this, versus half-price public transport and the occasional rideshare, would take fewer than 3 years to pay off. In the end I estimate it took fewer than 2.
• ~$200 in parts/service due to user negligence
  • I broke off my kickstand (twice) and bent my derailleur (once) while attempting to push my bike up a narrow ledge instead of carrying it.
• ~$90 in consumables I jumped the gun on and haven't even opened yet
• ~$210 in replacement parts and consumables I have actually used
  • These consumables, and those above, will last years.
• $20.XX/month insurance
• ~50c/week electricity
  • This is based on assuming I fully charge the battery ~5.5 times a week.

Over the first ~7 months of ownership, my operating costs (everything except the initial purchase cost) averaged ~$22/week. None of the consumables have yet been replaced.

Since the original publication of this article I carelessly rode into a curb head-on at full speed, requiring a wheel replacement, so it's safe to assume that–at least in my case–fixing foolish mistakes is an ongoing cost.

My insurance company ceased operations in New Zealand, cancelling my policy, and have since come back. If I sign up again I will update this article with the new insurance cost.

Unfortunately, I don’t tend to have $6k sitting around. Fortunately, I have the privilege of being able to borrow money.

My transport costs at the time were ~$30/week (public transport fares have since increased significantly), and I was saving $50/week.

I paid the bike off at $75/week, which was brutal, but it was well worth it to now be able to do all my weekly travel for almost free.

It's also less than what petrol would cost; but I’m too gay and poor to drive.

The choice was between:

• trying to save $6k at $50/week to buy the bike, or
• borrowing the money, paying a little interest, and starting to save immediately.

I think I made the right choice.

My pros and cons of buying a bike

Pros:

• It saves me energy.
  • I find walking really exhausting, and there's still a lot of it involved in taking public transport. Despite all the exercise I'm getting on my bike, I find myself less exhausted at the end of the day than I used to be, and when I go a day without it I remember what things used to be like for me.
    • To be very clear: my bike is not just a vehicle–it’s a mobility aid.
• I'm getting exercise.
• I’m saving money.
  • I even get to claim a % of the purchase cost on my taxes. Self-employment FTW!
• I can go anywhere in and around Wellington for almost nothing (I even sometimes ride out to the Hutt).
• It saves me time.
  • In the time I would have spent just waiting at the bus stop, I’m already most of the way there.
• I can get around on my own timetable.
• I can make stops on my journeys super easily.
• I can carry more stuff, more comfortably.
• It's fun to do (I didn't plan for this).
• My ass and thighs look even better than they did before.
• I go out more.
• I get more fresh air.

Cons:

• I can't take passengers.
  • A model that can do this would be another couple grand.
• I'm vain and think my helmet looks silly.
  • A cooler-looking helmet wouldn't keep the sun out of my eyes and would provide more resistance, which matters when you're barrelling downhill at 45km/h+.
• I have to tuck long skirts and dresses into themselves, and be careful not to flash anybody if I'm not wearing leggings.
• While it saves me money, for the time I was paying it off I wasn't able to put money into savings.
• The main cycling thoroughfare in Wellington is a shared walking path (the waterfront).
• I feel paranoid when I park it on the street.
• Dangerous motorist behaviour.
• One time the wind blew my low-cut top down and a boob fell out.

Behaviour on the roads

Rude or dangerous motorist behaviour I have experienced (non-exhaustive):

• Getting punish passed.
  • This happens whether or not I'm going the speed limit. This is the most common one I experience.
• Getting yelled at.
• Getting honked at for just being on the road, or for not giving way when I had right of way.
• Speeding up to overtake on my right when I indicate to turn right.
• Turning across a cycle lane to enter a left-hand turning lane or driveway; either without looking, or incorrectly assuming they had right of way.
  • This happens all the time at the Bowen St/The Terrace intersection.
• Speeding, almost constantly.
  • Lambton Quay and The Terrace are 30km/h zones; but if I follow the speed limit, I get my ass ridden.
    • Buy me dinner first.
  • If I speed-match cars in 30km/h zones I’m usually going at least 38. I don't know why people do this—all you're doing is getting to the red light faster.
    • To be fair, the posted speed limit may be 30km/h, but they clearly aren’t designed as 30km/h zones.
• Parking over the advanced stop box.
• Overtaking when I’m going at or around the speed limit (usually a punish pass), only to make me stop when they can’t manoeuvre around a parked or parking vehicle.

Rude or dangerous cyclist behaviour I've witnessed:

• I'll cop to running yellow lights—sometimes it's just safer than slamming on the brakes at high speed.
• I once witnessed someone shoulder-check a pedestrian on a waterfront bridge rather than make any noise at all to indicate they were coming, or slow down and wait, or pass on the left.
  • I have to thank her though—it helped me get over my fear of ringing my bell making me look like an asshole.
• Swerving in between rows of parked cars.
  • This reduces your visibility and makes it harder to merge back into traffic.
• Riding too fast, too close to pedestrians.

In my experience, when I witness this sort of cycling behaviour, it’s from people wearing all the kit. I don’t know if some people think hi-vis makes you invulnerable, or gives you right of way, or what.

Rude or dangerous pedestrian behaviour I’ve experienced:

• Walking several-abreast in cycle lanes.
  • Usually the opposite direction of the lane.
  • I’ve been yelled at for pointing out they're in the cycle lane.
• Turning on a dime and stepping onto the road right in front of me.
• Looking right through me and stepping onto the road right in front of me anyway.
  • I genuinely think “nobody uses the cycle lanes”/”nobody rides bikes” rhetoric has conditioned people not to see cyclists.
• Walking several-abreast on narrow sections of shared pathways (namely, the waterfront).
  • Sometimes they’ll move over to let someone pass who’s coming their way, then immediately move to fill that space again. This is something that has always bothered me as a fast walker.
• Trying to pass me by moving right, while I'm trying to pass them by staying left. Keep left, people!
  • Another annoying habit I'm used to dealing with as a pedestrian.
• Using the bike section of pedestrian/bike crossings.
  • I think this is a design issue. Almost without fail if there is a pedestrian and bike crossing, people on foot will wait in/cross at the cycle section.

One bit of pedestrian behaviour that makes me really sad is when they give way to me when they clearly have right of way.

When people hesitate before crossing at a green person, or give way to me when they have right of way, I know it means they’ve probably experienced someone on a bike blasting through when they should have given way, and they’re expecting me to do the same. It’s a little like how it only take a few close calls from cars to shake your confidence on your bike, even if most drivers are fine.

Conclusion, final thoughts

All in all, I’m really happy with my decision to get a bike, and the bike I did. There was a brief moment between purchasing it and receiving it where I was worried it might be overkill; but it gets heavy use, and has benefited me in more ways than I anticipated.

The worst part about the dangerous driving isn’t that I’ve ever actually been hit; but that it makes me paranoid, spoils my mood when something does happen, and makes me feel pressured to go faster when I’d rather just ride at a relaxed pace.

But the more cycle lanes and cycleways that go in, the less of an issue it will be.

TL;DR: bike good; asshole driving bad.