For several years now, Wertgarantie has regularly published a study commissioned by the company on the subject of bicycles. This time, the insurance service provider has increased the scope of the study in order to answer certain questions in greater depth. One focus is on one of the absolute favourite topics of every ebike regulars’ table – the battery.
How many watt hours should an ebike battery have? What ranges can realistically be derived from this? How heavy should a battery be in relation to its capacity? Such questions provide plenty of material for discussions among ebike riders, which can sometimes become heated. It is understandable that Wertgarantie has dedicated a more detailed chapter to the battery in its current “Fahrrad- & E-Bike-Studie 2024”.
What range are people travelling with?
Interestingly, the study approaches the topic with estimation questions. For example, respondents were asked to state how many kilometres the motor of their ebike supports them with one battery charge. Some of you would probably have a corresponding figure in your head pretty quickly. However, they can hardly be compared with each other. After all, only very few of the respondents are likely to have identical general conditions. Type of ebike. Choice of tyres. Profile of the “home track” perhaps used for this consideration. Climatic conditions. Total weight of ebike, luggage and ebike rider. Type and age of the battery. And so on. There are simply too many factors that influence this calculation.
As a result, the figures vary between a few kilometres and more than 200 kilometres. At 47.8 percent, the majority are in a range between 40 kilometres and 120 kilometres. However, most of the individual responses stated that they did not know this value. This takes some of the sting out of the question.
Estimated range of your own ebike on a single charge
How durable is the ebike battery?
However, those who know the range of their ebike system on a single charge seem to perceive it as being quite constant within the first five years. The average value shown in the study fluctuates by less than ten kilometres during this period. This is surprising in that standard calculations assume that every battery loses around five per cent of its capacity per year. After five years, a more significant drop should actually be noticeable in practice. Perhaps perception and reality diverge more strongly here.
After all, the perceived range goes hand in hand with a relatively high level of satisfaction. Those who have owned their ebike for less than half a year are 77.8 per cent satisfied or very satisfied with the battery performance. According to the study, the figure only drops to 72.5 per cent for those whose ebike is less than five years old. Only in the group of those who have been riding the same ebike for five to ten years does satisfaction fall below the 70 per cent mark for the first time, to 67.5 per cent.
What would be the ideal range?
In fact, satisfaction with the battery also skyrockets to 100 per cent. And that for all respondents. But only in thought. As part of the study, everyone was allowed to express a wish as to how far they would prefer to travel on a single charge. Depending on the interpretation, this question leads to quite different results. Wertgarantie, for example, prominently emphasises the mean value of the responses, which is 149.28 kilometres. At the same time, however, the result can also be read in such a way that a range of a maximum of 100 kilometres is already sufficient for a narrow majority of just over 51 percent. At 26.1 percent, more than a quarter of those surveyed voted for a range of between 81 kilometres and 100 kilometres – by far the most frequent individual mention.
Wanted range of the ebike with one battery charge
For everyday ebike riders in Germany, even that would be enough to enable them to ride for a week without recharging in between. After all, almost three quarters of respondents (74.1 per cent) stated that they cover less than 80 kilometres per week. The most common range was between 21 kilometres and 40 kilometres. Just 2.4 per cent of people manage 100 kilometres or more per week. This puts the mean value of around 141 kilometres from the question about how much people would like to travel into perspective.
Weekly distance travelled by ebikes and regular bikes
The most common causes of damage
In addition to this detailed examination of the ebike battery, the “Fahrrad- & E-Bike-Studie 2024” also looks again at the topics that Wertgarantie, as an insurer, is typically particularly interested in: What breaks down more often on ebikes and how are ebike riders insured for such cases. When it comes to the causes of damage, three factors rank at the top, which could also be pathetically described as the unfortunate trio. We are talking about wear and tear, technical defects and theft. Together, they are responsible for more than 45 per cent of all ebike damage.
Causes & distribution of damage
- Wear and tear; 22.1 per cent
- Technical defect; 12.6 per cent
- Theft: 11 per cent
- Self-inflicted accident damage: 9 per cent
- Theft damage (parts of the ebike): 8.8 per cent
- Accidental damage with third parties: 7.4 per cent
- Vandalism: 6.6 per cent
- Other: 1.5 per cent
Where is the wear and tear greatest?
The study also provides some revealing information on the first two of these. For example, even the most advanced technologies do not save modern ebike tyres from second place in this list. The construction and materials used are specially designed to withstand the higher forces acting on ebikes, but they are still among the first parts that need to be replaced. The brakes, a component that was also to be expected there, greet us from first place. Presumably, the majority of mentions relate to the brake pads and not the entire brake system. Chain, chainrings and sprockets are the third-ranked drivetrain components, which should also come as no surprise to anyone.
On the other hand, the appearance of saddle, grips and pedals in fourth place could be somewhat more unexpected. One in five of those surveyed mentioned the contact points on the bike as parts that are affected by wear. Remarkably, the battery is the first real e-component on the ebike to appear in fifth place. All of the parts mentioned above are parts that can also be found on any regular bike.
Wear and tear:
- Brakes: 53.8 per cent
- Tyres: 52.5 percent
- Chain and sprocket: 36.7
- Saddle, grips, pedals: 20.1 per cent
- Battery: 17.6 per cent
- Gearing 15.7 per cent
- Lights & electronics: 13.8 per cent
- Mudguards: 10.6 per cent
- Bearings: 9.5 per cent
- Motor: 8.1 per cent
- Frame: 5.7 per cent
- Other: 2.1 per cent
Which component causes the most frequent technical defects?
The e-drive dominates the category of technical defects. Compared to the values from 2021, there has been a slight change in the order of priority. The battery is still the most susceptible to damage. However, it is now followed by the display. Three years ago, the motor still occupied this position. Its susceptibility is now rated around 14 percentage points lower than back then. This could indicate an improvement in the general reliability of the units.
Technical defects:
- Battery: 40.9 per cent
- Display: 28.6 per cent
- Motor: 24.2 per cent
- Other: 30.1 per cent
Cause of technical defects on ebikes
The essentials of maintenance and care
How well do we look after our ebikes? Wertgarantie’s study also examines this aspect quite intensively. This applies to the current issue as well. Answers are given to questions such as:
- How often do we clean our ebike?
- How regularly do we check it for minor damage?
- How often do we inspect it thoroughly or have it inspected thoroughly?
- What do we do when minor and major repairs are due?
Almost exactly half of ebike riders get an overview of the technical condition of their ebikes as part of an annual inspection. At 15.5 per cent, there is a fairly large proportion of the group who even do this several times a year. Regardless of the chosen inspection frequency, 68 per cent of people entrust their ebike to a specialist workshop. Around one in four do it themselves. And in 14.2 per cent of cases, friends, acquaintances or family members are entrusted with the task. Wertgarantie considers the high proportion of inspections by specialist workshops to be a great willingness to spend money on such services and thus avoid potentially higher expenses for costly repairs. In comparison: People who own a regular bicycle only decide to take this step in 47.7 per cent of cases.
Incidentally, around 13 per cent of ebikes do not benefit from such a thorough inspection.
Different approaches to minor and major repairs
The result of the inspection determines what happens to the ebike afterwards. Minor defects such as a flat tyre are not repaired by a specialist workshop in around two out of three cases. This is taken care of by ebike riders themselves or by people in their private circle. If a major repair is required, such as replacing a crank bearing or defective motor, 70 per cent of these jobs are carried out by a workshop.
Given the sums that people invest when buying a new ebike these days, the willingness to go to the experts seems only logical. After all, more than half of ebike riders spend between 2,500 euros and 6,000 euros on their new vehicle. Of course, they want it to remain in perfect condition for as long as possible.
Purchase price for ebikes and regular bikes
Background
Wertgarantie has once again cooperated with Statista for the 2024 Bicycle & Ebike Study. A total of 5,001 people from Germany who use either a regular bicycle or an ebike and were at least 18 years old at the time of the survey took part in the online survey. The survey period ran from 21 November 2023 to 11 January 2024.
Pictures: Wertgarantie SE
“Great study by Wertgarantie on bikes and ebikes! They dive deep into batteries, range, and damage causes. Users’ satisfaction remains steady over time, despite battery degradation assumptions. Valuable insights on preferred range and maintenance practices. Kudos to Wertgarantie for this informative piece!”