Electric Bike vs Standard Bike - What's Best For You? | E-Bikes Questions

Hey guys, Dustin here, CEO of six three zero. Today, we're going to answer the question: e-bike or standard bike; which is right for you? Stick around.

All right. So today we're going to answer the question: e-bike or standard bike; what's the right choice? But before we do, hit that subscribe button below, stay in the know about everything we're doing here at six three zero, including weekly, monthly giveaways for e-bikes, bikes, and accessories. You're going to want to be a part of it.

All right. Now let's dive into the question. What bike is right for you, standard bike or e-bike? I know electric bikes are really gaining popularity, but it's important to think about what bike is right for your lifestyle and what you're going to do. Now, one thing I'll say is we do have a body fit quiz on our website, a proprietary algorithm. You can answer some questions about your body and your life on there, and we'll recommend the perfect bike for you, and it can be based on your riding habits and you can tell us if you're interested in an electric bike or not, and we'll still recommend an electric bike or our algorithm will recommend an electric bike based on your responses.

Now, with that said, I would say there's a lot of... There are some differences between electric bikes, there are some similarities. So the question you have to really ask yourself is how often are you going to ride your bike? What are you trying to accomplish with your bike? Where are you going with your bike or e-bike? What type of terrains are you riding on? So let's talk about a few things. If you're just going to be riding around the neighborhood casually with your children, less than a mile, very recreational, do you need an electric bike? My answer would be probably not in those situations. However, if you're going to tow a trailer, bring your kids on the bike with you, and you're looking at the bike time not as a time to get exercise but just to cruise around, then an electric bike may be a good choice for you.

One thing I want to say too, as we go through this video, obviously I can't tell you what bike is right for you. It's something you'd have to think about, but I'm going to give you some of the pros and cons of both. So back to what we were saying if you're going to route around the block. Also, if you don't use your bike very frequently, once, twice, three times a month, or even less than that, you're going to have to weigh the cost of paying for an electric bike versus paying for a standard bike to just have it sit there and not be used. Now, if you're a type of rider that wants to use that bike every single day, and maybe, like I said, you're not doing it for exercise, but you're doing it to get out and see things, an electric bike would be a great choice.

I think the more you use it, obviously the more value you get out of it because electric bikes cost a lot more than standard bikes. You kind of can break it down by your time per use, right? So if you're only using it once a month, that electric bike might be costing you a hundred dollars a ride, versus if you're using it 30 times a month, then it's costing you, well, $3 a ride or roughly there about $3 and 33 cents a ride. So, it's kind of funny to look at it that way, but just like anything else, you don't want to overspend for how many times you're going to use it or the value you're going to get out of it. But if the value is there for you, then definitely I think it's worth the investment.

Now, if you're somebody that commutes a lot, a standard bike or electric bike, again, if you're doing it for the exercise, then obviously stick to an electric bike. But I would still argue if you commute a lot, in electric bikes, the choice to go, even if you want to exercise. The reason being, if you're tired some days, if you're sore, or if you get injured but you still want to ride on two wheels and electric bikes, a great option. And by the way, you don't have to use the motor, at least on our electric bikes, you can ride it as a standard bike. You can actually take the battery off, decrease the weight and it'll feel like a normal bike as you remove some of that weight. So the benefit is you can use that electric bike like normal or an e-bike. And if you take it with the battery on it and you're commuting and you just happen to be more tired than usual, boom, use that motor and you don't have to exert yourself.

So for commuting, it's a great, great option because you have the ability to do it normal or do it electric, and you choose when you want to exert or not exert yourself but it's great to have that as a backup. And hopefully, it will prevent you from ever getting stranded somewhere, really. Errands, things like that or if you want to go grocery shopping, I would definitely say electric bike. And the same is true. You have the option to use the motor or not use the motor.

And that's the huge benefit to the electric bikes like ours, again, is that you can use it or not use it. But if you're going to go and ride, pick up groceries, things like that, and you're going to haul a bunch of stuff back, having that motor is going to be helpful because, if the bike is a lot heavier and weighted down, use the pedal assist that can pick up some of the slack with the extra weight so you don't have to overexert yourself or, if you buy too many things and you're worried about riding back with it, you've got the motor to help you out. So an electric bike in that situation would be absolutely perfect.

Now, if you're riding strictly for exercise or you're a road biker, obviously I would say electric bikes are not the best choice for you or, in this situation, you're going to want to have your bike for exercise and your bike for your electric bike riding expeditions. Now you can take an electric bike out and use it as a normal bike, but if you're specifically looking to get exercise, achieve records in your distance or speeds, and like that, you're not going to want the extra weight of an electric bike even riding as a standard bike. Buy a bike specifically for exercise, get something lightweight, get something that'll be real smooth on pavement that you can go far on. And obviously road bikes, you're looking to have a bike to do road biking on so you don't need the electric motor for that.

Now mountain biking. That's another great one. It's a great option actually to have an electric bike for mountain biking. Now, this is something again, you have to ask yourself, what do you love most about mountain biking? And if it's the downhill, get the electric mountain bike, cause it can take you up with the motor and you can come down under your own power. Now, if you tend to ride a chairlift and all you do is go downhill, you don't really need an electric bike motor for that. But if you do want to go up the mountain, but you don't want to do it under your own power and you don't want to do the chairlift, an electric bike is a great option for that.

There are lots of electric mountain bikes out there right now and it's becoming hugely popular, especially in areas where maybe chairlifts are shut down or they don't have chairlifts, and you've wanted to explore a certain section of a mountain or a trail, and you haven't had the ability to get yourself to the top, again, electric bikes. A great, great option for that.

So the other thing you have to consider in the whole equation is the cost. Obviously, electric bikes are more expensive than standard bikes. And I think it goes back to what I'm saying before is how often do you plan on riding. If you plan on riding a lot and you want to log a lot of miles, I believe an electric bike will provide you the value because that motor, the speeds, everything, they are so much fun, so easy to ride, and they're basically another form of transportation.

So if you plan to use it frequently, your cost per ride can be completely justified, but if you're going to let it sit and collect dust, is it worth spending a thousand dollars or more? Probably not. So really think about what your habits are going to be like, how often you're going to ride it and what you're going to be doing with the bike. So in my opinion, I personally wouldn't choose one over the other. I obviously have both. I have an electric bike and a standard bike. But in this day and age, I could probably personally just live with my electric bike. Most of my rides are out taking my kids places, going to the local store, going for coffee, maybe going for lunch. I like the ability of having the electric bike because I can use that as a standard bike and it's great and bringing my kids in the trailer and things like that. So it just gives me so much more flexibility to either ride it myself or not ride it myself. Obviously, with a standard bike, you only have one option: to ride it under your own power.

And for me, there are days where I want to go out and get exercise and I don't want the weight of the electric bike so I'll take my standard bike, but to some extent, I can't always notice the difference. So I prefer, if I could have one bike in my garage right now, I would choose an electric bike because it gives me the ability to do both standard bike riding and electric bike riding, and the freedom I can have on that electric bike is incredible. I go on 20, 30, 40-mile rides and I don't even have to exert myself if I don't want to and I can go places on my two wheels that I haven't gone before and it's truly, truly an amazing experience.

So it's something you have to ask yourself. If you're trying to decide standard bike or electric bike and make a choice between the two, I'm happy to give insight or opinions around what I think is best. Comment below, I'd be happy to hear your questions and give some feedback, or shoot us an email: theteam@sixthreezero.com or call us (310) 982-2877. And don't forget, take that body fit quiz on our website. Like I said earlier, the proprietary algorithm will recommend a bike that's perfect for you, whether it will be an e-bike or standard bike depends on your answers. And we have a 365-day return policy. If you don't love your bike within 365 days, send it back, zero questions asked. You can also browse our standard bike and e-bike selection on our website, sixthreezero.com. And don't forget, download our app sixthreezero Pedaling. Join our community, be a part of our weekly leaderboard giveaways for e-bikes, bikes, and accessories. It's a ton of fun, you'll want to join. All right. So thanks for sticking around and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience, so enjoy the ride.