A good quality belt. A cheap belt may last a year or two while a good one lasts decades but doesn’t cost 10x as much.
Any sort of micro-mobility device (bikes, scooters, etc. or even costlier electric versions of these) that replaces a regular commute has good ROI over driving or even public transit (unless you’re lucky enough to live in a city where it’s free).
A big sack of rice. It’s kind of insane how many meals you can get out of one of those.
This. I have calculated that the ebike I bought will pay itself off in about 2 years from all that not-driving I’m doing. That’s just from fuel/maintenance savings alone. If I factor in that my car is getting quite old and I would probably need to have replaced it by now, it has already paid for itself. (I still need a car for bad weather and certain hauling needs, but I drive it only sporadically these days so it’s lasting forever.)
I just started looking into getting a recumbent bike, and holy shit does adding pedelec features (ebike
conversion)/peddle assistance) skyrocket the price. I knew it would be a bit expensive, but goddamn 😭
My first ebike was a used tourist rental. As such, it was a bare bones model feature-wise. It only had one button you push to turn on pedal assist and that’s it. But the ebike shop owner was kind enough to put a fresh battery on it at no extra charge, and because it was designed for rentals, the thing was built like a tank and looked no worse for wear.
I rode that thing for about 3 years before upgrading to a more tricked out fat tire bike that suits my usage patterns better. Then I gave the old one to my daughter’s roommate and it’s still getting good use afaik?
Same. Been looking for the past few months because my previous ~18mi round trip daily commute was cut down to about 2 miles, but I’m not paying the price that people want for legit vintage Vespas in my area haha. I could get a whole GROM for that price.
My wife got me a handmade leather belt shortly after we started dating 10 years ago. I have worn it daily and its still in great shape. About two years ago I finally had to start using the next tighter hole as it has stretched, but theres definitely another 10 years of life still in it
What I would give to have a Vespa
I want an ebike. but fuck those things are expensive as hell.
If it replaces a car it’s cheap. Even replacing transit passes will save you money over some years.
This. I have calculated that the ebike I bought will pay itself off in about 2 years from all that not-driving I’m doing. That’s just from fuel/maintenance savings alone. If I factor in that my car is getting quite old and I would probably need to have replaced it by now, it has already paid for itself. (I still need a car for bad weather and certain hauling needs, but I drive it only sporadically these days so it’s lasting forever.)
Ah, the Sam Vimes boots theory again.
great, i’ll run out to the money tree and pick a few grand.
My apologies for making a comment.
I just started looking into getting a recumbent bike, and holy shit does adding pedelec features (ebike conversion)/peddle assistance) skyrocket the price. I knew it would be a bit expensive, but goddamn 😭
I would pick up a used ebike. I bought two cube ebikes for 800€ each and they were as good as new.
My first ebike was a used tourist rental. As such, it was a bare bones model feature-wise. It only had one button you push to turn on pedal assist and that’s it. But the ebike shop owner was kind enough to put a fresh battery on it at no extra charge, and because it was designed for rentals, the thing was built like a tank and looked no worse for wear.
I rode that thing for about 3 years before upgrading to a more tricked out fat tire bike that suits my usage patterns better. Then I gave the old one to my daughter’s roommate and it’s still getting good use afaik?
You can build your own for €500 if you pick up an old shit heap bike and put an electric wheel on it
Same. Been looking for the past few months because my previous ~18mi round trip daily commute was cut down to about 2 miles, but I’m not paying the price that people want for legit vintage Vespas in my area haha. I could get a whole GROM for that price.
My wife got me a handmade leather belt shortly after we started dating 10 years ago. I have worn it daily and its still in great shape. About two years ago I finally had to start using the next tighter hole as it has stretched, but theres definitely another 10 years of life still in it