Odd hill to die on, picking on a niche UK manufacturer of premium sports equipment to push some inverse snobbery rhetoric about wealth, success & privilege.
Other e-bikes are available. A 30 second google shows plenty of options from 33% of the cost of the Atherton for a decent FS ebike, and a load of other options at 50% of the cost, all of which would be perfectly good enough for those less wealthy, successful or privileged.
I could afford to buy one of these if I wanted, however I cannot afford to go out and buy a Ferrari 296 but I don’t walk around with a chip on my shoulder, grumbling about those who can and their ‘privilege’ 🤦♂️
I think the main thrust of my comments were intended to express not only my surprise at how quickly they sold but mostly my surprise that they are a subsidised non-essential purchase.
Tax “breaks” that, yes, some of which goes to Wales, but benefits greatly the manufacturers of the motor and electronics. The large amounts of aluminium used are not produced in the UK either so more of “taxpayers” money going abroad.
Instead of this system of subsidy surely that money could perhaps benefit a greater spread of society?
And, for those of you that think that I’m motivated by jealousy- I could afford to buy one of these bikes for cash.
We have become divided again..
We shouldn't be hating on Atherton for making an ebike, the real question is why haven't they made a gravel bike yet?
who are all these people who can afford that much money for a bicycle?
Certainly no one that I know
Apart from yourself lolz 😘
I could afford to buy one of these bikes for cash.
I've sold 3 ebikes:
Vitus E-Sommet... Thrashed for 3 years and sold for £1200 (cost about £2800 iirc)
Vitus Mach-E... commuter bike. Sold after 18 months. lost just under £600
Orbea Rise H30... bought at a discount and with interest free credit for £2800. Sold after 30 months for just under £1500.
So not huge losses on any of them. Just bought a Norco Fluid VLT (Latest Bosch SX system) reduced from £8k to £3k!?! So can't imagine I'll ever lose much on that one!
I'd want to know a little more about DJI reliability, warranty and support beyond warranty before buying. Otherwise, I'm glad that a person can choose to buy a UK built bike that has the quality and reputation of an Atherton for not much more than a Chinese brand.
Ok, there’s some holes in my argument! I’ve made myself chuckle, that’s the problem with watching Homestead Rescue at the same time..
But, the lopsided subsidy scheme is still just that.
Just to address two earlier comments:
"Technology is just moving too quickly"
"This is where emtbs are silly expensive as they are obsolete so quickly"
All I can assume is that people think that the progress in ebikes over the last decade has been like the first decade of smartphones or home computers? I'm sorry to say that it's been nothing like that. Electric motors are a very mature technology. Lithium ion batteries haven't been around anywhere near as long, but as with all battery tech over the last 150 years, only very slow progress is made because it all comes down to chemistry. Hopefully solidstate batteries will make good progress because that would be good for the world but I wouldn't worry about it making your bike "obsolete".
My ebike dates from 2018. The only thing that's somewhat dated is the geometry because it's a little shorter and steeper of head tube and slacker of seat tube than current bikes - but not by a vast amount. In terms of power, weight and battery life its only impediment is the result of buying the cheaper one with the 500Wh battery but even after 8 years of almost daily use I've not had any problems riding with other ebikers on much more modern bikes (including a DJI one a few weeks back).
My 2018 Esommet had a Shimano E8000 motor and I've just bought a bike with the Bosch gen 5 motor and I personally think that in some ways the Shimano is the better motor of the two.
Ok, there’s some holes in my argument! I’ve made myself chuckle, that’s the problem with watching Homestead Rescue at the same time..
But, the lopsided subsidy scheme is still just that.
Of all the things the government waste money on I'm not sure encouraging people to get outside and ride a bike is the worst tbh, tbf, imo? Plenty of low paid people have access to it as well btw.
I think to offset the expense of my e-bike (although it was a YT Decoy in their sale on C2W which helped) and it’s terrible secondhand resale value I am going to do what I always do with bikes which is ride it lots and lots and keep it for several years (last big purchase was an Orange Alpine 160 in 2012 and I only sold it in 2019 because I had twins and wasn’t going to get much time to actually ride it). I’m sure the motor and battery won’t last 7 years but hopefully I’ll get my money’s worth out of it. It’s not like I need to trade it in because a fancier motor has been released and the geometry and components are fine for what I ride.
There’s no doubt that ebikes are costly. My 2022 Orbea Rise that I bought in 2023 was significantly reduced. I could have got a lower spec model of the same bike with the same frame for a more reasonable but still fairly expensive price.
I’m probably not the best qualified person to speak as:
- Historically I spent a lot of money on bikes and kept them for a long time.
- My Orbea was cheaper in actual and real terms than my last full-suspension Transition Patrol that I bought in 2016 and my Stanton Switchback Ti that I bought in 2018.
- Most importantly, my ebike lets the now disabled me - continue to go out with my riding buddies.
A bit off-topic. Lots in my life has changed - quality of life and life expectancy, but the support I have had from my friends is not one of those.