Cheap Vietnamese eBikes.

[RobertC]

Here is a bunch of them for sale, new, from a shop with multiple locations: http://xedapchaydien.vn/avd36_loc-san-pham
Read this in chrome and use the auto-translate!

Also check the parts page at the site above, for controllers etc. Super cheap.

10 million VND (Vietnam Dong) is about 470 USD. 21,700 VND per USD.
1 USD gets you a cup of coffee at a decent cafe, or a small meal with about 500 ml of rice, and as many vegetables that can fit on the plate, with Tofu for meat, or a chicken leg , some roast pork (deck of cards sized portion), or 2-3 small bony fishes.. 30,000 VND gets you 2 pieces of meat. Four 500 ml glasses of beer is about 1 USD.

I see hundreds of these every day in Hanoi! Lead acid batteries..

Thought this might be of interest to everyone.

 

[speedpower99]

So , is Vietnam banning all gas engine motorcycles like China? Gas ones should be cheaper to run.
Are these ebikes imported from China or made in Vietnam?

 

[RobertC]

China only banned bikes in larger cities due to traffic. They did this while I was in Xiamen, Fujian province, in about 2003. Heard nothing about bans of any kind here. Only thing I have heard mention of is new pollution laws, and possibly some enforcement after that. This means the police would have another excuse to seize a bike or demand cash.. I have heard stories of the police grabbing a bike and after you retrieve it, the previously new parts are no longer new, etc.

The parts page on that site mentioned batteries from Taiwan, so I would guess that most parts are imported from wherever is cheapest, probably China, since the countries share a border and are then assembled locally with whatever minimum level of local content to comply with arbitrarily enforced laws.

Ebikes are much quieter, and pollute less, so still a nice win. Also, electricity is cheap here, about .07 USD/kwh compared to $0.10-$0.15 in many parts of USA. Easy to recharge in many cafe's. I would guess 5-7% ebikes vs gasoline scooters. Less moving parts to break, no oil changes etc. Cheaper than a gasoline scooter too. Those cost maybe $1500 for something older style with drum brakes up to about 3000 USD for a new Honda Airblade. The ebikes above are $500-$800.

One drawback is the ebikes have no license plates. Theft can be a problem. The scooters have a plate, $10 or so, for the life of the bike. And you have to pay the police for them to pretend to do something if it gets stolen..

 

[John in CR]

And you have to pay the police for them to pretend to do something if it gets stolen..

Fee for service is a whole lot better than the US approach these days, which is having law enforcement set up as revenue centers to hassle the populace more and more each year to squeeze them for every cent they can.

 

[999zip999]

Had my bike stolen in California and the police were trying to talk me out of making a report. Letting me know it would be useless. Hell I'm paying for you to sit behind that desk. Do something. Doughnut eater.
So what thieving government do you want ?
Sorry had two ebikes stolen.

 

[RobertC]

I had thought the bikes would be of interest!

But it seems I have started a a (non-ebike) revotion.

Ok, here is the plan!
1) First we get the control of all the beer!
2) Then the pretty girls.
...
4) PROFIT!

Any ideas for step 3?