A new report has found that refurbished e-bikes are matching the reliability of new models.
Authored by Calvin Thigpen, Lime’s former Director of Public Partnerships and Policy Research, the report finds that certified pre-owned bikes and professionalised resale marketplaces are helping overcome the cost barrier to ownership while addressing concerns around second-hand quality and performance.
The research analysed 7,500 sales from new and refurbished e-bike retailer Upway across Europe and the US, alongside a survey of more than 400 respondents.
It found that 93% of refurbished e-bikes saw no returns within a year, compared with 95% of new e-bikes – a marginal difference that challenges doubts about second-hand reliability.
Report author Calvin Thigpen.
Thigpen predicts “strong growth” in second-hand sales over the next five years, particularly in the US.
However, today, he acknowledges that used e-bikes remain a “relatively new phenomenon” and come with “reasonable concerns” globally.
According to the report, two-thirds of owners who opted for a new e-bike said they did so because of concerns over the reliability and condition of used models.
For non-owners, price continues to be a decisive barrier with 58% stating that e-bikes are too expensive to consider.
Certified pre-owned e-bikes were found to offer greater savings compared with government e-bike rebate programmes. The study finds that for a standard $2,600 new e-bike, city rebate programmes typically offer up to 23% savings. In comparison, a two-year-old certified pre-owned e-bike sold through Upway’s marketplace could see up to 44% in discounts.
“I hope reports like this will start to build trust in professionally-refurbished e-bikes as a viable, affordable option, by providing data that compares refurbished e-bikes side-by-side with new e-bikes and shows how they have nearly identical, very high performance and reliability,” said Thigpen.
Maxime Renson, Head of Upway US, said: “With this third-party validated report, we are debunking a lot of beliefs around second hand e-bikes. By offering savings that significantly surpass traditional rebates, we are closing the trust gap and making high-performance e-bikes a reality for those previously priced out.”
A transatlantic divide
The study highlights a transatlantic gap with European countries experiencing stronger used e-bike sales volumes and faster time-to-sale compared with the US.
Thigpen described this as a “byproduct” of Europe’s earlier and broader adoption of e-bikes.
“But the US market is catching up,” he said. “As US e-bike owners increasingly find themselves with e-bikes that are several years old, and as they look to upgrade to a newer, perhaps higher-quality model, I think we’ll start to see the US used e-bike market more closely resemble the European market in terms of higher volumes and faster resale timelines.”
The study finds that as the primary barrier to e-bike adoption remains cost, and reliability data continues to strengthen, refurbished e-bikes could play a pivotal role in expanding access to electric mobility on both sides of the Atlantic.
